


Brave New World

by Holz9364, Mort623



Series: The Eighth Year Universe [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Attempted Sexual Assault, Bathroom Sex, Bisexuality, But also fluffy parent! Harry x Daphne, F/F, F/M, Foursome - F/F/M/M, Hurt/Comfort, It's a real mixed bag folks, Kinda? It's not really physical but four-way relationship all the same, Kitchen Sex, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Torture, Unplanned Pregnancy, Violence, also lots of sex, mostly between Harry and Daphne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:42:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 93
Words: 620,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25726102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Holz9364/pseuds/Holz9364, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mort623/pseuds/Mort623
Summary: Part Three in The Eighth Year Universe! You don't need to read part one to understand this fic, but you probably do need to read part two for context :)Our gang have managed to survive the war and their eighth year at Hogwarts, but now the real challenge begins. They are small fish in a huge pond, and that pond is full of corruption. It's time to change the world, starting with the Ministry of Magic. Along the way there are arguments, surprises and moments that help the gang grow because as Daphne Greengrass knows, a life with Harry Potter is never going to be a simple or boring one.
Relationships: Astoria Greengrass/Charlie Weasley, Bill Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Daphne Greengrass/Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley/Blaise Zabini, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom/Lily Moon, Susan Bones/Percy Weasley, Theodore Nott/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Eighth Year Universe [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1865182
Comments: 17
Kudos: 74





	1. The Ultimate Hangover

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Eighth Year - ORIGINAL](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20053615) by [Holz9364](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Holz9364/pseuds/Holz9364). 



> Thanks for reading the re-write guys! If you are still here, this is the part with the most changes. It's gone up by about ten to twenty chapters and the content has changed a lot as well as all of the new stuff. Hopefully you enjoy it! *fingers crossed*
> 
> Thanks to Mort623 (my husband) for beta-ing this, helping come up with a LOT of the ideas and for writing the sex scenes for me!

The days flew by after graduation, and the population of Potter Manor seemed to grow by the day. Harry loved having so many people in the house, and he knew Daphne felt the same, after all, it had just been her and Astoria when they were growing up. 

Within a week, all of the rooms bar one on the second floor were filled, and the house was buzzing with excitement as Sadie and Theo's wedding drew closer.

"Have fun picking out the dress," Harry said to Daphne in an undertone as he kissed his fiancé on the cheek one morning at breakfast. It was Monday now, just after a week since they had left Hogwarts and everyone was here.

"She'll be fine," Daphne said with a smile as she glanced over to her best friend, "Sadie isn't the kind of person that will take hours to pick a dress."

"No, but I feel sorry for whoever you drag along when you go dress shopping," Harry commented with a smirk, "You'll probably have to camp in the shop, it will take a whole weekend."

"Oh shut up you," Daphne said with a small smile, she couldn't tease him properly about it because she knew it was pretty accurate.

"Are you ready?" Sadie asked. She had barely eaten, was fully dressed and bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

"We're ready," Daphne said as she got up from her seat, “And I gather you're a little excited.”

"Just a bit," Sadie said with a grin which made everyone chuckle.

"Have a good day," Theo said as he kissed his fiancé.

"Remember that the dress robes have to match the colour scheme," Sadie said as she kissed Theo.

"Yes, ma'am," Theo said with a salute.

Sadie laughed, "Have a good day. I'll see you tonight."

"Bye," The boys all said as they waved the girls out of the house.

Once they were gone and the door was shut. Harry turned to Draco, Theo and Neville, "It doesn't take six hours to pick some robes and get them adjusted, does it?"

"No, it takes two," Theo said simply.

"Three if you include time for a drink in the Leaky Cauldron afterwards," Draco said with a smirk.

"So basically we have three hours to kill," Neville said with a grin.

Harry nodded, "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Time for a duelling competition?"

"I was thinking time for a swim."

"Well, I want a sauna."

* * *

"You do realise that they aren't going to do anything until lunchtime, right?" Hermione asked the other girls as they walked down Diagon Alley.

"I'm well aware of that," Sadie said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, they'll claim that it won't take six hours to get dress robes," Lilly added.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "I bet they'll realise it's not as easy as they think it is when they get there."

"As long as they get the right dress robes in the end then it won't be a disaster," Susan said in an attempt to soothe Sadie who looked slightly anxious.

"Here we are," Sadie said with a deep breath as they reached the bridal shop.

"Nervous?" Daphne asked as they walked in arm and arm with the others behind them.

Sadie nodded, "A little," she admitted.

An overly enthusiastic Italian woman greeted them when they walked in, and half an hour later, Sadie had picked four dresses. She was trying them on while Daphne, Hermione, Lilly and Susan sat around waiting to see them in incredibly comfortable chairs.

"I don't know how we're going to help her pick," Hermione said to the others, "Sadie could look gorgeous in rags."

"It must be a Slytherin thing," Lilly said with a chuckle, “You're the same, Daphne. You all look so amazing all of the time."

"Slytherin charm," Daphne joked as Sadie emerged from the changing room in her first dress.

It was very Princess-like with a large white puffy skirt and a strapless white lace effect corset. Sadie looked lovely in it.

"What do you think?" Sadie asked. She looked a little unsure of herself.

"I don't know," Daphne said honestly as she looked at her best friend.

"It's a lovely dress," Hermione said.

"And you look beautiful in it," Lilly added.

"It's just not quite…you," Susan said truthfully as Sadie looked in the mirror and turned around a few times.

"It's too big and puffy for you Sadie," Daphne said.

Sadie nodded, "Yeah, it just doesn't look right, does it?"

Daphne and Susan shook their heads.

"Onto number two then," Sadie said as she disappeared into the changing room once more.

When she emerged a few minutes later, she looked even more amazing in the second dress. It was more figure-hugging and was drawn in at her waist then fanned out towards the bottom. It was relatively simple with an elaborate lace bust.

"You look gorgeous Sadie," Daphne said.

"You think so?" Sadie asked. She looked unsure again, "I don't know."

"Maybe it's just too simple for you," Hermione suggested.

Sadie nodded, "Maybe," she said as she disappeared once more to try on dress number 3.

"I thought you said she wasn't picky?" Lilly asked Daphne with a chuckle.

"Well it _is_ her wedding dress, I suppose," Daphne laughed.

When Sadie emerged wearing the third dress, she still looked amazing. This dress was similar to the last one, but the skirt was a little bigger. All of the dresses so far had been strapless, and this one was the same, but from the skirt upwards the top was decorated with lace effect flowers, only they didn't extend to the neckline of the dress like the last one had.

"That's lovely, Sadie," Susan said with a smile, "Very simplistic."

"Yeah," Sadie said as she turned around and looked at it, "A little too simplistic, I think."

"Merlin Sadie I thought this would be easy," Daphne joked which made her best friend laugh.

"Hey, you only get married once Daph," Sadie said with a smile.

"Unless you're Blaise's Mother that is," Daphne muttered.

Lilly snorted, “Don’t let Ginny hear you say that.”

“Since when does Ginny get on with Blaise’s mother?” Hermione asked in amusement.

“Oh, she doesn’t yet, but from what I hear, she will be staying at High Top House for a while now she’s finished school,” Lilly answered.

“Good luck to her,” Daphne chuckled.

"I'm going to try the last one on," Sadie said, and she disappeared once more.

When Sadie emerged wearing the last dress, there was an awed silence.

"Is that good?" She asked nervously.

"Wow," Daphne said eventually. The final dress was stunning. The skirt was bigger than the last one but without being too big and puffy like the first dress had been. It was the only dress not to be strapless, and it suited Sadie all the more for it. The most beautiful part was the sleeves which came down to the elbow and made a simple dress looked beautifully elegant.

"You look great," Lilly smiled.

"I like this one," Sadie admitted as she examined herself in the mirror, "It's not too big or too small, just the right size."

Susan and Hermione agreed that they loved the dress, and after another 20 minutes of deliberation, Sadie decided that it was the one that she wanted. She paid for it with Theo's elf as her fiancé had demanded, he wasn't letting her pay for any part of the wedding. Traditionally, of course, her father would have paid for it, but as he was in Azkaban at the moment that wasn't going to happen.

With the dress chosen, they had a quick lunch and then hopped back into the shop to pick the bridesmaids dresses. Sadie decided on blue dresses to match the theme of the wedding; the boys had been ordered to get dress robes according to that colour too.

Thankfully it didn't take as long for the bridesmaid's dresses to be picked, tried on and tailored to fit. This time the roles were reversed as Sadie sat in the comfortable chairs waiting for her bridesmaids to emerge wearing their dresses.

"What do you think, Sadie?" Daphne asked as she emerged first from the changing room.

"Yes, do we look good enough for your wedding?" Hermione asked with a chuckle as she emerged next followed by Susan and Lilly.

They all wore the same dress in two different colours. The dresses were strapless, floor-length and relatively simple in style. Each dress had a ribbon beneath the bust. Susan and Hermione wore navy blue dresses with a pale blue ribbon and Daphne, and Lilly wore pale blue dresses with a darker navy blue ribbon.

Sadie laughed at their sense of humour, "You all look great," she said happily.

With the dresses bought they still had a little time to spare, so the girls decided to drop by the ice cream parlour before heading back to Potter Manor.

* * *

"I suppose we should go now," Theo said as he glanced at the time.

"Yeah," Draco said as he stretched and got to his feet, they were relaxing in the chill/bar room after a swim.

Harry and Neville agreed, and ten minutes later they dragged themselves down Diagon Alley to Madame Malkins.

"It's not that I'm not enthusiastic about the wedding," Theo was saying to the others as they wandered along in the bright sunshine eating ice creams, "I can't wait for the wedding, I just hate all of this," he waved his ice cream around at the street, "Shopping for flowers, shopping for invitations and bloody lace tablecloths!"

"I think that's the part most men hate," Harry pointed out with a smirk as they neared the shop.

Theo groaned, "And now we have to spend the next couple of hours getting stabbed and picking the right colour to match the bloody bridesmaid's dresses."

This had Harry, Draco and Neville sniggering of course.

"I think I'll just ask Lil if she wants to elope and go to Hawaii," Neville joked as they finished their ice creams, "Skip the whole engagement thing you know?"

"I'd do the same if I thought for a second Daph would go for it," Harry retorted.

"What about you, Draco?" Neville asked. He was the only one to stay relatively quiet so far.

He smiled slightly, "It's ironic actually because Hermione and I…well there are a few people we want at our wedding, but neither of us have a lot of friends or family. We would never run off and elope, but we will have a nice little quiet wedding. It will be nowhere near the hassle of this."

"Good for you mate," Theo said, he looked like he wished that was what Sadie had wanted. Harry had never seen Theo stressed out, not even through their N.E.W.T's, but he was stressed out of his mind with this wedding.

"Can I help you with anything?"

Theo smiled at Madam Malkin, "Yes, I'm looking for a set of dress robes this colour," he said as he handed her a fabric in the colour they had chosen which was pale blue, "And four sets of dress robes in this colour," he gave her another piece of fabric which was a dark navy blue.

"Of course," she said with a smile, "Wedding is it?"

Theo nodded, "Yeah, a very stressful one."

Madam Malkin laughed and led them all into the back room where there were more podiums, "I'll do the groom first," she said as she held out the dress robes in the colour, he had shown her and put them on Theo so she could tailor them to fit correctly.

"So how much more do you need to do before Saturday?" Draco asked Theo from where he, Harry and Neville, sat on the side-lines.

"Too much," Theo replied with a sigh, "We need to pick the rings up tomorrow from the jewellers-”

“Right well I’ll do that for you,” Draco said simply, “That takes one thing out of your hands. What else?”

“I need to take Lacey to get her flower girl dress,” Theo said, he rolled his eyes, “Which means dealing with Salvadora.”

“You really ought to make more effort to get on with her; she is your step-mother,” Harry pointed out.

“I’ve tried, she’s tried. We just don’t get on. We accepted that years ago, so we simply put up with each other,” Theo said with a roll of his eyes.

Draco gave Harry a look which said, ‘Drop it’ so he did.

"Who's going to be the pageboy?" Harry asked as he propped his feet up on the arm of the chair Draco was sitting in.

"Uh Sadie's Nephew Oscar," Theo replied, "Her brother Sorenson's kid."

"Is Sorenson married?" Neville asked with a frown.

"Nah," Theo answered, "He got a girl pregnant in his seventh year, Oscar was the result."

"What age is he?" Harry asked.

"He'll be five now, won't he?" Draco asked Theo.

“Nearly,” Theo agreed, “His birthday is a couple of days after the wedding. I don’t have to worry about his robes, Sorenson’s sorting that out for us.”

"Have you paid the registrar?" Draco asked as he ticked things off on a piece of parchment.

"Yeah and we donated to the Church," Theo said, he was pretty organised despite what Sadie thought.

"You've got everything sorted for the reception, haven't you?" Draco asked as he looked at his list.

"Yeah," Theo said. He and Sadie were getting married in Bath Abbey, "It's in the ballroom of Nott Manor. That was the easy part."

Draco ticked this off too, "And you have your international passes to apparate for the honeymoon sorted out?"

"Yep," Theo said quickly.

"And you've booked the honeymoon?"

"Course I have," Theo said with a chuckle, "Two weeks in Paris."

"Was that the first thing you booked?" Neville asked with a chuckle.

"Pretty much," Theo admitted.

"Right," Neville said, "Have you hired the photographer?"

"Yeah," Harry said, "I called in a freebie for him with Dennis."

"What about a band for the reception?"

"Yeah, we hired the band that play the Christmas concerts in Hogsmeade," Theo said.

"Sadie's sorted out the cake hasn't she?" Harry asked.

Theo nodded, "She sorted out the cake and hired the house elves for the food."

Draco glanced at his list, "Have you got the rehearsal booked?"

"Yeah, 9 am on Thursday," Theo said as he got stabbed by Madam Malkin.

"And you've got the place names and the order of seating for the meal sorted?" Draco asked.

"Sadie's done that," Theo said with a yawn.

"Well, then I think you're pretty much set," Draco said as he folded up his piece of parchment.

"Thank Merlin," Theo sighed.

"Alright you're done," Madam Malkin said, and Theo gratefully got off of the platform and let Madam Malkin start on the groomsmen's robes. Blaise couldn't make it because he was at St. Mungo's with Ginny for a check-up on the baby so he had told Theo his measurements which he had given to Madam Malkin so she could fit his dress robes later in the week, Blaise could pick them up when he had the time that way.

Still, even without Blaise, it seemed to take forever for Draco, Harry and Neville to get their robes fitted and when they eventually left the shop with the robes in hanger bags to stop them from getting creased it was 5 minutes until 5 pm, the time they had agreed to meet the girls back at Potter Manor for dinner.

They hurried up Diagon Alley to the Leaky Cauldron and apparated to the doorstep of Potter Manor hoping that the girls were running late.

When they walked into the informal dining room, however, it wasn't empty as they had hoped.

Daphne, Hermione, Sadie, Susan and Lilly were already seated and were waiting for the boys to show up.

"Oh there they are, two minutes late," Daphne said with an amused smirk when they skulked in.

Sadie cocked her head at Theo, "We _know_ you didn't leave the house until about three hours ago."

"What? How do you know that?" Theo asked. This made Harry and Draco roll their eyes.

"They probably didn't know you, idiot," Draco said as he jokingly hit Theo over the back of the head, "But you just confirmed it for them."

"Exactly," Daphne smirked.

"Bloody female logic," Theo mumbled as he sat down at the table.

* * *

“Oh my god, I feel sick.”

Blaise chuckled, “Think of how I felt when you took me to meet your family.”

Ginny smiled weakly, “And look how that went.”

“They liked me well enough until they found out I had gotten you pregnant,” Blaise remarked.

“Funny that,” Ginny snorted. She held his hand tightly as she looked up at the imposing manor on the hill before them, “I see why it’s called High Top House.”

Blaise gently began to pull her up the steep steps that led to the manor, “Yes, it is rather dramatic, isn’t it? You won’t think so when you see inside. Interior décor is not my mother’s strong point.”

“Who will be there?” Ginny asked.

“Oh just a few of my siblings,” Blaise replied, “Most of the older ones have already moved out apart from myself, Blanche, Bea and Billie.”

“That’s not so bad,” Ginny admitted, “I already know Bea and Billie.”

“I know you haven’t met Blanche yet, but I do think you will like her,” Blaise said, he smiled softly over at Ginny.

“And your mother is okay with us having the baby?” Ginny asked tentatively.

“She cannot judge,” Blaise said, he smiled slyly at his girlfriend, “She was 19 when my oldest brother was born.”

“So was my mother, and she still judged,” Ginny said with a roll of her eyes, “Also, can I just say, I _hate_ this hill.”

Blaise chuckled, and it was a deep rumble, “We’ll use the floo next time. My mother just thought it might be too alarming for you, if you had to step into the drawing-room when it was already full of people.”

Ginny nodded and took a breath to steady her nerves as Blaise knocked on the door. It swung open, and a house-elf greeted Blaise cheerfully. Ginny kept a grip of her boyfriend’s hand and allowed herself to be led through the house into a beautiful, modern drawing-room. The room was decorated in shades of grey and blue. It was bedecked with comfortable sofa’s and armchairs, and at its heart was a beautifully ornate black marble fireplace.

“Ginny!”

Ginny laughed as Billie rushed over and hugged her tightly.

“Hey, don’t squeeze so tight, Billie,” Beatrice said, wrestling her sister off of Ginny, “She’s got a baby in there!”

Ginny laughed and smiled at the two younger girls, “It’s well-cushioned Bea. I wouldn’t worry too much.”

“Where is Mother?” Blaise asked his younger sisters.

Both of them were very pretty with their mothers smooth, flawless skin. They had long black hair, Bea’s was naturally curly, and Billie’s was poker straight. Their mother always said that Beatrice tried to hide her beauty. She was a tomboy who lived in comfortable clothes and a beanie hat. Billie couldn’t be more different; she wore fancy dresses and always wanted to go shopping with her mother.

Beatrice rolled her eyes, “She’s fighting with Blanche.”

Blaise raised an eyebrow at her, “Who did she bring home this time?”

“Nobody, but she applied for Auror training without telling Mother,” Billie replied.

“And she got into the selection process,” Beatrice added, “Dad knew.”

Blaise grimaced, “He is in so much shit when he comes home tonight.”

“I floo-ed him and told him it might be best to make up an important oversea’s case to give Mother a day or so to calm down,” Billie whispered.

Blaise chuckled. “You’re a genius, Bill.”

The sound of raised voices could be heard walking towards the drawing-room, and Ginny shot Blaise an amused look, “So this is _just_ like my house.”

“I did tell you,” Blaise murmured.

“I don’t care if you like it or not mother, I want to be an Auror!”

“Your father-”

“Robert is not my father! And I don’t care how dangerous he says it is, this is my life, and this is what I want to do with it!”

“Blanche, be quiet! We can continue this discussion later.”

Blaise’s mother stepped into the room and smiled at Ginny. She was a beautiful woman, even though she was in her 50’s now. She was tall, especially in the high heels she currently wore. Like her daughters, her skin was flawless, and her black hair was curly but perfectly tamed to frame her thin, heart-shaped face. She wore deep green silken robes and red lipstick. There was only one word to describe her – glamourous.

“Ginevra,” She said with a warm smile, “I am Zara. It is so nice to _finally_ meet you.”

Blaise rolled his eyes at his mother’s obvious jibe.

Ginny smiled, “You too. Blaise has told me all about you and his siblings.”

“All bad I expect,” Zara said as she floated into the room.

“Not at all,” Ginny said honestly, “He’s very fond of you.”

“He doesn’t tell her that to her face,” An amused voice said from the doorway, “Let’s see the beautiful Weasley that managed to turn my brothers head then.”

Ginny turned around and came face to face with Blaise’s sister, who was very self-assured and gorgeous. She looked very much like her mother; she was younger but just as glamourous.

Blanche placed her finger under Ginny’s chin and lifted her face, “Oh, she is lovely, Blaise, you are quite right.”

Ginny gently swiped Blanche’s hand away and took a step towards Blaise, “Uh…thanks, I think.”

“Don’t mind Blanche,” Zara said with a wave of her hand, “She is well on her way to becoming the family disappointment.”

“Well someone has to do it, right?” Blanche asked with a wide grin. She winked at Ginny, which made her feel moderately uncomfortable.

Zara rolled her eyes, “Do you drink tea, my love?”

Ginny turned away from Blanche and nodded, “Uh…yes, I do.”

“Excellent,” Zara snapped her fingers and motioned for Ginny to sit down.

Blaise gently pushed Ginny onto an armchair then he sat down next to Billie on one of the sofas. Blanche chose to lean in the doorway, surveying Ginny with interest.

A house-elf appeared with a tray of tea, and Zara busied herself with pouring it out. Blaise dropped a sugar cube into Ginny’s cup then handed it to her.

“How does your mother feel about the impending arrival?” Zara asked conversationally.

Ginny frowned, “Well, she is speaking to me now, so that’s an improvement. It came as a shock, especially because my older brother is having a baby too.”

“Which one?” Blanche asked curiously.

“Ron,” Ginny replied.

“Hmm,” Blanche hummed. She picked up a sugar cube, “Doesn’t surprise me. I heard all about his antics with that Lavendar girl from Georgie.”

Ginny frowned, “Georgie? My brother George?”

“Uh-huh,” Blanche popped the sugar cube into her mouth.

“Blanche was in the same year as your brothers Fred and George,” Blaise explained.

“Oh,” Ginny realised.

“So she disapproves?” Zara prodded.

“Yes, but that hasn’t changed our opinion,” Ginny replied, “We’re keeping the baby.”

“Of course you are,” Zara said, she sipped her tea, “You must. These things come to test us, and when we beat them, they make us stronger.”

Ginny smiled, “Exactly.”

“You really must think about marriage, however,” Zara said, her hazel eyes meeting Ginny’s.

Ginny shook her head, “No, I won’t do that pureblood, shot-gun wedding thing like my parents did. I can’t.”

“Nobody will force you to,” Zara said honestly, “But you must _consider_ it. I do not tell you this because I want to avoid a scandal. My entire life has been a scandal, and I rather enjoy it.”

Blaise smirked at his mothers choice of words, and he noticed Ginny smiling too.

“I tell you this because marrying my son will make your life a little easier, and that of your child,” Zara said simply, “He is a good man, I trust you know that.”

“Of course, I do,” Ginny said.

“So you know he will treat you as you ought to be treated,” Zara said pragmatically, “If you were married, your child would not be called a bastard when it went to Hogwarts. One of my ex-husbands left a generous amount of money to each of my children. They receive this when they are married, along with the deeds to a patch of land where they may build their own home. If you were married, you could live comfortably.”

“I didn’t live comfortably growing up, and it didn’t do me any harm,” Ginny began to protest.

Zara shook her head, she reached forward and took Ginny’s hand, “My love, I am merely presenting you with the facts. I do not wish to force you to make a decision, and I certainly do not expect you to make one instantly, not in your condition.”

Ginny frowned, she couldn’t quite get a handle on Blaise’s mother.

“We are a very liberal family, Ginevra,” Zara continued, “I can not lecture my children where conventional relationships are concerned, as I have never had one. I simply wish for my children to be provided for, and to be happy.”

Ginny looked over at Blaise, “What does she…”

Blaise took Ginny’s hand, “She means that we could marry for proprietary's sake, but we need not have a solely monogamous relationship for the rest of our lives.”

Ginny’s frown deepened.

“Think on it,” Zara said with a smile, “That is all I ask of you.”

“Okay,” Ginny conceded, “I will.”

“In the meantime,” Zara said, leaning back in her chair, “Where will you stay until the baby is born?”

“Were you still planning on going home?” Blaise asked his girlfriend.

Ginny just nodded.

“If things at home get too tense, you are always welcome here,” Zara said, “Robert is a real joy-kill, but he spends more time at work than he does in the house anyway.”

“Blaise said he was an Auror?” Ginny asked conversationally.

“Oh, he’s more than just an Auror my love,” Zara said with a smile, “He is the Head Auror.”

Ginny had to fight back an amused smile. She had managed to bag herself the Auror who was hunting her down, the _Head Auror_.

Blanche sat down on the arm of Ginny’s chair and said, “I know what you’re thinking, that she’s an evil seductress, right?”

“No,” Ginny said with an amused smile, “Honestly? I was thinking, well-played.”

At this Zara smirked, “Well, Blaise. I always suspected that you would pick a good one. I like her.”

“So do I,” Blanche said, and Ginny definitely didn’t imagine the suggestive tone in her voice.

Zara sighed, “Blanche, would you leave the poor girl alone? It has been less than a month since the last girl you courted ran out of this house screaming.”

“She did deserve that bat-bogey mother,” Beatrice piped up, “She called you a whore.”

“I am a whore, darling,” Zara said as she rose to her feet, “I have learned to own the title rather than fear it.”

“She was just a phase I was going through anyway,” Blanche said as she lit a cigarette, “I don’t think I like blonde’s after all.”

“That was what you said about brunettes after Fran moved out,” Beatrice said, giving her sister a pointed look.

“Maybe I’m into redheads,” Blanche said, she winked at Ginny.

Ginny’s cheeks flushed, and Zara rolled her eyes, “Ignore Blanche.”

“We all do,” Blaise added.

“I love you too, darling brother,” Blanche said, smacking him on the head as she walked past him.

“Will you stay for dinner, Ginevra? I can ask the elves to prepare something bland for you, and I do believe that Belinda will be keen to meet you,” Zara said conversationally, “She was friends with your elder brother at school.”

“Which one?” Ginny asked curiously.

“William,” Zara said passively, “They were rather friendly, Belinda was a Gryffindor after all.”

“Oh,” Ginny said, “I hadn’t realised that.”

“We’re not _all_ Slytherins,” Beatrice joked.

“What house were you in, Blanche?” Ginny asked curiously.

“Slytherin, of course,” Blanche replied smoothly.

“I think I remember my brother talking about his friend Belle,” Ginny said to Zara.

“That was what Belinda used to go by,” Blanche said with a grin, “Before she was a hotshot judge in the DMLE.”

“Do all of your family work in the DMLE?” Ginny asked curiously.

“Several of my children do,” Zara replied, “Brent is a lawyer in the DMLE, just as Blaise will be.”

Blaise nodded at this. Zara continued, “Blaine is an Auror-”

“- which is fine because he’s a guy so apparently it’s not dangerous for him,” Blanche cut in.

Zara shot her a warning look, “We are not having this discussion in polite company, Blanche.”

“Oh the company isn’t that polite,” Blanche said airily, “Is it true, Blaise that men tend to fall for women who remind them of their mother?”

Blaise narrowed his eyes at his sister, “If you dare Blanche, I will hex you.”

“I’m just saying,” Blanche said. She cocked her head and looked at Ginny, “The Hogwarts rumour mill says that sweet little Ginny Weasley has been working her way through your year group. First, there was Michael, then Dean and not to forget the _two_ war heroes she favoured, Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. What a taste for powerful men.”

Blaise reached for his wand to hex Blanche, but before he could, Ginny hexed her. The spell she used sowed her mouth shut, and Ginny glared at her, “If you knew that much about me you would know not to piss me off at the best of times, let alone when I’m pregnant.”

Zara smiled slyly, “Oh, you will fit in just perfectly around here, Ginevra. Come, I would like to show you around the rose garden.”

Ginny got to her feet and took Zara’s outstretched hand while Blaise smirked at his sister, “You deserved that.”

“You did Blanche,” Beatrice said, “Ginny’s really nice.”

Billie nodded her agreement, “She’s awesome.”

“And she’s slept with fewer men than you have women,” Blaise said, regarding his sister irritably before sweeping out of the drawing-room.

* * *

“Lacey!”

“Theo!”

Theo grinned and picked up his little sister, “Hey squirt!”

“I’m not a squirt! I’m getting tall now.”

“Nah, you’re still teeny,” Theo said, he set her down and messed up her hair, “You ready to go get this dress?”

“Yeah,” Lacey grinned, “But Mum is coming too.”

Theo sighed, “Is she?”

“She is,” Salvadora said as she stepped into the entrance hall.

“Why?” Theo asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Because I need a dress too,” Salvadora said calmly, “Since you kindly invited me to your wedding.”

“Of course I invited you,” Theo muttered, “You’re my step-mother.”

Salvadora sighed; she was a beautiful woman in a regal way. She was tall and thin with pointed features, jet black hair and deep green eyes. Theo had always found the fact she was so close to him in age alarming. She had married his father just before he started Hogwarts and she had only been 18 at the time. 

Lacey looked between them, warily, “Are you going to fight?”

Theo smiled at her, “Nah Lace, course not. You ready to go?”

He held out his hand, and his little sister took it, “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Theo turned to his step-mother and regarded her with interest for a moment, “Grab your coat then Sally.”

She smiled. Theo had always referred to her as ‘step-mother’ or by her full name. After two years of being married to his father, she had given up asking him to call her Sally.

The trio left the house and went to Diagon Alley. Lacey loved her dress and enjoyed being fitted, and Salvadora bought herself a respectful dress since she was in effect the mother of the groom. When they had finished shopping, Lacey asked if they could go to lunch and Theo hated saying no to his sister.

That was how they ended up in a nice little restaurant in the wizarding quarter of London. It was a glorious day so they had taken an outdoor table and Lacey was playing on a swing set nearby.

“I am sorry, Theodore.”

“Theo,” He said, meeting her eye, “We’re both adults now.”

Salvadora smiled sadly, “I am sorry that I was not a more supportive step-mother. I tried, but I was so young myself and you were troubled.”

“What do you expect?” Theo sighed.

“It was difficult for me too,” Salvadora said honestly, “I had just left Hogwarts, I had dreams and aspirations. They were dashed when I was told that I was to marry.”

“You were told to marry?” Theo frowned, “You never told me that it was arranged.”

“You never took the time to ask,” Salvadora said, “You always assumed I was a gold digger, and I suppose I was, but not by choice. My parents hoped that my marriage to your father would come with great fortunes and a large Manor.”

“But he left it all to me,” Theo realised, “Even though he hated me.”

Salvadora nodded, “I had heard rumours of what had happened to his first wife, and within six months, I wholeheartedly believed that they were true.”

“Did he hurt you?” Theo asked, looking up at her, “He tortured me, all the time.”

“I know.”

“You just stood there and didn’t do anything to help,” Theo said, bitterness creeping into his voice.

“I did the same when he tortured me,” Salvadora said stoically, “I let him do it. I stood by. I played the part of the good wife. I said the things he wanted me to say, I remained entirely loyal, and I bore him a child. It was not another heir as he wished, but the one thing I could not control was my child's gender.”

Theo frowned out at the play area to avoid meeting his step-mother's eye, “I’m sorry too. I’ve not exactly been a joy to be around these past eight years.”

“You have had your reasons,” Salvadora said simply, “And it does please me to see you settling with such a lovely girl. Your behaviour before the war concerned me, but it seems the war changed you.”

“The war changed everyone,” Theo said with a sigh as he looked at Lacey, “It’s why I want to be an Auror. I want to protect the next generation, I don’t want Lacey or my kids to go through the kind of stuff Draco and I did.”

Salvadora reached across the table and took his hand. Theo looked over at her in surprise, and she said, “You will make a wonderful Auror, Theo. I wanted you to know that. I want you to know how proud I am.”

Theo didn’t know how to deal with such a compliment from a woman he had spent the last eight years fighting and bickering with. So being Theo, he changed the subject to the wedding and was relieved when Salvadora played along.

* * *

By Friday all of the outfits were in order, the rings were safely locked away in Sadie and Theo's bedroom and the last minute things had been sorted out. The rehearsal that morning went well, so all that was left were the hen and stag nights.

"I can't believe I'm getting married tomorrow," Sadie said. She shook her head in disbelief as she walked down a muggle street in London with Daphne's arm linked in her right arm and Lilly's linked in her left arm. Hermione and Susan were walking slightly behind the trio.

"I can't believe it either," Daphne admitted, "It’s come around so fast."

"It's kind of insane," Sadie said, "And I'm not just talking about my outfit," she added with a chuckle.

Sadie was wearing a pink dress and had been decorated by her so-called friends with a pink feather boa, a cheap-looking plastic tiara and a sash saying 'bride to be'. The other girls weren't any better with Daphne sporting devils ears and the others wearing bunny ears, they all had the same pink feather boas too. Daphne, of course, had been in charge of organising this, so it was moderate in comparison to what she had expected.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going yet?" Sadie asked the others in amusement; it had been kept as a secret from her all week no matter how much she nagged at her friends to tell her.

"Nope, it's still a surprise," Lilly said with a grin.

"What do you think the boys will do?" Sadie asked curiously. Behind her, Susan and Hermione shared a glance.

"Oh nothing big," Daphne lied, thankfully she was a reasonably good liar, "They will probably just go out for a few drinks at the Hogs Head."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Sadie said.

"They aren't going for a few quiet drinks, are they?" Susan asked Hermione in a whisper.

Hermione shook her head and whispered back, "I have no idea what they _are_ doing, but I overheard them talking about going to watch Quidditch at the big stadium in Barcelona."

"I overheard them a few days ago discussing the merits of strip clubs in Amsterdam," Susan whispered.

"Was that Draco's idea or Harry's?" Hermione asked as she rolled her eyes.

"I think it was Neville's actually," Susan said with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you two whispering about?" Sadie asked as she turned to Hermione and Susan.

"Nothing," Susan lied with a bright smile, "We were just talking about where we're taking you."

"Are we nearly there yet?" Sadie asked impatiently.

"We are here, and you are so bloody impatient," Lilly said in amusement as she and Daphne dragged Sadie through a door with bright flashing lights above it.

"How do you think she'll react when she realises Daphne brought her to a muggle strip club?" Hermione asked Susan in an undertone as they followed them in.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," Susan chuckled and sure enough 5 minutes later after sitting down at a table close to the stage, Sadie realised.

"Daphne you haven't," Sadie said as she looked at the type of people in the club and glanced to the stage where the curtain was beginning to be drawn back.

Daphne tried her best to look innocent as Sadie looked at her in horror. The curtains were pulled back, revealing men in very little clothing doing provocative dances.

"You did!" Sadie said. She shook her head at her best friend.

"Have a drink," Daphne said through her laughter, "Relax, unwind, enjoy yourself," she winked which made Sadie blush bright pink.

* * *

"So where are we going?" Neville asked Draco and Harry as he looked across at them, they were all dressed up for the stag night but still hadn't decided what to do. Blaise was absent, he was willing to be part of the wedding, but with Ginny pregnant, he was trying to look after her and didn't want to disappear on the stag night.

Given the kind of things, they had talked about doing that was probably a good thing.

"Let's just go to Vegas," Harry said with a smirk.

"Las Vegas?" Draco asked in disbelief, "In America?"

"Aw come on, let's be spontaneous! It will be great!" Neville said. He was instantly on Harry's side.

"But what if something goes wrong and we're stuck there?" Draco said, "This is Theo's wedding. We can't screw it up for him."

"We won't screw anything up," Harry said as he tried to convince Draco.

"Stop worrying about your boyfriend, Draco," Neville said with a wave of his hand, "The wedding doesn't start until 2 pm tomorrow, we'll apparate back early tomorrow morning."

"It will be fun, Draco, come on," Harry said with a grin, "Where's the Slytherin in you?"

"Alright fine," Draco gave in with a smirk.

"I'm pretty sure you were trying to surprise me," A new voice said as Theo emerged grinning and holding an extendable ear, "But I was kind of eavesdropping."

Harry laughed at this, "So what do you think?"

"I think Las Vegas here we come, baby!" Theo said as he grinned broadly at his friends.

* * *

"What do you mean you don't know where he is?"

"I mean we’ve lost him, and I've no idea where to find him!"

"How could you have lost him?” Harry panicked, “He's getting married in seven hours!"

"Not if he's dead in the middle of Las Vegas somewhere!" Draco snapped.

"He's not dead!" Neville said irritably, "But we do have to find him."

"How?" Draco asked in disbelief, "Las Vegas is huge!"

"I don't know how we're going to find him! I don't know what we're going to do!" Harry despaired.

"I'll tell you what we're _not_ going to do," Neville said firmly, "And that is tell Sadie or any of the girls. They'll freak out."

"We need to tell them what's going on," Harry pointed out, "I mean we're supposed to _be_ there in six hours!"

"And we will be. We’ll _find_ Theo, we'll give him a sober up potion, and nobody will be any the wiser," Neville said simply.

"Come on then," Harry said as he got to his feet a little shakily, "Let's ask around the hotel..."

"What the hell did we do last night?" Draco asked as he reached into his bag for a sober up potion.

"I remember gambling," Harry frowned.

"And Theo trying to convince us to break a lion out of the zoo," Neville said slowly.

"Shit, you don't think he tried and got eaten alive, do you?" Draco asked with wide eyes.

"No," Harry scoffed, "He isn't that stupid."

"I don't know about that," Draco muttered, "He did drag us into that strip club."

"Yeah well at least nobody tried to drunkenly sleep with us," Harry yawned as he took a sober up potion himself, "Nobody knows who we are in Muggle America. Do either of you two have _any_ idea where Theo could be?"

"None," Draco replied.

Neville shook his head too.

"Great," Harry muttered as they all changed and left the hotel room to ask about Theo. They had no luck on their way down to the reception, and they did ask every single person who they saw. Eventually, they reached the reception of the swanky hotel that they were staying in and approached the woman behind the desk.

"Hey," Harry said with a smile, "Have you seen our friend? He's getting married in seven hours, and we haven't seen him."

"He's tall and skinny," Draco cut in, “And kind of handsome but in a rugged rock star sort of way.”

Harry and Neville shared an amused look. Neville said, “He had dark hair and brown eyes.”

"His name is Theo," Harry said.

"Theodore," Neville corrected.

"Yeah, Theodore Nott," Draco said with a nod.

"Theodore Roosevelt Nott," Harry chimed in.

"Sorry," The American woman behind the desk said, "I haven't seen him. Is he a Brit like you guys?"

"Oh yeah," Draco frowned, “Why?"

"With a name like Theodore Roosevelt? He's _British_?" The young woman said in amusement.

"His mother liked history," Neville said offhandedly, "Thanks for your help. Come on, guys. We have to split up if we're going to find Theo."

* * *

"We need to floo Daphne," Draco said as he looked pointedly at Harry.

"Do we really need to floo her just yet?" Harry asked sheepishly.

"We've searched the entire hotel," Neville said as he flopped onto the sofa in their hotel room, “And he isn't here. So yeah we need to floo her now, just make sure Sadie doesn't find out."

"Oh, come on! Why do I have to be the bearer of bad news?" Harry exclaimed.

"Because Vegas was _your_ idea Potter and Daphne is your fiancé," Draco said dryly as he threw some floo powder into the fireplace, "So get on with it."

Harry shot his friends a glare and stuck his head in the fireplace. He said the address where the girls were getting ready (Cauldwell House) and thankfully Sadie wasn't in the drawing-room when his head appeared in the flames.

"Harry!" Daphne smiled, "What's up?"

Harry grimaced, "We've lost Theo."

"You've _lost_ Theo?" Daphne reiterated in disbelief.

"How the hell did you manage to lose him, Harry?" Hermione hissed as she moved closer to the fire.

"He wasn't here when we woke up this morning!" Harry said, “We can't find him anywhere!"

“Where are you?” Daphne asked in disbelief.

“Vegas.”

“Las Vegas?” Lilly asked with a raised eyebrow, “And you’ve lost the groom?”

Harry nodded, "We were really drunk last night. There were lions in a zoo and strip clubs...he could be anywhere."

"Oh for the love of Salazar," Daphne murmured, "Have you got anything of his with you?"

"Uh yeah, we have his coat..." Harry said as he turned and briefly scanned their hotel room. He spun his head around to look at the girls once more, "Why?"

"Because if you have something of his you can do a location charm, you idiot!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Shit!" Harry shouted, "How the hell did I not think of that?"

"Probably because you still look drunk as hell," Daphne retorted, "This is Sadie's wedding, Harry! She _needs_ her future husband to show up. Do a location charm, find Theo, for Salazar's sake give him a sober up potion and get him back here!"

Before Harry could respond, the floo cut out. He stood up and looked at his friends, "Well… Daphne is very pissed off with me and how the hell did none of us think of a location charm?"

"Shit," Draco and Neville muttered as their eyes fell on Theo's abandoned jacket sitting on the back of a chair.

* * *

In England, it was a beautiful sunny morning, and Bath Abbey looked beautiful and scenic in the summer weather.

Sadie had started getting ready early in the morning, as had her bridesmaids. They had gotten up at the crack of dawn and had some breakfast with a little bit of hangover potion in their coffee. They had appointments all morning for hair and make-up, and while Sadie was in one of these appointments, the girls discussed the 'loss' of the groom.

"What are we going to do?" Hermione whispered.

"Nothing. Now they've worked out that they can use a location charm they'll find Theo easily," Lilly whispered.

"They'll get him back here in time," Daphne agreed, "All we can do is make sure we keep Sadie calm and make sure that she has no idea that her future husband is currently missing."

"I'm going to kill Draco for taking him to Vegas," Hermione muttered.

"I wouldn't, I think it was Harry's idea," Lilly said with vague amusement.

"I know it was, and I _am_ going to kill him," Daphne murmured, "Especially if Theo doesn't show up."

Their conversation was interrupted by the opening of the door, which distracted them.

Sadie walked in wearing her dress with her bridal hair and make-up all finished. She looked stunning, and they all told her that.

Sadie smiled and said, "Do you think the boys are getting on okay?"

Lilly was one of the better liars, so she said, "Oh, they're fine Sadie. They'll probably have a long lie. You know what that lot are like."

Sadie chuckled her agreement and Daphne smiled at her best friend, "It's time to head to the abbey," she said, "We'll sort out the last minute things there."

"Okay," Sadie said, she held onto Daphne's arm to apparate.

"You seem nervous," Daphne said.

"Oh I'm not nervous at all," Sadie said sarcastically as together they spun and appeared around the back of Bath Abbey. Five minutes later, Sadie was sitting down in a back room with Daphne and her mother, she was staring at herself in the mirror and trying desperately not to throw up.

"In a few hours you will be Mrs Sadie Nott," Lotus, Sadie's Mother, was saying as she adjusted Sadie's hair which had been left down and curled.

"I know," Sadie said as she swallowed hard, "I'm so nervous."

"Don't be," Daphne said with a smile, "You and Theo are perfect. You have nothing to be nervous about."

"Daphne's right," Lotus said, "Everything will run smoothly, and when it's over, you will be surprised that it went so well."

Sadie nodded as she tried to believe this, "Theo and the boys should be here by now shouldn't they?" she asked, she had a feeling that something was wrong.

"Probably," Lilly said, "But don't worry about it. Hermione and I will go check."

"You should go too Daphne," Sadie said, "And make sure everything is alright."

"I will if that's what you want Sadie," Daphne said, she tried not to give away the fact that she was now a little worried too. She disappeared from the room with Lilly and Hermione, leaving Sadie alone with her mother and Susan.

"Please tell me they're here?" Daphne murmured as they stepped outside of the church.

"No, and they are half an hour late," Hermione said as she bit her lip.

"Is Sadie getting worried?" Lilly asked quietly, "She seemed kind of worried."

"A little but I'm trying to convince her its fine," Daphne said quietly.

Hermione sighed, "If they ruin Sadie's wedding day I'll kill them all!" she snapped, she was about to go on a rant as they stared into the emptiness beyond the church. All of a sudden, a loud crack made them all jump.

Daphne rolled her eyes when she saw that Theo, Harry, Draco and Neville had just apparated outside of the church. They were still dressed in their ordinary clothes although thankfully they were carrying the hanger bags with their wedding clothes in them.

The first sign that something was off with them was the fact that all four of them were wearing sunglasses, even Harry who Hermione had _never_ in all the years she had known him seen wear sunglasses.

"So you found him then?" Hermione asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, all fine like you said it would be Daph," Harry said with a smile.

"And what are the sunglasses then, a fashion statement?" Lilly asked sarcastically.

"It's summer, Lil," Harry said simply.

"Liar," Hermione said as she pulled Draco's sunglasses off. His eyes were bright red and bloodshot, "You're still hungover, aren't you?"

"A little," Draco said, but Daphne just raised an eyebrow at this.

"What?"

"You look like shit," Daphne said simply, she grabbed the other boy's glasses, "You all do."

"Well, we did find Theo on the roof of the hotel," Harry said as he glared at his Slytherin friend.

"I was tired!" Theo said defensively.

Daphne shook her head in disbelief, "Come on. I'll sneak you in so Susan can sort you all out. There is _no_ way Sadie is seeing you like this!"

Daphne, Hermione and Lilly slipped back into the church, and the four boys followed her like puppies into a side-room next to the room Sadie was getting ready in.

"Merlin!" Susan exclaimed when she saw the boys.

"Do we look that bad?"

"Yes," The girls echoed.

"Do some glamour charms on them please Susan," Daphne said, "Sadie will freak out if she sees them like this."

"What happened to you lot anyway?" Susan asked as she did a few glamour charms to sort out their bloodshot eyes, the dark marks beneath their eyes and their pale complexions.

"We went to Las Vegas," Neville said with a yawn.

"Which was really stupid," Lilly remarked as she cocked her head at Neville in amusement.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Harry said defensively.

"I bet it did," Susan said with a chuckle, "Your face is sorted, Theo."

"I had a feeling something like this might happen," Hermione admitted as she narrowed her eyes at them.

"Right best man you're next," Susan said as she pushed Draco into a seat and performed the same glamour charms she had just performed on Theo.

"Is this what being a girl is like?" Draco whined.

"Yes but you also have to put up with whiny men," Lilly teased which made Draco roll his eyes.

"We aren't all that bad," Harry said, he seemed to be the least hungover of them all.

"Just some of you," Susan said with a chuckle, "Right you're done, Harry, you next."

"Why am I last?" Neville asked.

"Because you look like you're going to spew on me," Susan said, and she wrinkled her nose at Neville.

Susan quickly sorted Harry out and then said, "Okay, you're done, come on Neville you next."

Looking much less like he would throw up Neville sat down across from Susan who expertly performed the glamour charms. The four boys all looked much more respectable after the emergency glamour charm treatment, but there was still a lot to be done.

"The wedding starts in an hour and a half so get changed you lot," Hermione said.

"Quickly," Daphne added, she left the room to tell Sadie that the boys had arrived. She knocked on the door and popped her head in, "The boys are here; they are just getting ready now."

"Perfect," Sadie said with a sigh of relief, "Thanks, Daph, you're the best."

"I know," Daphne said with a broad smile before she disappeared from the room once more.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	2. Love & Marriage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The flashbacks in this chapter are scenes from part one in this universe so if you want more of Sadie and Theo's backstory head on over to "Last Call for Sin" and have a read ;)

"I'm just going to check over the ceremony arrangements with the vicar sweetheart. I'll be back soon," Sadie's mother said as she kissed her daughter on the cheek.

"Okay, thanks, Mum," Sadie said with a smile.

Her mother left the room which left Sadie alone with Daphne.

"You look terrified," Daphne said with a small smile.

"I am," Sadie admitted sheepishly, "It’s all happened so fast…my brain is just catching up."

"If this is how you're reacting imagine how scared Theo is," Daphne joked which made Sadie laugh.

"I think everyone must feel scared on their wedding day," Sadie mused thoughtfully, "But I think it's more nerve-wracking when you have written your vows."

"I think it's nice," Daphne said as she put Sadie's veil on for her, "And I think you and Theo are perfect for each other. You might have tried to hide it for years Sadie, but Tracey and I always knew you liked Theo. His complete undying love for you was pretty obvious too from about second year."

Sadie smiled, but it wasn't an entirely happy smile, "I wish she was here today Daph, it should be the three of us in here…"

"I know," Daphne said, she fixed Sadie's veil in place and hugged her friend, "But she's watching from somewhere."

"I like to think the same," Sadie admitted, she wiped her tears away before they could roll down her face and ruin her make-up, "When I dreamed about my wedding day…I knew you would be my Maid of Honour but I just always thought that Tracey and Pansy would be my bridesmaids."

"War changes everything Sadie," Daphne said as she sat down next to her friend, "And I miss them too. It kills me to think about my wedding day without Tracey. I miss Pansy, and I even miss my father sometimes, but everything happens for a reason. Look at the friends we have made this year, the people we have met who have changed our lives.”

Sadie smiled and hugged her friend.

Daphne drew back and smiled a little tearfully, “We’re the survivors. You survived, and you are marrying the man of your dreams. I bet you if you went back in time and told yourself that during the war, you wouldn’t believe it.”

“I wouldn’t have,” Sadie chuckle, "Thanks, Daphne, I don't know where I'd be without you."

"Sad and lonely," Daphne said, she kissed her on the cheek, “I light up your life, right?”

“You do,” Sadie laughed.

Daphne drew back and smiled once more, “Are you nearly ready to go?"

With a slightly pale face, Sadie nodded.

"I'll go get the girls then," Daphne said with a smile, she disappeared from the room and popped her head in next door where thankfully all of the boys were ready.

"How are you doing Theo?" Daphne asked.

Theo was pacing up and down the room.

"Nervous," Theo admitted which was something that he didn't admit to very often.

"So is your soon to be wife," Daphne said as she walked into the room and patted Theo on the shoulder, "Don't worry about it."

"We've been trying to tell him this," Harry said with a smile, "But nothing seems to work."

"I'll be fine, I just want to get started," Theo said as he wrung his hands.

"Good," Daphne said as she turned to the girls, "Because I'm collecting the bridesmaids so we can get started."

"We're ready," Hermione said, she got to her feet followed by Lilly and Susan.

"See you in the church, Theo," Daphne said, she kissed him on the cheek. Theo nodded, and the girls disappeared from the room.

* * *

"Theo, sit down," Neville said in amusement as he watched his friend pace.

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor," Harry added with an amused chuckle. They were gathered in this little room waiting for it to be time to move into the church.

"What if she runs away? What if she doesn't want to marry me? What if she's realised I'm not any good for her?" Theo asked. He spouted all of this off very quickly.

"Theo, she realised you weren't any good for her a long time ago, and she's still marrying you," Draco joked with a smirk as Harry and Neville sniggered at the state Theo was in.

"Are you sure?" Theo asked.

Draco nodded, he put his arm around his best friend’s shoulder, "You’re being an idiot. If she thought you weren’t any good, why would she have saved you from the dark tower, huh? Why would she have cried her eyes out while we sat and waited through the night for you to wake up? Why would she have stayed up late every single night for a month, just pouring over floor plans? It wasn’t me who got you out, it was both of us, and she did that because she loved you.”

Theo took a steadying breath and nodded.

He hugged Draco, “Thanks, man.”

Neville and Harry watched from a distance, and Harry murmured, “She isn’t the only one, eh?”

“Oh that much was obvious during the war,” Neville shrugged, “You didn’t see him, Harry. He practically begged me to save Theo. I had a hell of a job convincing Gin to help Slytherins mind you.”

Harry frowned, “You’ll have to show me the memories sometime.”

“Why?” Neville asked curiously.

“So I can understand quite how much you had to go to while I was running away,” Harry replied quietly.

Neville grabbed Harry’s wrist and shook his head, “Shut up. You weren’t running away; you were working on a plan that saved all of us. I was just keeping the kids safe in the meantime.”

“Oi! You two, it’s my wedding. You’re not allowed to have bromance moments, that’s _our_ thing,” Theo objected, nudging Draco.

Neville chuckled and said, “You shouldn’t be freaking out about Sade running away, you know? She probably thinks you're gonna make a run for it.”

"She should know I'd never do that," Theo said softly as he sat down for the first time, "I've been in love with her since the moment I saw her."

"How did you meet?" Harry asked with a smile, Theo and Sadie were perfect for each other.

"Yeah, did you know each other before Hogwarts?" Neville asked curiously.

Theo shook his head, he was still smiling, "Nah, we met on the Hogwarts Express…"

" _What are you freaking out about Draco? Obviously, we're going to be in Slytherin, look at our family histories, it's our legacy!" An 11-year-old Theo was saying to an 11-year-old, somewhat scared-looking Draco._

" _But what if I'm sorted into Gryffindor or something?" Draco asked anxiously._

" _You won't be," Theo said as he patted his friend on the shoulder, "You've got Slytherin written all over you."_

_The two boys were walking up the Hogwarts Express searching for a compartment._

" _Come on," Theo said, "We'll ask those three if we can sit with them."_

_He pointed to a carriage with two blonde-haired girls and a dark-haired girl in it and pushed the door open, "Hey, do you girls mind if we sit with you? Everywhere else is full."_

" _Sure," The girls said in unison._

“ _Hey, Draco.”_

_Draco smiled, “Hey Daphne. Theo, remember I told you about Daphne? The girl from France?”_

_Theo nodded, “You don’t sound French.”_

_“That’s because I’m not French dumbass,” Daphne shrugged, “I’m English, I just lived in France for a while.”_

" _I'm Theo Nott," Theo said as he sat down heavily next to Draco, "But you probably knew that too."_

" _Never heard of you actually," Daphne said which made Draco snigger._

" _Shut up you," Theo said as he nudged his best friend, "I'm sure you're mistaken. My family are very influential."_

" _Not influential enough clearly," Daphne said with a smirk._

" _Daph don't be so rude," The other blonde girl said._

" _Yeah Daph, Merlin you're so rude," Theo said, he shook his head and tutted mockingly._

" _Theo Nott," Theo said as he shook the other girl's hand._

" _Sadie Cauldwell," She said with a smile, and Theo felt something then that he couldn't explain, he smiled broadly at the girl, and for the rest of the train journey, he talked to her._

"You know, that story has many parallels with how my parents met," Harry said with a smile, after hearing Theo recount how he first met Sadie, "Only sadly it didn't end so happily."

Theo smiled, "I guess I should think myself lucky then, not that I don't already mind you," he said as he gazed at the wall looking like his mind was far away.

"Have you ever seen him like this?" Harry asked Neville in an undertone. His fellow Gryffindor shook his head.

"I have," Draco said quietly, "This is how Sadie has always made him."

"I think this is how my parents were," Harry said as he revealed something to his friends that he had only ever told himself before, "I think Sadie and Theo's relationship is really similar to my parents."

"Without the war and a scummy rat I think you're right," Neville said with a smile, "I think they are a perfect example of how your parents should have been."

"Alright, you two the time for being sentimental is over," Draco said as he glanced at the clock, "Time to get started, Theo."

Theo nodded. He looked incredibly nervous now.

"Stop worrying," Draco said to his best friend as they walked out of the door together and it made them both smile as they remembered that first train to Hogwarts. The parallel of that day with Draco freaking out and Theo calming him down with today was almost amusing. Still, it was also nostalgic, and it made Draco realise that after today everything would change because Theo would be a married man.

As the two friends walked down the corridor to the entrance to the church, Harry, Neville and Blaise (who had just arrived) followed them. They reached the door and walked into the church. There were already some guests seated in the front few rows, and more were filing in as Draco steered Theo into position by the altar.

"She's going to turn up, right?"

"Of course she is," Draco said as he placed his hand on Theo's shoulder.

Theo scanned the crowd, and his eyes eventually fell on his step-mother, who was in the front row on her own. Lacey would be sitting next to her later, but she was outside with the bridal party at the moment because she was the flower girl.

Salvadora smiled at him and got to her feet. She walked forward and said, “You do not need to look so concerned, Theo. She is just outside the door, and I know she feels just as nervous as you do. But you have so much going for you, you are both young, and you are in love. It’s rare to have both of those things in a pureblood marriage.”

Theo smiled, “Thanks, Sally.”

She kissed him on the cheek and went back to her seat.

“Sally?” Draco asked. He smiled at his best friend, “Since when were you ‘Theo’ and ‘Sally’ then?”

“Since I decided to grow up,” Theo admitted, “We’re both adults, and she didn’t enjoy being married to my father any more than I enjoyed being his son.”

Draco nodded and looked at him proudly, “That’s very mature of you.”

* * *

"Alright Sadie we're ready when you are," Hermione said from where she, Lilly and Susan were holding her train.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Sadie admitted as she grabbed Daphne's arm.

Daphne chuckled and linked her arm through her best friends, "We'll move now then before you change your mind," she joked as she held the door open and helped Sadie through it.

"Don't worry, I'd never change my mind about marrying Theo," Sadie said, she smiled as they walked down the long corridor. It seemed to take forever, but eventually, they reached a little hallway area.

Waiting in this area was Sorenson (who was walking Sadie down the aisle), Oscar and Lacey. Oscar looked incredibly adorable in his little navy blue dress robes.

"You look beautiful sis," Sorenson said, he hugged Sadie and linked his arm through hers.

"Thanks," Sadie said a little shakily as she got into position ready to enter the church.

"Deep breaths Sadie," Daphne whispered from behind her, she placed her hand on her shoulder, "We've got a couple of minutes until it's time to go in."

Sadie nodded, she closed her eyes and couldn’t help but remember the moment she fell in love with Theo…

" _Sadie!"_

_Sadie looked up. She felt exhausted and ill._

" _Theo," She said quietly, she was full of relief as he hurried towards her._

" _What did they do to you?" Theo asked angrily as he cut the ties binding her._

" _Nothing," Sadie lied, "How did you get in here?"_

_Sadie had been in a locked room in the dark tower and ties had been binding her hands and feet together._

" _The Carrows are at a Death Eater meeting," Theo said as he helped Sadie to her feet, "And I flew onto the roof to get you, but I set off the caterwauling charm, so we don’t have much time.”_

" _Ah!" Sadie cried out when she tried to put her foot down on the ground._

" _Is it broken?" Theo asked._

_Sadie shook her head, "I don't know," she admitted._

_Without a second thought, Theo lifted Sadie in his arms and rushed down the spiral stairs as fast as he could so that they could escape before the Carrows came back. Sadie didn't even worry about him falling. At that moment for the first time, she trusted him completely._

" _Where's Pansy?" Sadie asked as she tried desperately hard to keep her eyes open._

" _She got out last night, snuck out while the Carrows were doing the rounds," Theo explained when they reached the bottom of the stairs._

_Theo pressed his finger against Sadie's lips as they heard voices in the corridor. Quickly he pulled them both into a broom cupboard and carefully shut the door and placed Sadie down on her good foot._

_They were pressed very tightly together in the broom cupboard and even in her exhausted state of mind, Sadie blushed slightly at the contact. They held their breath as the voices passed them on the stairs. The voices belonged to Crabbe and Goyle who were obviously patrolling the area in the Carrows absence. They must have noticed the absence of the security troll, and in a moment, they would discover that Sadie was gone too._

_“Come on,” Theo whispered. He opened the door and lifted Sadie effortlessly once more. They emerged onto the main sixth-floor corridor, and Theo saw Daphne waving them over from the entrance to the central tower. They_ _rushed through the thankfully deserted area to the central tower which acted as a shortcut to where they needed to go._

_Theo didn't seem to be struggling with carrying Sadie's weight as he carefully but quickly made his way down the spiral staircase to the bottom where two large double doors stood ajar._

" _There you are," Draco hissed from where he was keeping guard outside of the doors, "You took longer than expected."_

" _I think Sadie has broken something," Theo said, "She can't walk."_

" _Come on then," Draco said, he led them out of the central tower onto the second-floor corridor, "We need to get her back so Trace can look her over."_

_Theo nodded, "Don't worry," he whispered to Sadie, "We'll be back soon."_

_Sadie and Theo had been friends for years, but something different had been developing throughout the war and his concern for her today made Sadie realise that she might be falling in love with him._

_The trio rushed along the second-floor corridor and made their way through a locked door which Draco made sure to lock behind them. The hallway was flooded, and water came up to their knees, but they were used to this, so they waded through it into their hide-out, it was a disused bathroom that they had cleared out and used as a place to sleep where the Carrows couldn't find them._

" _Sadie!" Daphne called out. She looked anxious as Theo put Sadie down on one of the makeshift beds, "What happened?"_

" _She might have broken something, I had to carry her here," Theo said, he sat down next to Sadie and kissed her on the cheek, "You're safe now," he whispered and at that moment just before she passed out Sadie looked at Theo and thought to herself…I want to marry him one day…_

"Stop daydreaming sis," Sorenson said, he nudged his sister slightly and smiled at her, "It's time."

Sadie took yet another deep breath as the double doors began to open. She saw the church, filled with guests and then at the end of the aisle she saw Theo, he looked pale and terrified.

The music began to play, and Sadie began to walk forward, her eyes were locked on Theo. It was as if she was gliding towards him and all of her thoughts and worries about today completely left her head.

Theo had imagined for the last month what Sadie would look like today, but when the doors opened, and she began to walk down that aisle, his breath caught in his throat because she looked more beautiful than he could have imagined in his wildest dreams. Her hair flowed over her shoulders, her veil covered her face but didn’t conceal her smile. She looked like an angel, and her dress was perfect for her.

Theo barely noticed the rest of the bridal party, but his best man and groomsmen did. To Harry, Daphne looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her in the dress Sadie had chosen, it was one of the few times she left her hair down and natural rather than fixing it to be curlier or straighter instead of leaving it in its natural wavy state.

To Draco, Hermione looked equally as beautiful, he was used to seeing her with her hair pulled up out of the way or left bushy, but today it had been loosely curled, and it looked beautiful.

To Neville, Lilly looked amazing wearing the bridesmaid dress because Lilly didn't wear dresses as often as the other girls did. Her hair was unusual too because it was almost always poker straight, but today it was curly, just like Hermione and Susan's hair.

Neville looked away from Lilly to see Theo's reaction and realised that Theo hadn't started breathing yet. He rolled his eyes and nudged Harry. Harry frowned but realised what Neville meant, so he nudged Blaise and pointed to Theo. Blaise nodded and nudged Draco, who frowned and looked around. It was only then that he realised what was going on.

Draco nudged Theo gently, which made him gasp, "Breathe you fool, you don't want to faint on your wedding day," he whispered jokingly into his best friend’s ear.

"Thanks, Draco," Theo whispered.

Neville and Harry glanced at each other and rolled their eyes in amusement.

Theo hadn't been able to take his eyes away from Sadie as she drifted down the aisle, in his mind, it was in slow motion, but she eventually reached him, and when she did she grinned broadly at him.

"I'm proud of you sis," Sorenson whispered as he took Sadie's hand and placed it in Theo's as tradition stated. He lifted her veil and kissed her on the cheek before taking his seat next to their mother, who looked like she was crying already.

Sadie beamed at Theo as she gripped his hand tightly. Lacey and Oscar sat down at the front of the church for the moment and Daphne, Hermione, Lilly and Susan all stood next to Sadie.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," The vicar, a short man with a large moustache, said, "We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Theodore Roosevelt Nott and Sadie Cauldwell."

Theo glanced around at his groomsmen, he had expected them to chuckle or smirk at his name, but they were all smiling. He chuckled on the inside and thought to himself. _This is probably the only time they won't laugh at my name_.

"Today Theodore and Sadie will be united in body and soul for life," The vicar said as he smiled at the young couple who appeared to be almost glowing with happiness.

"I must now ask if any man can show just cause as to why Theodore and Sadie may not be lawfully joined together. Let him speak now, or forever hold his peace," The vicar said, he paused to see if anyone objected.

There was silence, so the vicar continued, "Do you Theodore Roosevelt Nott, and you Sadie Cauldwell, promise to comfort, honour, protect and be faithful to each other for as long as you both may live?"

"I do," Theo said without taking his eyes away from Sadie's.

"I do," Sadie said quietly but loud enough for it to be acknowledged.

"Then I would ask you to give your vows to one another," The vicar said with a smile.

Sadie and Theo then turned to face each other and entwined both of their hands. They had chosen to make their vows a mixture of traditional and personal. The personal would come first.

“Sadie, I have never told you this,” Theo began, his voice shook a little, “But throughout my darkest days during the war you were the guiding light that saved me from the darkness that might have overwhelmed me," he took a deep breath, "Throughout the month I spent imprisoned I thought of you, I thought of seeing your face again and seeing your smile," he paused for breath once more, "You all thought that it was a miracle that I lived, but I wasn't the miracle, you were. You saved my life then, and you made me realise how blind I had been not to see that I was crazily in love with you."

Sadie was already crying slightly. She carefully wiped her tears away with her finger so she would not smudge her make-up.

"I want to thank you for saving my life, but I also want to promise that the love I felt then will never fade and that I will give you all of me for as long as I live," Theo finished, he looked slightly emotional himself.

All of the girls were crying, and even Draco looked a little teary.

Sadie had to take a moment to compose herself as her mother, and Theo's step-mother both sniffed and clutched handkerchiefs in the front row.

"Theo," Sadie began, "I realised I was in love with you when you saved me during the war, I was close to giving up when you walked in and carried me to safety," it was strange, how they both talked about the war without previously discussing their vows, "I have never told you this, but that day just before I passed out I couldn't help but think to myself, I want to marry him someday," there was an 'aww' from the audience and Sadie's mother sobbed louder.

"There were so many times after that day that I could have given up, but I didn't because I remembered that thought and each day that passed convinced me more that it might truly happen one day. I lost a lot in the war, but ultimately I gained you from it, and that made every sacrifice worth it," Sadie's voice shook slightly as she got emotional, "So I promise to love you for every day of my life and to cherish every moment that we spend together."

Theo was actually in tears, although he tried very hard to hide it, but those closest to him saw. Sadie's hands shook in Theo's as she finished speaking and took a shaky breath.

The vicar looked like he might burst into tears too as he moved onto the traditional part of the vows, "Do you Theodore Roosevelt Nott take Sadie Cauldwell to have and to hold from this day forward? For better, for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish until death do you part?"

"I do," Theo said, his voice was rough with emotion.

"And do you Sadie Cauldwell take Theodore Roosevelt Nott to have and to hold from this day forward? For better, for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish until death do you part?"

"I do," Sadie said softly, she was unable to stop her happy tears from falling now.

With a helpful hand from Sorenson, Oscar walked forwards. He held a pillow with the rings on it.

"Place the ring on Sadie's finger Theodore," The vicar said as Theo picked up Sadie's wedding ring which was a simple golden band with diamonds set around the edge. His hands shook a little as he placed the ring on Sadie's finger and slid it into place.

"And would you please place the ring on Theodore's finger, Sadie?" The vicar asked. Sadie's hands also shook as she slid Theo's simple golden band onto his finger.

"I am now delighted to pronounce you man and wife," The vicar said with a beam, "You may now kiss the bride!"

All of their friends and family cheered as Sadie and Theo kissed; it was the best and most emotional kiss they had ever had. The only kiss that rivalled it was one that Theo couldn't remember and that Sadie had only told him about months later…

" _Draco please!" Sadie begged, "I have to go, please."_

_Theo had now been imprisoned in the dark tower for a month by the Carrows for saving Luna Lovegood's life when she had been caught trying to get food for her and the others working for the light._

" _Fine," Draco relented, "But if you get hurt or…something else happens...we warned you."_

" _She'll be fine," Daphne said as she glared at Draco, "She's a good fighter, you just never give her the chance to show it."_

" _Then she can show it tonight," Draco said shortly, "Come on we **need** to go now, or we have no chance of helping him."_

_Daphne nodded and she, Draco, Pansy, Sadie and Tracey left their secret bathroom hide-out, waded through the flooded corridor, rushed along the second-floor corridor and entered the central tower._

" _Sadie, you can guard the tower," Draco commanded, but Sadie shook her head, " **No,** Draco, he saved me and now I'm doing the same for him."_

_Draco opened his mouth to argue when Tracey cut in, "I'll stay here.”_

_Draco glanced at her, “Are you sure?”_

_Tracey nodded, “I’m the worst fighter. Put me in the place where we’re least likely to encounter the opposition.”_

" _You need to get Theo out of there," Daphne agreed with a nod, “You and Sadie.”_

" _Right come on you three," Draco said to Pansy, Daphne and Sadie. The three of them made their way up the central tower as fast as they could. Sadie had never been allowed on these rescue missions before, so this was new to her, the last time she had been on this staircase Theo had been carrying her in his arms._

" _Alright, we need someone to guard this end of the tower," Draco said when they reached the top, "And I've got a feeling little miss perfect is going to refuse."_

" _Draco, you saved Pansy because you're in love with her, aren't you?" Sadie hissed._

_“Of course I am,” Draco responded._

" _Well I am in love with Theo, and I don't care if he doesn't notice me or have any idea about the way I feel, but I **am** going in there, and I'm going to save him. I won't let him die," Sadie said intensely as she stared into Draco's eyes._

" _Okay, you made your case," Draco said with a small, almost proud smile, "Daphne, stand guard."_

_Daphne smiled and nodded. She pulled out her wand, Draco turned to Sadie, "Come on, then warrior princess."_

_Sadie didn't smile; she couldn't, not when Theo was in danger. She knew that he could be dead up there by now, but she was trying not to think about this possibility. When they reached the sixth-floor corridor, Neville and Seamus created a loud, explosive distraction that drew all of the Death Eaters away from the tower._

_Draco and Sadie ran towards the tower together but encountered Filch and Mrs Norris patrolling the staircase._

_Draco had barely raised his wand, but then in a flash, Filch and his cat were both lying stiff on the ground, not dead but frozen. He turned in surprise to Sadie who was holding her wand and glaring at them._

" _Petrificus Totalus," Draco mumbled as he looked at the frozen bodies, "You can do speechless magic. Impressive."_

" _Told you I could be useful," Sadie said as she ran up the staircase after Draco. In minutes they reached the top of the tower where the cells were located. All of them had cast-iron doors and spells that stopped magic being used inside them. It was like Azkaban without the Dementors._

_“Get Theo, I’ll keep watch,” Draco said. He took his wand out and stood atop the stairs, fully expecting a horde of Death Eaters to come up them._

_Sadie looked through the windows until she found the cell where Theo was._

" _Theo" Sadie called through the gap in the door._

" _Sadie!" A weak voice called back, "Is that you?"_

" _It's me. I'm going to break you out, stay away from the door," Sadie called._

" _Okay," Theo called back._

_Sadie waited for a moment and then pointed her wand at the door, "Bombarda!"_

_There was a small explosion at the base of the door which was enough to force it from its hinges, and it fell backwards into the cell._

_Sadie rushed in when the smoke cleared and found Theo sitting on the floor at the back of the cell. He looked exhausted and weak like he hadn't eaten for days, but he was alive._

" _I'm so glad you're okay," Sadie whispered as she drank in his features, she had truly been worried that she might never see him again._

" _Me too," Theo said with a small smile._

_Sadie leant forward and caught his lips in a gentle, soft and passionate kiss. After that, he fainted._

_“Is he alive?” Draco asked from the corridor._

_“Barely,” Sadie replied._

_Draco ran into the room and picked his best friend up, “Come on, let’s escape via the roof while Longbottom keeps that lot busy.”_

_Sadie followed him onto the roof._

_“Accio broomsticks.”_

_Two brooms broke out of the shed in the grounds and flew up to them. Sadie jumped on one and Draco got on the other, supporting Theo as he did so. They flew off into the night before the Death Eaters could even begin to climb the tower._

"I love you," Theo whispered as he kissed Sadie once more.

"I love you too," Sadie beamed, she looked out at their friends and family who were clapping, cheering and crying.

They linked arms and walked down the aisle out of the church, followed by the rest of the procession.

The Maid of Honour and the Best Man followed arm in arm.

"That was beautiful," Daphne said as she wiped her eyes.

"I never thought it would be that emotional," Draco admitted with a small smile.

"It's interesting that they both talked about the war," Daphne mused.

"Not really," Draco said with a smile, "It's how they fell in love after all. I remember Sadie that day when we saved Theo, I'd never seen her so passionate before."

"She proved herself to you that day," Daphne remembered with a fond smile.

Draco shook her head, “No, she didn’t. It was the weeks leading up to that day when she proved herself to me. All those nights, we would stay up, trying to work out how to get Theo out…that was when we got close.”

“Through your mutual love for Theo,” Daphne said with a small smile, “He brought you together.”

“I suppose he did,” Draco said simply.

"Do you think we'll ever tell Harry and Hermione the truth about the war?" Daphne asked. She had never told Harry the full, complicated story of her and Blaise, and Draco was yet to tell Hermione the truth behind his relationship with Pansy.

"One day we will," Draco answered, “But everyone has secrets."

Behind Daphne and Draco, the other bridesmaids and groomsmen walked arm in arm. Blaise walked with Susan then behind them were Neville and Lilly. Finally, bringing up the rear were Harry and Hermione.

"Who would have thought we would have been this emotional over the wedding of two Slytherins," Harry said to Hermione who was still drying her eyes.

"The war changed a lot," Hermione said simply, "But I didn't realise how much it changed things for the Slytherins, let alone for us."

"From everything Nev has told me, I think they were fighting their own battle in Hogwarts while we were fighting ours across the country," Harry admitted.

"Do you think they will ever talk to us about it?" Hermione asked Harry curiously, “Draco mentions things that happened back then, but he doesn’t like to talk about it.”

"Neither does Daphne,” Harry admitted, “But I think one day they might tell us everything. Do you think we'll ever tell them everything we went through in the war?"

"I'm not sure," Hermione admitted with a frown, "Maybe one day."

"Maybe," Harry said as they reached the doors to the church.

Behind Harry and Hermione Lacey and Oscar walked from the church hand in hand. Traditionally the bride's mother and the groom's father should have followed, but as Theo's father wasn't here and he didn't have much family, Lotus walked from the church on her own.

Bringing up the rear was supposed to the groom's mother and the bride's father, but Sadie's Father wasn't here, so Salvadora walked from the church arm in arm with Sorenson instead.

When the procession had left the church, it was time for pictures. Eventually, it was time to move on. Sadie and Theo disappeared ahead of the others to apparate to Nott Manor, and the rest of the wedding guests began to follow.

* * *

When the bridesmaids, groomsmen and the rest of the general 'bridal party' arrived at Nott Manor, they were led upstairs to a large ballroom where lots of long tables were set up for the meal.

All of the other guests were already seated when the bridal party were announced and took their seats at the top table.

There were two seats left in the middle once everyone was seated for Sadie and Theo. Next to where Sadie would sit Sorenson was seated and next to where Theo would sit, Lotus was seated. On Sorenson's other side was Salvadora and on Lotus's other side where Theo's father should have been sitting was Lacey. Next to Lacey was Daphne and next to Salvadora on the other side was Draco.

At the table nearest the top table, Hermione, Susan, Lilly, Harry, Neville, Blaise and Ginny were all seated.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Sorenson said loudly, "Please welcome Mr and Mrs Nott!"

There was much cheering as Sadie and Theo walked in hand in hand and took their seats in the centre of the top table.

Sorenson then stood and clicked a spoon against a glass to get everyone's attention. The room fell silent, and Sorenson smiled at everyone with ease, being an Auror he was used to public appearances, and he seemed in his element, "I would like to thank everyone for coming today. Traditionally, of course, this would be our father's job, but as he can't be here today I would instead like to welcome you all to the meal and reception, I hope you all enjoy yourselves!"

Sorenson sat back down with a smile and squeezed Sadie's hand. She was still slightly upset about the fact that her father was locked up in Azkaban instead of being here at her wedding.

After Sorenson had opened the meal, the orders were taken, and the first course was served. At the smaller table in front of the top table, the friends talked amongst themselves as they ate.

"Trust Theo and Sadie to have great food at their wedding," Harry said with a chuckle as he tucked in.

"It's almost as good as the stuff they serve at the Ministry Balls," Neville agreed, he looked like he was enjoying the food immensely.

Hermione rolled her eyes at her two friends, "Is food all men care about?"

"Not entirely," Neville said.

Lilly laughed, "I disagree with that, looking at the way you lot eat."

"It did feel like a fairytale wedding today, didn't it?" Hermione asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Lilly said as she glanced up at Sadie and Theo, "I felt like I was in a storybook."

"I wouldn't know," Harry said with a chuckle, "I never did read them as a kid."

"I have no idea what Muggle fairy tales are like," Susan admitted in amusement, "Everyone dies at the end of Beedle the Bards tales unless you read the Beatrix Bloxam versions with their sickly happy endings."

"That's pretty much what Muggle fairy tales are like," Hermione admitted with a sheepish smile, "The girl always gets the prince, and they all live happily ever after...”

"That's stupid though," Neville mused, "All that's teaching young girls is to wait and do nothing, and you'll get a prince."

"I know," Harry agreed, "At least Beedle's tales have morals behind them that teach kids things."

"Beedle the Bards tales teach life lessons," Blaise spoke up, he had barely said anything all day as he watched the proceedings quietly, "They teach that death is as much a part of life as birth is. They teach that desire and ambition are not always good traits, but ultimately they teach that with determination and a pure heart, you can achieve anything in life."

"Wow," Harry said, the others were all equally stunned.

"That was pretty deep, Blaise," Ginny said with a smile.

Blaise shrugged and went back to his soup. He left the others stunned into silence.

Shortly after their discussion about fairy tales, the first course was finished, and the plates vanished from the tables. The orders were then taken for the main course, and while the food was being prepared downstairs by the house elves, it was time for the speeches.

First Sorenson stood up to give a speech, traditionally it would have been Sadie's father giving a speech at this moment in time, but Sorenson was doing so instead.

"When I first met Theodore Nott," Sorenson began, and Theo chuckled under his breath, he knew what was coming, "He was an irritating 12-year-old boy who came to our house for my sister's 12th birthday party. He was hyperactive, cocky and an annoying git," Sorenson said which earned him chuckles from the crowd, "In the space of an hour he had scared away our pet Clabbert, wrecked our garden and had accidentally set fire to the tent we were having the party in," this elicited more laughter from the guests. Most of it came from the table where Harry and Neville were sitting.

"I swore when he left the house that day, and my mother did too, that there was no way we'd be seeing him again," Sorenson said as he shook his head in amusement, "But Sadie continued to be friends with him, and we put up with it because she seemed happy. There was a condition though; he wasn't allowed back in our house for _years_ after that. I remember the day I began to appreciate that friendship, though. I was at work and received a letter from Theo that said my sister was in trouble; she had been captured during the war. He told me not to worry, that he would get her out but that he felt I ought to know. I didn't believe him, but two days later I got a letter from Sadie saying she was okay, that Theo had gotten her out. From that moment forward I haven't thought of Theodore Nott as the idiotic child wreaking havoc in my back garden. Instead, I think of him as the heroic man who saved my sister's life, and for that reason, he deserves Sadie as his wife more than anyone else ever could."

Sadie was a little teary as Sorenson sat down to cheers and clapping, she wrapped her arms around her brother, "Thanks Sorenson," she said softly because it was one of the first signs he had given her to acknowledge that he was happy for her to be with Theo.

The next speech was going to be by Draco who looked a little nervous as he got to his feet to give it, "Theo's my best friend, we've known each other since we were little kids," Draco began with a small smile, "I remember when we were growing up, Theo would always swear he would never get married. He thought he was a real little academic, always banging on about how marriage was pointless and how he would never meet anyone who would make the hassle seem worth it. But then we got on the Hogwarts Express together, and we ended up sharing a carriage with these three girls, one of whom was Sadie. I knew from the moment he ditched me to talk to her for the whole journey that he might have found that one person who would make him change all of his views. He didn't realise it straight away; in fact, it took him far longer than it should have done to realise. But during the war Theo finally realised how close he was to losing Sadie and he understood how much she meant to him for the first time," he paused for a breath, Sadie was still crying, and now Theo looked teary too.

"Seeing Theo as happy as he is with Sadie, it makes me happy because I know now that he'll be alright. I've always worried about him being alone for the rest of his life because of his old attitude to marriage, but now I know he's got someone who loves him and cares for him and I know that will never change," Draco's voice broke a little, "And that makes me happier than words can describe."

There was much cheering as Draco sat down and took a large gulp of wine.

"Oh," Harry whispered to Neville at the table in front of the top table, "I think he's finally realising he's letting go of his best friend."

Neville sniggered, but Hermione glared at them and muttered, “Would you two idiots shut up? You don’t understand how close they are. It’s not like you two, or even like you and Ron. It’s more than that and today _is_ really hard for him so stop being arseholes!”

“Sorry,” Harry mumbled.

“Yeah, sorry, Hermione,” Neville said sheepishly.

Hermione shook her head, and Lilly hid an amused smile at how scared Neville was of Hermione. They all looked up to the head table to watch Daphne get to her feet. She looked a little bit nervous but not anywhere near as much as Draco had.

"Well I never thought we would get to this moment," Daphne admitted with a chuckle, "I've known Sadie since before we started Hogwarts and she was always a fairly quiet person with a hidden, sneaky, mischievous side. When Theo walked into our compartment on the Hogwarts Express that day I knew it was the start of something," Daphne said with a smile, "But she refused to see what everyone else saw for years until eventually during the war she realised that what everyone had been telling her was right, she _was_ totally mad for Theo."

Theo smirked at this and Sadie shook her head in amusement.

"It took even longer for them to both admit to each other how they felt mind you," Daphne said as she rolled her eyes and got chuckles from the crowd, "But I am so glad that they did. I never thought _anyone_ would be able to tame Theodore Nott, but Sadie has, and I don’t know why that surprised me, to be honest. She's probably the only person he listens to and trusts completely, apart from Draco of course.”

Theo smiled over at his best man, and Draco smiled back.

"I think Sadie and Theo complement each other perfectly and I've never been happier for Sadie," Daphne finished, she smiled at her best friend as she took her seat to cheers and claps.

As everyone calmed down from the speeches, the main course was served, and Harry and Neville spent most of it discussing how amazing the food was which caused much eye-rolling from the girls, especially when Susan joined in.

* * *

"What do you think they will dance to?"

"Something wizarding I suppose," Hermione said as she stood with Lilly, they were both drinking from wine glasses as the tables were cleared away to make way for the dance floor.

"I haven't heard much wizarding music, you know?” Lilly mused, "Even though I've been a part of this world for so long."

"There isn't much difference," Susan told her, "The songs are very similar, but the words are more…magical, I guess."

"And our instruments are better," Daphne said with a smirk.

Susan laughed and agreed, "Yeah, we enchant them to play, so we don't need a whole band to do it for us."

As they talked, the tables had been cleared away and replaced by smaller circular ones surrounding a large square dance-floor.

"Do you know what the music for the first dance is?" Hermione asked Daphne, who shook her head.

"No, Sadie's kept it very quiet," Daphne admitted, it was clear that she was curious about the song choice, however.

At the end of the room, a small band was set up, and it began to play as the girls watched. The musical instruments did play themselves in the background. There was one man who was the main singer and two other men who were the backing singers but other than that there was nobody to play the instruments.

Theo took Sadie's hand and led her out to the dance floor as the opening notes of a song began to play. They looked so blissfully happy as they reached the middle of the dance floor. Theo placed his hand on Sadie's shoulder, and Sadie placed hers on his arm then they joined hands with their free hands and began to move effortlessly together to the music.

The singers opened their mouths and began to sing the words of the song, and Harry smiled at how fitting the song was for Sadie and Theo.

_I know we've been friends forever,_

_But now I think I'm feeling something totally new,_

_And after all this time,_

_I’ve opened up my eyes,_

_Now I see you were always with me._

"I remember everything about that day on the Hogwarts Express," Theo whispered to Sadie as they glided around the dance floor together.

"Me too," Sadie admitted with a small smile, "I'll never forget any part of it."

"Neither will I," Theo promised as he kissed Sadie lightly on the lips.

_Could it be you and I never imagined?_

_Could it be suddenly I'm falling for you?_

_Could it be that you were right there beside me and I never knew_

_Could it be that it's true that it's you?_

"When did you realise you wouldn't be a playboy bachelor forever?" Sadie asked Theo with a smile. She felt perfectly content as they danced together.

Theo smiled, he recalled the moment as clearly in his head as if it had just happened, "The morning after I saved you from the tower during the war," he admitted, "I sat up all night talking to you, I was just praying that you would wake up and when you did I knew one way or another I'd never be the same again."

Sadie's cheeks were slightly pink as she beamed at this.

Theo smiled, "So what made you realise?"

"The day I saved you," Sadie said, she drew parallels with the moment that Theo had known.

"I don't remember it all that well," Theo admitted, he only knew what he had been told already by Sadie.

Sadie smiled, "I know you don't remember it, but I kissed you and then levitated you back to our hide-out, and I got pushed out so everyone could work to save your life. I was watching from the side-lines just praying you'd make it so I could tell you how I felt."

"Why didn't you?" Theo asked curiously. It was something he had always wondered about.

Sadie smiled up at her husband, "Honestly, I never had the guts."

_It's kinda funny you were always near,_

_But who would have ever thought that we would end up here?_

_And every time I've needed you,_

_You've been there for me,_

_So now it's clear,_

_I've been waiting for you_

Sadie?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad I eventually got the guts to ask you out," Theo admitted with a sheepish smile, "I mean I know it took a good prod from Daphne, but I'm glad I did it."

"I'm glad too," Sadie admitted, talk about an understatement

_Cause today is the start of the rest of our lives,_

_I can see it in your eyes,_

_Oh but it's real and it's true and it's just me and you,_

_Could it be,_

_That it's true,_

_That it's you._

As the song ended, everyone clapped as Sadie and Theo kissed in the middle of the dance-floor. With the initial first dance over it was time for the other formalities which included the Best Man and Maid of Honour dancing together. Theo and Sadie continued to dance in the middle of the floor, and Draco approached Daphne.

"Harry, can I borrow your fiancé for this dance?" Draco asked in amusement.

"Ah, I suppose so," Harry said with a smirk, "Since it is tradition after all."

Daphne chuckled at Draco's outstretched hand and took it. They walked onto the dance floor together, and effortlessly slipped into the dance position as a different song played in the background.

"How about a dance Hermione?" Harry asked as he held out his hand to her. Hermione smiled and took his hand then let him lead her onto the dance floor.

“Woah be careful there Harry,” Neville joked with a grin, “You’re dancing with Hermione! There aren’t any tents around, are there?”

Harry shook his head in amusement and yelled, “Hit him for me, Lil!”

Lilly gladly obliged, and Hermione laughed as others followed suit, and made their way onto the dance-floor.

Salvadora danced with Sorenson, and Lotus rather sweetly danced with Lacey while Oscar ran around hyperactively.

They all danced together, every so often they changed partners, but they all laughed, let their hair down and refused to let themselves worry about the world for the moment.

* * *

"It's time to cut the cake!" Daphne announced excitedly with their photographer, a certain Dennis Creevey, on her heels.

Sadie and Theo pulled themselves off of the dance floor to the spot where a sizeable three-tier cake was standing. Atop it were two moving figures that looked very much like Sadie and Theo, they were waving happily. The cake had pale blue icing to match the theme of the wedding, and everyone gathered around as Sadie held the knife in her hand, and Theo helped her to cut the first slice of cake.

Everyone clapped and took photos as Neville said, "I can't wait to try that cake."

After they had all eaten cake, it was time for the last planned event of the evening, which was Sadie's dance with her father, or in this case Sorenson. At the same time, Theo was to dance with his mother, or in this case, his step-mother.

"Well done Sadie," Sorenson said quietly to his sister as they danced together, "You've already created a better life for yourself than I did."

"Don't say that," Sadie said somewhat sadly, "You have Oscar."

"I know," Sorenson said with a smile, "And I love him more than anything in the world. But you and Theo did things the way I wanted to. You're married now, and you're going to have a bunch of little monsters and a house. It's how I wanted to do things, but Oscar came along."

"It doesn't matter how you get there," Sadie said as she leant up and kissed her brother on the cheek, "You're a fantastic Dad, and Oscar loves you. Anyway, we don't have a house. We're living with Harry after the honeymoon."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Sorenson said cryptically as the song ended.

* * *

Meanwhile, Salvadora said to Theo, "I'm pleased for you, Theo. I think Sadie's very good for you."

"Thank you," Theo said, he was rather proud that he managed to get to this point where everyone in his life was proud of him, and he was grateful that they all liked Sadie.

"I must admit there was a stage when I wondered if I would ever attend your wedding," Salvadora said honestly, "And I was anxious about the way you were behaving, but as I have already told you, I am grateful to Sadie for saving you from that life."

Theo nodded, his thoughts were far away, "I'm just as grateful to her," he said with a smile.

At that point, Lacey rushed over and asked, "Mum, can I dance with Theo now?"

Salvadora chuckled, "Of course you can," she said, she kissed her step-son on the cheek and left the dance floor.

"Come here, squirt," Theo said fondly as he held his sister’s hands.

"I'm not a squirt," Lacey objected as she danced with her older brother.

"You are to me," Theo said, "Are you happy that Sadie married me?"

Lacey nodded, "I like Sadie, she's nice. I don't know why she married you."

"Oi that's not fair," Theo said as his sister stuck out her tongue at him.

Theo narrowed his eyes at her, "I'll get you for that," he said as he tickled her, and she shrieked loudly with laughter.

Somewhere amongst all of her giggling the song ended, and Sadie walked over to Theo.

"Hey," Theo said with a smile as he threw his sister over his shoulder easily, "What's up?"

Sadie laughed as Lacey hit Theo on the back and asked her to let him down, "Harry and the others have something to tell us."

"That sounds interesting and cryptic," Theo said as he put Lacey down, "Run along you, there's extra cake in the kitchen. I bet Cookie will give you a slice if you ask nicely."

Lacey grinned and rushed away in the direction of the kitchen. Theo turned to Sadie and slipped his hand into hers, "What do Harry and his mysterious gang have to tell us?"

"I have no idea," Sadie admitted, "They were giving nothing away."

"That's because it's a surprise," Harry said with a grin as the bride and groom reached them on the edge of the dance floor.

"Wow this isn't just a couple of you," Sadie said as she looked at the group gathered. Harry, Draco and Neville were at the front with Daphne, Hermione, Lilly and Susan all in on it too.

"We have a wedding gift for you," Draco said with a smirk.

"And I know you said you would open all of your gifts when you got home from your honeymoon," Neville added, "But we have to give you this one now."

"Okay…" Theo said with narrowed eyes, "Should we be scared?"

"Nah of course not," Harry said happily, "This is your present," he held out a small box to Sadie who took it with a frown.

"Go on then, open it," Daphne said with a grin.

Sadie carefully removed the lid from the box and was even more confused when she found a set of keys with three silver keys attached to it.

"What do they open?" Sadie asked, but Theo was now looking at his friends suspiciously.

"The littlest key opens the summerhouse in the garden,” Neville said matter of factly.

“The middle key opens the gate to your roof garden,” Draco added.

"And the big key unlocks the front door to your newly renovated ten bedroom, six-story house at 11 Grimmauld Place," Harry said casually.

Sadie and Theo stared at Harry in shock for a moment. As they tried to comprehend this, Harry added, "It's from all of us, we all contributed."

"You're serious?" Theo asked, he was still completely shocked, "We have our own house?"

"We're serious," Draco said with a grin.

"Wow," Theo said, and Sadie nodded, she was speechless.

"Thanks, guys," Theo said entirely seriously as he hugged every single one of his friends and then grabbed his wife and hugged her, "We have a house, Sadie!"

"I know!" Sadie said with a grin, the shock began to wear off and the excitement took over, "Thank you so much, all of you, but thank you, Harry, because I know this was your idea."

Harry shrugged and blushed slightly as Sadie launched herself at him and kissed him on the cheek while Theo, Draco and Neville roared with laughter.

Sadie made Harry dance with her after that, and for the rest of the night, the friends danced and laughed and didn't have a care in the world. It was a wonderful way to live, and Harry loved it.

* * *

As the evening wore on the reception drew to a close which meant that it was time to say goodbye to Sadie and Theo as they left for their honeymoon.

"Thanks for everything today Draco," Theo said quietly to his best man, he hugged him and pretended to say goodbye when what he really said was, "Owl me updates of the Quidditch league yeah? Sadie's banned newspapers."

Draco chuckled and said, "Sure mate," then added, "Have a good honeymoon."

Theo nodded and waited for his wife to finish saying goodbye to Daphne.

"Promise you'll look after Swiper for me," Sadie was saying to her best friend, she was referring to her tabby cat.

"I promise," Daphne said as she shook her head in amusement, "I have a cat too remember?"

"Sorry," Sadie said with a blush, "I just don't leave him alone very often."

"Don't worry, he'll have great fun with Lightning" Daphne said, it was a source of great amusement to Draco and Theo that Daphne's cat happened to be called Lightning and Harry happened to have a lightning bolt-shaped scar.

"I know, I trust you," Sadie said with a smile as she hugged Daphne.

"Have a good time on your honeymoon," Daphne said as she kissed her best friend on the cheek.

"I will," Sadie said, she took Theo's hand and let him help her into their vehicle which was a beautiful pale blue carriage that looked like a smaller version of the one that had brought the Beauxbatons students to Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament. Two large pure white hippogriffs were at the front to pull it. On the back of the carriage hung a sign that said "Just Married."

"Bye!" Sadie and Theo called as the Hippogriffs took off, and the carriage began to rise into the air and move away.

Everyone stood in a crowd out in the garden waving to the carriage. When it began to move further away, most people began to apparate home until eventually, only a few people were left watching the carriage become a dot in the sky.

Draco and Harry wound up standing alone, with the others standing slightly further away. They were both staring at the dot in the distance.

"It's funny, isn't it?" Harry said thoughtfully, "How a war can change absolutely everything."

Draco nodded and mused, "Yeah, you just can’t go back to what you had before after a war. Can you?”

Harry shook his head. He never thought he would be here today at the wedding of two Slytherins he had barely known before returning to do an eighth year at Hogwarts.

"It changes us all," Draco said as the dot vanished behind a cloud.

Harry smiled slightly and took his eyes away from the sky to glance over at Daphne, who was smiling and laughing with Hermione. Neville stood nearby with his arm around Lilly, and Percy and Susan were talking in undertones about something.

"I'm glad it did," Harry said as he turned his gaze to Draco.

"Maybe things didn't turn out the way we expected them to before the war," Draco said with a small smile as he looked over to his fiancé who looked radiant as she grinned and talked to Daphne. They had both let go so much, now that they weren't in the middle of a war they seemed so much freer, "But I think they turned out better."

"I think you're right," Harry agreed, maybe he hadn't ended up with Ginny like everyone had wanted and expected him to, but then that wouldn't have been realistic because he had loved Ginny before the war. The war had turned him into a completely different, almost unrecognisable man. Ginny had been his teenage girlfriend; Daphne was his future wife.

Draco smiled slightly, he looked once more at the sky rather than at Harry, "We go into a war as naïve children Harry and we emerge as men. I can't see a world in which the war wouldn't have changed us."

Harry smiled fondly at his Slytherin friend, "You know something? For a moment there you sounded like Dumbledore."

"Shut up Scarhead."

*** ~ TBC ~ ***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The wedding song is:  
> Could It Be?   
> Artist: Christy Carlson Romano


	3. Muggle Conversation 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING:  
> Mentions of past rape, unplanned pregnancy and suicide.

"Hermione, move!"

"I'm going to miss the bit with Olivia Newton-John in a skin-tight leather outfit!"

Daphne raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend. They were all gathered together in the movie theatre room of Longbottom House. It was one thing Potter Manor didn't have, so this was where they spent their Friday nights as of now, "Woah Potter, steady on."

Harry smirked at her, "Hey, Muggles have better clothes than us. You have to admit that much."

"Definitely sexier," Draco said as he peeked around the side of Hermione at the huge projector screen, "Although I do prefer Jennifer Grey in _Dirty Dancing_..."

Hermione crossed her arms in front of them, "I have to tell you something."

"In the middle of our movie night?" Neville asked in amusement, "And just to throw in my two cents, by the way, I'm pretty fond of Carrie Fisher myself."

Lilly snorted, "Because of the slave girl outfit?"

Neville grinned mischievously, "Maybe."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Honestly, you lot are a nightmare! And it can't wait because if I wait, then I'll have to interrupt in the middle of _Fight Club_ and I'm sure you would be a lot more unhappy about that."

"Fair point," Harry said with a nod, "We’re all listening. What's up?"

"My parents want to throw a graduation party for me," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, "It's their way of explaining to my posh Muggle family that I'm not going to university. It's this stupid thing at the house, and it's tomorrow night."

"And we all have to go?" Draco guessed.

"My mother has invited you all, yes," Hermione said as she surveyed her friends.

"Well," Harry said in amusement, "That's fine for Lilly and me since we’re used to dealing with Muggles. How the hell are this lot going to fit in, though?"

"Not easily," Susan grinned, "And I can't go by the way, sorry."

"Date with Perce?" Ginny guessed as she glanced over at the redhead. Now that school was over, she only had to hide her pregnancy when she was out in public. All of her glamour charms had been removed. She was sitting with her feet up on a footstool; she had one hand resting lazily on her stomach.

"Yep," Susan said, "He's taking me to some ministry thing in Austria, could be fun."

"He nearly got arrested for punching the Austrian Minister in the face a couple of months ago," Ginny said in amusement, "Keep him away from the vodka."

"I didn't know Percy drank vodka," Susan laughed.

"Well after that last incident in Austria, he probably doesn't," Harry snorted in amusement.

Hermione shook her head in amusement, "What about the rest of you?"

"I'll go, and I'll drag Daph along with me," Harry said as he smiled at his best friend.

"And I'm kind of obliged to go since I'm your fiancé," Draco said grudgingly.

"Yes, you are," Hermione agreed as her eyes landed on Neville and Lilly.

"I'm happy to come along," Lilly said simply, "Not sure how well Nev will cope though. He'll probably try and talk to Muggles about Quidditch or something."

"I've seen enough Muggle movies to make conversation with them," Neville pointed out, "I can talk about transvestites and singing plants...and sinking ships, like the Titanic."

Hermione couldn't help herself, she laughed out loud, "Neville if you talk to my family like that they will probably think you're insane...or gay."

"Or both," Harry laughed.

"We need to train you guys up," Lilly laughed, "Tomorrow morning."

"Train us how to do what, talk to Muggles?" Draco asked in disbelief.

"Yes, exactly," Hermione said in amusement, "You'll need a cover story. They'll ask what you guys are going to do now that school is over. You can't tell them you're going to be Aurors and Curse Breakers. They really will think you're insane."

"Fine," Daphne said with a wave of her hand, "Muggle Conversation 101 it is, but tomorrow morning."

"Not now," Harry agreed, "We're going to miss the finale!"

"And the flying car!"

“I miss Arthur’s flying car,” Harry mused, “I wonder if it’s still roaming free in the forbidden forest…”

* * *

Ginny had been pondering Zara Zabini’s words for a couple of weeks when she spoke to her brothers about it one evening. Bill and Charlie had come over to help their Dad with something in the garage, and as per usual, their mum had convinced him to stay for dinner and a coffee.

"Bill?"

Bill looked up from his coffee, "Yeah?"

"Did you go to school with Belinda Zabini?" Ginny asked him curiously.

Bill nodded, "Yeah, Belle was in my year. We were in the same house. Why?"

"I met her at Blaise's the other day," Ginny replied, "She was nice. But she said something about you."

"Oh good Godric," Bill muttered, "What did she say?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow at him, "She re-iterated that Zabinis don't really 'do' conventional relationships and said that she had been _very_ good friends with you and Charlie."

Bill grimaced, "That's a surprisingly accurate description."

"Bill!" Ginny exclaimed, "You and Charlie and her? Together?"

Bill shot his younger brother an amused look and waved him over. Charlie sauntered over and asked, "What's up?"

"Would you care to tell our sister about the nature of our relationship with Belle Zabini?" Bill asked, "Because I'm fucking it up immensely."

"Belle Zabini," Charlie whistled, "Now that takes me back. When was that Bill? You were in Egypt, weren't you?"

"Yep," Bill replied, "I'd just broken up with Lara, you were about to go into seventh year."

"And Belle was working in the DMLE, that's how she ended up out in Egypt," Charlie remembered, "While I was visiting you over there."

Ginny raised an eyebrow, "Okay?"

"Let's just say it was a fun two weeks," Charlie said, "Belle Zabini...what's she up to these days?"

"She's a judge in the DMLE," Ginny replied, "But what do the Zabini's mean when they say that they don't do conventional relationships?"

"Well," Charlie snorted, "Sleeping with two brothers is hardly conventional. Is it?"

"Neither is sleeping _with_ your brother," Bill said, he wrinkled his nose up, "Remember Beau? he was a couple of years above me in school?"

"Yeah and Blake was a year older than him," Charlie said, "Those two were shagging each other. They used to tell everyone they were only half-brothers but still..."

"They're dead now though," Bill said with a sigh, "I heard that Blake joined up with Voldemort the minute he could, and he dragged Beau along with him. I'm sure he was under the imperius curse when he died."

"That sounds familiar," Ginny admitted, "I'm sure I heard something like that on Potterwatch, but Blaise doesn't really talk about them."

Shortly after that, her brothers left, and Ginny decided to brave her mother. She sat down at the kitchen table while Molly was washing up and said, “Mum, could we talk?”

Molly sat down at the table and smiled weakly at her daughter, “Of course we can, Ginny.”

Ginny bit her lip and said, “I am…seriously considering marrying Blaise.”

“Why are you thinking about marrying him?” Molly asked calmly.

Ginny answered, “Part of me thinks that it’s the right thing to do, rather than having a baby born out of wedlock. I don’t want it to get bullied when it goes to school or anything, you know?”

Molly nodded.

“But another part of me worries that I would be doing it for the wrong reasons,” Ginny admitted.

“Well, I can only agree that having a child in wedlock is better, for all concerned,” Molly said, “I remember being in your position and having to make the same choice. The difference was, of course, I loved your father.”

“I do love Blaise,” Ginny objected, “I love him, I just don’t know if I could categorically say that he’s the love of my life that I want to marry.”

“Well perhaps you should have thought of that before you got pregnant, Ginny,” Molly said with an exasperated sigh.

Ginny rose to her feet, “Do you know what? You have been nothing but judgemental about all of this! But what do you have to say for Ron, huh? He fucked a girl and got her pregnant when he had a girlfriend! But no, Ron is being noble, he’s doing the right thing, he’s got a good job, he’s giving Katie money, so it’s all okay? Well, I have a boyfriend, Mum! A boyfriend who is willing to marry me and give this baby and me a comfortable fucking life! But you don’t care because you don’t like him, whether that’s because he’s a pureblood or because he’s black-”

“It’s because he’s a Zabini,” Molly snapped, “And everyone knows that they are not a normal family, Ginny.”

“Since when did we become the snobs, Mum?” Ginny asked angrily, “Since when did we start looking down on everyone? My whole life, everyone looked down on us for being blood traitors, or for being poor. People judged you for how many children you had, they questioned why you would keep having them when you couldn’t give them a good quality of life, and you _hated_ that!”

She shook her head and began to pace the kitchen in her fury, “But now the war is over and your actual son, Ron, he’s a war hero with fangirls queuing at the door so what does it matter if he knocked one up, right? And your adopted kids, Harry and Hermione, saved the wizarding world. What does it matter that they were shagging each other all the way through it when Harry and I were supposed to be waiting for each other? You wanted to know the real reason I didn’t marry Harry? Well, that’s it!”

“Ginevra-”

“No! Ginny snapped, “I’m done listening to this! You’ve welcomed Draco Malfoy into this family, without a care in the world for what he did in the war and the fact he was a Death Eater. But you don’t want me to marry Blaise because the Zabini’s have a questionable idea of family? Well, do you know what? Zara Zabini has got it right because she doesn’t give a shit if her children are gay or straight, if they are married or if they sleep around. All she wants is for them to be provided for and happy. That’s all a mother should want, but all you have ever done is judged! When you thought Charlie was gay, you were outraged, and god forbid your reaction if Fred and George had told you that they both wanted to date the same girl, right? The Zabini’s are a normal family; they are just far more liberal than this one will ever be!”

And with that, Ginny stalked out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

When Ginny got to High Top House, an elf let her in, and she was met almost immediately by Blanche.

“Are you okay?”

Ginny sighed and shook her head, “No, I just lost my temper at my mother and stormed out.”

Blanche rolled her eyes, “Come on. You’re like five months pregnant. You can’t do shit like that, or you could lose the baby.”

Ginny yanked her arm away, “How do you know so much about it?”

“My best friend got pregnant in her seventh year at Hogwarts and gave birth in a bathroom prematurely because she was terrified to tell her parents,” Blanche shot back, “I know a thing or two about pregnancy.”

“Right,” Ginny said, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Blanche said, she led Ginny upstairs and yanked open a door which led into a large, airy bedroom, “Come on.”

Ginny stepped inside and looked around. It was evident from the pictures all over the place that this was Blanche’s bedroom. The majority of the photographs featured the same girl; she had dark blonde hair and big brown eyes.

“Is that your best friend?” Ginny asked.

“Yep,” Blanche replied, “Lie down.”

Ginny did so, “What happened to her baby?”

“It was adopted,” Blanche replied, “Her parents never did find out. Severus and the Headmaster kept very quiet about it.”

“Why was she so afraid to tell them?” Ginny asked as Blanche cast her wand over her, “And I can do a diagnostic charm myself, you know? I was a healer during the war.”

“I’m a qualified one,” Blanche said, shooting Ginny a smile, “It’s what I trained in after school, but I want to be an Auror, so I’m pursuing my own path, regardless of what my mother thinks. And as for my friend, she was afraid to tell them because her father is a political man, a baby born out of wedlock would have destroyed his career.”

“Couldn’t she just have married the guy?” Ginny mused.

Blanche shook her head, “No way on this green earth I’d have let that happen. She didn’t get pregnant by choice. She was raped.”

Ginny’s eyes widened, “Oh my god, that’s horrible. Is she…is she okay now?”

Blanche’s eyes darkened, “No, she’s gone.”

From the way Blanche had said ‘gone’, Ginny assumed that meant that she hadn’t just left the country, but she didn’t want to ask.

“Mother thinks that’s when I spiralled out of control,” Blanche said with a roll of her eyes, “But finding your best friends body will do that to you.”

Ginny shook her head, “I’m so sorry, Blanche, that’s awful. I mean I know it’s not comparable but I…I changed after the war. I spent a year fixing up injured kids and trying to keep Neville sane while he led this rebellion then my brother-”

“I know,” Blanche said, she gripped Ginny’s shoulder, “You don’t have to talk about that. I liked Fred a lot. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you.”

Ginny sighed and shut her eyes, trying to block out memories from the battle.

“Have you been struggling with nightmares more since you fell pregnant?” Blanche asked curiously.

Ginny opened her eyes, “Yeah, I have them all of the time, and they are so-”

“Vivid?” Blanche finished.

Ginny nodded.

“I can give you a pregnancy-safe sleeping draught for that,” She said. Her wand buzzed, and she smiled, “And you are all good. The babies heartbeat is a tad fast, but it’s probably just thinking, _what the fuck Mum_? After your fight with _your_ mum.”

Ginny laughed at that.

“Was it about the baby?” Blanche asked.

“It was about Blaise,” Ginny said, “I told her that I was seriously thinking of marrying him.”

“You should, you know?” Blanche said, she sat down on the edge of the bed and Ginny pushed herself up into a sitting position, “Of all my brothers, I like Blaise the most. Maybe it’s because we’re closest in ages, I don’t know. But he’s nice, and not fake nice, but just so _kind_.”

Ginny nodded, “Yeah, he is,” she agreed.

“And he adores you,” Blanche said with a smile, “That much is clear. Whether your relationship stayed sexual forever or became more of a partnership, he would understand.”

“Isn't that a farce, though?” Ginny asked, looking over at her, “Like living a lie?”

“Is it a farce?” Blanche said with a smile, “Or is it just making the best of the situation that you find yourself in? Purebloods, we marry for status or money all of the time. Marrying someone you love to give your kid a good life is one of the better reasons to marry.”

Ginny pondered on that for a moment, and Blanche said, “And I’m sorry for what I said to you the other day, you know? I was out of line. I can’t judge you for sleeping with a few guys when I slept my way through all the gay and bisexual girls in my year, and even some of the straight ones,” she joked.

Ginny smiled weakly, “Did you always know? That you liked girls, I mean?”

“Yeah,” Blanche said honestly, “I slept with a guy one time, wasn’t much to shout about really.”

“Please tell me it wasn’t one of my brothers,” Ginny grimaced.

“No, Belinda had a thing for the Weasley boys, not me,” Blanche chuckled.

“Yeah, so I heard,” Ginny said with a shake of her head.

“If you want to look your brothers in the eye again, never ask her about the summer she spent in Egypt,” Blanche advised.

“Ugh, I think I’m gonna be sick,” Ginny said in disgust.

Blanche chuckled, “But come to think of it, my one shitty experience with a guy…it _was_ with your brothers best friend.”

Ginny frowned, “Lee Jordan?”

“For all my sins,” Blanche said with a roll of her eyes, “A Gryffindor in the Quidditch changing rooms. What a tacky way to lose your virginity, right?”

Ginny snorted, “I can beat it. Michael Corner in a broom cupboard on the fifth floor. It lasted for less than ten minutes.”

Blanche laughed, “That is definitely worse. Are you feeling up to movement?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ginny replied as she pushed herself to her feet.

“Good,” Blanche chirped, “Let’s go and find my mother so you can tell her that you accept Blaise’s marriage proposal.”

“Shouldn’t I tell Blaise first?” Ginny frowned.

“No, Mother is the one arranging it all. Blaise will just shrug and say okay, you have met him, haven’t you?”

Ginny laughed and let Blanche hook her arm through hers as they left the bedroom together.

* * *

"Alright. Are you three ready?"

"This is ridiculous," Draco remarked from where he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"No, it's essential," Hermione corrected him, "Because if any of you say something stupid in front of a room full of Muggles, you are breaking the Statute of Secrecy."

"And therefore the law," Harry said matter of factly.

"So you're judging us on our ability to be Muggles?" Daphne asked in amusement.

"Precisely babe," Harry said with a smirk, "For your own good."

"And our amusement," Lilly said with a wink in Neville's direction.

"You're first Draco," Hermione said with a slightly wicked smile, "So when they ask you what your job is, what do you say?"

Draco rolled his eyes and drawled, "I work for the government."

Lilly, who was a dreadful actress, put on a ridiculous posh person voice (she was from the East End of London), "Oh, what department of the government?"

"The Ministry of Defence," Draco replied, his lips quirked up in amusement.

"And what does that entail?" Harry asked with a grin.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that," Draco said very matter of factly, "It's classified."

"Are you like James Bond or something?" Hermione asked through her laughter.

Draco frowned, "Uh, what is James Bond?"

"See! All Muggles know who James Bond is!" Lilly exclaimed.

"Even I've seen some James Bond films, Draco," Neville said in amusement, "He's a British spy. Like the Muggle equivalent of a Hit Wizard, I guess."

"Right," Draco said, "And how do I answer that question, Hermione?"

"You laugh and say, oh no, its very boring," Hermione said with a wave of her hand, "Or something like that anyway."

"Now, Draco. What do you say if you are asked where you went to school?" Harry asked the blond boy.

"I went to a private school in Scotland," Draco replied.

"Oh, is that where you met Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Uh, yes it is," Draco guessed.

"Hermione's cover story is an all-girls private school, Draco," Lilly said with an amused grin.

"Well, how was I to know that?" Draco exclaimed, "I know as much as possible about the _real_ Hermione, not the fake Hermione!"

Hermione laughed, "I know Draco, that's why we are doing this. Tell them that you went to a nearby all-boys school."

"How did we meet then?" Draco asked with a frown.

"I punched you in the face on a night out," Hermione said thoughtfully, "You thought it was pretty hot, so you started following me around. We went to a party together the following year, but we didn't get together until our last year of school."

"Alright," Draco frowned, "What if they ask how I proposed?"

"Say that our schools are a partnership," Lilly piped up, "So they have a joint prom. Then tell them the truth that you proposed at prom."

"Okay...is there anything else I should know? Or anything else I _shouldn't_ say?" Draco asked in exasperation.

"What do you do in your spare time?" Hermione asked, "What would you say to that?"

"I play sports," Draco replied.

"Oh, like football?"

"No way, I hate football," Draco said distastefully, it was the only Muggle sport he _did_ know anything about.

"Ah, cricket then?"

"How the fuck can you _play_ a small irritating bug?" Draco asked loudly.

Harry burst out laughing, "It's the name of a sport Draco. Don't you know anything about cricket?"

"No," Draco said in disbelief, "Can't you just quickly explain the rules?"

Hermione snorted, "There is no way to explain the rules of cricket quickly. But if there's a lull in conversation tonight, by all means, ask someone to do that, it will keep you occupied all night."

"So I don't play cricket then?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, you would never be able to carry off that lie," Harry grinned, "We need to give you an easy sport to talk about...something like golf."

"Golf?" Draco asked with a frown.

"It's a sport," Lilly explained, "A very boring one. You hold a golf club, and you hit a ball into 18 little holes in the ground. Sometimes the hole is farther away. Sometimes there is sand or water for the ball to get stuck in. But ultimately all you do is hit it into a hole."

"Like Quidditch but with only a quaffle and on the ground with a smaller hole," Draco said with a nod, "Easy. I can do that."

"Perfect," Hermione said in amusement, "You pass the test. You are officially allowed to speak to Muggles. Daph, you're next."

Daphne stepped forward and raised an eyebrow at her friends, "Go for it then."

"What do you say if you are asked what you do for a living?" Lilly asked her friend.

"I work in a bank," Daphne replied matter of factly.

"Oh, what do you do there?" Hermione asked.

"I'm a Curse Breaker."

Harry let his head fall onto the table with a thump as he laughed loudly, "You can't say that! If you tell a Muggle you're a Curse Breaker they'll think you're Indiana bloody Jones! Curse Breakers don't work in banks in the Muggle world, Daph!"

"What do they do then?" Daphne asked irritably.

"Well, they _don't_ have to go into dangerous dark magic vaults after a family has died out and examine their possessions for curses. They also don't get contracted by the bank to go into old wizarding households and break curses or wards," Hermione said in amusement.

"Generally they are explorers or archaeologists in the Muggle world," Lilly laughed, "Exactly like Indiana Jones."

"So what do I say that I do then?" Daphne asked as she crossed her arms.

"Just say that you're a secretary in a bank," Harry said with a wave of his hand.

"A secretary?" Daphne asked dryly, "I have been accepted into one of the most elite programmes in the UK! Under the instruction of Bill bloody Weasley himself! I mean he's only the most amazing curse breaker this country has ever seen! I am _not_ a secretary!"

"What else can we say she does that's a bit more inventive?" Harry muttered.

"We'll have to think of something to keep her quiet," Hermione murmured back.

"I can hear you guys, you know!" Daphne snapped, but she didn't look too angry as she raised an eyebrow at her friends.

"Alright then Daphne," Lilly said in amusement, "You _don't_ work in a bank. You're an explorer and an archaeologist. You travel the world looking for old artefacts, alright?"

"Alright," Daphne agreed, "I travel the world looking for old artefacts, and then I break curses on them-"

"- No!" Harry interjected as he laughed uncontrollably, "You don't mention the curse-breaking thing, ever! Most Muggles think that's nonsense!"

"Well, you never mentioned that before!" Daphne exclaimed as even Draco and Neville cracked up on either side of her.

"We're telling you now," Hermione chuckled, "Don't mention the curses. Talk about countries where you _get_ curses like Egypt and Peru. But don't mention the curses."

"Alright, I get it!" Daphne said with a roll of her eyes, "What else do I need to know?"

"Where and how did you and Hermione meet?" Lilly asked calmly.

"Uh we went to the same school," Daphne replied, "But we weren't in the same house, so we didn't share a dorm. We met in Ancient Runes - shit, no I mean uh foreign language - class."

"And how did you meet Harry?" Hermione asked, "Because you didn't go to the same school, remember?"

"I know, I know," Daphne said offhandedly, "Draco is my friend because I met him through you when you started dating him. And Harry is Draco's best friend, so when you guys started dating I met Harry, and we fell in love, blah blah blah."

Lilly grinned, "Perfect. So what do you do in your spare time?"

"I read," Daphne replied.

"Oh, what authors do you like?" Hermione asked. She knew that Daphne really could answer this one easily.

"I like the classic stuff mostly. Horror, romance, mystery. The Bronte sisters, Edgar Allan Poe, Jane Austin, Jules Verne, oh and Tolkien obviously."

"Great," Harry chuckled, "You'll do just fine. Just talk about Muggle literature and-"

"- Don't mention curse breaking, I get it," Daphne said with a roll of her eyes, but a smile was playing on her lips.

"Right," Lilly laughed, "Last but certainly not least! Will Neville Longbottom take to the stage?"

Neville chuckled as he stepped into the middle of the dancefloor and surveyed the three people sitting behind the desk, "Ask away, my lady."

Lilly chuckled at that, "So Neville. What do you do for a living?"

"I work in the government," Neville said matter of factly.

"Ah, which department?" Harry asked.

"The Ministry of Defence," Neville replied.

"Okay, what do you do there?" Hermione asked in her best posh voice. She had kind of lost her accent since starting Hogwarts.

"Can't say," Neville said with a grin, "It's classified."

"Oh wow so you're like a spy?" Lilly asked in a false fan girl voice.

"It's all a bit James Bond at times, yeah," Neville replied smoothly.

"You can't say that," Lilly laughed, "You can't go around pretending to be James Bond!"

"But James Bond is cool!" Neville exclaimed.

"That doesn't mean you can say you're a spy just for the sake of it," Hermione said as Harry laughed uncontrollably once more, "You have to say the same thing as Draco. Say it's all boring paperwork mostly."

"Fine," Neville said, "What else do I need to answer?"

"Where did you go to school?" Hermione asked.

"A private school in Scotland with Draco and Harry," Neville replied.

"And how did you meet Hermione then?" Lilly asked.

"Oh, we've been friends for years since we were eleven," Neville said.

Hermione looked at her friend fondly, "Neville, you can't say that. If we went to separate schools, we wouldn't have become friends that quickly."

"Right," Neville said sheepishly, "That's a good point. What _do_ I say?"

"Say you met me through Draco when we started dating," Hermione laughed.

"Next question. How did you meet me?" Lilly asked with a smirk.

"Uh," Neville floundered, "We met because you were friends with Hermione, and she started dating Draco?"

"That will do," Harry said with a smirk, "What do you do in your spare time, Neville?"

"Well, I love Herbology," Neville said brightly.

Lilly let her head drop onto the table in exasperation, "You can't say that! They'll think you're mental, tell them that you like gardening."

"And that you have an allotment," Hermione added through her chuckles.

"What the hell is an allotment?" Neville asked in disbelief.

"Right," Lilly said with a grin, "People with houses that don't have gardens sometimes get given bits of land by the local government. They can plant fruit and vegetables there, or just plants in general. It's like a greenhouse, but its outside and the plants don't try and eat you."

"And if people ask you what kind of things you plant there _don't_ tell them anything wizarding," Harry added, "Say that Audrey, your creepy venomous tentacula thing, is a Venus Fly Trap."

"A what?" Neville asked bluntly.

"A Venus Fly Trap," Hermione said with a smile, "It's a plant that eats flies, it has a mouth, but it can't hurt humans."

" _Unlike_ a venomous tentacula," Lilly said in amusement.

"As Theo would know," Draco chuckled. Theo was still on his two-week honeymoon with Sadie at the moment, which was probably a good thing. He would certainly have broken the Statute of Secrecy if he had been allowed to attend the party.

"Is there anything else?" Neville asked in amusement.

"Nope, you pass the test, _just_ ," Lilly grinned.

"There is one more thing," Harry said, "And I'm directing this at Draco and Neville more than you Daphne. We'll take the motorbikes, but we _can't_ fly."

"How far is Oxford from here by road then?" Daphne asked curiously.

"About an hour," Hermione replied.

"On motorways and country roads," Harry added, "And I've forged driving licences for you both. Terribly illegal but there we have it. I just need to give you a lesson on how to drive now."

"I know how to drive the bike," Draco scoffed.

"So do I," Neville said with offence, "I've driven it on the road before!"

"Yeah and you didn't have a grasp on anything about the roads," Lilly said in disbelief, "Like the speed limit, or one way systems!"

"Or box junctions," Hermione added, "Which to be fair, most competent drivers can't bloody work out either."

"You also don't seem capable of filling the bike with petrol," Lilly said with a raised eyebrow, "And also, you drive on one side of the road, _not_ into oncoming traffic."

"The girls are right, so before we go I'm going to give you both a lesson on the theory of driving on Muggles roads," Harry said with an amused smirk.

"Wonderful," Draco remarked dryly.

* * *

"John! What on earth is that noise?"

John frowned up at Elizabeth as she stood in front of the window. There was a loud roaring from outside, like the rev of an engine, "It sounds like a car or a motorbike love."

"A motorbike" Elizabeth frowned, "That can't be Hermione surely. She would never get on something as dangerous as a motorbike."

The room was full of Hermione's aunts, uncles and cousins along with all of their children. They were going to surprise Hermione when she and her friends arrived at the house. Outside, a black and green bike pulled into the driveway and parked. John and Elizabeth stood by the window curiously as the rider pulled off their helmet and shook back their shoulder-length blond hair.

They both gasped when they realised who the rider was and their shock turned to horror when he helped a woman off of the bike. She pulled her helmet off and shook out her long, curly mane of hair. That was the final straw for John and Elizabeth; they abandoned their surprise plan and swiftly made their way out into the front garden.

"Hermione!" Elizabeth exclaimed, "I thought you had more common sense than to get on a death trap like that!"

"And had I known you had a motorbike I would not have given you my blessing so easily, Draco!" John snapped in agreement.

"It's fine," Hermione said as she tried not to roll her eyes, "Draco's a good driver."

"I don't care how good a driver he is, Hermione!" John remarked, "Do you know how dangerous motorbikes are?"

Hermione opened her mouth to reply when the loud rev of another engine filled the street. She had to hide her smirk as her family moved to the window and the door to see what the fuss was about. A black motorbike pulled into the drive and parked next to Draco's. John and Elizabeth were looking relatively faint as Harry and Daphne got off the bike and shook their hair out as they did so.

"Harry!" Elizabeth said in disbelief, "I would have thought you _of all people_ would have more sense than to ride something as dangerous as a motorbike!"

"Sorry Mrs Granger," Harry said sheepishly, "I like the adrenaline rush."

"But we drove to the speed limit, Mrs Granger," Daphne assured the woman, "That's actually why we're late. Draco wouldn't go above 50 miles an hour on the motorway."

Elizabeth's eyes flashed angrily, and she opened her mouth to voice her opinion when a third loud rev distracted her.

Neville's red and black bike pulled into the drive, and he parked up on the other side of Draco's bike.

"Oh for the love of Jesus!" Elizabeth exclaimed under her breath.

This time Neville jumped off of the bike after he had shut the engine off and he helped his minuscule girlfriend jump down. They took their helmets off, and at this point, John was looking slightly amused, but Elizabeth looked like she was going to blow her top at any moment.

"Neville! Honestly, Hermione told me that she had _responsible_ friends!" Elizabeth breathed.

"Sorry Mrs Granger," Neville said somewhat sheepishly as he put his arm around Lilly, "By the way, this is my girlfriend Lilly, I don't think you've met."

"We haven't," Elizabeth said, "But it's lovely to meet you, Lilly."

"You too, Mrs Granger," Lilly said with a slight smile.

Elizabeth's cheeks were fairly red as she turned her eyes toward her daughter, "You and I will be talking about this later, Hermione," she said in an undertone.

"Understood," Hermione muttered under her breath, "Can we go inside and join my surprise party now?"

John chuckled at his daughter’s sassiness, but Elizabeth looked affronted by it. She didn't get in trouble though because John walked over to her and hugged her, "Of course we can. Come on in sweetheart."

They all walked into the living room, and Hermione's family shouted a belated and out of sync, "Surprise!"

Hermione laughed and waved to them all as she kicked her shoes off in the hallway. As her friends all stood around her, she whispered, "Draco, please tell me you are wearing a long-sleeved shirt."

Draco frowned, "No, I'm wearing a short-sleeved shirt. Why?"

"Don't take your jacket off," Hermione muttered, "You know _why_."

"They'll ask me to take it off," Draco whispered, "I'd be rude not to."

"Just say you don't want to" Hermione snapped, "Say you're cold."

"Alright," Draco said quickly as he kicked off his shoes while everybody else hung up their coats.

"Won't you take your coat off, Draco?" Elizabeth asked politely as the others made their way into the living room.

"Uh, I'd rather not," Draco replied.

"And why is that?" She asked curiously.

"Well, I'm a little cold," Draco lied.

"In July?" Elizabeth asked with a chuckle, "Heavens, don't be silly. Do take your coat off."

"I... uh…like I said. I'd rather not," Draco said as he swallowed.

"I'm starting to think that you have something to hide, Draco," Elizabeth said as she narrowed her eyes at the wizard.

"No," Draco lied, "I just...like my coat."

"That is a terrible excuse," Elizabeth said, and for a reasonably short woman, she managed to be very intimidating, "So _please_ take your coat off Draco."

Draco grimaced as he slipped his coat off, and Elizabeth's eyes immediately went to his forearms. Her face paled, "What is _that_?"

"It's a tattoo," Draco said weakly as he looked at the image on his left forearm, "Of a dragon."

"A dragon?" Elizabeth half shrieked.

"Because my name means dragon," Draco continued.

"Motorbikes _and_ tattoos!" Elizabeth said as she turned her gaze to her daughter, "We will certainly be talking about this later young lady!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "What's the big deal about tattoos Mum? Everybody has them!"

"Do _you_ have them?" Elizabeth asked hotly.

"No, but my friends all do," Hermione said offhandedly.

"Do you have a tattoo, Harry?" Elizabeth asked sharply.

"Uh, no," Harry lied, _badly_.

"Where is it?" Elizabeth asked simply.

Harry bit his lip, Hermione's Mother was scary, he could see where she got it from, "It's on my arm...in the same place as Draco's."

"And is it also a _dragon_?"

"No, it's a Phoenix..." Harry said sheepishly.

"And you Neville?" Elizabeth asked as she spun around to look at the boy.

Neville looked quite terrified as he replied, "Uh, yes. Harry, Draco and I got them at the same time in the same place...mine is of a lion."

"A lion," Elizabeth tutted, "I don't suppose you _respectable_ ladies have tattoos?"

"I have a lightning bolt on my wrist," Daphne admitted as she showed Elizabeth the underside of her wrist, "Because my cat is called lightning..."

Harry shot her an amused smirk. He knew her lightning bolt tattoo had a double meaning.

"I hate to disappoint you, Mrs Granger," Lilly said sheepishly, "But I have a raven tattoo on my foot..."

Elizabeth sighed, "Well if you _all_ have them and you all did so well in school I suppose I cannot argue with you. But you and I will still be having words later, Hermione."

"Yes, Mother," Hermione muttered.

"Don't you mutter at me young lady," Elizabeth said quietly as she slipped past them to the kitchen to grab drinks.

* * *

"I can't believe you managed to get away with that!" Lilly grinned.

"What do you mean?" Neville asked cluelessly as they sat in the little bar area of Potter Manor later that night.

"You told one of Hermione's cousins that Nessie was a Kelpie and then managed to convince her, _a veterinary student,_ that a Kelpie was a variation of the Kraken and that it was a mythological beast," Lilly exclaimed.

"Well, I realised my mistake when I said Kelpie," Neville said sheepishly, "I just had to try and find a way to fix it."

"She did look at you like you were mad for the rest of the night," Harry laughed.

"Well, she didn't think you were _that_ mad," Daphne said with a chuckle, "Hermione's Uncle wanted to send me off to the loony bin."

"You did tell him that your biggest goal was to break the curse on the long lost tomb of the ancient sorcerer Amun-Ra," Hermione pointed out.

"I know," Daphne cringed, "But I didn't realise it would sound that crazy. I thought Muggles believed in exploring tombs and things."

"Yeah but we told you not to mention curses," Harry said through his chuckles.

"And what did you go and do? Mention a curse!" Lilly laughed loudly.

Draco grinned, "So what you are saying is that I was the only pureblood who _didn't_ fuck up tonight."

Hermione grinned, "I don't know if I would go that far. You did get cricket and golf mixed up..."

"How was I supposed to know the difference between a golf club and a bat?" Draco asked defensively.

"Or a wicket and a hole for that matter," Harry laughed, "Which are very different by the way."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Hey, I think I did alright compared to Neville."

"Yeah, you were pretty dreadful," Lilly said as she glanced at her boyfriend.

"I don't have to deal with Muggles normally," Neville shrugged, "So I tried to go off of what I knew from films..."

"Yeah, I got that impression when you were talking to my aunt who lived in the Pacific, and you asked her if she had ever been to that island where the dinosaurs were reborn," Hermione laughed, "She looked at you like you were either an idiot or a crazy person."

"Thank god he didn't talk to your Irish cousin about the Titanic," Harry said through his laughter.

"Yeah Neville, Kate Winslet wasn't on board the Titanic," Lilly grinned, "And neither was Leonardo DiCaprio."

"You mean Jack, right?" Neville asked curiously.

"Yeah the actor who plays him is called Leonardo Di - you know what, never mind," Lilly said as she laughed at the blank look on Neville's face.

"Muggles are quite difficult," Neville yawned, "I'm exhausted after today."

"You're going to have to get used to it," Lilly pointed out in amusement, "I know my mum and dads know about you being a wizard and all. But at some stage you'll have to meet my muggle family, you know my aunts, uncles and cousins? And they _won't_ know."

"Well I'll jump over that hurdle when I get to it," Neville said with a slight smile at his girlfriend, "But in the meantime, I guess I'll just watch more Muggle films."

"Contrary to wizarding belief they aren't actually an accurate representation of muggle culture," Lilly laughed, "Ask Theo that and he'll tell you that they only watch films in every Muggle Studies class because the teachers are generally washed-up hippies."

"Well at least Theo paid enough attention to work out that much in Muggle Studies," Harry said, and the others laughed at the comment. They were missing Sadie and Theo a little, but their group was so large that even with the absence of two members, it could hold up just fine.

Harry, Draco and Neville suspected that Theo wouldn't be happy when he got back and found out that his friends had gotten tattoos without him, and he would probably jump on the bandwagon and get one too. He still had one week of his honeymoon to go, and when he returned, the four of them would all be leaving their other halves for a weekend. They would be spending it on the Auror training base to be a part of the selection process. They had been training hard, jogging, eating better than usual and working out.

They knew it was going to be intense, and they all wanted to make sure that they did their best to get accepted. Those going into Auror training started earlier than everyone else whose courses began around the start of August on the whole. It meant that they were spending all of their free time lounging around watching movies (or in Neville and Lilly's case building a greenhouse) while Sadie and Theo were honeymooning in Paris.

As the evening wore on, Daphne found herself alone with Draco, “Do you think he drinks too much since we got home?”

Draco frowned, “Who? Harry?”

Daphne nodded and cast her eyes over Harry. He was standing at the bar with Neville, laughing and knocking back a firewhiskey.

“No, he’s just enjoying himself. What’s wrong with that?” Draco asked.

Daphne sighed, “I don’t know, maybe I’m just seeing things that aren’t there because my father was alcohol dependant when he was going through his gambling addiction, but…it’s every night since we left school, Draco. He’s either drinking with you, Nev or Theo or he has a glass of firewhiskey before bed.”

“It probably helps him sleep, that’s kind of to be expected,” Draco shrugged.

“He didn’t need it to sleep when we were at school,” Daphne pointed out.

“Come on Daph,” Draco laughed, “You’re not seriously thinking he’s an alcoholic, are you? He’s Harry Potter; he’s perfect.”

“No, he’s not,” Daphne said. She set her glass of wine down on the table to look at Draco, “He’s just Harry, and he’s human and a little bit broken, just like the rest of us.”

Draco met her eye, “Still…”

“I’ll keep an eye on it,” Daphne said simply, “But I would appreciate it if you would do the same.”

“Yeah,” Draco said sincerely, “I will.”

* * *

"When Theo comes back you and him will have to keep these in your mouth for a month," Harry said late that night as he sat up with the boys after the girls had gone to bed.

"Leaves?" Draco asked with a frown.

"Mandrake leaves," Neville said, "For becoming an Animagus like Harry.”

"Exactly," Harry grinned.

Draco's eyes widened, "Seriously?"

"Uh-huh," Harry said with a smug grin, "The girls didn't really work on the potion properly until after graduation, but they've got it to the point where it's nearly finished. It needs to stew for two weeks before they add the final ingredient and then it has to stew for another two weeks. After that, it will keep for a month, so if you guys pop them in your mouth at the same time, you'll all be Animagi in just over a month."

Draco grinned, "That's cool. I just wish I didn't have to wait for Theo."

"You know he'd go mental if we didn't," Neville laughed.

"He's going to be pissed enough about the tattoos," Harry laughed.

"Well if he will go away and sleep with his wife on a beach for two weeks, of course, he's going to miss the fun!" Draco joked.

Harry snorted, "I wouldn't tell Sadie that's how you think they're spending their honeymoon."

"I've not heard from Sadie," Draco admitted in amusement, "I've been sending Theo cuttings from the prophet to keep him up to date with the Quidditch league. Sadie banned newspapers."

Neville snorted in amusement, "So you're his black market newspaper supply guy now?" he joked.

"Exactly," Draco smirked, 'Draco Malf - shit, it's Black now - Draco Black, criminal extraordinaire."

Harry barked out a laugh at his friend's behaviour, "Try Draco Malfoy, extraordinary arsehole."

"Oi, I resent that Scarhead!"

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	4. The Grand Homecoming

“Do you think this is a good idea?” Hermione Granger asked her fiancé with a very typical, very sceptical look.

Draco looked at her incredulously from his spot behind a large wooden coat stand, “What could be bad about it?”

“Well,” Daphne whispered from halfway up the stairs, “Theo and Sadie are newlyweds, and they are coming home to their new house for the very first time. Do you really think they want all of us here?”

“Who else would give them the grand tour?” Harry asked.

“I’m sure they would find everything themselves,” Lilly pointed out.

“The girls have a point, Harry,” Neville admitted, “What if they don’t want a surprise party?”

“Shh!” Harry cut in as they heard noises outside. Everyone shrunk back into their hiding places, and the lights went out in the corridor, which left them all in darkness.

The door opened slowly, and two people stepped into the hallway. They were giggling and whispering when the lights went on, and their friends all jumped out with shouts of, “WELCOME HOME!”

Sadie and Theo jumped apart from what had clearly been a compromising position and looked like deers caught in the headlights as a massive ‘WELCOME HOME’ banner fell from up high, and confetti rained down on them from above.

Daphne, Hermione and Lilly shared knowing looks while Neville shook his head in exasperation.

“Uh…” Sadie floundered as her cheeks transitioned from pink to scarlet.

“Seriously?” Theo asked his friends in disbelief.

“What?” Draco asked cluelessly, “We’ve missed you guys, so we threw you a surprise welcome home party! You didn’t have other plans, did you?”

“Uh yeah!” Theo said irritably, “I had plans to christen my new house by ravaging my new wife in every-”

“Theo!” Sadie shrieked before he could go any further.

Daphne sniggered and said under her breath in a sing-song voice, “Told you this was a bad idea.”

Draco looked mildly offended, but Harry at least had the gall to look sheepish and guilty, “Right…we just thought you might have wanted to you know…catch up…with you being gone for two weeks and all.”

“Oh, of course, we do Harry,” Sadie said gently as she realised Theo had kind of hurt Harry’s feelings, “And it was really sweet of you to do this. We just weren’t expecting it.”

“Yeah, we were expecting to find the biggest bedroom in this place and-”

“-Sleep!” Sadie cut in before Theo could finish, “Because we’re really tired, you know with the apparition sickness.”

“Right,” Harry said with a nod, “Yeah, of course. We’ll just head off and let you guys get some sleep then.”

“We can catch up tomorrow,” Sadie suggested, “You could all come around for lunch and tell us all about the renovation of the house, I’m sure we won’t be able to find all of its secrets before noon.”

“That’s a wonderful idea, Sadie,” Hermione said with a smile, “Let’s all go home and get a good nights sleep then catch up over lunch tomorrow.”

“Funny, it’s almost like you suggested we do lunch tomorrow instead of throwing a surprise party tonight,” Lilly said sarcastically.

Daphne piped up, “I’d just like to say that I concurred with the lunch plan.”

Sadie smiled slightly and looked at Neville, “What about you, Neville? You’ve been fairly quiet.”

“I went along with the surprise party plan,” Neville admitted sheepishly, “But I realised before those two idiots did that it was a bad idea.”

“Hey!”

“Oi!”

Sadie smiled in amusement, “We appreciate the thought if that helps.”

Neville gave her a sheepish nod and said, “Come on, guys, let’s head home.”

Harry nodded as he dragged himself towards the door, “Yeah, sorry for barging in on your night.”

Draco scoffed as he brushed past Theo, “It’s not like they’ve had two weeks to shag on beaches or anything. You would have thought he missed us at least a little bit but clearly not.”

Sadie held her hand up against her face and shook her head in amusement at Hermione, Daphne and Lilly, “Is he really jealous right now?”

“Yeah,” Hermione said with a half-smile, “I think I’m going to have to deal with that tonight…”

Theo glanced guiltily over his shoulder, but Harry, Draco and Neville had already left through the front door, “Do you think I need to apologise to him tomorrow?”

“Oh, I’m sure Hermione will have cooled him off by then,” Lilly smirked, “Sorry for cock-blocking you, Theo.”

Theo snorted in amusement, “For that comment, I forgive you.”

“I’m a terrible best friend,” Daphne admitted as she hugged Sadie, “I should have stopped them.”

Sadie shook her head, “Don’t worry; I know what those two are like when they get an idea in their heads.”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Tell me about it. Have a good night you two,” she added with a wink as she, Hermione and Lilly vacated the Nott’s new house.

Sadie sighed as she glanced at Theo, “That’s totally killed the mood, hasn’t it?”

“I bet I can bring it back,” Theo said with a mischievous glint in his eye as he picked his new wife up and carried her up the narrow staircase towards the master bedroom.

* * *

“Do you think we should get up and explore our new house?” Sadie asked Theo as she propped herself up on her elbow in their new bedroom.

“I’ve already established that I like the bedroom,” Theo said as he shot her a grin.

“And that luxurious ensuite bathroom with the jacuzzi is pretty nice,” Sadie admitted with a smile, “But there’s a whole house to explore Theo! I don’t want to spend the whole morning lying in bed when we could be investigating it!”

Theo smiled fondly at her, “Alright then, but I refuse to put on any clothes apart from a dressing gown before 11 am. Deal?”

“Deal!” Sadie grinned as she jumped out of bed and raked in their suitcases. She threw her own dressing gown on and held his out for him, “Come on! Let’s explore!”

Theo found her child-like excitement quite endearing, so he got out of bed, threw on his dressing gown and slipped on his slippers. Sadie had already dashed out into the hallway, so he followed her out and noticed for the first time how clean looking it was. The carpets were beige, and the walls were white. It was kitted out with electricity rather than with gas lights like most old wizarding houses. All of the light fittings and accessories were silver, “Thank Salazar they didn’t make everything gold like they did in Potter Manor.”

Sadie laughed, “Draco was one of the main people involved in redecorating. Do you really think he would have let Harry and Neville Gryffindor-ise our house?”

“No,” Theo admitted with a guilty look, “I need to apologise to him later, don’t I?”

Sadie just laughed again, “I don’t think you did anything wrong, but you two do kind of act like an old married couple.”

“I know we’re overly dramatic a lot of the time,” Theo admitted as they headed upstairs, “But I do think I offended him for real this time.”

“He probably just missed you while we were gone,” Sadie reasoned, “And he will be coming to terms with the fact you’re married now too. He probably feels like he’s losing you or something, you know how touchy Draco is.”

Theo nodded his agreement as they emerged onto the top floor of their new home. It was spread across four levels, five if you included the basement as a floor. The master bedroom was on the second floor; it was huge and had the most luxurious bathroom attached to it. Also on the second floor were two small double bedrooms and a small bathroom to serve them both. All three bedrooms were decked out with white and silver trappings; it was very neutral, which meant that Sadie and Theo could change the theme of any room if they so wished.

“Ooh there are more bedrooms up here,” Sadie said as she peeked her head into several doors, “There are four actually, and one of them has an ensuite.”

“Is it as nice as ours?” Theo joked.

Sadie chuckled, “Of course not. It doesn’t have a jacuzzi with mood lighting, or his and hers sinks.”

“I thought the rose petals in the jacuzzi were a nice touch,” Theo admitted, “Do you reckon that was Hermione’s idea?”

“Well, I doubt it was Draco’s,” Sadie said with a slight frown, “Theo?”

“Yeah?” Theo said as he stepped out of the bathroom that he had been inspecting.

“There are stairs here,” Sadie said, she looked up at a set of wooden stairs leading to a hatch, “But this should be the top floor.”

“It’s probably just the attic,” Theo shrugged.

“Do you want to check?” Sadie asked a little cautiously.

Theo smiled at her, “Is that because you’re too scared to go up?”

“Pretty much,” Sadie admitted with a cute, but sheepish, smile.

“Alright,” Theo said as he began to climb the stairs, “But as this was a muggle house, I’m sure there’s nothing scary in the attic.”

Sadie nodded but watched anxiously all the same. Theo reached the top of the stairs and unlocked the bolt on the hatch. He pushed it open and got a surprise when natural sunlight flooded the corridor. Theo took another couple of steps and looked out, “Woah Sadie, you have got to come up here!” he said as he climbed the last few steps and disappeared from view.

Sadie followed him up and gasped in surprise when she saw where the hatch led. The third floor was the top floor, but their friends had managed to squeeze a little terraced roof garden into their high-rise London home.

“Oh, Merlin…” Sadie said. The roof terrace was small. You could fit a bench in or a small outdoor table and not much else. It had been cut into the attic space because on one side they could see the roof of the house where the rest of the attic existed. The terrace itself wasn’t particularly spectacular, but the views were what made it so special. A whitewashed wall surrounded the terrace on the three sides where it was open to the air. It was high enough to make it safe but not so high that it obstructed the view of London that it gave them. The roof terrace in Potter Manor showed all of the highest landmarks in London from a distance, but Sadie and Theo were so much closer in their new home that they could see Big Ben, the Tower of London and St. Pauls Cathedral very clearly.

“This has got to be the best part of the house,” Theo said as he leant on the wall and looked out as London awakened.

“It must have been magically modified,” Sadie said as she looked around, “This is a terraced house. We shouldn’t be able to see anything in either of those directions.”

“Who knows what kind of clever spell they used,” Theo said, “Does it really matter? The view is real, look at the people walking on the street below. No spell can fake that.”

Sadie nodded, she leant against the wall and looked out at London too, “I wonder if Draco and Hermione will put the same thing into their house when they move in.”

Theo glanced to the right where Number 12 Grimmauld Place was situated. They could see that the house was attached to theirs, but it seemed to end where the third floor was, there were no higher floors or a roof.

“Maybe when they take all of the protective charms off it we’ll be able to see the rest of the house,” Theo mused.

Sadie nodded thoughtfully and tore her gaze away from London, “Come on, we haven’t even looked at the lower floors yet.”

Theo smiled at his wife, “Alright, lead the way,” he said as he followed her back into the house. He made sure to shut the hatch and re-bolt it before he jogged to catch up with Sadie. When he eventually caught up with her, she was on the first floor.

“Theo! You have got to see this room!”

Theo chuckled and followed her into a large reception room. He understood why she had wanted him to see it from the moment he walked in. The room was narrow and long, like many rooms in the old Georgian terraced house. There was a large archway in the centre which split it somewhat, but it was essentially a drawing-room in two halves. At either end of the room, there were floor to ceiling windows that opened like doors, upon closer inspection, Theo realised that both of them led to small balcony areas which were just wide enough to fit a couple of chairs on.

“Isn’t this just beautiful?” Sadie gushed.

The room was very elegant and grand. It had solid oak floorboards, and the walls had been painted in a pastel green colour that Theo was sure Sadie loved. He expected that had been Daphne’s handiwork; the green worked well with the two large silver chandeliers that hung in the room. It was large, but it seemed cosy with two fireplaces to keep it warm. It had been kitted out with beige sofas and armchairs that had silver studs on their sides. There were lots of little touches that were really nice, like a beautiful fully stocked drinks cabinet.

“I take back what I said about the roof terrace being my favourite part of the house,” Theo admitted sheepishly, “This is amazing.”

“All it’s missing is a family tree,” Sadie said thoughtfully as she stepped through the archway into the smaller part of the room, “But I suppose we could do that ourselves-”

Theo followed her into the room to see why she had suddenly stopped speaking, “Oh,” was all he could say as he took in the room. There were floor to ceiling windows leading to the second balconied area, and on the wall to their right was another fireplace. However, the wall to their left was what had caught both of their attentions. The pastel green wall contained a beautiful depiction of a silver tree at the heart of which were the names “Theodore and Sadie Nott”. Sadie reached out and touched her name, and the tree came to life, branches stretched out and extended to reveal her entire family tree.

“Oh my…”

“It’s just like the one in Nott Manor,” Theo said as he touched his name. Sadie’s branches of the tree drew themselves back in, and his family tree stretched out in front of them, “Draco designed it to be just like it…”

“With a nice little addition,” Sadie said with a soft smile, “Look.”

Theo followed her finger and smiled when he saw the name, “Hermione Granger” on his family tree, “Yeah…this was all Draco.”

“You probably do owe him an apology,” Sadie admitted as she smiled sheepishly at her husband, “He was just excited to show you all of his hard work.”

“I know,” Theo said as he put his arm around Sadie, “And I was a horny, selfish bastard.”

“He should be used to that by now,” Sadie teased as she let Theo lead her out of the room.

Theo laughed at that and asked, “Is there anything else interesting up here?”

Sadie shook her head, “Not really, there are two bedrooms on the other side of the corridor and a small bathroom connecting them. I think you could probably fit double beds in them at a push, but they have singles in them at the moment.”

Theo glanced inside one of the rooms, “Good size for a nursery though or a kid’s room.”

Sadie looked up at him in surprise.

“What?” Theo asked when he saw the look on her face.

“You’re thinking about that?” Sadie asked. The surprise on her face was clear.

Theo smirked, “You don’t have to sound so surprised. I want everything that you want, Sadie; I can’t wait for us to be surrounded by lots of hyperactive brats.”

Sadie laughed, “I’m thrilled that you’re thinking ahead, Theo, but you have three years of Auror training to get through first, and I have my Alchemy course to finish.”

Theo smiled at her, “I know, I wasn’t saying that we should do it right now, I promise. Do you want to check out what’s downstairs?”

Sadie nodded, and the two of them made their way down onto the ground floor. The banner from the night before had been removed, and the confetti that had rained down on them was also gone.

Theo frowned, “They left before we went upstairs, didn’t they?”

Sadie nodded slowly, “So who cleaned up?”

Theo got a knowing look in his eyes, “I have an idea…if I’m right, we’ll find out soon enough.”

Sadie’s frown deepened as she followed him into one of the three doors leading off of the corridor. They had stepped into a large, grand dining room. The cornicing and fireplace seemed to be the original Georgian ones like they were in the drawing-room upstairs. There was a deep green rug laid out on the floor and atop it was a lovely solid oak dining room table with matching chairs that seated ten people.

“There’s another door there,” Sadie noticed as she pointed towards the far end of the room. Behind them, there was a large window that looked out onto the street and let in lots of light. However, at the other end of the long, thin room, there were two large glass double doors, and they were letting in a lot of light too.

The couple walked the length of the room and pushed the doors open. They immediately saw why so much light was streaming in. This was a sort of ‘morning room’. The wall in front of them was made entirely of glass and looked out onto their small garden. This was a relatively small room; it had a little four-seater wicker table with matching, comfortable chairs. It was more of a place to dine casually rather than to entertain lots of guests like the formal dining room they had just walked through.

“There’s access to the garden from here,” Theo said. Sadie hadn’t even noticed it, but one of the glass panels in front of them was actually a door. Theo placed his hand on the handle; it automatically recognised him and swung open. The two of them stepped out into the tiny garden onto a small patio-ed area. It fitted a table for four on it but no more. There were a few steps down into a grassy area of the garden where they would be able to fit a swing set or a wendy house if they so wished when they did decide to have children. It seemed reasonably private because it was surrounded by a high fence on all three sides.

“It’s small but do we really need anything bigger?” Theo reasoned.

“And we could magically expand it if we wanted to,” Sadie said as she stepped back into the house.

“That’s true,” Theo said as he accompanied her back through the dining room into the entrance hallway. They opened the door adjacent to that of the dining room and saw that it led to a cosy little downstairs sitting area. Three out of four walls were adorned with floor to ceiling bookcases, and the fourth wall featured another Georgian fireplace. There was also a door in that wall that led to a small but functional study. They discovered that the final room on the ground floor was a bathroom.

“I wonder if there are stairs to the basement like there are next door,” Theo said he walked the length of the corridor. Surely enough, there was a door at the end, and when opened, it revealed a staircase. The lights came on automatically as Theo led the way down the stairs into the basement floor of the house. Like in Number 12, when you reached the bottom of the stairs, you found yourself in the kitchen. However, this kitchen was much nicer than the one next door.

It had the same oak floorboards as the rest of the house, but it was styled like a country kitchen. The cupboard doors were a pastel green and the worktops were made from solid wood. The kitchen also featured a beautiful range cooker, a porcelain sink and another fireplace. At the centre of the kitchen was a large oak table with two matching benches. Three doors were leading off of the kitchen, Theo assumed that one of them had to lead to the pantry, but that begged the question; where did the other two go?

His question was answered before he even had to vocalise it because one of the doors, which was about a third smaller than the other two, opened.

“Oh!” Sadie gasped in surprise when she saw the door opening. She had assumed after all, that they were home alone.

“Oh!” The startled house-elf squeaked as the poor thing jumped into the air, “Oh! Deely is sorry Master and Mistress Nott! Deeley was not knowing that you was awake!”

“That’s okay,” Theo assured the house-elf, “My wife just got a surprise because she didn’t know that we had a house-elf.”

Deeley nodded, her eyes were still very wide, “Mr Draco said it was a surprise, Master Nott.”

“Draco hired you?” Theo asked as he felt guilty for the umpteenth time that morning.

Deeley nodded again, “Deeley knew Dobby, Master Nott.”

“Oh,” Theo realised, “Well, welcome to the Nott family then Deeley.”

Deeley beamed broadly, “Master Nott must not worry about Deeley’s work ethic. Deeley does not want clothes or holidays like Dobby.”

Sadie smiled, “It would be okay if you did Deeley.”

“No, no,” Deeley said with a shake of her head, “Deeley is a good house-elf Mistress Nott.”

“Well Deeley,” Theo said, “I understand if it’s too short notice but would you maybe be able to throw together some lunch for eight people? Nothing fancy, maybe just some soup and bread?”

Deeley nodded vigorously, “Of course, Master Nott. Deeley will get to work right away.”

Theo smiled, “Thanks, Deeley. Oh, there’s another thing. Can you tell me where that door leads?”

He pointed to the door on the other side of the kitchen. He assumed that the door next to Deeley’s room led to the pantry.

Deeley nodded, “Oh yes, Master Nott! It’s a special room, Mr Harry says you think about what you want it to become and then it becomes it!”

Theo grinned and looked over at Sadie, “We have our own room of requirement!”

Sadie laughed at his enthusiasm, “What do you want it to be?”

“What do you want it to be?” He countered.

“I have a luxury bathroom upstairs, a garden and a roof terrace,” Sadie said with a smile, “Not to mention a stunning drawing-room. This house already has everything that I could want or need; you pick what you want it to be.”

Theo shot her a sheepish look, “I know it’s copying Harry, but I would kind of like a man cave with a bar and a duelling platform. I’m not sure I want the swimming pool though; I think that’s a bit excessive.”

Sadie laughed, “Well make it into a man cave then,” she said as she smiled fondly at her husband.

Theo put his hand on the door, shut his eyes tightly and envisioned the room in his head. After a few seconds, there was a click, and the door swung open of its own accord. He practically bounded into the room, and Sadie had to try very hard not to laugh as she followed him inside.

“This is amazing!”

The room had certainly become what Theo had wanted. It had a very cosy feeling despite the walls all being bare red stone. There were fireplaces at either end of the room though, and it was lit by gas lighting unlike the rest of the house. Sadie supposed that the magic in the room would have interfered with the electricity. The room was huge because it took up half of the basement floor (and it had probably been expanded with magic as well). It had everything Theo had dreamed of, on one side there was a small bar which was surrounded by comfortable sofas and armchairs in the same emerald green as those in the Slytherin common room. In fact, the whole place had an air of the Slytherin common room; the duelling platform on the other side of the room was green and silver and looked far grander than the basic wooden one in Potter Manor.

“I need to think up a good apology before the others arrive,” Theo admitted as he looked around his dream room, “What time is it?”

“I don’t know,” Sadie said. As she looked around the room for a clock, there was a pop, and a grand roman faced clock appeared on the wall in front of her.

Theo grinned, “That’s neat.”

“Yes,” Sadie agreed, “But the fact it’s half 11 isn’t.”

“Yeah,” Theo agreed as he reluctantly walked towards the door, “We better get ready before the others arrive.”

“Yes, we better,” Sadie said with a knowing smile as she took his hand and dragged him out of his mini room of requirement.

* * *

“Happy Homecoming!” Hermione said with a smile as she stepped into the hallway of 11 Grimmauld Place with a large box in her hands.

Sadie smiled at her, “Thanks. What’s in the box?”

“Dessert,” Hermione chirped, “I would say it’s from Draco and I, but I made it this morning while Draco huffed so…”

Sadie rolled her eyes, “Theo has spent the last half hour going over different apology strategies with me. Where is Draco?”

“Still huffing,” Hermione said matter of factly, “He was having a duel with Harry so I left them to it and said I would explain their lateness.”

Sadie laughed, “Theo’s still upstairs. Here, let me take that and pop it in the kitchen.”

Hermione handed Sadie the cake, and the two women walked towards the basement stairs, “So, how was the honeymoon?”

“Amazing,” Sadie admitted with a big smile, “Paris was romantic, and it was so hot as well.”

“Yeah, I did notice that tan,” Hermione said, “It’s only going to get better though isn’t it? With you working in Egypt soon.”

“Not all of the time,” Sadie reminded her, “I’ll only be in Egypt sometimes. I’m going to do as much of my studying as possible from the London Headquarters.”

“I know but still,” Hermione said with a wave of her hands, “You’re going to see much more sun than I will while I’m stuck in an office in the Ministry.”

Sadie smiled sheepishly at her, “I suppose when you put it that way…” she said as she deposited the cake in the pantry, “Thank you so much for everything you guys did with the house, by the way, it’s amazing.”

Hermione smiled proudly, “Oh, don’t thank me too much. Draco and Harry were the ones behind everything. They just roped me in to help with a couple of tricky spells.”

“Let me guess, the roof terrace and the family tree?”

Hermione chuckled, “The roof terrace and the enchantments on the house that keep it hidden from muggles. The family tree was all Draco, and you have Daphne to thank for the interior design, the green with the silver touches was all her idea.”

“I thought it might have been,” Sadie admitted, “Where is she anyway? You and Draco are still living with her and Harry at the moment, aren’t you?”

Hermione nodded, “Yeah, not much has changed since your wedding, to be honest. Susan did move out, though.”

Sadie grinned, “Why do I get the feeling she moved into a certain Weasley’s London bachelor pad?”

Hermione returned her friends grin, “Spot on. She was staying there all of the time, and after about the fifth walk of shame at 8 am Harry told her just to move in with Percy already.”

Sadie laughed, “And she did?”

“Yep, that very same day,” Hermione said with an amused smile, “Draco and I want to move out but restoring Grimmauld Place isn’t as easy as we thought it would be. Before we’re allowed to move in officially, we need to get the place signed off by the Pest-Sub Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and by the Investigation Division of the DMLE. Nobody was allowed to go anywhere near it last week because it had to be fumigated after we had the Ministry guys come in to inspect it.”

Sadie made a face, “What kind of stuff was living in there?”

“Doxys,” Hermione said, and she began to tick things off with her fingers, “Rats, termites, oh, and there were some bundimun in the basement.”

“Ah,” Sadie grimaced, “So they got rid of everything?”

Hermione nodded, “They got rid of everything, but we still aren’t allowed in. The Investigation Division is sending out a couple of guys tomorrow, and until they have made sure every nook and cranny of that house is free of dark magic, we don’t get in.”

Sadie bit her lip, “I’m sorry, that sucks.”

Hermione shrugged, “It’s a pain, but it means that the house will be safe by the time we get in. Merlin knows how long it will take to redecorate once they’ve turned the place upside down though…they are getting rid of the house-elves heads on the wall and the portrait of Sirius’s mother that screams profanities at everyone who enters though so we owe them a thank you for that.”

Before Sadie could comment on that, the floo in the kitchen whirred to life. A disembodied voice said, “Floo Signature of…Daphne Greengrass.”

“Allow access,” Sadie replied.

Hermione looked impressed, “You installed a signature floo system overnight?”

“It took me fifteen minutes this morning,” Sadie admitted, “Is it supposed to be hard?”

Hermione laughed out loud, “Well considering that most people get the Department of Magical Transportation out to do it for them, I would be inclined to say yes.”

Sadie looked vaguely impressed with herself as Daphne stepped out of the flames. She flicked her hair back out of the way then dusted herself down before beaming at Sadie, “Hey Mrs Nott!”

Sadie chuckled and hugged her best friend, “Hey, look, I am so sorry about last night.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry,” Daphne said with a snort, “You had every right to be angry at us. It was a terrible idea. Hermione, Lil and I tried to convince them of that beforehand, but you know how stubborn they are.”

“Yeah,” Sadie said sheepishly, “Theo feels guilty.”

“Where is Theo?” Hermione asked.

“Upstairs, preparing his apology for Draco,” Sadie said with a roll of her eyes.

“You’re not serious?”

“I wish I wasn’t serious,” Sadie said as she shook her head.

Daphne sniggered, “Well, we should have plenty of time to discuss the saucy details about the honeymoon before the gruesome twosome arrive. When I left, they were trying to cut each other’s heads off and disembowel each other, so I think the duel will go on for a bit.”

“What did they fight about?” Sadie asked. She surveyed her friend in amusement as Daphne made herself at home and set the kettle onto the stove and started to boil it.

“Oh, nothing,” Daphne replied.

Hermione shook her head, “Draco just had lots of pent-up frustration because he felt spurned by Theo and Harry always likes the adrenaline rush of a good duel.”

“There are other ways to give Harry an adrenaline rush mind you,” Daphne smirked.

“Which I don’t need to hear about,” Sadie said quickly, “As the one person in this room who hasn’t slept with Harry Potter.”

“I haven’t slept with Harry Potter.”

“Neither have I!”

Sadie spun around and saw the owners of the two voices. Neville and Lilly had arrived, clearly through the front door, and they had made their way downstairs without the others noticing.

“I definitely haven’t slept with Harry Potter,” Theo added as he stepped in behind the couple, “I have standards.”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “I see two weeks of post-marriage bliss on the beaches of France hasn’t changed you one bit, Theo.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t like me anymore if it had Daph,” Theo said as he nudged her in the ribs.

Daphne elbowed him out of the way, hard, and Sadie chuckled to herself, “No wonder you two never hooked up. You act like brother and sister most of the time.”

“He’s annoying enough to be my brother!”

“She’s bratty enough to be my sister!”

“See?” Sadie said with an amused grin as her husband and her best friend continued to bicker.

Lilly shook her head in amusement and held out a bag, “We brought wine and firewhiskey. I picked the wine, and the firewhiskey is from Neville’s secret stash that everyone knows about.”

Sadie laughed, “Thanks very much. Hermione brought dessert, and our new house-elf is making soup for lunch. She’s lovely; I really need to thank Draco for that one.”

Hermione’s nose went up in the air very slightly, “I was against that part of the present.”

Neville cut in before a debate about the welfare of house-elves could begin, “We know you don’t like house-elves Hermione, but we can get into that another day can’t we? Everyone just wants to know what Theo and Sadie got up to on their honeymoon.”

“We squeezed a lot in,” Sadie said.

“Yes, we did,” Theo said with a look on his face which was far too suggestive, “I definitely squeezed a lot-”

“Theo!”

Daphne punched Theo for good measure, but before a fight could break out, the floo whirred to life for the second time.

“Floo Signatures…Harry Potter and Draco Black,” The disembodied voice announced.

“Allow access,” Theo said.

“I guess the duel is over then,” Hermione remarked as Harry stepped out of the fireplace, followed by Draco. Both of them looked to be in fine health, so the duel clearly hadn’t gotten too out of control.

“Did you win baby?” Daphne asked absentmindedly as she took two more mugs out of the cupboard.

“You don’t actually live here, you know,” Theo muttered under his breath.

Daphne just smiled sweetly over at Theo in response to this comment.

“Of course I won, I’m Harry Potter,” Harry said as he shot a smug grin in Draco’s direction.

Draco rolled his eyes, “He only won because he used dirty tactics.”

“That doesn’t sound like you mate,” Neville said.

“Yeah, don’t you finish like every duel with Expelliarmus just to prove a point?” Theo added.

“I don’t want to get typecast,” Harry joked as he leant against the kitchen worktop, “What do you guys think of the house by the way?”

“We love it,” Theo said honestly, “We had a brief explore this morning, and it’s amazing. It’s so much more than we expected.”

“Well that’s what best friends do, isn’t it?” Draco said, “They do nice things for their friends because they love them and appreciate them.”

The dig was really obvious, and most of the occupants of the room rolled their eyes or shared amused looks with their other halves.

Theo, on the other hand, bit his lip, “I know, I’m really sorry for being a dick last night alright? You just wanted to show off the house, and I was more interested in shagging my wife, I’m a horny shallow bastard, okay?”

Draco raised an eyebrow at him.

“And I missed you,” Theo added, “France wasn’t the same without you.”

Harry shook his head in amusement as Draco and Theo hugged.

“I missed you too,” Draco murmured, “And I’m glad you like the house.”

Theo drew back from the hug and smiled, “I love the family tree, adding Hermione onto it was a great touch.”

Draco smiled, “Apology accepted, Theo.”

Theo chuckled, “We liked the rose petals in the jacuzzi, by the way, that was a nice touch.”

“I’m guessing that was your idea, Daph,” Sadie piped up, “Or yours Hermione.”

Draco scoffed, “As if, it was my idea.”

Theo looked at his friend in disbelief, “Seriously?”

“Obviously, I’m more romantic than those two combined,” Draco remarked.

“Charming,” Daphne said as she shot Hermione an amused look.

Theo looked a little emotional as he said, “Thanks, mate. We’re gonna hug again, right? We need to hug it out.”

Draco laughed, “Yeah, let's hug it out.”

Theo tackled Draco to the floor with the strength of his make-up hug.

“Has all that’s wrong with the world been put to rest now?” Daphne asked in amusement as she clicked her fingers and sent mugs of tea in every direction. They hovered in front of the drinker until that person plucked them from the air.

“You might want to re-think this whole career thing and just be a housewife,” Theo teased, “Your domestic charms are better than Sadie’s.”

Sadie glared at her husband and Daphne smacked him around the head, hard.

“My domestic charms are great because I’ve got a house full of people and a house-elf who has rules,” Daphne said with a roll of her eyes, “Kreacher seems to have developed a sense of independence since he met Winky at Hogwarts. He only cooks the main meals now, and he needs plenty of notice if visitors are coming over, so guess who makes breakfast and lunch every day?”

“I bake,” Hermione said sheepishly, “I just can’t cook very well…”

“That’s an understatement,” Draco snorted, “The last time you tried to cook you nearly burnt down Potter Manor.”

“I did not!” Hermione exclaimed, “The chicken was a bit chargrilled, but it was edible!”

“Edible?” Harry cut in, “It was burnt to a crisp!”

“You’re going to have to learn to cook before you guys move in next door,” Theo said in amusement, “Because I’m fairly sure you’re not going to have a house-elf…”

“We certainly will not!” Hermione agreed.

“So who will have Draco’s meals on the table for him when he gets home every night?” Theo joked.

“He can cook his own bloody meals thank you very much!” Hermione said, and it was clear that she was starting to get riled up.

“I think we should head upstairs,” Harry said quickly, “I’m feeling pretty peckish, is anyone else feeling peckish?”

There was a general murmur of agreement, so the argument between Theo and Hermione was narrowly avoided. Theo led the way up the stairs onto the ground floor, and Draco fell into line with him, “I’m either going to have to cook my own meals or starve, I figured that out a while ago,” he muttered under his breath.

“You should send her on that training course,” Theo said with a wicked smirk, “The one for new wives that teaches them domestic spells.”

“Do you honestly think I would survive doing that?” Draco retorted with a raised eyebrow, “She keeps talking about this muggle thing called a freezer and something called microwave meals. Apparently, she can cook them, so I guess that means we’ll have to install electricity in Grimmauld Place.”

Theo snorted, “You’ll be living with Harry and Daph forever then.”

“Tell me about it,” Draco mumbled as they reached the dining room. The group of eight filed in and took their places around the table.

“So,” Neville said conversationally, “What did you guys do in Paris?”

Sadie smiled broadly, “Well, we went to the Louvre, which was lovely until Theo got thrown out for trying to steal the Mona Lisa.”

“I wasn’t trying to steal it!” Theo cut in, “I saw this thing in a muggle movie where there was a secret message written on the back of the American Declaration of Independence, so I wanted to check if there was anything on the back of the Mona Lisa. I just lifted it off the wall, and all these alarms started going off.”

“Yeah probably because they thought you were trying to steal one of the most valuable paintings in the world,” Neville said through his laughter.

“Muggles are so touchy,” Theo said with a roll of his eyes.

Sadie shook her head in exasperation, “So that was on our first day. The next night we went to the Moulin Rouge, and Theo got thrown out of there too because he couldn’t help himself when the music started playing, so he got up on stage and started doing the can-can with the female dancers.”

Harry roared with laughter at that, “Really? They threw you out for that.”

“The French are very touchy,” Theo said with a wave of his hand, “It probably didn’t help that I called them froggy bastards when they told me to get off of the stage.”

Sadie looked at her husband with fond exasperation in her eyes, “So on the third day we went up the Eiffel Tower, and Theo snuck his broom up with him by shrinking it and putting it into his pocket. So there we were at the top of the Eiffel Tower having this lovely romantic moment when Theo climbs up on the railings because he wants to try flying off of the tower, in broad daylight with Muggles all around us!”

Draco shook his head, “Seriously, Theo?”

Theo did look a little sheepish about that one at least. Sadie continued, “So the muggle police dragged him off and tried to arrest him, but when he started talking about how he had a magical broomstick and therefore could fly off of the Eiffel Tower they released him to me and apologised profusely for the fact that I had just married someone who was clinically insane.”

Lilly sniggered at that, “Well, that part is right.”

“Oi, I resent that Moon!”

“She’s right, though!” Draco said. The others echoed their agreement, and the ground floor of Sadie and Theo’s house was filled with the wonderful sound of laughter.

* * *

After lunch, the ladies disappeared into the drawing-room to discuss saucy honeymoon details and the like. The men, on the other hand, withdrew to Theo’s man-cave. While their other halves drank wine and talked about their sex lives, the men were drinking firewhiskey and making small talk.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you mate,” Neville said as he slapped Theo on the back, “We all got tattoos when you were on your honeymoon.”

“Wizarding ones?” Theo asked in disbelief, “You got tattoos without me? All of you?”

“It was a spur of the moment thing,” Draco said a little guiltily, “We had a couple of drinks, and we decided it would be a good idea to get matching tattoos.”

Theo narrowed his eyes at him, “Matching? The three of you got matching tattoos without me? You fucking bastards!”

“We had a feeling you would react like this,” Harry admitted, “So we have good news too.”

“Forget the good news. I want to see your bloody tattoos!” Theo said irritably.

The three men lifted their sleeves up so that their tattoos could be seen. They were magical tattoos, but to muggles, they appeared to be stationary. That was a good thing considering how angry Hermione’s mother had been when she found out that they had tattoos, had she known they were magical ones she probably would have fainted.

“I got a Phoenix for my animagus form,” Harry said as the mighty bird flapped its wings, “And because of the whole thing about a Phoenix rising from its ashes, it reminded me of the war, so I thought it was kind of symbolic.”

“And I got a lion,” Neville said, “As a symbol of Gryffindor. I mean I know you all slag me off for it, but I reckon beheading that snake with the sword of Gryffindor was my proudest moment.”

Theo nodded thoughtfully, “What did you get then Draco? Please tell me it isn’t a snake.”

Draco raised an eyebrow at him, “Do you really think I’m keen to have another snake tattoed on my body? After everything I tried to get rid of the last one?”

Theo grimaced and grabbed his hand, “Yeah, that was stupid of me, sorry.”

Draco nodded, “It was, but that hardly surprises me. Anyway, I got a dragon, partly because my name means dragon but also because I’m fairly sure that my animagus is going to be some form of dragon. I read up on it, and your animagus form is a mixture of your own character and personal traits so a dragon would make sense.”

“Right,” Theo said with narrowed eyes, “So what am I going to get?”

“Well I suggest you wait about a month,” Harry said as he handed Theo a small wooden box.

“Why a month?” Theo asked as he looked at the box tentatively, “And is this going to hurt me?”

“Not if you let me teach you properly,” Harry said with an amused smile, “Go on, open it.”

Theo opened the box and frowned, “A leaf? Oh! A mandrake leaf! Are you serious? Is the potion ready?”

“It will be in a month,” Harry said matter of factly, “I gave Draco and Neville their leaves this morning, so now all you need to do is pop that in your mouth and keep it in there for the rest of the month, and you will be good to go.”

“Awesome,” Theo grinned as he popped the leaf into his mouth, “Sadie’s gonna hate me for the next month mind you.”

“Well, you should have plenty to keep you occupied,” Draco said, “Or have you not had time to read your post yet?”

Theo shook his head, “It’s all lying on the kitchen table, but with you guys coming around and the new house, I haven’t had time to open it. Why? Have the full N.E.W.T results come in yet?”

“Nah, they are due in next week sometime,” Neville replied.

“We did all get our information packs for the Auror Training Selection Process though,” Harry said with a grin.

Theo sat up in his seat at that, “Did we? What did they say?” he asked eagerly.

“It’s this weekend,” Draco said, “And it’s a weekend-long thing. We need to be there for 9 am on Saturday, and we’ll be let out when we’re finished on Sunday, whatever time that is.”

“It’s at the Auror Training Facility on the outskirts of London. You know the one we visited when we did our work placement?” Neville added.

Theo nodded, “Did they give us any more details about what we’ll need to do?”

“Not much,” Harry admitted, “They just told us when to be there, that we aren’t allowed any contact with the outside world for the time that we’re there, and then they gave us a summary of what we will be assessed on, but it just said something along the lines of, you will be tested to and beyond your physical and mental limits to ensure that only the best of the best succeed in getting through to the next stage.”

“He’s paraphrasing, but they really didn’t tell us anything more than that,” Draco added.

“And when we get our N.E.W.T’s through next week if we haven’t gotten the right grade in any of the required subjects we might as well just not show up,” Neville said, “They said it in a politer way than that, but that was the impression I got.”

Harry and Draco nodded their agreement. Theo blew out a breath of air and nearly spat out his mandrake leaf which made the others snigger in amusement, “I was going to be profound there, but I can’t really do that with a mandrake leaf hanging out my mouth,” Theo joked as he shoved the leaf back in.

“How’s this for profound? Anyone fancy opening another bottle of Ogden’s?” Harry asked cheerfully.

Draco narrowed his eyes as he remembered his discussion with Daphne last week, but he kept quiet while Theo and Neville agreed readily.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	5. Exams and Elves

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Ginny took a breath and nodded. She tightened her grip on Blaise’s hand, “It’s the best thing for all of us.”

Blaise looked at her with concern, “You know I would never force you into it, Ginevra and nor would my mother.”

“I know,” Ginny said honestly, “I came to this decision by myself, Blaise.”

She glanced over her shoulder at Zara, Blanche, Beatrice and Billie. They all smiled supportively.

“It’s not how I thought I would get married,” Ginny admitted with a weak chuckle, “A run of the mill service at the Ministry rather than a big white wedding.”

“We can have a big white wedding after the baby is born if you like?” Blaise asked her.

Ginny shook her head, “What’s the point in doing something for appearances? That just makes this a big pureblood sham which is exactly what I don’t want it to be.”

“I understand,” Blaise assured her.

“Are you ready?” A voice asked from the doorway to the small ceremony area.

“We’re just waiting on the last witness,” Zara replied smoothly, “Can you give us five more minutes?”

“Of course,” The man said, and he disappeared once more.

Wizardling law stated that two witnesses had to be present. One had to be a relative or close friend of the groom and the other of the bride. This was to avoid sham marriages and to prevent young girls from being forced into unhappy marriages by their parents.

Seconds later, Bill Weasley stepped into the waiting room and smiled, “You invited me to your wedding?”

Ginny smiled and hugged her eldest brother, “You were the only one who I knew wouldn’t judge, Bill.”

Bill smiled and kissed her on the cheek, “Life is too short to overthink things, Gin. If this is what you want, then I’m all for it.”

“Mum will kill you when she finds out,” Ginny warned him.

“Oh I can handle it,” Bill shrugged, “I handled her wrath when I broke up with Lara, then when I ran away to Egypt and can you remember how mad she was when I brought Fleur home? She _hated_ Fleur; it took a werewolf attack to warm her up to her!”

Ginny laughed and grabbed his hand, “Thanks, Bill.”

Bill smiled broadly and turned to the Zabini’s, “I’m Bill, Ginny’s favourite brother.”

Zara chuckled, “I can see why. I’m Zara. I believe you knew my daughter Belinda?”

Ginny bit back a chuckle as Bill’s ears turned red, “I did, yes,” he said simply.

“You did,” Blanche agreed suggestively, shooting Bill an amused look.

“Is she coming today?” Bill asked. He looked like he was dreading the answer.

“No, she had to work,” Zara replied simply, “My elder children all work hard, perhaps too hard I sometimes think.”

“Ah, I see,” Bill said, trying to hide the wave of relief that had just washed over him.

“Ready yet?” A male voice asked.

Zara smiled and turned to the man, “Yes, we are. Come along, Blaise, it’s your wedding day.”

Blaise rolled his eyes at Ginny as they all traipsed into the room. They weren’t dressed up exactly, Blaise and Bill wore suits and all the women wore dresses but it wasn’t as fancy as a wedding ought to be.

It wasn’t anything fancy, just the standard wizarding wedding ceremony which was sealed with the binding of their magic. That was the part that Ginny had been nervous about, the colour of the glow signified the compatibility of the marriage and the strength of the bond. There was a broad spectrum of colours. For Bill and Fleur, it had been pale blue which signified openness and serenity; Ginny supposed it made sense. Fleur calmed Bill when his anger got out of hand, and he was nothing but open with her.

When Blaise and Ginny’s magic bonded, they kissed briefly and were surrounded by a pink glow.

Zara smiled, “Pink, for grace, gentility and happiness. I do believe that is rather appropriate.”

* * *

“Guys, the N.E.W.T results are here!”

Daphne had never seen or heard the current occupants of Potter Manor move faster than they did when she shouted up the stairs that Monday morning. She shook her head in amusement as she heard clattering and hurried footsteps on the floors above.

“That has to be a record,” Hermione said when Daphne stepped back into the kitchen and sat down across from the Gryffindor girl.

“Tell me about it,” Daphne said as she picked up the Hogwarts letter with her name on it, “Do you think we should wait for the boys before we open them?”

“I didn’t,” Hermione admitted sheepishly.

Daphne looked over and laughed when she realised that Hermione had already ripped into her letter, “How did you do?”

Hermione let a grin break out onto her face, “I got six Outstandings.”

Daphne smiled broadly at her, “Well done! Didn’t I tell you that all of your panicking was for nothing?”

“I’m just relieved,” Hermione admitted, “I know for sure that I’ll be starting my new job in a couple of weeks now.”

“Yeah,” Daphne said as she began to open her letter, “That’s why I’m kind of nervous about opening mine. If I haven’t done well enough, then I won’t be starting my Curse Breaking course anytime soon.”

“What do you need?” Hermione asked.

“I need O’s in Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, DADA and Charms,” Daphne said as she held the letter with shaky hands, “And I need an E in Transfiguration and Potions.”

Hermione scoffed, “You will have done that, easily. Go on, look at it.”

Daphne grimaced slightly as she unfolded the paper and scanned her results. After a tense few seconds, she blew out a sigh of relief, “Thank Salazar; I did it!”

“All O’s?” Hermione guessed.

Daphne shook her head, “I got an E in Herbology, but it was the one class I didn’t need anyway so I can handle that.”

Hermione smiled broadly at her friend, “Perfect! How do you think the boys have done?”

Daphne got to her feet and put the kettle on the stove, “I don’t think you have anything to worry about with Draco if that’s what you mean. He only needs five E’s, and he’s been the second-best student in our year since first year.”

“Has he?” Hermione asked in surprise.

Daphne turned around and looked at her friend with a frown, “You didn’t know that?”

Hermione frowned and shook her head, “Is that why he didn’t like me? Because I beat him in every class?”

“He pretended he didn’t like you because it was easier than admitting that he wanted you,” Daphne smirked, “But the whole know-it-all thing? I reckon that was probably jealousy yeah.”

“Right,” Hermione said quietly, “I can’t believe I never knew that. I mean, I always knew that he was smart of course, but the second-best student in the year…”

“Uh-huh,” Daphne hummed, “Harry on the other hand though...I’m sure he’s nailed DADA, Charms and Herbology but Potions and Transfiguration are his weaker subjects.”

“I’m sure he will be fine,” Hermione said honestly, “He got an E in his O.W.L’s for both Potions and Transfiguration. He just scraped an A in Astronomy and a P in Divination. The only one he really flunked was History of Magic.”

“Really?” Daphne asked curiously as she poured out two mugs of tea and two mugs of coffee, “I always liked History of Magic.”

“So did I,” Hermione admitted, “I found it interesting to learn about the past wars and revolts. I think Harry would have done too, but he always had so much on his mind and Binns made it easy to nap through that class.”

Daphne nodded thoughtfully. Before either of them could say anymore; however, the two men stepped into the kitchen in their pyjamas.

“N.E.W.T results?” Harry asked anxiously.

“On the table babe,” Daphne said as she nodded in the direction of the two letters.

Harry and Draco both grabbed their letters and tore into them as quickly as they could. Daphne and Hermione watched their other halves curiously and cautiously as their eyes scanned their results.

“Yes!” Harry said, “I’ve done it! I’m in the Selection Process!”

Daphne smiled broadly at him, “I knew you could do it. How did you do?” she asked as she handed him his coffee.

“I got three O’s, two E’s and an A,” Harry beamed.

Daphne grinned, “That’s amazing! Was your A in Divination?”

Harry laughed, “Yeah but it’s better than the P I got for my O.W.L. I got an O in Potions Daph, an O!”

Daphne chuckled as Harry put his coffee down on the table and drew her in for a hug, “You deserved it, you wrote an amazing Potions project.”

“It wasn’t that good,” Harry argued, “How did you do?”

“I got an E in Herbology,” Daphne said as Harry held her tightly, “But O’s in everything else.”

“I knew you would manage it,” Harry said, he was bursting with pride, “You’re brilliant.”

“I know,” Daphne said as she smirked up at him.

“How did you do Draco?” Hermione asked her fiancé as Harry finally released Daphne.

“I’m in,” Draco said as he looked up from his letter. He seemed stunned by this result, “I’m actually going to get to go to the Auror Training Selection Process.”

Hermione smiled proudly at him, “Of course you are, you worked hard all year for this.”

“I got one E,” Draco admitted as he looked up at his other half, “But I always knew Transfiguration was my weakest class. Did you get O’s across the board?”

“Yeah,” Hermione replied with a wide grin.

Draco returned her grin and pulled her in for a hug, “I’m proud of you, Hermione.”

Hermione smiled into the embrace and said, “Thanks Draco. I had better go and write a letter to my Mum. She’ll want to know how I did in my exams.”

“I’m going to floo Longbottom House,” Harry said as he sipped from his coffee and walked towards the fireplace, “I want to know how Nev and Lil got on.”

“When you’re done, can I floo Theo?” Draco asked, “I hope he didn’t flunk Herbology after that incident with the Venomous Tentacula, he needs an E to get into the process.”

“I’m sure he scraped by,” Harry chuckled, “But yeah, you can use the floo as soon as I’m finished.”

He knelt in front of the fireplace and threw some floo powder in then he said in a loud, clear voice, “Longbottom House.”

The floo whirred to life, and Harry dipped his head inside it. For a brief moment until Neville allowed him access all Harry could see was the inside of a chimney. After that though the kitchen of Longbottom House came into view.

“Have you had your post this morning?” Harry asked eagerly.

Lilly was pottering around making breakfast, and Neville was sitting at the kitchen table, close to the fireplace.

He grinned at his best friend, “You mean, have I read this?”

Harry nodded eagerly, “How did you do? Are you in?”

“I’m in,” Neville said cheerfully, “And I did way better than I thought. I got three O’s and three E’s.”

“Well done, mate!” Harry said proudly, “I’m in too! I scraped an A in Divination, but apart from that I got E’s and O’s too.”

“How did the others do?” Neville asked as he nibbled on a piece of toast.

“Draco got one E and the rest O’s,” Harry replied, “Hermione got O’s across the board and Daph got an E in Herbology but an O in everything else. How about you, Lil? Are you going to be running around after us Aurors?”

Lilly turned around and grinned at him, “You bet I am.”

“She only went and got O’s across the board,” Neville said with a ridiculously proud smile, “I wouldn’t want anyone else stitching me up.”

“Me either,” Harry admitted.

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Aw you guys, you’re making me blush!” she joked.

Harry laughed loudly, “Anyway, I better get off the floo. Draco wants to floo Theo and Sadie to find out how they did.”

“I’ll give it half an hour before I floo then,” Neville said, “And I can’t wait until Saturday.”

“Neither can I,” Harry admitted, “See you later, Nev!”

“See you, Harry!”

He pulled his head out of the floo and cut the connection.

“So? How did they do?” Daphne asked expectantly.

“Well Neville’s going to be coming to the process with us this weekend, and Lil is going to be stitching us up,” Harry chirped, “They both aced their exams.”

“That’s great!” Daphne said as Draco walked towards the fireplace, “I just hope Theo and Sadie have done as well.”

“I don’t think it’s Sadie we need to worry about,” Draco said. He threw some floo powder into the fireplace and knelt in front of it, “11 Grimmauld Place, London.”

“I’m sure Theo has done fine,” Daphne said.

Draco looked a little sceptical as the floo whirred to life, but before he could say anything else, he had dipped his head into the fire. Like when Harry had floo-ed Neville, there was a moment when Draco’s head was in limbo somewhere in the chimney of the house. However, once Sadie or Theo had accepted the call and allowed access, their sparkling new kitchen materialised before him.

“Good morning Draco,” Theo chirped, “Why ever could you be calling so early this fine Monday morning?”

Draco rolled his eyes, “You know why I’m calling, you idiot. Please tell me you passed your exams.”

“You almost sound desperate,” Theo grinned.

“Well surprisingly, I’d kind of like to have my best friend as my Auror partner,” Draco said sarcastically.

“Aw, how cute!” Sadie teased as she poked her head out of the pantry, “We don’t have any eggs, honey. Do you want a bacon and sausage muffin instead?”

“That sounds amazing babe,” Theo called over his shoulder. He turned back to Draco and said, “Don’t worry mate, I scraped through like I always do.”

“What did you get?” Draco asked curiously after he had blown out a sigh of relief, of course.

“O’s across the board with two notable exceptions,” Theo said in amusement, “Guess which two?”

“Astronomy and Muggle Studies?” Draco chuckled.

“Got it in one, brother,” Theo grinned, “I got an E in Astronomy which is a miracle, I think it’s cause Sinistra fancies me.”

Draco snorted.

“And I got an A in Muggle Studies,” Theo said, “That’s just chance I reckon. The exam was mostly multiple choice.”

“Oh shut up,” Draco said, he smiled fondly at his best friend, “I know you stayed up late to study. What I’m more impressed with is the fact you got an O in Herbology.”

“Yeah me too,” Theo admitted with a grin, “I don’t reckon it counted against me since the exam was technically finished.”

Draco chuckled, and Theo grinned, “How did you guys all do?”

“We’re all going to the process on Saturday,” Draco said happily, “Harry and Neville got a mix of O’s and E’s. I got an E in Transfiguration but aced everything else, Daph got an E in Herbology but O’s in the rest of her classes and-”

“- and the Princess got O’s across the board,” Theo finished.

Draco laughed, “Yeah, and she would kill you if she heard you call her that.”

“Good thing she can’t hear me then,” Theo grinned.

“Lil got O’s across the board too,” Draco said, “So she’ll be stitching us up when we get into stupid situations.”

“Wicked,” Theo grinned, “Sadie got 6 O’s and an E in DADA, so she’s chuffed to bits. It looks like everyone is going to get into the courses that they wanted to get into.”

“It’s a miracle,” Draco laughed, “Anyway, I better get back. Harry and I have been duelling every day to try and train ourselves for the process.”

“Do you mind if I pop over later to join in for a bit?” Theo asked, “I think a couple of weeks of lazing on beaches and eating fattening food has made me lose my touch .”

Draco snorted in amusement, “Sure, see you later mate.”

* * *

“Honey?”

Hermione looked up suspiciously, “You never call me honey.”

“Sometimes I do,” Draco argued, “I mean I have, once or twice, haven’t I?”

“No,” Hermione said as she narrowed her eyes at him, “What do you want?”

“Nothing!” Draco said a little too quickly, and a little too defensively, “I just wanted to talk to you about the house.”

“Have you heard anything else about it?” Hermione asked hopefully, “I know they only went in there on Monday, so they have only had a few days to look around, but I was hoping they might be done soon.”

“They won’t be,” Draco admitted, “I did talk to them this morning. They have cleared the attic and removed the house-elves heads from the staircase. They originally thought it would be a three-day job, but they didn’t realise quite how stubborn Walburga Black is. They found a secret door into another part of the basement too, so that needs to be investigated.”

“Why? What’s inside it?” Hermione asked anxiously.

“I don’t know,” Draco said honestly, “They wouldn’t tell me over the floo, but it’s all going to be in their oral report when they finish on Friday.”

“Friday?” Hermione asked irritably, “That means we won’t get any work done before you go off to the Auror Training Process on Saturday! I mean, what can I even do while I’m waiting for you to install the electricity?”

“I don’t know,” Draco replied honestly, “And _I_ am not installing the electricity so that you know. I spoke to Harry, and he told me that the best idea was to get a Muggle electrician in to do it.”

“Great!” Hermione snapped, “It will take weeks then!”

“Would you rather I killed myself playing with bloody muggle cables?” Draco asked her, just as irritably.

Hermione shot him a glare, “No.”

“Then don’t complain about how long it will take him to do it,” Draco said matter of factly, and perhaps a little smugly, “But look, that wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve been thinking about how we’re going to manage things once we move in, things like the housework.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him again, “Right?”

“And I know that you’re against house-elves but what if we got someone else in to help?” Draco asked.

“Someone else?” Hermione asked cautiously, “What do you mean?”

“Someone human,” Draco said tentatively, “A cook.”

“A cook?” Hermione asked in that high-pitched voice that meant she was trying not to lose her temper, “Look Draco, I know my cooking might not be the best, but I will not have you employ a cook in our household!”

“I would pay her. It would be fair unlike with house-elves,” Draco said quickly.

“I don’t want servants!” Hermione snapped, “We are not bloody Victorians! Why can’t you just do the cooking when we have guests and let me cook using the microwave?”

“I have no idea what this microwave thing is,” Draco said, “And how is it fair that I am the one to cook every time we have all of our friends over? Harry, Theo and Neville don’t cook; they have house elves!”

“How many times do I need to tell you? I will not have a house-elf!”

Draco sighed heavily and reached into his pocket, “Then maybe you should think about this. I would pay for it for you, and it only takes an afternoon.”

Hermione snatched the pink leaflet from him and looked down at the front page, “You cannot be fucking serious.”

When Hermione started swearing Draco knew that he had pissed her off, “There’s no shame in-”

“No shame?” Hermione shrieked, this was it. She had blown her top, the shouting was about to commence, “You just gave me a leaflet titled “Becoming the Ultimate Housewife”, you’re lucky I haven’t blasted you into the bloody wall! If you wanted a housewife and a house-elf and a woman to fill with heirs, then you shouldn’t have proposed to me! No house elves, no cooks and no fucking courses on how to be a perfect housewife!”

“Hermione-” Draco tried to cut in as she stormed in the direction of the door.

“You heard me, Draco!” Hermione roared. Before Draco could say anymore, Hermione had swept out of the room. He heard her stomp through the house and after a minute or so he heard the front door slam with a thud. It was at that point that he let out a long-suffering sigh and dropped his head into his hands.

* * *

“Uh…hi Hermione.”

“Hi Lilly,” Hermione said irritably, “Do you mind if I stay here for a bit? If I go back to Potter Manor, I think I might murder my fiancé.”

“He didn’t tell you to go on the domestic course, did he?” Lilly asked with a grimace as she stepped back so that Hermione could walk into the house.

Hermione stomped into the entrance hall of Longbottom house and thrust a leaflet at her friend, “This bloody thing you mean?”

Lilly made a face, “Oh dear…I think you should come to the kitchen; you need a cup of tea.”

Hermione nodded and followed Lilly through the entrance hall into the kitchen. Longbottom House was significantly smaller than Potter Manor, it only had two floors, but those two floors were very spacious. The second floor was filled with eight bedrooms and plenty of bathrooms. The first floor sported a large formal dining room, a living room, a library/study, a lovely big bathroom and a beautiful country style kitchen with an attached pantry and cloakroom.

Neville had also extended down into the basement which gave them slightly more living space. Half of the basement was unusable due to flood damage that had occurred while the house was empty. However, the area underneath the kitchen and library had been converted into a cinema room kitted out with a projector, and a smaller bar/sitting room.

Hermione’s favourite thing about the house wasn’t inside though; she loved the terrace that ran the length of the front of the house. Longbottom House looked great from the outside. It was whitewashed and grand looking like Potter Manor.

The terrace had the most beautiful views out over the gardens (which of course were kitted out with a pond and a large vegetable plot). Longbottom House had a different feel from Potter Manor and the Grimmauld Place houses because it was further away from London. It felt far more like a country retreat and the fact that the views from every single window were of Exmoor National Park just completed that feel.

“Oh, that looks lovely Tokey,” Lilly said kindly to the house-elf that was pottering away in the kitchen.

The elf turned its large hazel eyes on Lilly and smiled broadly, “Thank you, Miss Lilly! Mister Neville says chicken hotpot is your favourite!”

Lilly smiled, “It is, and that smells much better than my Grandma’s.”

The elf blushed and bowed lowly, “Thank you ever so much, Miss Lilly. Is Miss Lilly wanting Tokey to fetch tea?”

“No, I’ll get the tea,” Lilly said with a wave of her hand as she popped the kettle on the stove, “Did Neville tell you where he went this morning Tokey?”

“Yes, Miss Lilly,” Tokey said with a fervent nod, “He said he was training with Mr Potter.”

“Ah,” Lilly said with a nod, “Okay, thanks Tokey.”

Hermione had been watching this exchange with mild interest. She had seen many people treat house-elves like scum, and she had seen many people treat them like they were slaves. However, she had never seen someone treat a house elf like a human, like a friend, until now.

“So,” Lilly said as she put some tea leaves in a pot and turned to face Hermione, “Draco had the conversation about ‘the help’ with you.”

“How did you know about that?” Hermione asked as she tore her eyes away from Tokey.

“He asked for my advice,” Lilly said with an amused smile, “He wanted the opinion of a muggle-born on how you would suggest to another muggle-born that they really ought to consider a house-elf or a domestic training course.”

“And you agreed with him?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

“No, I told him you would curse his bollocks off if he tried to suggest either,” Lilly said matter of factly, “Clearly he didn’t listen.”

“Clearly,” Hermione fumed, “I mean, have you even looked at this thing?”

Lilly glanced curiously at the leaflet and snorted. The front page had a picture of a young, pretty witch smiling angelically. She winked at them from the cover as the title sparkled above her, _“Becoming the Ultimate Housewife.”_

“Just a touch sexist,” Lilly said sarcastically.

“It gets worse,” Hermione said as she flipped the leaflet open to show Lilly the two page spread about this afternoon course.

Lilly shook her head in disbelief as she read aloud, _“We can teach you in just three hours how to become the perfect housewife! Our course teaches basic cooking and cleaning charms that will leave your house sparkling and your husband smiling!”_

“Do you know what it reminds me of?” Hermione asked angrily, “Around the time of World War One, do you remember all the promotional posters about how women could help the war effort by rationing and about how their place was in the home while their husbands fought?”

“Yeah, it does have a certain early 20th-century sexism feel to it,” Lilly admitted, “I mean this last page about the oath of the perfect housewife is total bullshit. Have you read it?”

“I didn’t get that far,” Hermione admitted, “I stormed out of the house before I could do something I would have regretted in the morning.”

Lilly snorted in amusement, “Listen to this. _I believe that homemaking is a noble and challenging career._

_I believe that homemaking is an art requiring many different skills._

_I believe that homemaking requires the best of my efforts, my abilities and my thinking._

_I believe that no task is too humble that contributes to the cleanliness, the order, the health and the wellbeing of the household._

_I believe that a homemaker must be true to the highest ideals of love, loyalty and service._

_I believe that a home must be an influence for good in the neighbourhood, the community and the country.”_

“Is that the biggest load of pureblood bullshit you have ever heard or what?” Hermione asked as the kettle screeched to a boil.

Lilly scoffed as she poured out the tea, “It sounds exactly like the kind of crap they teach pureblood girls to prepare them for marriage. I mean Daphne and Sadie both went to finishing school, did you know that?”

“I knew that Daphne did,” Hermione admitted, “But I didn’t realise that Sadie had too.”

“Their mothers paid for them to go and spend a summer learning how to curtsey and dance,” Lilly said in disbelief, “They were taught how to use silverware properly and the most elegant way to drink out of a wine glass. All for what? So they would attract a rich husband?”

“I think that’s exactly why,” Hermione said as Lilly set a cup of tea down in front of her.

“Well I suppose their mothers must be happy then,” Lilly mused, “I mean Theo’s family own houses in practically every country in Europe. Between farming rare forms of Gillyweed and running a firewhiskey distillery, they are loaded.”

“And Harry has lots of money,” Hermione said with a nod, “He has Potter Manor and all of the money in the Potter family account. Mind you; Daphne didn’t need a man with money, did she? Her father ran the biggest shipping business in Britain. He shipped wands to Japan and firewhiskey to Canada.”

“And he shipped in illegal immigrants and black market products too,” Lilly said darkly, “He was always in trouble with the law. That’s where all the Greengrass money came from, crime.”

“What about Sadie?” Hermione asked with a frown, “Her family made their money through legitimate means, didn’t they?”

Lilly shrugged, “I don’t know whether you could call it legitimate. Her father invented the sneakoscope,

which is where all of their money came from, but rumour has it that he stole the idea from a German wizard and then erased his memory.”

“We should have introduced him to Lockhart,” Hermione joked.

Lilly laughed and sipped her tea, “It’s funny though, isn’t it? Sadie and Daphne ended up with everything their parents wanted, but neither of us set out to find a rich man and make him our husband.”

“No,” Hermione agreed thoughtfully, “But that’s because it isn’t about that, is it? We fell in love and then everything else came after that. Sometimes it’s an issue that Draco grew up with a mother who was a housewife, and a house-elf to do all of their cooking for them and I grew up with two parents who worked and fed me on microwave meals and microchips.”

“Oh, I loved microchips,” Lilly admitted with a smile, “And I do get it, you know? It’s not quite the same with Nev and I because he had a fairly similar upbringing to me. It was just him and his gran, they had money, but Augusta didn’t really use it. She bought what they needed, and they got by just fine.”

“How about you?” Hermione asked, “Did both of your parent’s work?”

Lilly nodded, “My Dad worked away a lot because he was an entertainer. He used to go on tours and be gone for weeks at a time so most of the time it was Mum and me. My mum worked in a care home, so she worked long unsociable hours. I got pretty good at being my own company.”

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, “The thing is, it’s not that my family don’t have any money. My parents are paid well with both of them being dentists, I grew up in a nice house, and we went on holiday to France every year, you know? It’s just that we didn’t have servants.”

“I think that’s just a pureblood thing,” Lilly said honestly, “I mean let’s face it, in the muggle world you don’t have servants unless you’re a lord or a lady, but here everyone with a decent sized house and a seat on the Wizengamot has a house elf. It’s going back to that whole ‘the wizarding world is so Victorian thing’ though. A hundred years ago, it wouldn’t be uncommon for most well off families to have a house full of servants.”

“Still,” Hermione said as her eyes lingered on Tokey’s back as the elf disappeared into the pantry, “Do you really think it’s right?”

Lilly bit her lip, “I know your opinion, Hermione, I heard all about your elvish protection welfare society-”

“Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare,” Hermione corrected quickly.

“Yeah,” Lilly said sheepishly, “And I understand what you’re trying to prove with that. The thing is, house-elves don’t think they need any more rights.”

“That’s because they don’t know any better!” Hermione exclaimed, “They are slaves, Lilly! They don’t get paid, that makes them slaves.”

“Does it really, though?” Lilly asked calmly, “Compare the situation with an old fashioned muggle one. There would be a big muggle household with a lord and a lady. They would entertain royal guests and the like, yes?”

Hermione narrowed her eyes but nodded, “What does this have to do with house-elves?”

“I’m getting to it,” Lilly said, “That house would always be close to a village. What would the people in that village do? Well sure some of them would run a pub or an inn. Some of them would have a trade but then what about the poorer of them? They would be employed on the farms that the people in the big house owned. Then what about the rest? The women who weren’t allowed to farm?”

“I get what you’re saying Lilly, but it’s a different situation,” Hermione said, “The girls who worked as servants were paid.”

“They were paid the most minimal fee,” Lilly argued, “In return for their service they got a room in the big house, they got three square meals a day and the most meagre pay. It was enough to take back to elderly parents and just help them get by, but that was all it was. Their pay was their board and their food, how is that any different to a house-elf?”

“House-elves don’t get any pay at all,” Hermione replied, “They don’t get any holiday. They don’t even get to wear proper clothes.”

“Tokey doesn’t wear a ragged old pillowcase,” Lilly pointed out, “She has several, and I wash them every day for her. I don’t force her to do anything that she’s uncomfortable with. She doesn’t clean the basement because it scares her and I’m totally fine with that. I do everything that I can, I won’t ask her to do something if I can do it myself but at the same time, having someone to keep a big house like this clean and to cook when Neville and myself are busy is really handy.”

Hermione sighed, “I know you treat her right and trust me, I am not trying to imply that all wizards treat their house-elves like slaves, but some do, and that isn’t right.”

“It isn’t,” Lilly agreed, “And by all means, try and change that. Try and find a way for house-elves to leave their master's service if they are being mistreated, but you cannot try and free all house-elves Hermione. For them it’s just like serving the lord and lady in the big house, you know the way that a girl’s mother would recommend her to the lady when she was looking for a new maid because she had been a maid at the house and her mother had been a cook? That’s how it is for house-elves. It’s an honour to serve the family that their ancestors served.”

Hermione sighed deeply, “I just can’t see it that way.”

“Well think about it this way then,” Lilly said matter of factly, “You’ve seen that person who desperately wants work dragging themselves into the jobcentre day after day haven’t you? Even someone like you with a privileged background knows how sad and desperate that person looks.”

Hermione only nodded.

“That is a house-elf who doesn’t have a family to serve,” Lilly said, “A house-elves health is tied to their family. Serving a family makes them happy and healthy. When they don’t have that they have no purpose, and there is nothing more pitiful than seeing a depressed house-elf in that state.”

Hermione frowned to herself as she remembered Winky’s mental breakdown after she had been freed by the Crouch family.

“You would be doing a house elf a favour by bringing them into your home, making them a part of your family and treating them well,” Lilly said honestly, “You would be doing them an injustice by refusing to employ one and trying to force that upon others.”

Hermione looked up at her friend, “Is that really how it works?”

Lilly nodded, “Talk to Draco about it. That house is going to be yours as much as it is his so if going to meet the house-elf that the agency pair you with will help you then do it. Don’t leave it all to Draco, go with him and meet the house-elf. I think it might just change your opinion. If it doesn’t, that’s fine but at least that way you can say that you tried to do things his way.”

Hermione sighed again as she pushed herself to her feet, “Alright, I will. How does it work, being paired with a house-elf?”

“You go to The House Elf Allocation Agency in London,” Lilly explained, “They ask you about your requirements first of all. It’s simple stuff like the size of your house and the services you require of your house-elf because some have specialist skills.”

“Like?” Hermione asked curiously.

“There are more mature elves who are great at keeping an eye out if you have young children,” Lilly replied, “And there are young elves who make good playmates for young children if you don’t have many other friends with children. Some elves are particularly good at cooking, and other elves can cook, but their speciality is cleaning. They don’t ask you any super personal questions. They just want to get an idea about what kind of house-elf would fit in with you best.”

“Then what?” Hermione asked.

“They pair you up with an elf,” Lilly replied, “You get to meet the elf and talk to them. When we met Tokey, we instantly knew we would take her in. She had been cast out by an abusive family, they wouldn’t tell us who because of confidentiality issues, and she just wanted a quiet life. I asked if she would mind doing a bit of cooking and cleaning in a big house and she got upset because she didn’t think she could handle a big house all by herself. I didn’t realise that this doesn’t count as a big house in the wizarding world, she had come from a five-story wizarding manor.”

“Ah,” Hermione said with a slight smile.

“So this was like a retirement home for her,” Lilly said with a smile, “I liked her personality straight away so we said we would take her on and she has fitted in just great.”

“So you can go and meet the elf, then change your mind?” Hermione asked carefully.

Lilly nodded again, “If you meet the elf and still think that it’s wrong, then you are under no obligation to take that elf or any elf on.”

“Okay,” Hermione said with a small nod, “I’ll talk to Draco about it.”

Lilly smiled at her friend, “Good, I think the two of you would struggle without an elf. You’re both going to have such busy full-on careers after all.”

Hermione nodded once more, “Thanks for all of your help Lilly.”

“Anytime,” Lilly said cheerfully.

* * *

“Who are you, and what have you done with Hermione Granger?”

Hermione rolled her eyes and let her hands rest on her hips, “You heard what I said.”

“I heard it,” Draco agreed, “I’m not convinced the words ‘let’s consider a house-elf’ came from your lips. Have you been imperiused? Has someone polyjuiced into you?”

Hermione glared at him, “Draco, I’m serious. We need to talk about this.”

Draco raised his hands, “Okay, I’m listening. My fiancé, who has sworn blind since she was fifteen that she would never own a house-elf, has just suggested that we consider owning a house-elf.”

Hermione sighed and sank into an armchair, “Lilly gave me a different perspective on it. She suggested that I would be doing house-elves more harm than good by keeping them out of work. I am not saying that we should get one either, all I’m saying is that it wouldn’t hurt to go down to the agency and give it a go, would it?”

Draco stared at her speechlessly.

“I mean we could do the whole pairing test and meet the elf they pair us with,” Hermione continued, “And if I still feel like it’s wrong then we will have to come up with another solution but if Lilly’s right and I end up feeling sorry for the house-elf and wanting to take it in, then we will. Won’t we?”

“Uh…yeah,” Draco said with a frown.

“Are you okay with that plan?” Hermione asked slowly.

Draco nodded as he caught her eye, “I’m fine with it. I’m just amazed that Lilly managed to change your mind.”

“She didn’t change my mind,” Hermione said, “She just gave me a different perspective.”

Draco nodded again, “Alright, when do you want to do this?”

“Once we actually have access to the house,” Hermione replied, “You need to focus on getting through the selection process first so let’s start thinking about it seriously next week, okay?”

“Okay,” Draco said, he shook his head in disbelief as he turned away from her. He was stunned that she had taken such a drastic U-turn in a mere matter of hours.

* * *

Harry was pleasantly surprised when his old best friend appeared on his doorstep on Friday morning, “Hey Ron!”

Ron smiled, “Hey, mate. Can I come in?”

“Sure,” Harry said, he stepped back, “Is everything okay?”

“Nah, there’s family drama,” Ron said with a roll of his eyes, “I’m here to warn you before you have to face it all on Sunday.”

“Oh,” Harry frowned, “Well, I’m not going to the Burrow on Sunday. it’s the selection process for Auror training this weekend.”

“Ah, damn,” Ron muttered, “Shit, mate, I didn’t realise.”

“It’s alright, but Daphne and Hermione were planning on taking Teddy so you should probably come and fill them in on the family drama,” Harry said in amusement, “Who was it?”

“Take a guess,” Ron snorted as they walked into the kitchen where Draco, Hermione and Daphne were sitting around the dining table.

“It’ll be Gin then?” Harry guessed.

Ron nodded, “Yep, it was Gin alright.”

“Oh, dear,” Hermione said, “What’s happened?”

“Family drama,” Harry said, pushing himself up onto the work surface, “Ron’s here to fill us in before we have to face Molly’s wrath on Sunday. Good thing you and I are busy, eh Draco?”

Hermione threw a bit of toast at him, “Shut up, Harry. What happened, Ron?”

“Ginny and Mum fought,” Ron explained, “One hell of a fight according to Dad. She said some bad stuff, and Mum said some bad stuff. Then Ginny moved in with the Zabini’s.”

“Oh shit,” Draco muttered.

“Shut up,” Daphne muttered back, “Why does this involve us having to face Molly’s wrath, Ron?”

“Because some things came out in the course of the argument,” Ron said sheepishly, “I think the wording was along the lines of, ‘Harry spent the war shagging Hermione while we were supposed to be waiting for each other and that’s why I didn’t marry him’.”

“Well…shit,” Harry muttered.

Hermione sighed, “And I gather she’s not happy about that then?”

“She’s outraged,” Ron rolled his eyes, “Even though it’s none of her bloody business.”

“Thanks for the heads up, mate,” Harry said with a genuine smile, “But I reckon Hermione can take your mum on.”

“Do you?” Hermione snorted.

“Oh I’ll back you up,” Daphne assured her, “I spent the war shagging the guy who knocked her daughter up, remember? She tries it on you, and I’ll pull that one out, and she can go to town on me, I’ll give as good as I get.”

Harry grinned at her, “You’re a great friend, you know that?”

“You’d have made a great Hufflepuff,” Draco said, smirking at her.

“Say that again, and I’ll hex you into next week,” Daphne said, pointing at her friend.

Draco raised his hands, “I’m saying nothing. Thanks for the heads up, Weasel. Your mum does need to lighten up a bit though, doesn’t she? I mean, I thought _my_ family were conservative.”

“Your family are conservative,” Daphne scoffed, “Your Grandfather and Theo’s Grandfather were gay as fuck for each other, but it was all covered up. Anyone who stepped out of line was just disowned and banished from the family tree.”

“Yeah, good point,” Draco mused, “But I reckon this generation is going to be different. I’d be okay with my kids being gay.”

“Well, _I_ am very liberal,” Hermione began to say.

“Yes, we know,” Harry cut in. He shot Ron an amused look, “Does anyone in this room need an example of how liberal Hermione’s political views are? Nope? No? Thank fuck for that.”

At this, Hermione got up and hit Harry over the head with her newspaper.

Ron guffawed with laughter at the sight.

“Some things never change,” Harry muttered as he glared at Hermione.

“Nah, and that’s a good thing,” Ron chuckled.

* * *

“Lillian Moon, you are the mistress of persuasion.”

Lilly turned around and raised an eyebrow at Draco, “Do I need to be worried that you’re trying to seduce me?”

“He better not be,” Neville said from his spot next to Lilly, “Or I _will_ kill him.”

“Don’t worry fatbottom, I’m not trying to seduce your girlfriend,” Draco said dryly, “I’m just amazed that she managed to convince my fiancé to consider owning a house-elf.”

Lilly smirked at the blond boy, “I can be very persuasive when I want to be. I can also be very dangerous so remember that before you come into my infirmary with stupid injuries.”

Neville grinned at her, “I like it when you get authoritative.”

Draco groaned, “That’s more about your sex life than I ever needed to know.”

“Hurry up, Hermione!” Harry shouted from further along the second row. They were all gathered in the cinema room in the basement of Longbottom House. It was Friday evening, and they had decided to get together and enjoy film night to take their minds off their worry about the Auror Training Selection Process.

“Yeah, the movie is starting!” Daphne called up the stairs.

“Oh hush, I’m here,” Hermione said as she appeared with a large bowl filled with sweet snacks. She divided it into several smaller bowls then slipped into her seat next to Draco. She was utterly oblivious to the conversation that had just occurred.

“So what are we watching tonight?” Hermione asked.

“It’s called _“Braveheart”,_ and it was Theo’s choice so blame him if it’s shit,” Neville replied.

“What’s it about?” Draco asked.

“You’ll find out if you watch it,” Theo replied sarcastically.

Draco rolled his eyes, but he fell silent as they all settled in to watch the film. They were all enjoying it well enough until….

“Hold up, pause it!”

Neville rolled his eyes but paused the film at Draco’s request, “What’s the problem ferret?”

Hermione hid an amused smile as Draco pointed at the screen, “What is _that_?”

“What?”

“That white thing in the background!”

“It’s a white van,” Hermione replied, “It’s a muggle form of transport usually used by builders and tradesmen.”

“What’s it doing on a 13th-century battlefield then?” Draco asked in disbelief.

“This film wasn’t made in the 13th century Draco,” Harry said in amusement, “It was made later, and the people filming it didn’t notice that there was a white van in the background until it was too late.”

Draco scoffed and shook his head, “What a continuity error,” he complained.

“Alright, I’m getting the impression that you’re not happy about the white van. Can I put the film back on now?” Neville asked as he shot Lilly a vaguely amused look.

Draco rolled his eyes once more and allowed Neville to put the film back on. They watched in silence for a few more minutes until Neville asked curiously, “What is this battle anyway?”

“Oh, it’s the Battle of Stirling Bridge,” Theo replied nonchalantly.

Draco narrowed his eyes, “Where’s the bridge?”

“What?”

“The Battle of Stirling Bridge must have been fought on a bridge,” Draco pointed out, “They don’t call it the Battle of Hogwarts because it was fought in Hogsmeade, do they?”

“Merlin Draco, you take everything so literally,” Hermione groaned.

“Well if you’re going to make a film based on real-life events you need to at least make it properly!” Draco objected.

“Nothing about this film is right, that’s why it’s hilarious,” Lilly pointed out, “I mean does Mel Gibson _sound_ Scottish to you? He’s a bloody Aussie!”

“Honestly,” Draco scoffed under his breath.

“Stop muttering under your breath, or I’m going to silence you for the rest of the movie,” Susan piped up from the row behind them where she had been sitting, rather silently, with Percy.

Draco rolled his eyes irritably, but he did try and refrain from making such comments for the remainder of the film. Although the others commented on things like the fact Edward I was a dickhead and that the love story between William Wallace and the prince of England’s wife was totally unbelievable.

When they reached the end of the movie, they all headed upstairs into the kitchen. Nobody really wanted to go home yet because it was still early and they were having a good night.

“I’ll go into the storeroom and get another keg of butterbeer,” Theo had offered as the group shuffled out of the cinema and headed upwards. Nobody thought any more of it than that until the basement door burst open and Theo ran into the room wearing nothing but his boxers, with blue paint all over his face and his body screaming at the top of his lungs, “FREEEEEEDOOOOOOM!”

As their mad friend streaked across the kitchen of Longbottom House, Draco summed up how he, Harry and Neville were all feeling.

“For the love of Merlin, we’re going to have to share a room with him for the next 24 hours.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	6. The Auror Training Selection Process

“Are you nervous?”

Draco shuffled from one foot onto the other and looked up at his friends as they waited in line in a large grey foyer, “We all are, aren’t we? War heroes or not.”

Neville nodded as they all took a step forward. They had been waiting in line for about ten minutes with everyone else who would be going through the Auror selection process today.

“I didn’t think there would be this many people,” Theo admitted.

Harry glanced around the foyer thoughtfully, “Neither did I, but I suppose that this is the hard bit, isn’t it? A lot of people can get the required grades, but not everyone can prove they can handle the pressure.”

Draco swallowed harder than he needed to and nodded as they all took another step forward. They were almost at the front of the cue now, “Yeah, there isn’t even any guarantee that all four of us are going to meet the mark.”

“Try to stop worrying,” Harry said quietly, “If you doubt yourself, then they’re going to doubt you too. We all know you can do this and I think deep down you do too.”

Before Draco could comment any further on this, they had reached the front of the line, and he was the first to walk forward. He gave his name and his date of birth then he was given a badge and told to head into the lecture hall down the corridor. As Draco walked away, Harry, Neville and Theo each stepped forward and were given name badges and told the same thing.

They filed into the lecture hall one by one. Draco had saved seats in the front row, everyone who had come in before them had instinctively opted for the back or middle row and they had been towards the end of the line. Nobody in the hall was talking; they were all sitting in uncomfortable silence as they looked around for any sign of the people who could become their superiors.

After Theo had taken his seat, the main door to the hall slammed shut, which made some people in the back row jump. Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes as a side door at the front of the room opened and two men clad in Auror robes walked in.

“Good morning!” One of the men boomed. He was tall and stocky with greying black hair and a somewhat intimidating scar across his face. The other Auror was a man with dark brown hair who looked a little younger, scrawnier and shorter than his colleague.

“My name is Auror Sumner, and this is my colleague, Auror Sheppard,” Sumner continued in his loud, clear voice, “And I would like to welcome you all to our selection process.”

Sheppard stepped forward and continued, “Over the course of the next 48 hours you will be put through your paces. If you don’t come out of this weekend feeling black and blue, then we consider ourselves to have failed you.”

“We want the best,” Sumner added, “We don’t get the best by giving you written tests and looking at your grades. We push people to their limits, and the ones who don’t break are the ones we want.”

Sheppard surveyed the room full of people, “Normally about fifteen candidates get to this stage, and we then cut that number down to five.

“But we’ve had a war since then,” Sumner said, “So we loosened up our entry requirements last year, and we extended that offer this year. Last year we had 33 people throw their hats into the ring and war heroes or not; we only took on eight of them.”

“This year there are 34 of you,” Sheppard continued, “And we’ll be surprised if we take on double figures. Auror training in this country is the hardest to get into throughout Europe, and there’s a reason for that. The people who are selected after this weekend are going to become responsible for the security of our country. They are going to be the ones fighting the next Grindelwald, or the next Voldemort. That is _not_ something that we take lightly, it’s hard for a reason, and if you can’t hack it now, then you’ll never be able to hack it.”

“With that being said, does anyone want to leave?” Sumner asked.

Harry turned around and looked at those in the rows behind. There was some shuffling, but nobody moved from their seats.

“Good,” Sumner said as he clapped his hands together, “Right then, let me explain to you how we’re going to do this. We are going to split you into two groups and test you on three different areas that are essential in our line of work.”

“Those three areas are your physical abilities, your magical abilities and your mental capabilities,” Sheppard said as he ticked each one off on his fingers, “We’ll be testing your physical and magical abilities today then we give you a night to recover before we test your mental capabilities tomorrow.”

“We used to test candidates on all three in one day,” Sumner added, “But we had too many candidates passing out by the time we got to the final set of tests, so we decided to change the formula a little bit.”

“That doesn’t mean any of this is any easier though,” Sheppard reminded them.

Sumner nodded, “So everyone in the front row is going to be in group one with me. You six in the middle row there, you’re with me too.”

“The back row and the rest of the middle row,” Sheppard addressed, “You’re going to be in group two with me.”

“No more chit-chat!” Sumner said, “I want you on your feet. My group first, follow me, and we’ll get started.”

The front row and half of the middle row got up and followed Sumner out of the room by the side door. They emerged into a grey corridor that looked reasonably similar to every other grey corridor in the Auror training complex, and they were led along it for a little while. They passed various classrooms on the way, and eventually, they seemed to reach their destination; it looked like a hospital waiting area.

The grey walls had become white, and the room was filled with uncomfortable looking armchairs. At the far end of the room, there were a series of doors labelled as _“Testing Room 1”_ through to _“Testing Room 5”._

“Alright, listen up!” Sumner called in his loud, booming voice.

The room instantly fell silent, “As you can see, we have five testing rooms. We’re going to test you on both your physical and magical ability, five candidates at a time. Each candidate will be assessed by a Senior Auror like myself and by a standard red robe. You won’t be able to see the Aurors assessing you but trust me; they can see your every move so if you try to cheat they _will_ know. Now, like a lot of things in the wizarding world, these testing rooms are a lot bigger on the inside than they look on the outside. Once you go through that door, you will progress through a series of rooms. There is no time limit, and each room has a plaque that tells you what is expected of you. My best piece of advice is, read those plaques very carefully and ensure you understand exactly what is required of you before you start the task. Is that understood?”

There was a mumble of “Yes’s” and a series of nods.

Sumner continued, “Good. Now here is the crucial part, we have a different way of scoring each room, but every room that you are going to face today can be failed. If you fail a room, the Aurors assessing you will announce this, and you will be asked to leave. You will not get to proceed any further in the process, and only those of you who are left will be assessed on your mental capabilities tomorrow. Is that clear?”

There was another series of nods and mumbles.

“Right then, let’s get started!” Sumner barked, “When I call your name and your door number I want you to stand in front of your door, but I _do not_ want you to enter that door until I say so!”

He clicked his fingers, and a list appeared in front of him.

“ **Agnew, Johnathon** : Door 1.

 **Black, Draco** : Door 2.

 **Carmichael, Eddie:** Door 3.

 **Flanagan, Roisin** : Door 4.

 **Harper, Maxwell** : Door 5.”

Draco looked incredibly pale as he took his place in front of the door to testing room number 2. Lined up with him were another three men, (Maxwell had been a Slytherin that they had vaguely known throughout their eighth year) and a mousy, scared-looking woman.

“On the count of 3, you will enter the room, and your test will begin,” Sumner informed them, “3…2…1!”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	7. Draco's Selection Test: Part One

Draco’s heart was beating out of his chest as he pushed open that white door and stepped into the testing room. He took a breath to steady himself as he surveyed his surroundings. He had expected something a little more spectacular than a white room, but that was what he found himself standing in. The room was small and square, it looked completely ordinary at first glance, but once you looked closer, it became apparent that there were several holes in the walls.

Draco tried to force down his nerves as he looked at the plaque in front of him. It read;

_“When you cross the line, stinging charms will be fired at you in quick succession. This test requires you to place your wand in the holder beneath this plaque. Should you be hit with 12 or more stinging charms, you will fail this room.”_

Draco placed his wand nervously into the holder beneath the plaque. As he had expected the holder then retreated into the wooden base of the plaque which meant he wouldn’t get his wand back until he had either completed this room or failed it. The concept made him mildly nervous, he was good at shield charms, but this was a test of his reflexes. Without his wand, he had to solely rely on his senses and reflexes to avoid being hit by the stinging charms.

He glanced down at the red line on the floor and hesitated before crossing it. Draco wanted to think up a strategy before starting the room, but he knew that there wasn’t a strategy that would help him through this. He had to be able to listen for the hissing sound that signified that a spell was imminent, he had to be able to identify within less than a second where that spell was coming from then duck, jump or swerve.

So rather than trying to think up a strategy that he wasn’t sure would even work, he simply stepped over the line. Immediately he heard the tell-tale hissing sound and instinctively he jumped; it worked, and the spell shot under his legs. When he listened to the second hiss, he ducked, and the spell flew over his head. On the third hiss, he swerved to the side and narrowly avoided being hit by the spell. He quickly realised that every time he dodged a spell, the next one came just a little bit faster. All the same, Draco managed to rely on his sense of hearing for the first minute or so. At that point, the spells started to come out two at a time, which meant he had to duck to avoid one and throw himself across the floor to avoid the second, at the same time.

“Shit!” Draco cursed as he was hit by one of the spells for the first time. It stung like a bad burn at the point of contact, but he tried to ignore it so that he could concentrate on not being hit by anymore.

That final minute was far more difficult, and it seemed to drag on for a lot longer. Draco was beginning to see why Sumner and Sheppard had told them that they would be black and blue by the end of the weekend, he lost count of how many times he threw himself into a wall to avoid being hit by a stinging charm and this was only the first room out of Merlin knew how many. In the last 20 seconds, the spells began to shoot out at an even faster pace, and at that point, Draco was hit a further two times.

He breathed a huge sigh of relief when a loud click signified that the door opposite the one he had entered through had been unlocked. He picked himself up off of the ground and dusted himself off as he walked through the door into the second room. The door snapped shut loudly behind him, and Draco looked around at his surroundings in this very different looking room. It seemed like he was outside, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining brightly in the sky above. He knew, because of his fiancé’s extensive knowledge of Artificial Weather Charms, that this wasn’t real. He was still inside some sort of room, like the room of requirement, and it was generating this image.

Laid out on the field before him was some sort of assault course, it was huge, and it was laid out over hilly terrain. Draco was sure of one thing; it wasn’t going to be easy. The plaque before him read;

_“When you cross the line, we will begin to time you from our observation area. This obstacle course will test every element of your physical strength, and if you fail to complete it within the 3-minute timescale, you will fail this room. You may use your wand, but only against any magical obstacles you come across, you will receive a 5-second penalty for using your wand for any other means.”_

“3 minutes?” Draco muttered as a wooden drawer extended from beneath the plaque. He shook his head in disbelief as he took his wand and holstered it safely in a holster on the side of his leg. He looked out at the massive assault course and sighed. He was positive he would fail at this hurdle.

This was another task where no strategy would help him. He just had to attack every obstacle as fast as he could and hope that he managed to get through in less than 3 minutes.

The first obstacle was a set of three wooden hurdles which gradually got higher, so Draco took a running start. He darted over the red line and vaulted over all three sets of hurdles with ease. He kept the momentum going as he reached a low net that he knew he needed to crawl under. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just any old ground he needed to army crawl through; it was boggy and muddy, which meant he was going to get filthy.

All the same, he dropped to the ground and pulled himself through the mud. It was harder than it looked because the mud tried to pull him in, so he was fighting against it as he tried to pull himself through. When he reached the end and pulled himself up, he was already breathing heavily.

Draco ran forward to the next obstacle, and he could have groaned when he realised that he now needed to army crawl up a steep hill in a very narrow tunnel. He dropped to the ground once more and entered the tunnel; he was slippery because of the mud he had just traversed through, so he slipped and slid as he tried to pull himself up the steep incline. He managed it, even if he was exhausted by the time he reached the top.

Draco didn’t have time to take a breath, though. At the top of this incline, there was a relatively narrow wooden beam stretching across a ravine. There was nothing to hold onto and a very steep drop down into fast-flowing water if he was to slip.

He stepped onto the beam carefully and mumbled to himself, “This isn’t real. You won’t actually die if you fall.”

His words of reassurance didn’t make him feel much better. He kept his eyes forwards and avoided looking down. He put one foot in front of the other as carefully as he could. He amazed himself by getting across the beam without slipping once, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he ran towards the next obstacle.

Draco jumped onto a net and began to scale it with ease. When he reached the top, he climbed over and glanced down; it was a much more significant drop than it had been a climb. He knew he had to take a risk, though, and he had a split second in which to make his decision. He had been relatively slow in some of the sections he had just gone through, and he could see at least four obstacles in the distance ahead of him. If he climbed down this net carefully, then he definitely wouldn’t finish within the 3-minute time limit.

“Merlin, Potter you’ve been a bad influence on me,” Draco muttered as he threw caution to the wind and let go of the net. He let gravity pull him downwards and then grabbed the net again, nearer to the bottom. He cursed as his hands slid on the rough rope, he knew he would have friction burns, but he could deal with them later.

Putting the injuries out of his mind, Draco jumped the short distance to the ground and then ran to the next obstacle so he could take it with some momentum. He grabbed onto a rope and swung himself across a small river; he managed to jump off and avoid dropping himself into the water fairly easily.

Not that it would have mattered anyway, the next part of the assault course forced him to get wet. He had reached a lake that looked fairly deep, and it was clear that he had to go through it. Running around it would probably constitute as cheating, and it would take so long that he would never finish within the required time.

“Thank fuck I learned how to swim after Finnigan tried to kill me,” Draco muttered as he threw himself into the lake and swam as fast as he could towards the first of four wooden beams. He ducked under the water and emerged on the other side of it; then he felt the tell-tale tug at his legs that indicated Grindylows were lurking nearby.

Draco managed to remain calm as he grabbed his wand and shot a burst of boiling water downwards. It must have hit the creature because its grip on his leg loosened and he was able to swim towards the second beam. He got under that one and the third one with no further issues. However, as he ducked under the final beam and emerged, he saw the demonic-looking creature that was a Kappa staring him down.

Draco rolled his eyes, was he meant to fight it? He didn’t have time, and he knew he could outswim a Kappa with ease, so he ignored the creature and swam to the lake’s edge. He had pulled himself out of the lake before the Kappa had even reached the shallower waters.

He knew that his time was limited by now and Draco could still see a few obstacles up ahead. He ignored his aches and pains and tried not to shiver as he approached a high wooden pole with hand and feet holds on either side. He scaled it as quickly as he could, considering that he was soaking wet and therefore bogged down. When he reached the top of the pole, he saw a wooden handhold that he had to grip. He gripped it as best as he could with slightly sweaty palms then launched himself from the pole down a zip line. He shut his eyes as it sent him flying towards the ground; he didn’t like heights much.

At the bottom, Draco hit shallow muddy water. He knew that there would be magical creatures lurking in it, so he wasn’t surprised when he felt a sharp nip to his right ankle, “Shit,” he cursed as he shook off the offending Dugbog and pushed on. The water was so murky that he couldn’t see anything beneath it, so he was bitten two more times before reaching dry land.

Draco wanted to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the final obstacle, but he knew that this wasn’t over yet, so he approached it as quickly as he could. This last obstacle was a large wooden platform that he would have to army crawl through. It was narrow and had three levels, Draco was glad he had a slim, seekers build as he pulled himself through the first level. Once he had done so he had a very narrow space in which to twist his body around and pull himself up onto the next level, it was easy enough because of his build, but he was wet and tired now which hindered his progress slightly. He crawled through the next level and pulled himself up once more. The finishing line was in sight now which spurred him on, he darted forward, flung himself down the metal pole at the end of the platform and sprinted forward past the red line that constituted the finishing line.

As soon as he was over the line, he doubled over and allowed himself to start catching his breath. At first, he thought he had failed because there wasn’t anything to say that he had passed this room. There was no door as there had been in the first room, which meant that there was no click to signify it had been unlocked and that he could, therefore, move forwards.

Draco was still breathing heavily as he pulled himself up and looked ahead of him. Where there had only been a field moments before there was now a white wooden door. He breathed another sigh of relief as he approached the door and stepped through it into the next room.

It was very surreal to step through a door in the middle of a field and emerge on the edge of a cliff. This room was playing havoc with his senses, but he supposed that was part of the test. He could tell that the skill he would have to display in this room would be flying because apart from the plaque that gave him his instructions, the only other thing on this clifftop was a broom rack with a selection of three broomsticks. Draco performed a drying charm on his clothes and his hair and allowed himself a few more minutes to get his breath back as he read the instructions on the plaque;

_“When you leave the clifftop, we will begin to time your progress. Throughout this flight course, there are 12 golden hoops which you must pass through. Should you miss any hoops, we will deduct 5 seconds from your overall time. Should you take any longer than 2 minutes you will fail this room. You may choose between the three broomsticks on offer, choose wisely.”_

Draco glanced around at his surroundings. He was on a clifftop in a hot, arid climate. The sun was beating down and shone brightly in the sky ahead, he knew that it would make it easier to spot the glinting golden hoops that he had to fly through, but it was also going to be an obstacle because it could obstruct his vision. He had his Quidditch Captain head on as he assessed the conditions, overall he thought that the sun would help more than it would hinder him.

Next, he turned to the rack and looked at the three broomsticks on offer. The choices were the most up to date edition of the Comet, a Nimbus 2001 and a Firebolt. He knew that the Firebolt was the fastest, but some people claimed that the Nimbus had better manoeuvrability. Personally, Draco found the manoeuvrability on the Firebolt just fine. He didn’t even consider the Comet; it was too old, too slow and too laggy for his liking. Without thinking on it much, he took the Firebolt from the rack and mounted it.

He wasn’t at all worried about this task, so he pushed himself off of the clifftop and immediately saw the first golden hoop straight ahead. He had been right about the sun helping, the circle sparkled, which made it easy to see from a distance. Draco passed through it, and as soon as he did, the next hoop appeared. This first part of the flying course was through a narrow ravine between two clifftops, but Draco didn’t find it particularly challenging. He passed through the fourth hoop and then flew out of the ravine into a wider part of the course; however, there were new obstacles in this part of the course. There was a fast-flowing river beneath him and several fallen trees which had gotten lodged between the two cliffs, there were also some tall trees obscuring the view in the distance.

He had to swerve between the cliff and a tree to hit the fifth hoop, but that was nothing considering the dodging and diving he had done in second year when he and Harry had flown beneath the Quidditch stands. He had been significantly smaller then, of course. The next few hoops were easy enough to hit, he just had to fly close to the water and swerve in-between the fallen tree trunks, but none of this was particularly challenging for him. He sped through the course with ease as the ravine narrowed once more towards the end. Draco knew as he passed through the twelfth hoop (which was in the middle of the narrowest part of the ravine yet) that he had passed that room with a good time.

There was another clifftop ahead which Draco landed on. He dismounted the broom and looked around as he waited for something to happen. Surely enough, after a few seconds, a white door appeared in the side of the cliff. Draco grinned to himself and walked through the door into the fourth room. He looked around himself once more and frowned; he appeared to be in a muggle street somewhere. It looked like any generic street in any muggle city. There wasn’t any way of telling where it was unless you had been there before.

Draco stepped forward and read the plaque before him;

_“When you cross the line, you will be required to chase down a suspect. However, you may not use your wand to aid you in this task. When you place your wand in the holder provided, we will provide you with a picture of the suspect. If you fail to catch the suspect within 3 kilometres, you fail this room.”_

A wooden drawer emerged from beneath the plaque. Draco placed his wand inside it and withdrew a wizarding photograph. It featured a tall, thin young man who was glaring at Draco from the photograph. The drawer shut, taking his wand with it, and Draco stepped over the red line on the ground.

All of a sudden, a heap of people materialised. Muggles with shopping bags and buggies crowded the street, and it was all Draco could do not to curse loudly. Of course, there was a plot twist; it wasn’t as easy as just chasing a guy down the street. He spotted his suspect straight away, and he darted after him. He pushed his way through the muggles with all of the force that he could muster and gradually began to gain on the suspect. He could see a high wall at the end of the street, and he figured that was where the 3-kilometre zone ended so he pushed with everything he had, and he just managed to catch the guy before he reached the wall. He dived on the suspect and tackled him to the ground, it hurt like hell, but he didn’t let his pain show as the scene dematerialised.

The suspect disappeared as did all of the muggles. Draco pushed himself to his feet and looked at the wall expectantly. After a few seconds, there was a click, and a door materialised onto it. He opened it and stepped through, expecting to emerge into another room that was set to test him. Instead, he emerged into a small room that looked like a waiting area. It was empty apart from a couple of comfortable looking armchairs, a table with essential potions and medical supplies and a water fountain with plastic cups beside it.

A disembodied female voice spoke to him from somewhere that he couldn’t see, “Congratulations Mr Black, you have successfully passed the physical aspect of our selection test. You have ten minutes to patch yourself up and refresh before starting the next test, which will assess your magical capabilities.”

The voice said no more than this, so Draco walked over to the fountain and downed a cup of water. It honestly tasted better than water had ever tasted, he poured some onto his face for good measure as he perused the supplies on the medical table. He found a cream that treated burns, and he used this to treat the red, raw friction burns on his hands. Beyond that, he didn’t have any injuries apart from bruises and aches, so he decided that it was a good idea to take a pepper-up potion. It gave him a fresh boost of energy and eased some of the aches and pains that were related to physical exhaustion.

As he sipped at another cup of water, Draco allowed himself to feel a little bit proud. He knew he still had a long way to go yet, and he had a feeling that the magical tests would be harder than the physical ones. Then again, apart from playing Quidditch, he didn’t do much to keep himself physically fit, but he did duel with Harry every single day so magically he had trained himself up as well as he could do.

His ten minutes were over very quickly. The female voice spoke to him once more to announce this, “Your rest period is over Mr Black. Please proceed through the door to begin our test on your magical abilities.”

Draco frowned as he realised that there was only one door. The door that he had entered the room through had disappeared, leaving only the door at the far end. He stepped through it and was unsurprised when he found himself in a real place rather than in a room. This time he was in a generated part of Diagon Alley. He had Gringotts behind him and a crowded street full of witches and wizards ahead of him. He glanced down at the plaque and read the instructions;

_“When you cross the line, Death Eaters will appear in the alley. Your task is to take down as many as you can. However, there are rules. You will be penalised for hitting civilians, and taking a Death Eater down without killing them is preferable. We cannot question a dead Death Eater, but we can force veritaserum down the throat of a captured one.”_

It made Draco nervous that there was no information on how you knew if you had passed or failed the room. Previous tasks had stated that if he failed to complete it within a certain timescale, he would fail, but this one was far less helpful. A wooden drawer emerged from the plaque containing Draco’s wand, he took it out and surveyed the alley before him. He knew it would be hard to do this without hitting any civilians, but he had confidence in the accuracy of his spell-casting.

He stepped over the line and with a whooshing sound, Death Eaters appeared amongst the crowd. They wore dark cloaks and the tell-tale masks that protected their identities, people in the alley began to scream and run which made it harder for Draco to locate the Death Eaters and aim at them accurately because he was being jostled by frightened witches and wizards.

Draco quickly realised that he needed a vantage point, so he shot a silvery rope from his wand which attached itself to the railing of the balconied area above the door into Gringotts. He pulled himself up and started to aim at the Death Eaters from his high vantage point. He took out three with stunning charms as they ran towards the Leaky Cauldron in an attempt to flee the alley. He took out a further two with bone-breaking curses before they could try and climb up to reach him, it left them writhing uselessly on the ground in pain. He wasn’t sure how many more there were, but he could see another two amongst the screaming witches and wizards. He managed to take out one with a stunning charm, but he accidentally hit a civilian as he tried to hit the second one. He didn’t want to risk hitting anyone else and being penalised, so he shot a piercing charm at the Death Eater, he had been aiming for his shoulder, but he hit him in the head, and it was clear that he had killed him.

Draco tried not to focus on that as his eyes scanned the alley. He couldn’t see any more Death Eaters in the distance, and for a moment, he wondered if he had gotten them all. However, it was then that he heard a noise from behind him. He spun around and was alarmed to see a Death Eater emerge from the door behind him. He knew that a stunning charm wouldn’t take effect quickly enough to stop the Death Eater from hitting him, so he acted on instinct and used a piercing charm to the chest. It knocked the Death Eater back and enabled Draco to bind him with magical rope.

As soon as he turned back to the alley, he saw another Death Eater climb over the railing. He hit the man with a stunning charm, and he fell backwards off the balcony. Draco grimaced as he looked down at the puddle of blood that the Death Eater was lying in, he was fairly sure that he had killed that one too.

He was on high alert now as his eyes scanned the alley once more. He didn’t see the last Death Eater quickly enough; he was just about to escape into the Leaky Cauldron. Draco knew a stunning charm wouldn’t be that effective from this distance, so he opted for a piercing charm, but because of the range, he only hit the man in the leg which meant that he managed to escape into the pub.

“Bugger,” Draco cursed to himself as the scene in the alley dematerialised. The witches and wizards disappeared, as did the bound, dead and unconscious bodies of the Death Eaters. Draco hoisted himself down from the balcony and waited for something to happen, but nothing seemed to change.

He sighed heavily; he had failed. He had killed two of the Death Eaters and let one get away. He must have failed. He stood and waited for the disembodied voice to tell him this, but he was surprised when it did speak.

“You have passed this room, Mr Black,” The female voice said, “Please proceed into Gringotts bank to begin your next task.”

Draco’s eyes lit up with surprise at that, but he did not question it. He simply opened the door and stepped into the bank which wasn’t anything like Gringotts bank on the inside. He was standing in something that looked similar to a firing range, but the catch was that _he_ was in the area where the things you fired at usually were and a Death Eater stood with his wand held high in the part where you would usually fire from. The reversal of the roles made him nervous as he looked at the instructions on the plaque before him;

_“When you cross the line, the Death Eater will fire spells of varying levels at you which you must shield. To pass this room, you must not be hit by more than five spells. Note that the killing curse counts as two spells because it is the only spell which can instantly kill you.”_

Draco nodded to himself. It seemed relatively easy. He knew that there would be red herrings in there; the kind of spells that you couldn’t shield against. He stepped across the red line on the floor with his wand at the ready, and the Death Eater began to fire straight away. The first few spells were easy to defend with a basic shield charm, but after that, it became clear that a standard “protego” wasn’t going to cut it anymore, so Draco had to use more durable shield charms.

This wasn’t a problem either, Draco was pretty good when it came to shielding charms. Granted, he wasn’t as good as Harry, but shield charms were a bit of a speciality of his. However, he did trip up eventually when the Death Eater fired a cutting curse at him, which he hadn’t encountered before. As a result, Draco didn’t know that it wasn’t shieldable, so it sliced a gash into his upper arm, which was more than a little bit painful. Thankfully it was on his left arm which he didn’t hold his wand in so it didn’t hinder him any further, it just bloody hurt. As the spells got increasingly dangerous Draco was hit by one more; he hadn’t been aware that a standard “protego” didn’t work against “glacius”. The charm turned his shield to ice which meant the shield topped backwards on top of him which also hurt quite a bit.

All the same, Draco ignored the blood staining his arm and the pain he felt throughout his body and pushed himself to his feet just in time to hear the words “Avada Kedavra”. The moment he saw the green light flying towards him, his instincts set in and he dropped to the ground. He let his entire body go limp as he fell heavily onto the hard, concrete floor. It hurt like hell, especially when his chin hit the solid concrete but Draco’s instinct when faced with the killing curse had always been to drop to the floor and play dead, he had learned a long time ago that it was the safest thing to do.

He groaned to himself as he lay on the ground, aching and bleeding. He pushed himself up with some real difficulty, and he was glad when he saw that the Death Eater was gone. He felt black and blue now. His body shook from the effort that it took to push himself to his feet and he was really glad that he had decided to take that pepper-up potion.

“You have passed this test, Mr Black,” The disembodied female voice said, “Please make your way to Ollivander’s wand shop, you will find sufficient medical supplies there.”

Draco dragged himself out of the bank into the bright sunlit alley once more. He was starting to worry that he wouldn’t be able to push through this, especially if there was going to be a duel at the end which he fully expected there to be. He crossed the alley and made his way into Ollivander’s. Like Gringotts, it looked completely different on the inside. Draco found himself inside a relatively small room with nothing in it apart from a dummy about the height of an average man.

He ignored the plaque, to begin with, and looked through the medical supplies on the table next to the door. He applied a cream made with powdered dittany to the cut on his arm, which acted as a temporary solution because it weakly joined the skin back together. He also took a pain potion and downed it. He breathed a sigh of relief as the aches in his body gradually ebbed. He spat out a mouthful of blood and read the plaque at the entrance of this room;

_“When you cross the line, you will have 2 minutes to fire as many spells as you can at the dummy provided. You will lose points for using the same spell more than once or for using dark magic. You will gain points for portraying any highly skilful spells.”_

This one also seemed fairly simple although Draco suspected that he would have temporary memory loss about the number of spells he knew as soon as the time limit began to tick away. He stepped over the line and immediately started to fire spells at the dummy; he began with the basic spells they had learned in their early years at Hogwarts like “Flippendo” and “Expelliarmus”. He just shot spell after spell at the dummy as they popped into his head, but the more spells he fired, the harder it was to keep track of the spells he had and hadn’t used. He was fairly sure he used Expelliarmus twice, but he managed to get through without using a single dark magic curse. Towards the end of his allotted time, he suddenly realised that the Patronus charm would probably count as skilful magic, so he sent his Patronus (which was no longer an otter and was now a dragon) flying towards the dummy.

A loud buzzing sound announced that his time was up and Draco waited for the disembodied voice to tell him what to do next.

“Congratulations Mr Black, you have passed this room. Please proceed to the final task by using the door ahead.”

Draco looked up at the door which had just appeared at the other side of the room. He was prepared for a duel as he stepped through the door into the final room, so he wasn’t surprised when he realised that there was nothing in it apart from a duelling platform. Standing atop that duelling platform was a middle-aged woman with cropped blonde hair who smiled at him, “Congratulations on getting this far Mr Black. Would you join me up here?”

Draco climbed up onto the duelling platform and took his place at the opposite end from the woman.

“I’m Auror Carter,” She introduced herself, “And as you may have guessed, your final challenge is to duel a real, experienced Auror. Does that make you nervous?”

“Well,” Draco said honestly, “I’ve duelled Harry Potter a good few times, and he’s the third-best in all of Britain so not really.”

Carter raised an eyebrow at him, “We’ll see about then, won’t we?”

Draco didn’t want to appear as overly confident, but he couldn’t help the smirk that came to his face at that. He and Auror Carter walked towards each other, bowed and then took their places at either end of the platform as the duel began.

Draco let the Auror make the first move to assess what kind of spells she was going to throw at him. She started with the basics, “Expelliarmus!”

“Protego! Stupefy!”

“Protego! Petrificus Totalus!”

Draco matched her fairly basic spells, but it became clear to the Auror very quickly that she would get nowhere with O.W.L level spells so she upped her game a little bit.

“Reducto!”

“Protego, Bombarda!”

You couldn’t shield against a blasting charm as strong as that which the Auror knew. She ducked and let the spell hit the wall behind her. Draco threw a stunning charm at her, but she was on her feet before it was halfway across the platform and she blocked it with ease.

“Impedimenta!”

“Protego! Relashio!”

“Protego! Expulso!”

The duel was getting far more dangerous now. The spells that were flying back and forth were fully capable of doing serious harm to their victims, but Draco hadn’t broken a sweat yet, and he wasn’t finding things particularly difficult. This Auror had fast reflexes, but this duel was nowhere near as fast-paced as those he and Harry shared. There had been no attempts at beheading or expelling the entrails of the combatant yet either which made the whole thing awfully dull.

As Draco defended and dodged cutting and blasting curses, his mind whirred as he tried to think of a way to beat the Auror. He didn’t want the duel to go on for too long, the speed of which you could disarm your opponent was a key factor when assessing a person’s duelling capabilities after all. He knew her reactions were too fast for him to knock her out with any spell that he knew so he resorted to using sneaky tactics.

Draco defended a blasting curse that Auror Carter had thrown at him and then said, “Fumos!”

The spell enveloped the entire room in smoke for a few seconds. He heard the Auror coughing, so he knew that the smoke had reached her. In the few seconds that he had before he came back into her view, Draco disillusioned himself and used an illusion charm to create a false image of himself. He moved forward slightly and to the far right side of the duelling platform as the smoke began to clear.

“Stupefy!” The Auror called as soon as ‘Draco’ came back into view.

At the same time, Draco whispered, “Expelliarmus” and sent a spell shooting at the Auror from thin air. She had been concentrating on the fake image of Draco as she waited for him to defend so by the time she noticed that another spell was flying towards her she didn’t have time to defend against it. The spell hit her and yanked her wand out of her hand, it flew through the air into Draco’s hand, and he appeared again with a grin on his face.

The Auror raised another eyebrow at him, “Sneaky but effective, exactly what I would expect from a former Slytherin. May I have my wand back?”

Draco walked towards her and handed her back her wand.

“Do you always use sneaky tactics to win your duels?” Auror Carter asked curiously as she led Draco off of the duelling platform towards another white door.

“I normally use dirty tactics when I’m duelling Harry,” Draco admitted, “But that’s because it’s the only way I can beat him. When I’m duelling for real, I’ll only use sneaky tactics if I can’t disarm the opponent any other way.”

“Well if it works we can’t knock it,” Auror Carter admitted, “Unless you’re using dark magic in which case you will be disciplined.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Draco said with a nod.

They had reached the door, and Carter led Draco through it into another waiting room. This one was far larger, around the same size as the one he had waited in before being told which door to line up in front of for his test.

“Sit down Mr Black,” Auror Carter said as she motioned towards the chairs in one corner of the room.

Draco took a seat in the empty waiting room and watched as the Auror walked towards a desk. She picked up a brown folder and flicked it open, she scanned it curiously then walked over to Draco, “Would you like to hear your performance report for the first two tests?”

Draco nodded, “Yes, please.”

Carter took a seat next to Draco and began to detail his test results, “You did very well in the physical tests. You took three hits out of a possible 12 in our test on your reflexes. You completed the physical assault course in 2 minutes and 50 seconds. I particularly liked your strategy of letting gravity take you down the net. That was an audacious tactic from a former Slytherin.”

“Harry Potter has been a bad influence on me,” Draco said with a roll of his eyes.

Carter smirked, “Well it’s a good thing he has been. If you had tried to tackle that net the way it should have been done, you would have failed. Your best score by far was in the flying assault course, we estimate that it should take 1 minute and 38 seconds to complete that course on the Firebolt and we got an International Quidditch player in to test that. You completed the course in 1 minute and 37 seconds.”

Draco grinned, “Take that, Potter.”

“Mr Potter has yet to set a time,” Auror Carter reminded him.

“He’ll struggle to beat that though, won’t he?” Draco asked.

“Anyone would struggle to beat that,” The Auror admitted as she ignored the smug look on Draco’s face, “You didn’t do quite as well in the suspect chase, but you did get him, even if you did cut it a little fine.”

Draco nodded, and the Auror flipped the page, “Now onto your magical ability. You scored 35 points out of a possible 40 on our accuracy test in Diagon Alley. I was particularly impressed with your tactic of getting up high for that one. We changed that test after the war to make it take place in a simulated Diagon Alley and out of 35 candidates last year, not one of them thought to do that. Your total score was 36 in the end, but you lost a point for hitting a civilian, the only way you could have improved that score would have been to take all of the Death Eaters out effectively but frankly the fact you hit all 10 was impressive.”

Draco nodded again, “Thank you.”

“You did well in the shielding test too,” Auror Carter continued, “You were only hit with two spells, and we rated your reaction to the killing curse as adequate. It didn’t hit you, but you did injure yourself through the way you chose to avoid it, so there is room for improvement there. On your spell casting test, you acquired 25 points, you fired 22 spells, but you lost 2 points for repeating two of them. You didn’t use any dark magic, and you did show skilful magic with your Patronus charm. Finally, I have already told you I was impressed with your duelling capabilities, if unsurprised by your tactics.”

Draco nodded again, “So what happens now?”

“You wait here,” Auror Carter replied, “If anyone else in your heat passes they will join you in this room. Your friends will join you in here too if they pass their heats, it will get busier but as it stands you are the first one to pass both of our tests.”

Draco smiled proudly, “So that’s it for today? I just get to sit around and wait?”

Auror Carter nodded and got to her feet, “Yes, but don’t let your guard down. Today you faced the easy tasks, tomorrow you’ll face the hard ones.”

She got to her feet and left the room. Draco was just beginning to wonder how long he would be left to his own devices for when one of the five doors opened, and two people emerged from it. One of them was one of the guys who had gone into the testing rooms at the same time as Draco, and he was accompanied by a tall man in red Auror robes. Draco tried not to be too nosy as the Auror went through the man’s report with him as Carter had done with him. When he had finished the Auror left, and the man approached Draco with a grin, “So we’re the first two to make it through, huh?”

“Looks like it,” Draco replied.

“I’m Eddie by the way,” The man said, he was slightly taller than Draco and a lot stockier, his build was similar to Neville’s, “Eddie Carmichael.”

“Draco Black,” Draco said as he shook the man’s hand.

Eddie blew out a breath and sat down next to him, “You’re Harry Potter’s friend, aren’t you?”

Draco simply nodded, he much preferred being referred to as Harry Potter’s friend rather than as ‘that kid who was a Death Eater’, “Yeah, do you know him?”

Eddie snorted, “I know of him but doesn’t everyone? I’ve never spoken to the guy though; I was a couple of years above you in school.”

“What house were you in?” Draco asked curiously.

“Ravenclaw,” Eddie replied, “I always wanted to be an Auror, but I figured I’d take a couple of years out first to get some experience, you know?”

Draco wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he just nodded. This guy seemed nice if a little talkative. Thankfully, he wasn’t stuck alone with him for too much longer because another door opened, and a third candidate stepped out. Draco immediately recognised him as Maxwell Harper; he was accompanied by a fairly short red-robed Auror with dark brown hair.

“Hey look, another one,” Eddie chirped.

Draco nodded, “I know him, he was in my house at Hogwarts.”

“Another Slytherin, eh?”

“Yeah,” Draco replied, “He’s a year younger than me. I figured he’d pass the physical, but I wasn’t sure about the magical part.”

“I found the physical well harder than the magical ability test,” Eddie admitted, “Didn’t you?”

“Yeah, the physical was harder,” Draco agreed as the Auror who had accompanied Maxwell left the room. The younger Slytherin boy grinned as he approached them, “Two Slytherins through already, nice one Draco.”

Draco smiled at him, “Nice one Max, how did you do?”

“Scraped by on a couple of them,” Maxwell shrugged, “But I still got through, that’s the main thing right?”

Draco nodded at him, “Yeah, do you reckon anyone else will get through?”

Maxwell shook his head and sat down on Draco’s other side, “Nah, Auror Lorne just told me that I was the last one to pass from our heat.”

“I guess we just need to wait and see how the next heat does then,” Draco said thoughtfully. His eyes flickered to the doors as he kept his fingers crossed for his three friends while Eddie cheerfully introduced himself to Maxwell.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	8. Neville's Selection Test: Part One

Harry, Neville and Theo made small-talk as they waited for it to be their turn to enter one of the testing rooms. They were all nervous for Draco, but they knew that there was nothing they could do to influence what would happen to him now.

They kept themselves to themselves and didn’t mingle with the others waiting in the room with them. Time seemed to drag on, but as there was no clock in the room and none of them were wearing watches, they had no way of knowing how much time had passed when Sumner’s voice brought them all to attention once more.

“Alright, heat 2!” Sumner called, “When I call your name, line up in front of your door!”

“ **Hastings, Serafina** : Door 1.

 **Kavanagh, Lesley** : Door 2.

 **Longbottom, Neville:** Door 3.

 **Marston, Harrison** : Door 4.

 **Nott, Theodore** : Door 5.”

Harry smiled weakly at his friends and wished them good luck. He hated being a Potter sometimes. He was _always_ last; it made him miss Ron a little bit if only because “W” came after “P” in the alphabet.

Neville shot Theo a small, encouraging smile as they stood a couple of doors apart.

“On the count of 3, you may enter your testing room and begin,” Sumner instructed them, “3…2…1.”

Neville opened the door and stepped into the room nervously. He hadn’t been sure what to expect, but he had expected something more intimidating than a small room. He took a step forward and immediately realised that there was more to this room than met the eye because there were lots of little holes in the walls. He glanced down at the plaque and read his instructions.

_“When you cross the line, stinging charms will be fired at you in quick succession. This test requires you to place your wand in the holder beneath this plaque. Should you be hit with 12 or more stinging charms, you will fail this room.”_

Neville groaned once he had finished reading this piece of information. He slotted his wand into the holder and shook his head. He wasn’t built like a seeker like Harry, Draco and Theo. He was taller, and he was bulkier, that was great for tasks that required strength and power but not so much for something like this, which required him to be swift and flexible.

All the same, he stepped over the line on the ground and immediately heard the tell-tale hiss that indicated that a spell was about to shoot out of the wall. He managed to dodge the first few, it was easy enough for him to duck and swerve to avoid the spells, but because he was quite heavy (from muscle weight rather than fat), he found it harder to avoid the spells that required him to jump. As a result, he had already been hit twice when the spells began to shoot out of the walls two at a time. At that point Neville cursed to himself, he tried his best to avoid being hit, but he would swerve to avoid the first spell and hit the wall so hard that he didn’t have time to duck to avoid the second one. He wasn’t sure how many times he had been hit by the time the spells stopped coming, but he knew that several spots on his legs burned like hell and he could see a burn mark on his arm, he was fairly sure he had lost part of his right eyebrow too.

Neville glanced anxiously at the door as he waited for a sign to say that it was unlocked. He was expecting it to magically open or something of that ilk, but when nothing happened at first, he grew anxious that he had failed the task. He breathed a sigh of relief when a click indicated that the door had been unlocked and he hurried through it into the next room.

He recoiled slightly when bright sunlight hit him. The previous room hadn’t been particularly dark, but then again, he hadn’t expected to go from it into a wide, open field. He could tell straight away that the next task would be to tackle this huge obstacle course that was laid before him. He couldn’t see the entirety of the course, but he scanned what he could see before reading the plaque in front of him;

_“When you cross the line, we will begin to time you from our observation area. This obstacle course will test every element of your physical strength, and if you fail to complete it within the 3-minute timescale, you will fail this room. You may use your wand, but only against any magical obstacles you come across, you will receive a five-second penalty for using your wand for any other means.”_

A wooden drawer slipped out from beneath the plaque containing Neville’s wand. He slipped it into its holster on his leg and took a step back. As Draco had, he ran over the line so that he could have a bit of momentum for the first obstacle. He used the strength in his upper arms to vault over all three hurdles with ease then dropped down onto the boggy ground and crawled underneath the large net. He sank into the mud a little more than Draco had because he was heavier. Still, because of the strength he had built up in his upper arms (through playing as a Beater for the past year) and his legs (through jogging around the lake every morning with Lilly), he found it easy to pull himself through the obstacle very quickly.

Once he had come out of the other end, he pulled himself up and ran towards the next obstacle. He hadn’t broken a sweat yet, and he wasn’t breathing particularly heavily, but he did know that he was going to find this next obstacle a little tricky. The steep incline he was going to have to crawl up wasn’t a particular issue for him, but the tight tunnel that he had to crawl through was. He managed to fit himself inside it, but his shoulders and arms scraped against the rough wooden sides as he began to pull himself up the steep incline. He wasn’t slipping around too much because he was lodged so tightly in the tunnel, but the tight squeeze did slow his progress slightly. He could feel splinters of wood penetrating his skin, but he pushed on regardless, it wasn’t a bad pain compared to some of the things he had endured under the Carrows anyway.

When Neville reached the top of the hill and pulled himself out of the tunnel, he breathed deeply. It wasn’t because he was relieved, it was because he hadn’t been able to suck in a proper deep breath for the entirety of the time he had been squeezed into the tiny tunnel. He had to stop himself from groaning when he saw the next obstacle; it was a wooden beam over a high ravine. He didn’t have a problem with heights, but he did have a problem with balance, as proven by his uselessness on a broom as a youngster. He stepped onto the wooden beam carefully and put one foot in front of the other. He knew that he couldn’t rush over this obstacle, so he took his time and made sure that he made it across without falling into the fast-flowing water beneath.

He knew as he stepped off of the wooden pole that he had a lot of time to make up, so he wasted no time in throwing himself onto the high net. He found it fairly easy to pull himself up and launch himself over the edge. He scaled his way down the rope net and dropped as soon as he was at a sensible height from the ground.

Neville knew he had an advantage in that he didn’t need any time to get his breath back between obstacles. His breathing had only just begun to get heavy, and he reckoned that he was at least halfway through the obstacle course now. He ran at the rope in front of him and swung across the shallow river below, he dropped down without landing in the water and ran to the edge of the lake.

“Where’s the bloody Gillyweed when you need it,” Neville mumbled to himself as he jumped straight into the deep water. He was a very strong swimmer, so he wasn’t particularly worried about this part of the course, in fact, he was fairly sure that he would be able to make up quite a lot of time. He sucked in a breath and ducked under the water; he managed to swim underneath the first two wooden beams before he had to come up for breath. Even then, he wouldn’t have needed to come up so quickly if he hadn’t been grabbed by a couple of Grindylows.

“Accio fish!” Neville said as he kept himself afloat in the deep water.

All of the fish in the water floated up to the surface, and the Grindylows greedily swam away from Neville to scoff them. Neville shook his head in amusement at how easily satisfied Grindylows were. He ducked underneath the water once more and swam beneath the final two wooden beams. He emerged as he neared the shallower water where he saw a rather mischievous looking Kappa waiting for him. Neville stood up to his midriff in the water and said, “Good day sir Kappa!” as he bowed to the Japanese creature.

The Kappa looked so pleased to be addressed as such that he bowed back to Neville. In doing so, the water in the cap of his head sloshed out which drained him of his power, “Aw man,” the Kappa despaired in a squeaky voice, “I haven’t had a bite of anyone yet.”

“Sorry!” Neville called back to the Kappa as he pulled himself out of the lake, “You seem like a nice guy. I hope someone messes up so you can get some food.”

“Thanks!” The Kappa called back squeakily as Neville ran forward onto the next obstacle. He was starting to feel the strain of the course now because his soaking wet clothes made him a lot heavier, and his next obstacle was a high pole that he had to scale.

He blew out a breath as he gripped the handholds and began to climb the pole. Heights didn’t bother him, but the thought of falling did so he tried his best not to look down. He lost his footing a couple of times because his feet were slippery, but he didn’t fall, so he pushed on. At the top of the pole he gripped the wooden handle and shut his eyes as he launched himself off of the zip line, he sped down at quite some speed and didn’t open his eyes until he landed in the shallow marshy water below.

Neville knew that there would be magical creatures in the marshy water so he cast a precautionary shield charm around his lower legs and waded through the water as fast as he could. When he emerged from it, he ran towards the last obstacle and shook his head in disbelief when he saw the size of the gaps he would have to crawl through in the wooden contraption.

“Seriously?” Neville muttered as he pulled himself onto the first level. He barely had room to move his arms so pulling his entire body weight along was incredibly tricky. When he eventually did reach the end he had to twist his body so much to drop down into the narrow gap between the two levels that it hurt, “Did you design this thing for runty gits like the rest of my friends?”

Neville pulled himself up onto the second level with difficulty and pulled himself along. He found it even more difficult to pull himself up onto the last tier, and he was fairly sure he pulled or twisted something in his back while doing so. He limped forward and threw himself down the pole before running over the red finishing line on the ground, grimacing all the while.

He let himself fall onto the ground to catch his breath as he waited to find out how he had done on the obstacle course. He was reasonably sure that he had passed, despite struggling through the tight tunnel he had made up the time pretty well throughout the rest of the course. It was just a question now of whether that last obstacle had royally screwed him up or not.

“Please proceed through the door onto the next section of the test Mr Longbottom,” A disembodied male voice said, “Medical supplies will be provided for you.”

Neville pushed himself to his feet and looked up. Where there had only been a field a moment ago, there was now a door. He stepped through it and was momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight streaming down. He appeared to have emerged in a warmer climate, the sun was brighter, and the air felt very humid. Neville had, of course, realised that this was some sort of room of requirement, he expected it was one of the simulation rooms that he had heard recruits and Aurors talking about during the week he spent doing work experience with the Aurors.

On the clifftop where Neville was standing there was nothing more than a plaque, a rack containing three broomsticks and a small table with a few potions on it. He was fairly sure that one of them was a pain potion, so he knocked it back and breathed a sigh of relief as it began to work its magic. As the effects of the potion began to reach his extremities Neville read the plaque before him;

_“When you leave the clifftop, we will begin to time your progress. Throughout this flight course, there are 12 golden hoops which you must pass through. Should you miss any hoops, we will deduct 5 seconds from your overall time. Should you take any longer than 2 minutes you will fail this room. You may choose between the three broomsticks on offer, choose wisely.”_

Neville could fly now thankfully, but it still wasn’t his strongest skill, and he was aware of that. He could hold himself up on a broomstick in the air, but he wasn’t the fastest or the deftest, and for that reason, he wasn’t sure that he could control a Firebolt adequately. He knew that the Comet would be too slow and lurchy for him; it reminded him of the school brooms that he had hated so much. Naturally, that left the Nimbus 2001 which was what he had used during his tenure as Beater of the Gryffindor team for the past year.

Neville stepped forward, grabbed the Nimbus and mounted it. He took a deep breath; he wasn’t looking forward to this task. Realistically he knew that all he could do was take it easy and hope that he managed to finish within the required time limit. He pushed off and flew through the first golden hoop. He could have rolled his eyes when he realised that the first few hoops were contained within a narrow ravine. It wasn’t as tight as some of the gaps he had been forced to squeeze through in the physical assault course; however, so he managed to make his way through it without causing himself an injury. He was grateful when the course widened out, but since he wasn’t the most agile, he did find it difficult ducking underneath fallen tree trunks and swerving between trees and the edges of the cliff.

All the same though, Neville was pleased when he reached the end of the course and dismounted the broom because he had managed to do it without missing any of the golden hoops. He waited anxiously to find out if he had completed the task within the required time limit and he breathed a sigh of relief when a door appeared in the side of the cliff.

Neville stepped through it into the next ‘room’, and he frowned when he took in his surroundings. He looked around at what looked like any ordinary muggle street. He noticed a few familiar landmarks, a pub called “The Penny Farthing” with a sign that was half hanging off stood on the corner of the street and an old police box that had been nicknamed by the locals as the TARDIS was rotting just to his right.

“So I’ve just stepped into the East end of London,” Neville said as he looked around thoughtfully, “I can nearly see my girlfriend’s mum’s flat from here.”

Nobody said anything, although Neville knew that the Aurors assessing him could hear him. He couldn’t believe quite how small a world it was as he read the plaque in front of him;

_“When you cross the line, you will be required to chase down a suspect. However, you may not use your wand to aid you in this task. When you place your wand in the holder provided, we will provide you with a picture of the suspect. If you fail to catch the suspect within 3 kilometres, you fail this room.”_

As it had before, a wooden drawer emerged from the bottom of the plaque. Neville put his wand inside it and took a wizarding photograph out. A young man with shaggy blond hair who looked eerily like a young Grindelwald smiled mischievously back at him. Neville grinned because he had a plan, he stepped over the red line and all of a sudden, the street became crowded with muggles bustling about their daily business. Neville spotted the young blond-haired suspect immediately, but he didn’t chase the man. Instead, he darted to his right and ran down a narrow back alley that ran adjacent to the street. It was empty because all it led to was the back gardens of the houses that faced onto the street on the other side, this meant that Neville could run a lot faster than the suspect who was caught up in a crowd.

He got about halfway along the back alley and then jumped onto the garage of one of the houses. He dropped down into the back garden and vaulted the gate to emerge on the street on the other side. Neville smirked as he saw the suspect running straight towards him. However, he wasn’t looking forward; he was only glancing behind him. Neville barged into him and knocked him to the ground where he tackled and held him tightly.

He felt fairly confident, and a little smug, about that one as the scene dematerialised and the street became empty once more. Neville got to his feet, dusted himself off and looked around for a way out. In the wall up ahead, he saw that a door had appeared, so he walked towards it slowly to get his breath back. Chasing the suspect hadn’t been difficult for him, but he had knocked the breath out of himself with the force he had knocked the guy to the ground with.

When Neville reached the door and stepped through it, he expected to emerge into another test. He was relieved when he realised that this was some sort of waiting area, which meant that the first part of the test was over. He scanned the room and saw the water fountain, the medical supplies and the comfortable chairs. He was already halfway to the water fountain when he heard the male voice that had spoken to him earlier.

“Congratulations Mr Longbottom. You have passed the physical aspect of our selection test. You have ten minutes to refresh yourself before we start the next test, which will assess your magical capabilities so have a drink, patch yourself up and take a breather.”

Neville didn’t need to be told twice. He downed a cup of water and perused the medical supplies on the table. The pain potion he had taken before starting the flying obstacle course was still working its magic, and the only other injuries he had obtained were friction burns and splinters from crawling through the tight wooden tunnel. They didn’t even hurt anymore, so Neville didn’t bother healing them, he just sank onto one of the comfortable chairs and enjoyed his ten minutes of rest and relaxation.

They were over very quickly, Neville felt like his bottom had just touched the seat when the male voice said, “Your rest period is over Mr Longbottom. Please proceed through the door to begin our test on your magical abilities.”

Neville followed the disembodied voice’s instruction and stepped through the door. After the last few rooms that he had faced, he wasn’t surprised to emerge in a place rather than a room. This time he wasn’t in the muggle world though, he was in Diagon Alley which was crowded with witches and wizards shopping and socialising. He looked around and realised that his position in the alley was just in front of Gringotts bank, with this established he read the plaque before him;

_“When you cross the line, Death Eaters will appear in the alley. Your task is to take down as many as you can. However, there are rules. You will be penalised for hitting civilians, and taking a Death Eater down without killing them is preferable. We cannot question a dead Death Eater, but we can force veritaserum down the throat of a captured one.”_

A wooden drawer emerged from beneath the plaque once more, and it contained Neville’s wand. He took it out and surveyed the alleyway. There was no way of knowing where the Death Eaters would appear yet, so he had no way of knowing where to set himself up to best defend against them. Neville took a step forward so that he was over the red line on the ground and the Death Eaters immediately began to materialise throughout the alley.

Neville knew he had to get up high to have a chance of hitting the Death Eaters without taking out a lot of civilians, so he apparated onto the roof of Ollivander’s and took out two with stunning charms. A couple of the other Death Eaters spotted him and began to run up the alley towards the Leaky Cauldron, so Neville apparated onto the roof of Flourish and Blotts and took them out from behind with stunning charms. He twisted around as fast as he could on the roof and looked back down the alley as he tried to spot the other Death Eaters. He saw one lurking in the doorway of Eeylops so he hit him with a piercing charm to the shoulder before he could retreat into the shop. By his count that was five, however, he didn’t know how many Death Eaters there were. He grew suspicious because he couldn’t see any on the street below, but nothing had happened to say that he had passed the task.

Neville realised why this was when he heard a noise from behind him. He spun around and saw a Death Eater pulling himself out of the chimney, he was aiming to stun the man but before he had a chance to utter the words the Death Eater had drawn his wand on him. Neville panicked a little and shot a piercing charm at the man as he ducked. As a result, he hit the Death Eater in the head, and he fell lifelessly into the chimney.

“Bugger,” Neville muttered as he apparated further down the alley onto the roof of Ollivander’s for a better view. He saw another Death Eater creeping towards the Leaky Cauldron using the shops as cover. He couldn’t get a clean shot at the guy because there were too many people running about screaming and panicking, so Neville decided to improvise. He used a cutting curse to cut one of the chains that held up the sign to the apothecary in the hope that it would swing down and knock the Death Eater out. However, what he didn’t account for was the fact the sign was made of metal and had very sharp corners, so it slit the Death Eaters throat as it swung to the ground.

“Shit,” Neville cursed, that was two deaths now which he suspected would go against him. All the same, he had to remain calm, so he scanned the alley for any further Death Eaters and managed to hit one with stupefy just before he got to the Leaky Cauldron. However, he was a little too far away, so the spell didn’t quite work correctly. Neville was about to apparate down from the roof when he saw another Death Eater running through the screaming crowd, he tried to send a stunning charm flying towards him but lost his footing and slipped slightly which meant that the charm hit a civilian. He could have cursed at his own clumsiness as he tried to hit the Death Eater for a second time but the spell only just brushed his hand, so he managed to escape into the Leaky Cauldron too.

He was starting to give up hope when he saw the final Death Eater. He didn’t want to lose that one too, so he wasted no time in shooting a stunning charm at him. However, he didn’t expect the Death Eater to fall face-first into a barrel of water which would surely drown him.

“Seriously?” Neville despaired as the scene dematerialised, “The sign killed the guy, and that one just happens to fall into the bloody water! Are you taking the piss? This is like the bloody Cornish pixies all over again! Why is it always me?”

“You have passed this test, Mr Longbottom,” The male voice announced, and it sounded distinctly amused, “Please proceed inside Gringotts bank to begin your next test.”

Neville was still shaking his head as he apparated down from the roof and yanked open the door to Gringotts. He stepped inside and frowned as he realised that this wasn’t the inside of Gringotts at all. Instead of being in a grand bank full of goblins, he was in a firing range, and he seemed to be the target. Neville looked from the motionless Death Eater who was pointing his wand at him to the plaque before him;

_“When you cross the line, the Death Eater will fire spells of varying levels at you which you must shield. To pass this room, you must not be hit by more than five spells. Note that the killing curse counts as two spells because it is the only spell which can kill you.”_

Neville smiled slightly as he stepped over the red line. He didn’t envision himself having any problems with this task because he knew that he was bloody good at shielding charms. They were one of Harry’s specialities, and Harry had spent a lot of time teaching Neville in their fifth year. It was when they had bonded over the situation with their parents, and as a result, the two of them had spent a lot of their spare time in the room of requirement together.

The Death Eater began by using charms that were easily defendable with a simple “Protego” charm. After a few spells, they started to get more complicated, but Neville knew lots of different types of shield charms, so he continued to block every single one with ease. He knew they must have been getting near the end of the task when the spells began to become interspersed with spells that were unshieldable. He managed to dodge those spells because he knew that they couldn’t be shielded against. When the Death Eater threw “Glacius” at him, Neville acted quickly. He knew that there was no magical shield that could protect against the ice curse, but it could be blocked by something solid. Neville conjured up a large block of stone which the curse hit. It turned the block to ice which meant that Neville could remove it from his way by simply tapping it. The ice block fell apart, and Neville had to act quickly as he saw a very familiar green light soaring towards him. It didn’t give him any sort of flashback, after all, it had been thrown at him several times in the war, especially during the final battle. Neville simply threw himself to the side to avoid the beam of green light.

After that, the Death Eater disappeared, and Neville looked around, “Was that it?” he asked, perhaps a little too cockily.

The male voice spoke to him once more, “You have passed this test, Mr Longbottom. Please make your way into Ollivander’s wand shop.”

Neville left the bank feeling pretty good about himself. He was doing a lot better than he had expected, he thought he might crumble under pressure, but the war seemed to have prepared him pretty well for the Aurors tests. He crossed the sunny alley and stepped into Ollivander’s which, like Gringotts, wasn’t really Ollivander’s. This room also resembled a firing range. There was a dummy at the far end and a plaque by the door which Neville read;

_“When you cross the line, you will have two minutes to fire as many spells as you can at the dummy provided. You will lose points for using the same spell more than once or for using dark magic; you will gain points for portraying any highly skilful spells.”_

Neville nodded to himself. It seemed relatively simple. It was mainly a test to establish the range of spells that he knew. He didn’t think he would find it particularly difficult, so he stepped over the line to begin the test. Neville started by using the only skilful spell that he knew which was the Patronus charm, his Patronus bounded across the room and disappeared behind the dummy. After that, he began to fire every spell that he knew at the dummy from the basics like “Expelliarmus” right through to every blasting curse and cutting charm that he knew. He was fairly sure that he didn’t use any spells more than once and it wasn’t difficult for him to avoid using dark magic because he didn’t know any dark curses apart from Sectumsempra and even then he used it very rarely.

A buzzer announced that his time was up, so Neville slipped his wand into its holster and waited for the disembodied voice to tell him where to go next.

“You have passed this test Mr Longbottom, please proceed through the door ahead.”

Neville hadn’t noticed any other doors in the room, but as he looked around, he realised that another door had appeared at the other side of the room. He walked through the door and wasn’t surprised to find that it contained nothing other than a duelling platform. Atop that duelling platform was a man dressed in deep red Auror robes. He was relatively short, not much taller than Harry in fact, and he had dark brown hair.

The Auror smiled at Neville. “Well done for getting this far Mr Longbottom, my name is Auror Lorne, and I’ve been the one assessing you today.”

“You mean listening to my rants?” Neville quipped as he climbed up onto the platform.

Auror Lorne smiled, “You have been a rather amusing candidate to assess,” he admitted.

Neville chuckled, “Well I’m glad my misfortunes keep someone amused. I’m assuming that this set up means the final task is a duel?”

“Indeed,” Lorne replied, “Are you ready to start?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Neville replied. He and Lorne walked to the centre of the duelling platform, bowed to each other and then walked back to their respective places at the ends of the platform. With that, the duel began.

Auror Lorne began with the more basic spells just as Auror Carter had with Draco. After all, they aimed to assess the candidate’s ability not to kill them by bombarding them with dangerous hexes straight away.

Lorne began by using spells that wouldn’t do Neville much harm like “Expelliarmus” and “Stupefy”. Neville didn’t use any offensive spells, to start with, he simply defended against the Aurors spells to get a gauge on the Aurors skill level and style of duelling. He worked out that his spellcasting was quick and that accuracy was his strong point which meant that Neville couldn’t afford to let his shield drop for one moment.

Once he had realised this Neville began to fight back by throwing cutting curses and stunning spells at the Auror. He defended every single one with ease and Neville could see that he wasn’t getting anywhere. He wracked his brain to come up with a way of bringing the Auror down as he defended against a couple of more sinister curses.

In the end, he let the Gryffindor inside him win out and decided that brute force might be the answer here. He began to throw every blasting curse that he knew at Auror Lorne, one of his strengths lay in power behind his spells, and this came in very handy with blasting charms. He hit the Auror with the spells in quick succession and Neville could see that his plan was working, the Aurors shield charm had transitioned from a bright blue to a feeble pink. Still, he was so busy trying to defend against blasting curse after blasting curse that he hadn’t realised yet.

The moment the shield shattered Neville got straight in there with, “Expelliarmus!” and disarmed Auror Lorne.

The Auror brushed the ashes off of his robes and smiled at Neville, “Good duel Mr Longbottom. Do you mind giving me my wand back?”

“Sorry,” Neville said as he walked to the other end of the platform and handed Auror Lorne his wand.

“You fight like a Gryffindor,” Lorne said with an amused smile, “Brute force combined with an air of foolish bravery. You didn’t have a shield charm up while you bombarded me with curses. You’re lucky there wasn’t an enemy behind you, you left yourself open to attack.”

“Noted sir,” Neville said with a nod as they stepped off of the platform together, “What house were you in if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Hufflepuff,” Lorne replied, “I had to work on my duelling, it didn’t come naturally to me. I know more spells than the average red robe around here, and I’m great at thinking up strategies, but putting them into practice was never my strong point.”

“I have a friend like that,” Neville said thoughtfully as he let his thoughts drift to Theo. He wondered how his friend was getting on in testing room number 5. He wondered whether he had reached this point.

“If he’s anything like me, he’ll pass with flying colours,” Lorne assured Neville as he led him out of the testing area into a waiting area that looked very similar to the one he had been in with Harry and Theo.

Neville glanced around and grinned when he saw Draco looking bored out of his mind as Maxwell Harper and Eddie Carmichael had a very animated conversation over him. Draco caught his eye and grinned when he saw Neville.

Lorne chuckled at the sight and said, “Just take a seat over there, Mr Longbottom, I’ll grab your performance report and let you know how you did overall.”

Neville nodded and took a seat at the opposite side of the room from Draco. Lorne came back over to him with a brown file in his hands, he flipped it open and took a seat next to Neville, “So let’s go over your results in the physical first. You took seven hits out of a possible twelve in the first test designed to test your reflexes,” Lorne began.

“Yeah, not a strong point of mine,” Neville said sheepishly.

Lorne chuckled, “I know I’m shorter than you, but I’m stocky too. Being swift and agile is always harder when you have a build like ours. You still passed, which is all that matters. Your time on the physical assault course was 2 minutes and 48 seconds. I particularly liked the fact you fed the Grindylows instead of using violence against them, and I don’t think I have ever seen someone hold a conversation with a Kappa in the six years I have been a trainer here.”

Neville smiled slightly, “They’re nice enough if you get to know them.”

“When they aren’t sucking your blood?” Lorne said with a vaguely amused look.

Neville just shrugged, “Most magical creatures are just misunderstood.”

Lorne chuckled, “I think you might be going into the wrong line of work,” he joked.

Neville just laughed, and Lorne continued, “I will mention the difficulty you faced with the tunnel. You are one of the bigger guys we’ve had try out, so it’s not something that has come up before, but those tunnels are very narrow, so we will take that into consideration.”

“Thanks,” Neville said with a nod, “I appreciate that.”

Lorne continued, “Now onto the flying assault course; you did just fine in that. You weren’t the fastest, but you didn’t pick the Firebolt, and you did about as well as you could with the Nimbus. We reckon it should take about 1 minute and 45 seconds and you did it in 1 minute and 50 seconds. You did well in the suspect chase too, even if you did have a slight advantage.”

Neville grinned, “I can’t help that the street you chose happened to be near my girlfriend’s Mums house.”

Lorne smiled slightly, “All the same, you showed initiative, and we like that here, so that was a definite pass. Now onto our tests on your magical abilities, you scored 32 points out of a possible 40 in the accuracy test. You hit all 10 Death Eaters which not everyone manages to do, so that’s a plus point, you did lose a point for hitting a civilian, but 32 is a good score. You could have improved it by effectively knocking out those two that got away and by not accidentally killing a few, even if your narrative of the event was rather amusing.”

Neville rolled his eyes, “That task summed up my life so far. If anything stupid can go wrong, it does, and it happens to me.”

“Hey, you passed, didn’t you?” Lorne said calmly, “And you aced our tests on your shielding ability. You didn’t get hit by a single spell, and we were very pleased with your response to the killing curse. You did great in the spell casting too, you got 25 points overall, 20 of those were for the spells that you managed to fire, and you gained five bonus points for your use of the Patronus charm. You weren’t docked any points in that test because you didn’t use dark magic and you didn’t repeat any of the same spells.”

Neville nodded, “And my duel?”

“A clear pass,” Lorne replied, “We deduced from your duel and the other tasks we set you that your strong points are blasting charms and shield charms. We like your duelling technique too. Your performance report is excellent so far, just make sure you keep it up tomorrow with your mental tests.”

Neville nodded and smiled at the man, “I’ll do my best. Thank you, Auror Lorne.”

Lorne smiled back at him and patted him on the shoulder, “You’re welcome,” he said genuinely. As the Auror got up to leave the room, Neville approached Draco who moved out of his spot between Maxwell and Eddie. The two friends sat down next to each and Draco patted Neville on the back, “Well done.”

“You too,” Neville grinned, “Didn’t I tell you that you could do it?”

“Hey, we haven’t done it yet,” Draco reminded him, “This is just day one, remember?”

Neville nodded and glanced at the five doors, “Am I the first one through?”

Draco nodded, “Who else was in your heat?”

“Theo was in it if that’s what you’re really asking,” Neville said as he shot his friend a knowing look.

“I thought that he might be,” Draco said as his eyes darted anxiously towards the doors.

Neville smiled at his friend, “I know it’s hard for you, but try to stop worrying about your boyfriend, alright?”

Draco rolled his eyes at Neville, “Shut up, fatbottom,” he muttered affectionately.

Neville smirked at the blond boy and leant around him to congratulate Max on getting this far. As he did so Eddie, who was beginning to get on Draco’s nerves a bit, cheerfully introduced himself to Neville.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	9. Theo's Selection Test: Part One

“3…2…1!”

Theo was more nervous than he cared to let on as he stepped through that white door into the testing room. Despite the fact he was known as the joker amongst their group of friends, Theo did try his best, and he wanted this. He knew he wasn’t as much of a natural as some of his friends when it came to physical challenges, so this part of the selection process gave him the most concern.

He surveyed the room and had worked out before he even read the plaque that spells of some variety were going to be coming out of the holes in the walls;

_“When you cross the line, stinging charms will be fired at you in quick succession. This test requires you to place your wand in the holder beneath this plaque. Should you be hit with 12 or more stinging charms, you will fail this room.”_

Theo sighed as he put his wand in the wooden drawer and looked down at the red line on the ground. He had been right to worry about passing the physical. He wasn’t the tallest, and he had always been described as runty or ratty by his friends. He had a very similar build to Harry, but thankfully he did have a bit of height on his Gryffindor friend. He knew that his build meant that he should be good at dodging spells, but Theo had never had the best reflexes, his sister had worked that out early on, and she still got a kick out of throwing things at him and watching him try and fail to catch them. That was why he had played as a Beater on the Slytherin Quidditch team; he was great at hitting things that were flying at him but not necessarily catching or avoiding them.

All Theo could think about as he crossed the red line was how embarrassing it would be to end up failing at the first hurdle. He did better than he had expected at first though because the spells were being generated by the room rather than being shot out of a wand, there was a slightly longer delay between the hiss that indicated the start of the spell and the spell itself.

That worked to Theo’s advantage. He listened for the hisses and managed to make sure he wasn’t in their firing line; he had excellent senses which helped him out a lot. He fell into a spot of trouble when the spells began to fire out of the wall two at a time. He managed to avoid one, but he didn’t have enough time to work out where the second one was going to hit, so he spent about 30 seconds cursing loudly as he was hit by stinging charm after stinging charm.

By the time the spells stopped firing, Theo felt black and blue. His clothes were singed and ruined; he could tell that he had been hit a lot of times from the burning sensation he felt on his legs, arms, torso and back. The pain was bearable compared to the pain he had felt during the war though, Theo stepped over the red line and looked at the door ahead of him, he wasn’t expecting it to open if he was honest. He had lost track of how many spells had hit him, but he knew it had to be pretty close to the 12 that would constitute a fail.

When a loud click indicated that the door had been unlocked, Theo blew out a relieved breath, “You owe me a new set of Levi’s by the way,” he said to no one in particular as he stepped through the door.

He blinked a couple of times as his eyes began to adjust to the new lighting conditions. Once he had stopped squinting, he let his eyes roam over the obstacles laid out on the hilly terrain before him. He shook his head again and muttered, “I should have said yes when Nev asked me to start running around the lake with him.”

Theo glanced down at the plaque, as he suspected that this wasn’t going to be easy for him;

_“When you cross the line, we will begin to time you from our observation area. This obstacle course will test every element of your physical strength, and if you fail to complete it within the 3-minute timescale, you will fail this room. You may use your wand, but only against any magical obstacles you come across, you will receive a five-second penalty for using your wand for any other means.”_

A wooden drawer emerged from beneath the plaque, and Theo took his wand out of it. He slipped it into his pocket and shook his head, “3 minutes, I can’t even get from the ground floor to the roof of my house in 3 bloody minutes.”

He had already doomed himself to fail before he had even started but then again, Theo was a bit of an eternal pessimist. He took a running start and found it easy enough to vault over the hurdles because he didn’t weigh a lot. Crawling underneath the net wasn’t too much of a struggle for him either. He pulled himself to his feet after completing the first two obstacles then ran towards the third one. He didn’t have a problem fitting into the tight tunnel but pulling himself up a steep hill when he was wet and therefore slippery and also, not very physically fit, was a struggle.

Theo struggled on, but he felt like the moment he got somewhere he slipped back down to the start. On his third attempt, he managed to pull himself out at the other end of the tunnel, but he was panting like he had just run a marathon. He knew if he managed to get through this, he would seriously need to work on his physical fitness.

He knew that he needed to make up on the time that he had lost, so he threw caution to the wind and tried to cross the wooden beam suspended above the rocky ravine a little too quickly. He lost his footing slightly and slipped, but he didn’t fall, he just used some very inventive swear words and took it a little bit more easy from there on.

Thankfully, Theo found the next obstacle reasonably easy to defeat. He scaled the large rope net and threw himself over the top then clambered down it with the flexibility and speed of a monkey. He was so light and flexible that he found that part very easy. He jumped off of the net and ran at the rope that he had to swing across the river on. Theo grabbed it and swung a couple of times to gather momentum before dropping down onto the river bank.

He ran to the edge of the lake and shook his head when he realised that he had to swim. He was a strong enough swimmer, but he was positive that there would be magical creatures in this lake and he wasn’t the most adept at dealing with them or magical plants for that matter. Theo began to swim across the lake as fast as he could, he hoped if he was quick enough, the magical creatures would just ignore him.

However, this plan wasn’t the most successful. Theo had gotten past two of the four wooden beams when he felt something grab his leg. He shook it hard to try and shake off the offending Grindylow then he felt a sharp nip to his lower leg.

“Fuck!” Theo cursed, “Bloody Grindylow, reducto!”

The spell caused a blast under the water which forced all the Grindylows downwards. Theo was in a bad enough mood as he swam on and ducked underneath the last two wooden beams. He was fairly sure he wasn’t going to do this, he could see a good few obstacles up ahead, and he had no idea how much time had passed. Just as Theo thought things couldn’t get any worse, he felt a sharp pain in his arm, and he looked over to see a Kappa chewing on it.

“Oh, come on!” Theo exclaimed as he blasted the Kappa off of him and waded out of the water, “I don’t want to work for the fucking DRCMC, what’s with the flesh-eating demon?”

The Kappa laughed wickedly as Theo dragged himself towards the next obstacle and tried to ignore the pain in his arm and the blood that was dripping from the wound. Under normal circumstances, Theo wouldn’t have found it challenging to climb up the high wooden pole, but his arm was hurting more than he cared to let on, so it did slow his progress slightly.

When he reached the top, he grabbed the wooden handlebar and grimaced in pain as he threw himself off of the pole and let the zip line take him down into the marshy water below. Supporting his weight with an arm that was soaked in blood was not the easiest thing in the world.

Theo cradled his arm as he waded through the marshy water. He ignored the sharp stinging pain he felt in his ankles as some kind of creature nibbled at him; he just pushed on through the water as fast as he could. He could have sighed in relief when he saw the last obstacle, but he knew he was going to have to pull his black and blue body through it.

Army crawling through the wooden platform was harder now that his arm was bleeding and his ankles throbbed. All the same, he managed to pull himself through the first level, and he had no problems twisting around and pulling himself up onto the second level because he was relatively short and light. He dragged himself along the second level, then ran across the top of the platform. He used his good arm to slide down the pole and then he half ran/half limped over the red ‘finishing’ line on the ground.

Once he was over it, Theo let himself fall onto the grass as he caught his breath and realised the full extent of his injuries. He hurt all over, and after the number of disastrous mistakes he had made in that task, he was 100% positive that he had failed and that this was the end of the selection process for him.

Theo made a face when he looked at his injuries for the first time. He had several puncture wounds on his ankles and lower leg. Then there was a bite mark from the Grindylow. By far the worst one, however, was the wound on his arm. That Kappa had taken a good old bite out of him, it was bleeding heavily, and although it was just a flesh wound, it was a pretty gross gaping one.

“Please proceed through the door onto the next section of the test Mr Nott,” A disembodied male voice said from somewhere above him, “Medical supplies will be provided for you.”

“Thank Salazar,” Theo mumbled as he looked up for the door that the voice had spoken of. As he had been inspecting his injuries, he had completely missed the appearance of a white door in the middle of the field in front of him. He pushed his way through it and ignored everything as he made a beeline for the little table full of medical supplies to his right.

He applied a powdered dittany cream to the Kappa wound on his arm, and he breathed a sigh of relief as it messily closed up the painful injury. He lathered it onto his lower legs too, but he ignored the burn marks from the stinging charms, they barely hurt compared to everything else he had been hit with since. He tossed back a blood replenishing potion for good measure too; it had been hard to tell how much blood he had lost from the wound on his arm because the water had made it look like he was bleeding more than he probably had been.

Once he no longer felt like he was about to bleed out, Theo looked at his surroundings. He grinned when he saw the brooms and the bright sun shining down on the clifftop. He liked flying, and he loved flying quickly, he didn’t think he would have a problem with this one;

_“When you leave the clifftop, we will begin to time your progress. Throughout this flight course, there are 12 golden hoops which you must pass through. Should you miss any hoops, we will deduct 5 seconds from your overall time. Should you take any longer than 2 minutes you will fail this room. You may choose between the three broomsticks on offer, choose wisely.”_

Theo wasted no time in picking up the Firebolt and mounting it. He probably should have taken a minute to assess what he could see of the course, but this looked like so much fun, so he just pushed off and allowed the test to begin. He soared through the ravine, and he felt great about how he was doing as he hit the first four hoops.

However, when he reached the broader part of the ravine, he realised that he was flying far too fast. He was pushing the Firebolt to its limit and at that speed by the time he saw his next hoop he couldn’t get to it in time to fly through it. This error in his judgement meant that he missed four hoops in the first section of the course, after that he pulled up a little and made sure that he hit the rest of them.

When he landed on the clifftop at the end of the course, Theo cursed under his breath. If he had counted right and he had missed four hoops, then that meant he would have 20 seconds taken off of his overall time. He knew he had to set an excellent time to be able to scrape through this one. He breathed another sigh of relief when a door materialised in the side of the cliff in front of him. He stepped through and looked around at the muggle street he had just stepped into. He knew he had to read the instructions carefully this time and make sure that he didn’t rush into this one;

_“When you cross the line, you will be required to chase down a suspect. However, you may not use your wand to aid you in this task. When you place your wand in the holder provided, we will provide you with a picture of the suspect. If you fail to catch the suspect within 3 kilometres, you fail this room.”_

A wooden drawer emerged from beneath the plaque once more. Theo put his wand inside it, reluctantly, and took the wizarding photograph out. The suspect he was chasing was a tall, lanky man with greasy looking hair. Before he crossed the line to start the test, Theo looked around the street to see if he could come up with some sort of plan or strategy this time. He didn’t want to run into it blindly and nearly screw it up as he had with the flight test.

He grinned when he saw a scooter sitting by the side of the road because a plan began to formulate in his head. When he crossed the red line, he got a surprise because the street suddenly became full of muggles, but it didn’t hinder his plan too much. He saw the suspect that he was after turn around and then disappear into the crowd. Theo ignored this, however, and ran over to the scooter by the side of the road; he managed to hotwire it within a few seconds. He jumped on, started the engine and sped down the street honking his horn to force pedestrians out of the way. They screamed and jumped out of his way, which gave Theo a clear path towards his suspect, who was approaching a wall at the end of the street. He sped up and skidded to a halt in front of the suspect. The man turned and began to run back down the street the way he had come, but Theo was close enough to jump off of the scooter and tackle him to the ground now.

The moment he had subdued the suspect, the scene around him dematerialised. The man he was holding to the ground disappeared, as did all of the muggles who had previously been crowding the busy street. Theo got to his feet and brushed himself off. He glanced around for any visible sign of where he should go next. He was fairly sure that he had passed that one. Then surely enough he noticed a door in the wall in front of him.

He wasted no time in heading through the door into a very neutral white waiting room. Theo glanced from the table full of medical supplies to the water fountain. He had just begun to walk towards it to get himself a drink when the male voice that had spoken to him earlier filled the room, “Congratulations Mr Nott. You have passed the physical aspect of our selection test.”

“Just,” Theo mumbled to himself.

“You have ten minutes to refresh yourself before we start the next test, which will assess your magical capabilities. I suggest that you have a drink and take a breather. Medical supplies are provided, and I would put some more cream on that Kappa bite if I were you.”

Theo was sure that he heard a hint of amusement in the man’s voice as he glanced down at the Kappa bite on his arm. Plainly enough, the wound had opened up slightly again. He downed a glass of water and lathered more cream onto the wound then he slumped down into a seat and enjoyed the quickest ten-minute nap of his life.

“Your rest period is over Mr Nott. Please proceed through the door to begin our test on your magical abilities.”

Theo got to his feet and walked towards the door. He hoped that this next set of challenges was a bit more suited to him, physicality had never been his strong point, but he was competent magically and he was intelligent too, even though he played the clown.

“Diagon Alley,” Theo mused as he looked at his surroundings. He could tell that he was in a simulated version of the alley because some things weren’t quite right. Fortescue’s looked like it had before the war, but it had been repainted when it had been re-opened, Gringotts didn’t have a new roof where a dragon had burst through it either.

Theo glanced down at the plaque and read his instructions;

_“When you cross the line, Death Eaters will appear in the alley. Your task is to take down as many as you can. However, there are rules. You will be penalised for hitting civilians, and taking a Death Eater down without killing them is preferable. We cannot question a dead Death Eater, but we can force veritaserum down the throat of a captured one.”_

Theo decided to use his brain this time. He looked around the alley and tried to work out what his plan of action would be before he started the task. As far as he knew this one wasn’t timed but it didn’t hurt to take his time and come up with a plan. He assumed that the Death Eaters would appear amongst the crowd of people which would mean targeting them without accidentally hitting civilians would be difficult. Stunning spells had a high chance of misfiring off of mirrors or shopfronts, so he wanted to avoid them but spells like piercing charms which could take a Death Eater down would kill them if Theo’s aim was even slightly off. He needed a spell that wouldn’t harm a civilian if it accidentally hit them but which would take down a Death Eater, regardless of the distance it was thrown from.

By the time he stepped over the red line five minutes after he had entered the room, Theo felt confident that he had a good plan in place. The moment he crossed the line, the Death Eaters appeared, and the crowd began to disperse as people screamed, panicked and ran. Theo used the chaos to his advantage; he managed to hit 3 Death Eaters with “Petrificus Totalus” in the initial chaos.

After that, they began to hide or flee towards the Leaky Cauldron. Theo overturned a barrel full of flobberworms outside the apothecary and jumped up onto it to get a better vantage point. He aimed at the back of one of the fleeing Death Eaters and shouted, “Incarcerous!”

The Death Eater fell to the ground, bound and gagged. Theo quickly adjusted his aim and hit the second fleeing Death Eater in the back with the same spell. He too fell to the ground where he could do nothing more than wriggle uselessly like a worm.

Theo jumped down from the barrel onto the slippery ground where the flobberworms were trying to escape. He snuck along the alley and kept his eyes on the shop fronts where he suspected the Death Eaters would be hiding. He spotted one in the entrance of Ollivander’s and hit him with a stunning charm because he had a clean shot. This spooked another Death Eater who began to run up the alley, Theo chased him and managed to get close enough to hit him with a binding charm. Like his comrades, the Death Eater fell to the ground, bound and gagged.

He wasn’t sure how many more there were, but Theo couldn’t see any at the far end of the alley close to the Leaky Cauldron. He snuck back down the alley and kept his eyes peeled once more; he spotted one hiding in the doorway of Flourish and Blotts, he knew there was a chance any spell he fired would miss and hit the window behind the Death Eater which could cause it to backfire, so he decided the safest choice was to throw a jelly legs jinx at the man. He fell to the ground, which gave Theo a chance to get closer and bind him.

As Theo ran forward, another Death Eater ran out from a shop on the other side of the alley. Theo jumped up onto a stand full of school textbooks and hit him in the back with a binding curse, then he jumped back down and surveyed the alley. By his count, he had taken out nine already, but he had no idea how many more there were or whether there was a time limit on this task. He snuck his way back to the spot where he had started by the apothecary, and that was when he spotted the last one, Theo darted forward to throw a spell at the man, but he had forgotten about the spillage of flobberworms. As a result, his spell flew over the Death Eaters head, and Theo skidded into the side of Gringotts bank. He shot a piercing charm at the Death Eater who was seconds away from retreating into Knockturn Alley. He hit him in the arm, but he didn’t have time to get another shot in before the man disappeared down the dark close.

“Bugger,” Theo muttered as he rubbed his arm, he had whacked his funny bone off of the hard stone wall, “Why is it always magical creatures that slip me up?” he added as he turned back to the alley. He frowned as he realised that it had suddenly emptied, all of the Death Eaters he had subdued were gone, as were the crowds of people.

“You have passed this test, Mr Nott,” The male voice said, “Please proceed into Gringotts bank to begin your next test.”

Theo stepped inside, Gringotts and frowned. This was most definitely not the most ancient wizarding bank in Britain, it was a firing range, and he was the target. He glanced down at the plaque in the hope that it would give him a bit more information;

_“When you cross the line, the Death Eater will fire spells of varying levels at you which you must shield. To pass this room, you must not be hit by more than five spells. Note that the killing curse counts as two spells because it is the only spell which can kill you.”_

Theo didn’t feel too nervous about that. He was better at shielding than he was at dodging, he relied on his magical abilities more so than his physical ones which he knew was a weakness of his. He stepped over the line and began the task. He quickly defended against the first few spells which required nothing more than a standard shield charm. Even when the Death Eater ramped up the intensity of his spells, Theo found it easy to defend with a couple of more advanced shield charms.

He took his first hit when the Death Eater fired “Glacius” at him. He knew that he couldn’t shield it with a magical shield, so he intended to conjure some sort of large rock, but he didn’t do it in time. He ducked to avoid the curse, but the beam of ice just brushed the side of his head and holy shit, it hurt.

It was because of this that Theo made his second mistake. His head throbbed, and the world around him spun as he pulled himself to his feet. His brain didn’t register that there was a green light soaring towards him and he certainly didn’t hear the words “Avada Kedavra” being uttered. As a result, the killing curse hit him square in the chest. However, it did not kill him. It made him inhale sharply, and it brought him back to his senses. Once he realised that he had just been hit by the killing curse, he swore loudly, “Shit!”

Surely that was an automatic fail? Theo thought to himself as he waited for the disembodied voice to tell him the bad news.

“Well done Mr Nott, you just died,” It said, again Theo detected a hint of amusement there, “But you still passed this task. Please proceed to Ollivander’s wand shop where medical supplies will be provided.”

Theo still felt a little lightheaded as he stepped out into the sunlit alley. The bright sunshine made his head throb, so he made his way across the alley into Ollivander’s as quickly as he could. He breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped into the dingy, dark shop. Except, it wasn’t Ollivander’s on the inside, it was another type of firing range.

Theo ignored that for the moment, though. He went to the medical table and perused the supplies. He took a pepper-up potion which he felt clear his head then he rubbed some sort of burn cream onto the side of his head where the beam of ice had brushed him. He blinked a couple of times and felt his head clear. He glanced down to read the plaque as the potion continued to work its magic;

_“When you cross the line, you will have 2 minutes to fire as many spells as you can at the dummy provided. You will lose points for using the same spell more than once or for using dark magic. You will gain points for portraying any highly skilful spells.”_

Theo wasn’t worried about this room, either. His range of spells was pretty good, and he felt confident in his spell casting in general. He wasted no time in stepping over the line and throwing everything that he knew at the dummy. Unlike the others there was method in his madness, he started with spells he had learned in first year and gradually fired off every spell that he could remember learning in quick succession. He was beginning to worry that his time was running out as he reached fifth year so at that point he made sure he cast a Patronus because he figured it would count as skilful magic.

That change in his tactics threw him off slightly, so he used one spell again, but he was sure that he hadn’t accidentally used any dark magic spells or curses as a loud buzzer announced that his time was up.

“You have passed this room, Mr Nott, please proceed through the door ahead.”

Theo looked up as a door materialised on the wall behind the dummy. He was feeling pretty good about himself as he walked through the door into a large room that was empty apart from a duelling platform. He felt his heart sink, he had expected a duel, but he had also been worried about it. He had been practising loads of mock duels with Harry, Draco and Neville but he was the weakest out of the four of them, and they all knew it.

Standing atop the duelling platform was a tall, middle-aged man with short light brown hair. He smiled at Theo and said, “Congratulations on getting this far Mr Nott. I’m Auror Mitchell, I’ve been the one assessing you today.”

“So you’re responsible for all of these injuries,” Theo joked as he climbed up onto the platform.

Mitchell smiled slightly, “I think your lack of animal handling skills are to blame actually.”

“I applied to be an Auror for a reason,” Theo said as he glanced at his Kappa wound which was now oozing, “I don’t like magical creatures.”

“Or magical plants, so I hear,” Mitchell smirked, “I heard about an incident involving you and the venomous tentacula.”

Theo snorted, “You heard about that?”

“Your reference may have mentioned something,” Mitchell said with a sly smile.

“Of course she did,” Theo said with a fond smile, “Good old Minnie.”

Mitchell chuckled, “Now, as you may have guessed, your final challenge today is to duel me.”

Theo nodded, “Are there rules?”

“Don’t kill me and don’t use dark magic,” Mitchell replied, “Other than that, anything goes.”

Theo grinned, “Excellent,” he said as he and Mitchell walked to the middle of the platform, bowed to each other and then took their places at their respective ends of the duelling platform.

After that, the duel began. Auror Mitchell began by using basic charms that couldn’t do Theo much harm and Theo got right in there with his duelling tactic. He liked to fire as many spells as he could think of at his opponent in quick succession because it guaranteed that they would slip up and not effectively shield against one of them.

However, Theo didn’t just throw dangerous curses at Auror Mitchell. He alternated between cutting and blasting curses and the silly jinxes that he liked to use in his pranks. It caught Mitchell off guard, he had to switch very quickly from using “Protego!” to defend against Theo’s trip and jelly legs jinxes to using a more powerful shield charm to defend against the more lethal curses being thrown his way.

“Reducto!”

Theo worried that Mitchell might be able to defend against him better as he worked out what his duelling tactic was. All the same, he kept throwing charms at the man, and it didn’t take long to catch him off guard in the end.

“Riddikulus!”

“Protego! Expelliarmus!”

“Protego! Densaugeo!”

“Protego! Bombarda!”

Theo defended against the blasting charm and then sent a cutting charm straight towards the Auror. It was a rather nasty cutting charm that couldn’t be defended against with a shield charm, but he had lulled the Auror into a false sense of security, so he threw up a shield charm as he had done to defend against Theo’s last few schoolboy hexes. The cutting curse slashed through the Aurors shield and sliced his upper arm open.

“Expelliarmus!”

The Aurors wand flew into Theo’s hand, and as soon as he caught it, he made his way over to the man and performed a basic healing charm. As Mitchell’s wound began to sew itself back together, Theo handed him his wand.

“Interesting tactic,” Mitchell said as he glanced at his arm, “You used some pretty inventive home-made spells there. I haven’t seen anyone use Levicorpus in a duel since I worked with Sirius Black…”

Theo grinned, “I’ll take that as a compliment, sir, he was a prankster extraordinaire.”

Mitchell surveyed Theo, “So that’s the tactic, lull your opponent into a false sense of security with schoolboy hexes then catch them unawares.”

“I learned a while ago that you can get away with a lot when people don’t expect anything of you,” Theo admitted, “That’s why I play the clown and study for my exams in secret.”

Mitchell laughed, “Yeah, Sirius would have been proud to call you his protégé. I remember how he would spend his days at school goofing around in class and his nights studying with Remus.”

Theo snorted to himself at that. From what he knew about Harry’s Godfather, he was fairly sure that whatever Sirius was doing with Remus all night long that it wasn’t studying. If Mitchell noticed this, he didn’t say anything as he led Theo off of the duelling platform.

“Does this mean I’ve passed then?” Theo asked.

Mitchell nodded as he opened a white door at the other side of the room, “By the skin of your teeth on some tasks but a pass all the same.”

Theo grinned broadly as he looked around the room they had just emerged into. Draco positively beamed when he saw Theo walk into the room. The blond boy bounded across the room and hugged his best friend, “Thank Merlin! You took forever. I was so worried! Holy shit, what happened to your arm?”

“I got bitten by a Kappa,” Theo said with a vaguely amused smile, “But it’s good to feel appreciated.”

“If you don’t mind Mr Black, can you relinquish your grip on your boyfriend so I can debrief him?” Mitchell asked with an amused smirk.

Draco’s cheeks flushed pink as he let go of Theo and nodded, “Oh yeah, I’m just proud of you, mate.”

Theo shot Draco an amused grin as he sat down on the other side of the room and watched Mitchell walk over to a desk. He picked up a brown file and walked back over to Theo. He flicked it open as he took a seat next to him, “Let’s begin with your physical results, shall we?”

“Do we have to?” Theo asked with a grimace.

Mitchell smirked as he glanced down, “Yeah, we have to. You took ten hits out of a possible twelve on our test of your reflexes, two more hits and you would have been out.”

“Yeah, I’m not the most agile,” Theo said sheepishly.

“We noticed,” Mitchell said, “You finished the assault course in 2 minutes and 58 seconds.”

Theo whistled, “I knew it was tight, but I never realised it was that tight.”

“You did pretty well in a lot of aspects of the course mind you,” Mitchell said, “You scaled that net faster than anyone else has so far. Climbing up hills doesn’t seem to be a strong point of yours though and don’t even get me started on magical creatures.”

“Don’t get me started on magical creatures!” Theo objected, “My arm is killing me! What do Kappa’s and Grindylows have to do with Auror training anyway?”

“You need to be capable of dealing with unexpected things. What would you do if you were called to a scene with multiple casualties, and you established that it had been a dragon attack rather than a human suspect?” Auror Mitchell quipped.

“I would floo my best friend’s girl and get her to come and hug the dragon. She’s into animal rights, saving house-elves, all that crap,” Theo said with a wave of his hand.

Auror Mitchell seemed to be struggling not to laugh, “You need a basic grounding in the handling of magical creatures, Mr Nott.”

“You should tell Draco that,” Theo said with a smirk in Draco’s direction, “He doesn’t have the best track record with Hippogriffs.”

“He didn’t get bitten by every magical creature on that assault course though,” Mitchell reminded Theo as he looked back down at the page, “Now, your flying assault course. Your time was pretty damn good. We reckon the fastest time a candidate should be able to set on the Firebolt is 1 minute and 38 seconds; you did it in 1 minute and 39 seconds. However, you lost 20 seconds for missing four of the hoops.”

Theo grimaced, “So my time was 1 minute and 59 seconds?”

Mitchell nodded, “You seem pretty good at scraping by the skin of your teeth.”

“Story of my life,” Theo admitted sheepishly.

“Your suspect chase,” Mitchell continued, “You hotwired a scooter.”

“The rules just said I couldn’t use my wand,” Theo pointed out.

“How do you know how to hotwire a scooter?” Mitchell asked, “And you know it’s illegal, don’t you?”

“In the muggle world,” Theo said, “I doubt we have that written into any of our laws.”

“We have a law that states that we must adhere to muggle laws while in the muggle world,” Mitchell pointed out, “Ask your best friend’s girl if you don’t believe me, I’m sure she could verify that for you.”

“I’m sure the princess could,” Theo muttered under his breath.

“So how did you know how to hotwire a scooter?” Mitchell asked again.

“My Muggle Studies teacher had to take a couple of weeks off sick with the pox,” Theo said honestly, “We had a sub, and he taught us.”

“A teacher taught you how to hotwire a vehicle?” Mitchell asked in disbelief.

“A _substitute_ teacher,” Theo emphasised.

Mitchell shook his head in disbelief, “Right, thankfully you did much better in the tests on your magical abilities. In our accuracy test that we conducted in Diagon Alley, you scored 38 points out of a possible 40 which we were very impressed with. You are the first candidate so far today who hasn’t hit any civilians.”

“Yes,” Theo said with a fist pump, “No civilian casualties, that means I’ve done one better than Draco _and_ Nev!”

Mitchell tried not to look amused as he continued, “So you hit all ten Death Eaters which we like to see. You took nine of them out effectively and cocked one up by slipping on the flobberworms that you unleashed.”

“Yeah, we know about my track record with magical creatures,” Theo said with a wave of his hand.

“But you didn’t kill any Death Eaters so we would have been able to question all those captured,” Mitchell added, “I liked the fact you realised that stunning charms could rebound so used binding charms instead. It was swift and very effective; we were impressed with your results on that one.”

Theo looked quite proud of himself as Mitchell went onto the next test, “Now onto the shielding test. You were hit with two curses, but one of them cost you double because it was the killing curse.”

“Yeah, not my finest moment,” Theo admitted. 

“In all fairness, you had a pretty bad head wound,” Mitchell admitted, “We wondered about sending in a Healer when we saw you take that hit.”

“I’ve got a hard head,” Theo said with a wave of his hand. In reality, his head still really hurt.

“We were impressed with your spell casting too,” Mitchell continued, “You acquired 28 points in that round. You fired 24 spells but used the same spell once which lost you a point. You gained five points for your use of the Patronus charm, however. We were impressed by the range of your spells and by your speed.”

“Thanks,” Theo said in all seriousness.

“And you know what I think of your duelling technique,” Mitchell said as he shut the file, “So that’s you done for today. If you wait here with your friends, we will inform you of your next move once every candidate has completed their physical and magical tests. I’m going to send a Healer in to take a look at that Kappa wound for you as well so sit tight, alright?”

“Yes sir,” Theo as he shook the Aurors hand.

Mitchell smiled at him as he got to his feet, “Congratulations Mr Nott,” he said as he walked towards the door.

Theo was buzzing as he got to his feet and made his way over to his friends. Neville got up and patted him on the back, “Well done, mate.”

“You too,” Theo said as he grinned, “That’s it now then isn’t it? Harry’s going to do it, how can he not?”

“You never know,” Neville said thoughtfully, “It’s highly unlikely, but he might make a big mistake.”

Theo snorted, “Nah, all of that is going to be a piece of piss for Harry. I barely scraped through the physical though, another 2 seconds in the assault course and I’d have failed and another second on the flying assault course and I’d have been out on my ear.”

Draco frowned, “You’re great on a broom, though.”

Theo looked a little sheepish, “Yeah, I just sort of tried to go too fast, and I may have missed a hoop or two…”

Neville shook his head in amusement, “And a Kappa did that to you?”

Theo glanced down at the oozing wound on his arm, “Yeah, a Kappa took a chunk out of my arm, a Grindylow had a bite too, whatever was in that bog nibbled away at me and then I slipped on an overturned barrel of flobberworms in the Diagon Alley simulation…”

Neville burst out laughing, “Mate, you need to get better at handling magical creatures.”

“And plants,” Draco cut in with an amused grin.

Theo rolled his eyes, but he wasn’t irritated with them. He was just absolutely thrilled that they had made it this far, he sat down on Draco’s other side and said, “So did anyone else finish from our heat Nev?”

Neville nodded, he motioned over to the area where Eddie Carmichael and Maxwell were sitting. They had now been joined by a tall girl who looked a little older than them, she had dark brown hair and deep brown eyes, she looked like a bit of a tomboy, “She did, her name is Lesley, and she was two years above us in school.”

“She was a Hufflepuff,” Draco added.

“She seems nice enough,” Neville continued.

“Fair enough,” Theo said, “Mind you, not everyone who gets through today is going to get through tomorrow, are they?”

“Tomorrow is the mental torture,” Draco said quietly, “Only the toughest are going to survive that.”

“Try not to be so pessimistic,” Neville said as he glanced towards the doors, “And keep your fingers crossed for Harry, I reckon he must be going in the next heat.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	10. Harry's Selection Test: Part One

Time seemed to drag for Harry when Neville and Theo entered their testing rooms. He had no one to make small talk with anymore, which meant that the minutes seemed to take hours to pass. The number of people in the waiting room had dwindled now, none of them had tried to make friends with anyone that they didn’t know, so it had been a relatively quiet few hours.

“Alright, time for the next heat!” Sumner’s voice boomed.

Harry perked up at that. Theo had gone at the end of the last heat and “N” wasn’t a million miles away from “P” so he was hoping that he would get to go in this heat.

Sumner stepped forward and said, “When I call your name, I want you to line up in front of your door!”

“ **O’Connor, Ann-Marie** : Door 1.

 **Potter, Harry** : Door 2.

 **Redford, Jessica:** Door 3.

 **Sandford, Miriam:** Door 4.

 **Telford, Samuel** : Door 5!”

Harry practically bounced out of his seat and stood in front of the door to Testing Room 2. He glanced behind him into the waiting area, which was almost empty now. There was an odd number which meant that the last heat looked like it would consist of two people. One of them was a dark-skinned girl who looked a little older than them, and the other was a skinny, scared-looking boy who Harry would have guessed was a year younger than himself.

“On the count of 3 you will enter the room and begin your test,” Sumner instructed them. Harry was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he began his countdown, “3...2...1.”

Harry entered the room immediately and looked around as he tried to work out what the task was going to be. He had a feeling it would have something to do with dodging spells, but he looked down at the plaque for confirmation;

_“When you cross the line, stinging charms will be fired at you in quick succession. This test requires you to place your wand in the holder beneath this plaque. Should you be hit with 12 or more stinging charms, you will fail this room.”_

Harry smiled to himself. He wasn’t particularly concerned about this one; he had spent his entire life dodging spells. He was small and quick, that was what made him such a good seeker. He placed his wand into the wooden holder that had emerged from beneath the plaque, then crossed the line to begin the test.

He had expected it to be like real combat when you didn’t know where the spell was coming from until you saw the flash of light—however, this room simulated spells which made his job much easier. There was a tell-tale hissing sound that came before each spell, so Harry knew what direction the spells were coming from a split-second before he saw the light.

The room was quite small, so he had to be quick, and he hurt himself a little as he threw himself around the room into various walls. He would duck to avoid one spell, and then he would need to dive across the room to avoid the next one.

The spells began to come out of the walls two at a time after that which only made Harry feel more like an acrobat. He would jump then swerve then duck and roll, he was getting into the rhythm of it and enjoying himself, and he hadn’t been hit once. However, that couldn’t last forever, and he knew it. The people watching him obviously thought he was finding it a little too easy because the spells began to fire out of the walls three at a time, and it was only then that he began to struggle.

He had to balance on one leg and press himself against a wall to avoid being hit by two of the stinging spells, but the third one hit the top of his shoulder. He didn’t even hiss in pain; it felt like a paper cut to him if he was honest. However, he did curse himself because, at that point, the spells stopped firing.

“Ugh! Really? I was _that_ close to getting through without getting hit once!” Harry exclaimed as a loud click, signified that the door in front of him had been unlocked.

He shook his head as he stepped through the door because he was frustrated at himself. He frowned when he emerged into a bright sunny field, but he grinned when he saw the obstacle course laid out before him, “This looks fun,” he said as he clapped his hands together and looked down at the plaque;

_“When you cross the line, we will begin to time you from our observation area. This obstacle course will test every element of your physical strength, and if you fail to complete it within the 3-minute timescale, you will fail this room. You may use your wand, but only against any magical obstacles you come across, you will receive a five-second penalty for using your wand for any other means.”_

Harry took his wand from the wooden drawer beneath the plaque, and he popped it in its holster on his upper thigh. He wasted no time in attacking the first obstacle, like everyone else, he took a running start and vaulted over the hurdles with ease.

He knew that he looked like a weedy little runt, but Harry was far fitter than he looked. He threw himself to the ground and made his way through the mud beneath the low net very quickly. It also helped that he didn’t mind getting dirty having spent a year on the run with no running water.

He pulled himself to his feet when he emerged from the net, and he darted over to the next obstacle which was the tunnel on the steep incline that the rest of his friends had struggled with in one way or another. Harry dropped down to the ground once more and began to pull himself up, it was slippery which was a bit of a challenge, but he was so light that pulling himself up the steep incline wasn’t particularly hard.

Harry hadn’t even broken a sweat as he pushed himself to his feet atop the little knoll. However, he didn’t like the look of the wooden balancing beam that crossed the ravine. He knew it was stupid for him to have a fear of heights considering how much he loved flying, he felt safe when he had a broomstick to hold onto but when he could just fall…it was a different story.

He knew his time was good so far, so he allowed himself a moment to take a deep breath before stepping onto the beam. Harry tried his best not to look down, but he had to look at the beam to make sure that his feet were steadied, he shut his eyes tightly when he realised that the wooden beam moved slightly when he put his weight onto it. He took another breath and concentrated on his feet rather than the drop below him, it seemed to take forever to cross, but in reality, he knew that it was seconds.

Harry blew out a sigh of relief as he stepped back onto solid ground again. He knew he had to make up time, so he ran and jumped onto the rope net. Scaling it was as easy for him as it had been for Theo, he threw himself over the top and made it down in record time. Once he was satisfied with the drop, he let go, fell to the ground and landed rather gracefully on all fours.

He then took a run at the rope and grabbed onto it. He allowed himself to gather a bit of momentum to get him across the river then he dropped down onto the opposite bank and jogged towards the lake. He was very grateful to Dudley and the bullies he had been friends with when they had been younger; it was thanks to him that Harry was so good at running, he had spent the first 11 years of his life running from them after all.

The moment he reached the lake and saw how deep it was, he knew that he was at a slight disadvantage. Harry could swim, he had taught himself when he realised that he was going to have to do a task in the Black Lake in his fourth year. All the same, while Harry was capable of swimming, he wasn’t the strongest swimmer in the world or the fastest.

He waded into the water and pushed off. He swam as fast as he could, but he could feel the strain of it already, running didn’t make him out of breath, but he found swimming a lot more physically taxing. He reached the first wooden beam and ducked under it, he needed to hold onto the second one and take a breather, but he managed to get underneath it all the same. He could tell that he was halfway across the lake now but just as he realised that fact he felt something grab his ankle.

“Grindylows,” Harry muttered irritably as he shot a stunning charm into the water. He didn’t know whether it had burned the Grindylow or stunned it, but the creature let go which was all that he cared about. He pushed on and ducked underneath the third and fourth beams. He was really out of breath by the time he saw the Kappa looking at him with hungry eyes. Harry knew that he couldn’t outswim the Kappa, but he didn’t want to spend a lot of time trying to trick it into bowing either, so he threw up a full-body shield charm and waded the short distance to the edge of the lake.

Harry felt incredibly unfit as he jogged from the lake to the next obstacle, which involved heights _again_. He was huffing and panting, but he tried to ignore his exhaustion as he grabbed the handholds on the wooden pole and began to climb it. He didn’t have to look down this time; he kept his gaze ahead as he scaled the pole as fast as he could. Harry knew that he would be faster if he wasn’t wearing soaking wet clothes, he cursed his decision to wear jeans today.

At the top of the pole, Harry grabbed the zip line and shut his eyes tightly before launching himself off of the high platform. He only opened them when his feet hit the ground. The force pushed him forward so that he ended up on his knees in the shallow, marshy water. He got to his feet and began to wade through the water; he swore under his breath when he felt a sharp pain in his ankle. Harry could tell that he had been bitten by something, so he threw up a magical shield around his feet as he continued to push his way through the water.

When he stepped out of it, he looked ahead and realised that the next obstacle was the last one, so that gave him a boost of energy. He ran towards it and threw himself onto the first tier, he army crawled through the tight gap between the two slats of wood and found it easy to twist his body around in the tight gap in-between tier one and two. He pulled himself up, crawled through the second tier just as quickly and then pulled himself onto the top of the wooden platform. He bypassed the pole and just took a running jump off of the platform, he landed on all fours once more and did a forward roll over the finishing line.

By the time he had finished, he was out of breath, but he felt like he had set a pretty good time, and he had found the obstacle course pretty fun too. He stayed on the grass for a minute or two until his breathing began to return to normal, and that was when he heard a disembodied female voice speak to him.

“Please proceed through the door onto the next section of the test Mr Potter.”

Harry looked up and noticed that a door had materialised out of nowhere in front of him. He wasted no time in heading through it because he was excited to see what the next room would hold. At first, he didn’t notice the broomsticks on the clifftop, he was blinded by the bright sun temporarily but once he had blinked a couple of times and looked around his face broke out into a grin. He already knew that he was going to ace this task before he had even read the plaque;

_“When you leave the clifftop, we will begin to time your progress. Throughout this flight course, there are 12 golden hoops which you must pass through. Should you miss any hoops, we will deduct 5 seconds from your overall time. Should you take any longer than 2 minutes you will fail this room. You may choose between the three broomsticks on offer, choose wisely.”_

Harry didn’t have to weigh up his options; he knew that he wanted the Firebolt. He didn’t need a strategy or a plan to get through this task; flying had always come naturally to him. He picked the Firebolt up, mounted it and set off from the clifftop.

The first part of the assault course was easy, the ravine was tight, but he had flown through tighter spots. The two that came to mind were his second year when he and Draco had flown underneath the stands and in his fourth year when he had been chased through mountains by a tremendous bloody dragon. This was far easier in comparison. When the ravine opened up Harry pushed the Firebolt because he knew that he could, he weaved with the grace of a bird between trees and cliffs, he soared underneath fallen tree trunks and let his feet skim along the water. He forgot that he was doing a task because he was enjoying feeling the sun on his skin, and the wind whipping through his hair so much.

The ravine got tighter again towards the end of the course, but Harry did not let up his speed. He soared through the tight, twisty canyon and landed gracefully on the clifftop that marked the end of the course. He didn’t want to appear cocky, but he knew the moment he had dismounted that he had done well.

Surely enough, a door materialised in the cliffside in front of him almost immediately. Harry grinned as he yanked it open and stepped into the next room. He could tell straight away that the room was a simulated area of London, but he had no idea what area of London it was. He glanced down at the plaque to find out more;

_“When you cross the line, you will be required to chase down a suspect. However, you may not use your wand to aid you in this task. When you place your wand in the holder provided, we will provide you with a picture of the suspect. If you fail to catch the suspect within 3 kilometres, you fail this room.”_

Harry placed his wand in the wooden holder that had emerged from beneath the wooden plaque. He then picked up the wizarding photograph and glanced down at it, his suspect was a young man with jet black hair and shifty eyes. Knowing this, Harry looked up at the street and contemplated the best way to chase down the suspect successfully. He grinned to himself as an idea formed in his head.

Harry knew what he was going to do so he didn’t waste any more time. He stepped across the line and was unsurprised when the street suddenly became full of muggles. Of course, it would have been far too easy if he had just had to chase someone down an empty street. He saw his suspect disappear into the thick crowd straight away, so Harry ran after him and kept his eyes on the dark-haired man as he chased him through the crowd and around the corner. As they entered a wider part of the street, the crowd began to thin, which gave Harry a perfect chance to put his plan into motion. The informational plaque had said _no wands,_ but it did not specify no magic, so Harry decided he would use this to his advantage. Once he had gotten close enough to his suspect, Harry held out his hand and flicked it towards the man’s feet.

The dark-haired man that he was chasing grunted as he suddenly tripped to the ground. This gave Harry a few seconds, which was all he needed to catch the man up. He reached him just as he had gotten back onto his feet, so Harry tackled him and held him down on the ground.

The moment the suspect hit the ground, the scene dematerialised and went back to being a boring, empty muggle street. Harry grinned as he dusted the muck off his hands, he looked around for his way out and saw that a door had appeared in the wall in front of him.

He was feeling pretty good about himself as he walked through the door. He didn’t know how many tasks would be included in each test, so he was expecting another simulated environment. He hadn’t expected to walk into a waiting room, but it was clear that this was what that was.

“Congratulations Mr Potter, you have successfully passed the physical aspect of our selection test. You have ten minutes to patch yourself up and refresh yourself before starting the next test which will assess your magical capabilities,” The disembodied female voice that had spoken to him said.

Harry glanced at the medical table; he felt a little smug that he didn’t need it. Apart from the slight burn mark where he had been hit by one stinging charm, he didn’t have any injuries. Instead, he opted for water, he walked to the fountain and downed a cup of water before pouring himself another. He collapsed into a chair and allowed himself a brief moment of rest as he sipped at it.

The ten minutes passed very quickly. Before Harry knew it, the female voice was speaking to him once more, “Your rest period is over Mr Potter. Please proceed through the door ahead to begin our test on your magical capabilities.”

Harry followed the instruction and stepped through the white door. After the simulated situations, he had faced in the physical test he was expecting to emerge into a similar situation, so he was unsurprised when he found himself in Diagon Alley. Before he read the plaque he looked around; he could tell that this had been programmed before the war because this wasn’t Diagon Alley as he knew it now, but it was similar enough to feel real. He glanced down at the plaque to find out what his task for this room would be;

_“When you cross the line, Death Eaters will appear in the alley. Your task is to take down as many as you can. However, there are rules. You will be penalised for hitting civilians, and taking a Death Eater down without killing them is preferable. We cannot question a dead Death Eater, but we can force veritaserum down the throat of a captured one.”_

Harry surveyed the busy street and tried to come up with the most effective way to take out Death Eaters without hurting any civilians. He knew he would have to keep it to charms that couldn’t do any harm to civilians like binding and stunning charms. He took his wand out of the wooden holder beneath the plaque and twirled it between his fingers thoughtfully, without knowing where the Death Eaters would materialise or how they would act there was only so much planning that he could do.

So, he threw caution to the wind and stepped over the red line. The Death Eaters immediately began to apparate into the street, which caused complete chaos. Amongst the chaos, Harry disillusioned himself (because he didn’t have his trusty invisibility cloak on him today) and slipped into the crowd. The Death Eaters had no idea where he was, which made it easy for Harry to chase them and get a clean shot. He took out four with binding charms in quick succession, and this caused the other Death Eaters to panic and disperse. He spotted a couple running towards the Leaky Cauldron, but the others seemed to shrink away from prying eyes.

Harry focused on the ones that he could see first, he pulled himself onto the canopy above Fortescue’s and crouched there as he aimed at the back of one of the fleeing Death Eaters. He hit him with a full-body bind which was incredibly effective. Harry then turned his attention to the other fleeing Death Eater who was a little further away, he was _just_ out of range for a stunning charm or a full-body bind to work so over the screams on the alley below Harry whispered, “Incarcerous!”

Ropes wrapped themselves around the man’s body, and he fell to the ground in a heap. Harry had taken out six Death Eaters, and when he had watched them apparate into the alley, he had spotted ten wisps of black smoke. By his reckoning that meant there were four more lurking about somewhere. He still had an advantage because they didn’t know where he was so he dropped down silently and crept along the edge of the alley, all the while he kept his eyes peeled for men in black cloaks wearing creepy masks.

Unsurprisingly, they weren’t that difficult to spot. One was lurking outside of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. Harry took him out with a whispered, “Petrificus Totalus.”

He spotted another Death Eater hiding behind a row of cages outside of Eeylops, and he found it hard to get a clean shot at that one, regardless of the angle he tried to attack from. In the end, Harry aimed at the man with a piercing charm in the hope that if he hit him, it would knock him back, which would enable him to stun the Death Eater. However, the charm only brushed his shoulder, and before Harry could do anything more, the Death Eater had fled inside the pet shop.

Harry cursed to himself as he looked around the alley for the remaining two Death Eaters. He saw one on the balconied area above the door to Gringotts, and he took him out with a stunning charm. The last Death Eater had been tracking him via the direction of his spells because at that moment, Harry sensed someone behind him. He turned around just in time to see a large Death Eater advancing on him. He knew that a stunning or binding charm would be ineffective because of the slight delay, so he acted on instinct and shot an arrow out of his wand. It hit the Death Eater in the shoulder which knocked him back for long enough to allow Harry to perform a full-body bind on him.

When this Death Eater fell the scene dematerialised. Harry was a bit frustrated with himself again, he had gotten so close to a perfect score, but he had let one Death Eater get away, and that made him want to curse himself. The unconscious bodies of all the Death Eaters he had managed to subdue vanished and then so did the panicked crowd of witches and wizards. Harry took that as a sign that he had passed the test, so he made himself visible again and glanced around the deserted alley as he waited for something to happen.

“You have passed this test, Mr Potter,” The female voice informed him, “Please proceed inside Gringotts bank for your next task.”

Harry slipped his wand back into its holster and stepped into the bank. He frowned because he immediately realised that this wasn’t the bank at all; it was a firing range.

“I’m the bloody target,” Harry mumbled to himself, “Story of my life.”

The Death Eater opposite of him did not move so Harry read the plaque to establish what he was supposed to do;

_“When you cross the line, the Death Eater will fire spells of varying levels at you which you must shield. To pass this room, you must not be hit by more than five spells. Note that the killing curse counts as two spells because it is the only spell which can kill you.”_

Harry grinned, he knew that he ought to do well on this one because shield charms were his speciality. He had always been very good at them, to the extent that he had taught better classes on shield charms to the DA and the eighth years in his brief tenure as ‘professor’ Potter than some of their DADA teachers had throughout the years.

As he stepped across the line, Harry felt very confident. The Death Eater began by firing spells that were easily defendable with “Protego”, but Harry did not let his guard drop because he knew fine well that the spells would get more difficult to defend. Surely enough, the Death Eater ramped up the intensity and began to throw spells at Harry that required stronger shield charms, but Harry defended them with ease too.

When the Death Eater began to throw in spells that were not defendable with a magical shield charm, Harry had to get inventive. He knew that he could just duck or swerve to avoid the charms, but that was boring. Instead, he blocked them by conjuring blocks of stone to protect himself; he found it interesting to see how spells affected various types of rock and stone.

He knew that it wasn’t possible to defend against “Glacius” so when the Death Eater fired it at him, Harry simply threw up a wall of fire to protect himself. The ice melted immediately when it made contact with the intense heat of the fire, and Harry felt pretty good about himself as he let the firewall drop.

That all changed when he saw the flash of green light leave the Death Eaters wand. When he heard the words “Avada Kedavra” being uttered, he heard them in Voldemort’s voice. He didn’t shut his eyes, but the room around him seemed to dissolve and become the Forbidden Forest. He heard his Mother scream; he heard Hagrid howl; he felt the coldness that was death envelope his entire body. The last time he had seen that curse flying towards him, he had died, he had actually died and gone to purgatory, and then through some miracle, he had come back. If that wasn’t cause for post-traumatic stress, then he didn’t know what was.

Harry sucked in a breath of air so violently that it came as a gasp. He knew that he only had seconds before the spell reached him, so he did the first thing that came to mind and dropped to his knees. The spell flew over his head, but he had been seconds away from death for the first time in over a year and that had really, truly scared him.

He did not get up straight away, and he was aware that his breathing was coming rather heavily when the female voice spoke to him again, “You have passed this task, Mr Potter. Please proceed into Ollivander’s wand shop.”

Harry blew out a breath and pushed himself to his feet. He took his time as he stepped out of the bank into the sunny street, he wanted to give himself a moment to catch his breath and to get his head back in the right place. He knew that his response to the killing curse hadn’t been good enough, but he couldn’t focus on that right now. He sucked in another breath then stepped into Ollivander’s and quickly realised that it was nothing like the real shop; it was another firing range. This time he wasn’t the target which he was grateful for, the target appeared to be a dummy on the other side of the fairly small square room.

Harry glanced down at the plaque to read the instructions for this room;

_“When you cross the line, you will have 2 minutes to fire as many spells as you can at the dummy provided. You will lose points for using the same spell more than once or for using dark magic. You will gain points for portraying any highly skilful spells.”_

Harry nodded to himself as he got his head back in gear. He didn’t know that many spells, he figured he was going to have to throw every duelling spell he knew at the dummy and hope for the best but he didn’t know as many inventive homemade spells as Draco and Theo. He knew he could cast spells quickly and he suspected that a Patronus charm would count as skilled magic, so he just had to hope he knew more spells than he thought he did.

Without thinking on it any further Harry stepped across the line and began to fire spells at the dummy. He didn’t have a tactic; he just fired the spells as they popped into his head. The first one was “Expelliarmus” of course. He threw every duelling spell that he could think of at that dummy and he amazed himself with how many he remembered. He was even using spells that he hadn’t used in duels since the duelling club in second year. However, as his time began to run out his spell knowledge seemed to dwindle, in his panic he slashed the dummy with “Sectumsempra” which he knew would lose him points because he was reasonably sure that it would count as dark magic. He was about to start floundering because his limited spell knowledge was beginning to show, but at that point, a loud buzzer announced that his time was up.

Harry was very grateful for that. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked around as he waited for his next instruction.

“Well done Mr Potter,” The female voice said, “You have passed this room. Please proceed through the door ahead.”

Harry looked ahead just as a door materialised in the wall. He stepped through it and smiled knowingly when he saw that the only equipment in the room was a large, grand duelling platform.

He smiled at the woman standing atop the duelling platform, and she smiled back at him, “Congratulations on getting this far Mr Potter. My name is Auror Carter, and as you may have guessed, your final task is to duel me.”

Harry climbed up onto the duelling platform, “And are there rules with this duel?”

“You cannot kill me, and we frown upon the use of dark magic,” Auror Carter replied, “But I am expecting an impressive duel from you. Your friend, Mr Black, told me that he was not at all worried about duelling a qualified Auror because I was no match for you.”

Harry laughed at that, “Well, I am the third-best dueller in Britain,” he said with just a touch of arrogance.

Auror Carter began to walk towards him, “Then I suppose I ought to make sure I am at my best.”

“I don’t want you to go easy on me if that’s what your implying,” Harry said as he walked towards her, “I’m no ordinary Auror trainee.”

“I may have noticed,” Carter said as she raised an eyebrow at him. Harry was fondly reminded of McGonagall. They reached the middle of the duelling platform, bowed to each other then retreated to their respective ends of the duelling platform.

The duel began immediately, and Auror Carter made sure not to pull any punches with Harry. Her spell casting was faster, and she bypassed the ‘basic’ duelling charms. That was probably a good thing because Harry had got stuck in there with a pretty powerful blasting curse.

Harry didn’t have a duelling tactic. He just fired whatever he could at his opponent until he saw a convenient opening. As soon as he saw that opening, he took it, regardless of whether it was risky. He supposed he duelled like a true Gryffindor even if he had Slytherin traits in other aspects of life.

Harry tried to distract Auror Carter by using spells that she wouldn’t necessarily have seen in a duel too often. He fired a stream of boiling water at her, but she countered it by conjuring a fireball and throwing it at Harry.

Harry threw up a shield charm to defend against the fireball which meant that it bounced off of his shield and soared back in her direction. For the next few seconds, they played ‘ping-pong’ with the fireball as it bounced from shield charm to shield charm. After that, Harry got bored, so he extinguished the fireball and threw a rather nasty cutting curse at the Auror.

Carter avoided the unshieldable curse and left herself open as she prepared a powerful blasting curse behind her shield charm. It was the sort of curse that took a few seconds to power up and leave the wand, so Harry seized this opening.

He used speechless magic to turn the wall behind the Auror into a mirror, and as the blasting curse left her wand, he threw up a shield charm to protect himself against it. From behind his shield charm, he cast “Expelliarmus” and aimed at a spot just above Auror Carter’s shoulder. The Auror hadn’t realised that the wall behind her had become a mirror, so she just assumed that his spell had missed. She opened her mouth to throw a counter-curse in his direction, but before she could do so, his spell rebounded off of the mirror and hit the Auror in the back. Her wand was plucked from her hand, and it soared through the air to Harry, who jumped to catch it.

Auror Carter smiled at him with a hint of amusement, “I was told that you finished every duel with Expelliarmus.”

Harry rolled his eyes as he walked towards Carter’s end of the platform, “I don’t finish every duel with it. Why does everyone insist that I do?”

“Perhaps because you killed one of the darkest wizards who has ever lived with that spell,” Carter said matter of factly.

Harry shrugged. He handed her wand back to her and jumped off of the platform, “I don’t think that means I deserve to be typecast.”

Carter smiled again, “That was a good duel, Mr Potter. I didn’t expect sneaky tactics like that from a former Gryffindor however.”

“I don’t have a duelling technique,” Harry admitted, “I just see an opening and go for it.”

“Regardless of the risk factor,” Carter commented, “And that is very noble of you.”

“Were you a Gryffindor by any chance ma’am?” Harry asked her.

Carter shook her head as they reached the white door. She pulled it open and led Harry through it, “No, I was in Ravenclaw.”

Before Harry could say anything else, he heard a cheer. He grinned in amusement when he realised that it had come from Draco, Neville and Theo. Carter rolled her eyes, but she was trying to conceal a small smile, “Settle down boys, your compadre still has to be briefed.”

Harry chuckled as Carter directed him towards a seat at the far end of the room. He sat down in the incredibly comfortable chair and watched her take a brown file from the only desk in the room. When she had it in her hand, she walked back over to him and took a seat by his side, “Well, Mr Potter, your physical test results were frankly, bloody impressive.”

Harry grinned, “Really?”

Carter nodded as she flipped the file open and continued, “You performed exceptionally well in our test on your reflexes. We ramped up the volume just for you, you took one hit out of a possible twelve, but I’m sure you would have gotten a perfect score if we hadn’t made it harder for you.”

“Thanks for that,” Harry said with a hint of frustration, “Do you know how annoying it is that I was _that_ close to a perfect score?”

Carter smiled, “Sorry, but we had to test you. If it makes you feel any better, the last time someone scored that well was about five years ago. Now onto your time on the assault course, you completed it in 2 minutes and 42 seconds, which is a great time. We were impressed by how fast you were. You flew through most of the obstacles; you set a record time on the net for this group of candidates.”

Harry smiled proudly at that; he was glad that he had done well, but it was good to hear his strengths and weaknesses from another point of view.

“That course did flag up a few weaknesses too,” Carter added, “Swimming being one of them.”

“Yeah,” Harry admitted, “I’m not the strongest swimmer, I can admit that. If I had been in open water, I would have struggled.”

“That’s something we can improve on,” Carter assured him, “The other thing I picked up on was that you seem to have a fear of heights.”

“Not exactly,” Harry admitted, “I have a fear of falling. I’ve been knocked off of broomsticks, and I’ve fallen down the side of a school with a dragon on my arse, I guess it left me a little bit scarred.”

“That might require a bit of fine-tuning to fix, but I’m sure we will get there,” Carter said as she glanced back down at his file, “I don’t need to say much about the flying assault course. You did it in a time of 1 minute and 37 seconds, I have already told one candidate today that it’s a record time. We got an international Quidditch star in here to test the course, and he set a time of 1 minute and 38 seconds.”

“Who was the other candidate?” Harry asked as his eyes darted across the room.

“Mr Black,” Carter replied.

Harry grinned, “Which one of us was faster?”

“You both set a time of 1 minute and 37 seconds,” Carter replied diplomatically.

“Oh, come on!” Harry said, “What about milliseconds? One of us must have been faster.”

“I couldn’t disclose that information even if I knew it, Mr Potter,” Carter said with a stern look, “As competitive as you and your friends seem to be.”

Harry smiled sheepishly, “It’s a bad habit,” he admitted.

Carter shook her head in amusement and continued, “Now, the suspect chase. We did specify that you shouldn’t use magic.”

“No,” Harry cut in, “You specified that we couldn’t use our wands. I _didn’t_ use my wand.”

Carter raised an eyebrow at him, “Technically there’s nothing I can do to punish you for that one because you’re right. You’ve flagged up a loophole that I am sure will be fixed before next year’s selection process begins.”

Harry smiled sheepishly, “Sorry, but I like to think of it as thinking outside the box.”

“Indeed,” Carter said as she fought back another smile, “Now onto our test on your magical abilities. You did very well on our accuracy test in Diagon Alley. You hit all ten Death Eaters which is what we like to see, and you managed to subdue nine of them through the most effective means possible which scored you 38 points out of a possible 40.”

“Do you know how irritated I was that I didn’t manage to get a perfect score on that one too?” Harry quipped.

“No one is perfect Mr Potter,” Carter reminded him, “Not even the Chosen One.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Please never call me that, ma’am.”

Carter glanced back down at her notes, “You are one of only two candidates who have managed to succeed without hitting any civilians thus far if that takes your interest.”

“Was the other person Neville?” Harry asked curiously.

“No,” Carter replied, “It was Mr Nott.”

Harry glanced over at Theo with an impressed look on his face, “Really? I didn’t expect that…”

Carter ignored his contemplations and continued, “We were incredibly impressed with the shielding charms you used in our shielding test. You know a broad range and the shield charms that you did put up were very impressive. I had no idea you were so interested in geology, however.”

Harry smiled at that, “I got a bit bored,” he admitted.

Carter smiled back at him, “Now, your reaction to the killing curse was rated as adequate. You avoided being hit by it which is more than your friend Mr Nott managed, but I did see you freeze and I noticed your eyes glaze over. Am I right in saying it triggered a flashback?”

Harry nodded as a dark look passed across his face, “The last time someone fired that curse at me, I died and somehow, by some miracle, managed to come back to life. I didn’t think it had left that much of a mark on me but…”

Carter nodded as he trailed off, “If you succeed tomorrow and you are chosen as one of our new trainees we are going to get you help with that. We’ll put you in touch with the hospital on-site and make sure that mental health Healers talk to you about everything you went through, is that okay?”

Harry nodded, he hated the thought of seeing a therapist, but if it was the difference between becoming an Auror or not, then he would do it.

Carter seemed satisfied with his response because she continued, “You did well in our test on your spell casting too. You fired 25 spells overall which is the most anyone has managed today, you gained points for your use of the Patronus charm, but unfortunately, you lost some points for using dark magic.”

Harry nodded, “I’m sorry about that, it didn’t occur to me until afterwards that it was dark magic, but I mean…of course I know that it is, I’ve seen what it does.”

“Everyone makes mistakes Mr Potter which is why we don’t automatically fail people for using dark magic curses,” Carter explained, “It can be hard to discern what constitutes as dark magic especially with homemade curses like that one.”

Harry nodded as Carter finished, “And you know what I think of your duelling. Overall your technique is good, but I worry that perhaps it’s a little too risky. If you are accepted into the programme, we will gradually fine-tune that though.”

“Thank you,” Harry said as he shook her hand, “I appreciate you going through everything with me.”

“It was my pleasure,” Carter said with a small smile, “Now go and join your friends, I can tell that they’re dying to compare their experiences with yours.”

Harry laughed and made his way over to his three excitable friends. When he reached them, he grinned and said, “We did it! All four of us have passed the first stage!”

“I think it calls for a group hug!” Theo said, and he forced them all to have a good old group cuddle, much to the amusement of the other candidates who had made it this far.

Draco managed to wriggle out of the embrace first. Harry glanced around the room, “So do we know who everyone else is?”

Neville nodded, “Max Harper, he was a Slytherin in the year below us.”

“Yeah, he dated Mandy Brocklehurst,” Harry remembered.

Neville nodded again, “Exactly, the guy with him is Eddie Carmichael, he was a Ravenclaw two years above us in school. The girl over there with the dark hair is Lesley Kavanagh, she was two years above us as well, but she was a Hufflepuff.”

“I don’t know who she is,” Draco said as he nodded in the direction of another girl who was being briefed by Auror Mitchell.

“Jessica Redford,” Harry replied, “She was in my heat.”

The girl had dark red hair and looked relatively unassuming. Harry wasn’t sure what age she was from a first glance. He tore his eyes away and looked back to his friends, “So they really cut it down already, and we still have tomorrow to go.”

Draco nodded, he was trying not to think about tomorrow, “So how did you do in today’s tests?”

“Aced the physical,” Harry said with a grin, “And did pretty damn well in the magical part too. I got a joint record on the flight assault course.”

Draco narrowed his eyes at his friend, “You’re taking the piss, aren’t you?”

“Nope,” Harry smirked, “1 minute and 37 seconds.”

“I can’t believe you!” Draco exclaimed, “Every time I think I’m better than you at something! One of us must have been faster. What about milliseconds?”

“I asked Auror Carter, but she wouldn’t tell me,” Harry said honestly, “Can’t we just agree to be jointly awesome on this one?”

Draco huffed, “No, I wanted to have beat you to that. You got way more awards for Quidditch than me.”

“Yeah in the fake awards ceremony our classmates ran,” Harry snorted, “It’s not exactly official is it?”

Theo sniggered in amusement, “But for Draco, it’s still a sore spot. Hey Draco, at least you weren’t the worst at anything. I got bitten by everything, remember?”

Harry snorted in amusement, “What bit you?”

“Well, the Grindylows and the marshy creatures-”

“Dugbogs,” Neville cut in.

“Yeah those things,” Theo said offhandedly, “They had a good nibble at me, but the Kappa left a scar.”

Harry grimaced when he saw the wound on Theo’s shoulder.

“You should have seen it before they sent a pretty healer in to tidy it up for him,” Neville joked.

“Oh, don’t you be calling any healers pretty apart from Lil,” Harry said with a grin, “She’ll cut your balls off.”

“Don’t put the idea in her head. I’m convinced she would actually do it,” Neville joked.

The others all laughed, despite Draco’s huff they were all in good spirits because regardless of scores or times, all four of them had passed two out of the three tests they had come here to sit. All in all, it had been a bloody good day.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	11. The Eye of the Storm

Harry, Draco, Neville and Theo spent the next little while comparing their experiences in the testing rooms. It made the time pass incredibly quickly, and before they knew it, everyone from their group had been tested.

The dark-skinned girl that Harry had noticed earlier was the only one to emerge from a testing room from the final heat (although that heat had only consisted of two candidates anyway). She was briefed by Carter and then she joined the rest of the group, however before she could introduce herself the main door into the waiting room opened and Sumner stepped in.

“Congratulations to everyone who got this far,” He said as he clapped his hands together, “I’m going to take you down to the canteen for lunch now and then we’ll reconvene with Auror Shepherd’s group and see how many of you have fallen by the wayside already.”

“He’s a ray of sunshine,” Theo whispered as they were led from the room into the maze of corridors.

“I don’t think they’re all like that,” Harry whispered back, “Auror Carter is nice.”

Theo shot his friend an amused grin, “I bet you think so.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Harry asked defensively.

“I saw her raising her eyebrows and being all flirty with you,” Theo said as he waggled his eyebrows, “She’s an older woman in a position of authority, she’s attractive, she’s _blonde_.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “I’m quite happy with my fiancé, thanks very much,” he said as Draco and Neville sniggered.

They hadn’t been paying attention to where they were going, but they had emerged into a large canteen that was very loud. Recruits and trainers were all chatting away as they had their lunch. Sumner boomed out orders to the candidates. They had half an hour in which to eat then he would be dragging them back to meet up with the other group.

“They really cut us down, didn’t they?” Harry asked as he sat down at a large table and surveyed the people who had gotten through from their group, “There was like 20 people in our group to begin with.”

“17,” The dark-skinned girl piped up, “And they cut it down to 9. I’m Blanche by the way.”

“I’m Harry,” Harry said with a smile.

Blanche smiled and shot an amused look in the direction of Draco and Theo, “I know. I’m surprised Drakey hasn’t realised who I am yet.”

Draco’s eyes widened as he caught Theo’s eye. Theo frowned, but then he caught on, and the two boys exclaimed, “Blanche Zabini!”

“Zabini?” Neville quipped, “As in Blaise’s sister?”

“Half-sister,” Blanche said with a wave of her hand, “Our Mother goes through men like a flobberworm goes through lettuce.

“How many of you are there?” Theo asked curiously, “When I met Blaise, he said he had a lot of siblings, but he never gave me a number.”

“There were ten of us,” Blanche replied, “But Blake and Beau were killed during the war. Don’t apologise for it; they were caught up with a bad bunch of guys who became Death Eaters, so I don’t know what they expected to happen.”

Harry looked down awkwardly.

Blanche continued, “So there are eight of us now, and Blaise and I are the middle kids.”

“Out of eight?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“Yep,” Blanche replied, “Blaise is my baby brother, but Beatrice and Billie are both younger than us.”

“Bea is in sixth year, isn’t she?” Draco asked.

Blanche nodded, “She will be going into sixth year after the summer yeah, and Billie will be going into third year. Brent is a year older than me, and he’s a lawyer in the DMLE. Then there is Byron; he’s a waste of space like his Dad I have no idea what he’s doing these days.”

“What about Blaine? Wasn’t he training to be an Auror?” Theo piped up.

“Yep, he’s an Auror now,” Blanche said with a nod, “I thought you’d have known that.”

“Why would I know that?” Theo asked with a frown.

“Because his Auror partner is Sorenson Cauldwell and didn’t you just marry his sister?” Blanche asked, shooting Theo an amused look.

“He did, but Sorenson and him aren’t exactly bosom buddies,” Neville said with a grin.

“He grudgingly accepted me when I married Sadie, that’s about as far as it goes,” Theo agreed with a snort.

“No brotherly love there, huh?” Blanche teased.

“Definitely not,” Draco chuckled, “What’s Belinda doing these days, Blanche? She’ll be the oldest now, won’t she?”

Blanche nodded, “She is, yeah. And she’s a judge in the DMLE now.”

“Your family have a thing about the DMLE, don’t they?” Harry asked curiously.

“Apart from the two that Voldemort radicalised,” Blanche replied sarcastically.

“Your mum has a thing about the letter B though, doesn’t she?” Neville remarked.

Blanche rolled her eyes, “Apparently our names all have double meanings. My Dad was an albino, so she named me Blanche because it means white. Original, right?”

Draco snorted in amusement, “Why is Blaise called Blaise then?”

“Mother thought it sounded like blasé and apparently Blaise’s Dad never got excited about anything,” Blanche replied.

“Blaise definitely takes after him then,” Theo grinned.

Blanche laughed at that, “Yeah, my brother doesn’t have the biggest personality in the world. It’s kind of hard when you come from a family as huge as ours though.”

“I’m interested in the size of your family,” Neville said as he leant forward, “I’d like to talk to you about lead paint sometime.”

“Oh give it up Neville,” Draco said irritably, “So you discovered that lead paint in old wizarding houses was the cause of infertility, when are you going to drop it?”

“Never,” Neville said with a grin, “They ought to give me an order of Merlin, don’t you think?”

Blanche raised an eyebrow at him, “In answer to your question, my mother acquired a Manor from one of her husbands, and it was muggle built, therefore, no lead paint.”

“Ah,” Neville said with a nod, “That makes sense.”

The others shook their head in amusement. They wanted to talk to Blanche more because she seemed like the kind of person that they could all get on with, but at that point, Sumner reappeared and informed them that lunch was over. They all got to their feet, and they were lead through another maze of corridors back into the lecture hall where they had begun their day.

They sidled into seats in the front row and waited for Sheppard’s group to arrive. A few minutes later they filed in, and Harry did a quick headcount, there were only eight of them. They sat down in the row behind Harry and his friends as Sheppard joined Sumner at the front of the hall.

“So day one is over,” Sumner said, “You get to spend the rest of the afternoon resting and meeting the people who could become your fellow trainees. Tomorrow is going to be a very hard day, so I suggest that you all get an early night in preparation for it. Seventeen of you have gotten this far, which is something to commend yourself on. However, we normally lose half of our candidates to the physical and magical tests and then we lose another half after our test on your mental capabilities. Enjoy yourselves tonight but remember, only half of you will be sitting in this lecture hall at this time tomorrow.”

Sheppard nodded, “Follow me, and I’ll show you to your temporary dormitories where you also have a shared common room.”

They all got to their feet once more and followed Sheppard into the grey corridors. Harry kind of felt like he was being led around the place like a sheep. He had no idea where the halls went to or from, he hoped he would get a map if he got through the training process or he would get lost more than he ever had done at Hogwarts.

After about five minutes, they were led into a corridor which had several rooms leading off of it. Sheppard halted them and said, “That door at the end leads to your common room where we have stored the overnight bags that you brought with you. There are four candidates to a dorm; girls and boys are _not_ allowed to share. Pick your rooms and get some rest like Sumner advised.”

The moment Sheppard left the corridor, there was a mad dash. Harry, Draco, Neville and Theo made sure that they were able to get a dorm room together and the others all branched off. With their rooms claimed they all migrated towards the common room at the end of the long corridor.

“So, who is everyone?” Harry asked his friends in an undertone as he surveyed the busy common room.

Draco began, “Well from our group there’s us four, Max, Eddie Carmichael the annoying Ravenclaw guy.”

Neville scoffed, “He’s not annoying; he seems like a nice guy.”

“He’s annoyingly nice,” Theo agreed, “Then there’s Lesley Kavanagh, she was two years above us in school, and she was a Hufflepuff, oh and there’s Blanche.”

“I don’t know anything about that other girl who got through from my heat,” Harry said as he glanced over at her, “Other than that she’s called Jessica.”

The others didn’t seem to know anything about her either, but they did know about some of the people from Sheppard’s group, “I know a few people who got through from Sheppard’s group,” Neville said, “They were in Ginny’s year at school.”

“Which ones?” Harry asked nosily.

“The two girls by the fire,” Neville said. They looked towards the girls in question, one of them had a short blonde bob and looked relatively petite, the other one had dark brown hair and was tall and lean, “That’s Emily Wilde and Jane Doyle, Gin shared a dorm with them. Oh and Douglas was in her year too, he was a Hufflepuff.”

“Which one is he?” Draco asked.

“The ginger one,” Neville said as he nudged his head in the younger man’s direction, “I can’t remember his surname. I know Mark as well, Mark Anderson, see the fairly small guy over by the bookcase?”

Harry nodded, and Neville continued, “He was in Ravenclaw, he was in Dennis Creevey’s year, he got his N.E.W.T’s a year early, he’s really smart.”

“Do we know anyone else?” Harry asked his friends in general.

“I know her,” Theo said as he nodded his head in the direction of a pretty girl with light brown hair, “That’s Ophelia Wood, she was in the same year as your first love Harry.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “I assume you mean Cho?”

Theo grinned at him in amusement, “Yeah, they were both in Ravenclaw, so they were friends.”

“I don’t suppose she’s related to Oliver Wood, is she?” Harry asked curiously.

“She’s his younger sister,” Theo replied.

“Hold on, how do _you_ know this?” Neville asked Theo with an amused look.

Theo shrugged, “I may have dated Marietta Edgecombe briefly while we were in school.”

“Marietta Edgecombe?” Harry and Neville echoed.

“Don’t judge me!” Theo exclaimed, “We were in fourth year, I needed someone to take to the Yule Ball.”

“Because you didn’t have the balls to ask Sadie,” Draco muttered with a smirk.

“Oi, don’t you start on that,” Theo said, pointing the finger at his best friend, “That was the year of Hermione fucking Granger.”

“It was not!”

“It bloody well was!” Theo snorted, “Ever since the Yule Ball, you suddenly noticed her more! Then when we came back for fifth year you were all like, ‘Look, Theo, look! She got hot over the summer’.”

Harry sniggered in amusement.

“She did get hot over that summer,” Neville admitted with an amused grin, “But not as much as she did between fifth and sixth year.”

Harry nodded, “Yeah, when she came back with the tan from being in France…”

“That’s the one and only time I’ve ever considered the princess hot,” Theo added.

“Could you _not_ all talk about the times you’ve had wet dreams over my girlfriend?” Draco asked in disbelief.

“Harry’s done more than have wet dreams about her,” Neville sniggered.

“Neville!” Harry cringed.

They all laughed and temporarily forgot about their nerves about the mental tests that they would be subjected to tomorrow. Throughout the late afternoon and early evening, they gradually found out who the other candidates were. There were a few who were the same age as them who hadn’t gone to Hogwarts like Louisa Dumas, a pretty fair-haired girl with a French accent who had been educated at Beauxbatons. There was also Julian Wells, an arrogant twat who none of them liked from their first impressions of him. He had been born in Britain but raised in Europe, so he had gone to school at Durmstrang. There was Isaac Crichton as well who had been home-schooled because his parents had feared for his safety and refused to send him to Hogwarts. Harry supposed he could understand that, given everything that had happened at Hogwarts in his time there. The girl they hadn’t been able to identify, Jessica Redford, had gone to Hogwarts for three years and had been in the year above them, her parents had pulled her out of school after the incident with the Basilisk in Harry’s second year, and she had been home-schooled ever since.

That evening, Harry couldn’t help but survey the occupants of the room and wonder how many of them would still be here by the time they had completed their selection tests tomorrow.

* * *

“Daphne, can I hold Teddy?”

“Why do you want to hold him?” Daphne muttered as they walked up the garden path together.

“Because if I’m holding a baby then maybe Molly will just say hi to me and leave me alone,” Hermione whispered.

“No,” Daphne snorted, “He’s a baby, not a human shield. Walk in there with your head high and face the music like a big girl.”

“Screw you,” Hermione muttered, “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t, you love me,” Daphne said with a grin. She opened the backdoor of the Burrow and gave Hermione a nudge.

Hermione stepped into the kitchen and smiled, “Hi Molly.”

Molly turned around and frowned, “Hi Hermione, hi Daphne. Where are the boys?”

“Oh, it’s Auror selection this weekend, so they are both on the base,” Daphne replied calmly.

“Oh, I see,” Molly said with a nod, “Well, Ginny won’t be joining us either.”

“Yes,” Hermione said diplomatically, “We heard from Ron that you had a disagreement.”

“Disagreement?” Molly scoffed, “Is that what he called it? Ungrateful is what I call it! But if she will make stupid decisions and ruin her life…”

Daphne sighed and shifted Teddy onto her other hip, “She isn’t ruining her life, Molly. A baby can be a blessing, you know?”

Molly shook her head, “Not when you are too young and immature to raise it properly.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at her, “Are you suggesting that Harry and I would be unfit parents? Because we’re thinking of adopting Teddy.”

“No, of course not dear,” Molly said with a shake of her head, “You and Harry are in a stable and loving relationship. That would be a wonderful environment to bring a child up in. But to marry for status or propriety instead of love…”

“Blaise and Ginny do love each other,” Hermione interjected, “Perhaps they don’t show it the same way, but Blaise isn’t the most conventional person.”

“Of course he isn’t,” Molly said scornfully, “He’s a Zabini.”

“Well, what’s wrong with that?” Daphne asked casually, “The Zabini’s are a respectable enough family, slightly unconventional certainly. But they have a seat on the Wizengamot; they are certainly not a dark family. They have money, and they have political sway. Most people would be quite happy to marry their daughter off into a family like it. There are worse fates, my sister was due to marry into the Goyle family, but thankfully, his imprisonment has made that contract null and void. Ginny will be well looked after by the Zabini’s. I wouldn’t concern yourself too much from that point of view.”

“Well Daphne dear, our family is not like yours,” Molly said condescendingly, “We do not believe in marriage contracts, and we would never marry any of our children off. We believe in more important things, such as marrying for love, not money or status. I never thought that Ginny would stoop so low.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at Molly, “What would be worse, Molly? Ginny’s child being born as a Zabini or being born a bastard? You and I both know that it is far more damning to be a bastard than to come from an unconventional family.”

Molly sighed, “She should never have gotten herself into a position where she had to make that choice,” she said simply, “Would you two care to go into the lounge while I finish the dinner preparations?”

“Of course not,” Hermione said. She hooked her arm through Daphne’s and the two girls slipped into the lounge to converse with the rest of the Weasley’s. Things were less eventful from there on out, dinner was served, and they all sat around the table making small talk.

It was going fine until dinner was finished. Then Bill rose to his feet and cleared his throat, “Since almost all of us are here. Daphne, you can relay the message to Harry, I need to say something, and it’s something I never thought I would have to say to my own family.”

Everyone fell silent as they looked at Bill.

Bill sighed, “Three days ago, I went into the ministry and was Ginny’s witness at her wedding to Blaise. Due to our family’s views, I was the only member of the family invited to our _only_ sister's wedding. It was not the way I would ever have imagined Ginny getting married, but the fact that she was too scared and upset to invite her own family to her wedding, regardless of what sort of wedding that was, frankly, disgusts me.”

Hermione had never seen Bill so angry before, and it was terrifying. He didn’t shout, he spoke in a low, steady tone but his voice was dripping with venom.

Charlie got to his feet, “If I had known, I would have been there in a heartbeat.”

George rose to his feet, “Me too,” he said as Angelina stood up next to him.

Percy nodded and stood up, “As would I have been,” he said, and Susan nodded from his side. She stood and took his hand.

Ron got to his feet and nodded fervently, “I’d have been there too.”

Hermione smiled at Daphne as they both got to their feet, “Draco and I would have been there.”

“As would Harry and I,” Daphne added.

The Weasley children, adopted, in-law, or biological, all looked to the only two members of the family who were still sitting down; Molly and Arthur.

Arthur cleared his throat and nodded, “We should have been there,” he agreed.

“Of course I wanted to be at her wedding,” Molly said a little tearfully, “But not like this. She is my only daughter; she should have married for love. She should have married Harry.”

Daphne looked at Molly in disbelief, “If that is your opinion, that is all fine and well, Molly. But to say that in front of me? I am sorry, but that is below the belt.”

Molly scoffed and said, “Yes, well, that was never going to happen. Was it, Hermione?”

Hermione laughed humourlessly, “No, I’m sorry Molly, I love you like a mother, but you do not get to pin this on me. Yes, I was sleeping with Harry during the war, but I don’t know what you think your supposedly angelic daughter was doing back then. Did you think she was perfect before this whole thing with Blaise? Because she was sleeping with Neville that whole time.”

“And she was sleeping with Dean Thomas before Harry,” George piped in.

“And it was Michael Corner before him,” Ron added.

“Blaise wasn’t her first rodeo,” Daphne said coolly, “And I very much doubt that it was _his_ fault that she got pregnant. I managed to sleep with him for the best part of a year, and I didn’t get pregnant.”

“She should never have been sleeping around the school, honestly!” Molly said in disgust, “She must have a horrible reputation. I never thought a daughter of mine would turn out to be such a scarlet woman.”

“No, Molly,” Arthur said with a shake of his head, “You have gone too far. This is our _only_ daughter that you are talking about. Yes, she made different choices from those we would have made for her. She is almost 18, she survived the war, and she is her own woman. At the end of the day, we weren’t far off her age when we had Bill.”

“And nobody is mentioning the fact that Ron’s knocked a girl up,” Charlie added, “And he’s only a year older than her.”

“Thanks, Charlie,” Ron muttered.

“It’s a fair point though, Ron,” Hermione said.

“The thing is Mum; you keep acting like we’re better than the Zabini’s. I think you have forgotten how long people have looked down on us for, just because we were poor. They never took the time to get to know us; they just assumed that we were poor blood traitors who had no money because you and Dad had too many kids. Right now, that is what you are doing the Zabini’s. You don’t know anything about them, you don’t know their story, but you are looking down on them anyway,” Percy said calmly, “You say we’re a liberal family, and I always thought we were too. I thought I would represent the Wizengamot and we would be on the side of the liberals, but your views are not liberal, they are incredibly conservative.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow at Bill, “Perfect Percy is saying this? I’m not imagining it, am I?”

Bill shook his head.

“No, Charlie, you aren’t,” Percy said, “Because I realised after the war that some things are more important in life than where we work or what we aspire to do. Family is important; we lost our brother. The last thing I want to happen is for the family to fracture because of Ginny’s marriage to Blaise. But I cannot stand by and let you say the things that you say anymore, Mum. You kicked off when Bill went to Egypt because you thought he would be attacked by the brutal Egyptian wizards, when in fact, he made firm friends of many of them. You kicked off when Charlie said he wanted to work with dragons because you thought he was wasting his talents. You wanted him to conform to your traditional views and take a desk job at the ministry. Why do you think I did just that? Why do you think I was perfect Percy? I _wanted_ to please you, and it took the war to make me realise that doing so wasn’t what I wanted.”

Everyone watched Percy as he continued to rant.

“Then I met Susan, and that is not a conventional relationship. She is younger than me, and she was still in school when we started dating,” Percy pointed out, “But her views are incredibly liberal, and she is the most open person I have ever met. And I can tell you for certain, if we have children, we will not be raising them to believe that blood status or sexual orientation matters.”

Susan smiled slightly at Percy’s words.

“You cannot say that we are proud to be blood traitors then act like a pureblood. You cannot act like a pureblood then condemn Ginny when she does the pureblood thing and marries for status or dignity. She loves Blaise, perhaps not in a conventional way, but her child will grow up with two parents and a family name that she can be proud of. She won’t be looked down upon or called a blood traitor or a bastard, because that is the world that _our_ generation is building.”

Daphne smiled and caught Hermione’s eye.

“The Malfoys have died out,” Percy continued, “The Black family will rise to power again because I do not doubt that Draco is ambitious enough. The Black family will become known for something more than in-breeding. The Nott family will become known for more than dark magic. The Potter family and the Greengrass family will unite, and they will become wizarding Britains power-family. Between Harry’s connections and the Greengrass links to industry, they will run this world. And none of us will preach blood status to our children, we won’t disown them for being gay, for being in love with more than one person or for falling in love with a muggle. I am certain that every single person at this table has had an unconventional relationship at some point or has done something that would question your traditional views.”

Molly didn’t look convinced, so Percy continued, “Bill and Charlie have no issue with the Zabini family because they spent a summer with Belinda Zabini. Is sleeping with two brothers a conventional relationship? As for Charlie, you thought he was gay for a long time and then were delighted when he brought a woman home but that doesn’t mean he’s straight. He’s bisexual; he’s slept with as many guys as he has girls. How many women do you think there are on dragon reserves?”

Charlie snorted in amusement.

Percy continued, “Did you never wonder why George and Angelina got together so soon after Fred’s death? It wasn’t because it brought them together; it was because they were already in a relationship, a triad relationship with Fred. For years, I suspect.”

George just nodded, and Angelina grabbed his hand supportively.

Percy said, “I broke up with a girl my own age, who was from a respectable pureblood family, to pursue a teenage school girl. Ron cheated on a lovely girl because he let the rush of fame go to his head. He then got the girl he cheated with pregnant, and although he is providing for her financially, he does not love her.”

Ron glanced down guiltily,

“Hermione is in love with Draco, but he has some sort of relationship with Theo, ala their Grandfathers. Yes, nobody has moved an entire manor to a different county, but they live next door to each other and are inseparable. That’s not a normal friendship, and to be in a relationship like that with someone, you have to be open. Am I right, Hermione?”

Hermione rolled her eyes and nodded in a long-suffering sort of way.

“Harry made some mistakes during the war, yes he slept with Hermione, and he regretted that immensely,” Percy said honestly, “And he didn’t get together with Daphne the moment they got back to school. They slept around in broom closets and secret passageways for months. Are you going to call Daphne a scarlet woman like you did, Ginny? Because she is anything but. She is a lady from a high-class family with status and powerful connections. She certainly does not deserve to be talked down to the way you spoke to her earlier.”

Daphne smiled slightly, “Thanks, Percy.”

Percy just nodded and turned back to his mother, “We all fought in that war, Mum. It wasn’t just the blood traitors against the purebloods. Draco, Daphne and Theo fought with Neville and Ginny. Harry, Ron and Hermione turned the tide of the entire war. We all fought, and we didn’t just fight Voldemort, we fought for what we believed in. What we believed in was a better world. The world that we are building will be one of acceptance, love and faith. Not one full of hate, suspicion and prejudice.”

Molly was silent, but tears were streaming down her cheeks. She rose to her feet and gripped Arthur’s shoulder, “You are right, Percy. I’m sorry, but there’s somewhere I need to go.”

Molly disappeared in a hurry; they assumed to talk to Ginny.

Arthur rose to his feet and crossed the room. He placed his hand on his son's shoulder and smiled, “I have never been more proud of the man that you have become, Percy, and you will make a wonderful Minister for Magic one day.”

Percy smiled and hugged his father. Just to break the mood, Ron whispered to Hermione, “What Perce said about Draco and Theo, does that mean they’re shagging? And you’re okay with that?”

“No,” Hermione said, ignoring Daphne’s sniggering, “They are not shagging. They just have a bond which is more profound than friendship.”

“But they don’t have sex?”

“No, Ron, they don’t have sex!” Hermione muttered.

Daphne snorted and got to her feet, “I think we ought to get Teddy home to his Grandmother. Don’t you, Hermione?”

Hermione jumped at the chance to escape from the house, which was still fraught with tension. They said their goodbyes and left, both breathing sighs of relief when they stepped out into the warm evening air.

“Well, that was fun,” Daphne remarked sarcastically.

Hermione snorted, “That’s the Weasley’s for you.”

“Who knew that Percy knew all of our secrets though, huh?” Daphne asked, “Actually, I can’t say I’m surprised. Susan can’t keep a secret for shit. She probably spilt it all.”

“Anyone with eyes can see that Draco and Theo have a thing that’s not a thing,” Hermione said with a sigh, “I’ll get questioned on it even more when we move into 12 Grimmauld Place and when we get married. I suppose I ought to get used to it.”

“You might have to do more than get used to it,” Daphne pointed out, “It’s not sexual, and it might never be. But there might be a time when a cause for an unconventional relationship between you two, and Theo and Sadie arises.”

“Like a four-way?” Hermione asked, shooting Daphne an amused look, “Because I hate to break it to you, but that’s already happened.”

“What?” Daphne barked, “When?”

“After the graduation party,” Hermione answered in a mumble.

“In our house?” Daphne asked in surprise, “That’s where you disappeared off to? Oh good Godric, you have to tell me all the details. Did you have sex with Theo?”

“No, he’s my cousin!” Hermione said in disgust.

“Did Draco have sex with Sadie?”

“No,” Hermione answered.

“Did Draco and Theo have sex with _each other_?” Daphne asked in an exaggerated whisper.

“No,” Hermione chuckled, “And I don’t kiss and tell, so you will not get the details out of me.”

“So you kissed Sadie then”? Daphne asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend, “We had a deal, Sadie and I. In first year we said we wouldn't be the typical ‘snogs anything that moves’ Slytherins. I broke it first though…”

“Did you?” Hermione asked in surprise.

“Yep, around the time I snogged the subject of that big Weasley argument,” Daphne said, shooting Hermione a grin, “In a broom closet, during the war.”

“Oh my god,” Hermione muttered.

“She’s a great kisser,” Daphne mused, “Not as good as Harry though. You know what I mean.”

Hermione hummed thoughtfully, "Harry and I didn't kiss much."

"Didn't you?" Daphne asked.

Hermione shook her head, “I told you, things weren’t relationshippy. It was…he was a different person back then, okay?”

Daphne frowned, “Different like…snappy? A bit more aggressive?”

Hermione looked up sharply, “Daphne, is he hurting-”

“No, oh Salazar, no,” Daphne said with a shake of her head, “No, he’s a bit more aggressive in the bedroom department lately, and he seems to be relying on alcohol a bit too much for my liking.”

“How so?” Hermione asked.

“He has a drink every night,” Daphne answered, “He says it helps him sleep.”

“Well…that in itself isn’t too much cause for concern,” Hermione said, “My father was a soldier, and he always finds it easier to sleep after a nightcap. Perhaps it just keeps the nightmares at bay?”

“Perhaps,” Daphne said.

“But we’ll keep an eye on it anyway,” Hermione said, gripping Daphne’s hand and smiling supportively at her as they apparated to Greengrove House.

* * *

“Sorry that we are back a little late,” Daphne said when she and Hermione slipped into the drawing-room of Greengrove House.

“It is quite alright,” Andromeda smiled, “We assumed you were just having fun.”

“Not quite,” Hermione sighed.

“Oh?” Narcissa questioned, “Was there trouble?”

“Family drama,” Daphne said by way of explanation.

“Ah,” Narcissa realised, “Would you like to stay for tea?”

“That would be lovely, Narcissa,” Hermione said, she sat down in an armchair by the fire and let her head drop onto her index fingers, “I can feel a migraine coming on.”

Narcissa smiled sympathetically. She clicked her fingers, and an elf appeared, “Sukie, would you mind putting some pain reliever in Miss Granger’s tea? She has had a rather tough day, so it seems.”

“Of course Mistress Black,” The elf said, and she disappeared with another crack.

“Whatever happened?” Andromeda asked curiously.

“Ginny, Molly’s youngest child and only daughter, has fallen pregnant,” Daphne explained, “With Blaise Zabini’s child. The family argument began over the fact that she married Blaise so that the child could be born in wedlock.”

Narcissa frowned, “And why is that a problem? The Zabini’s are a respectable family.”

“Yes, but I doubt Molly saw it that way,” Andromeda said.

“She didn’t,” Daphne said, she sat down on the edge of Hermione’s armchair and gripped her friends shoulder, “She disapproves of the Zabini’s because of their unconventional relationships. Some uncomfortable truths about her own family arose in the course of the argument and Hermione and I were caught up in that.”

“What unconventional relationships?” Andromeda asked with a frown.

Narcissa smiled slightly as the tea arrived, “I suspect my son’s unconventional relationship with his best friend may have come up.”

Hermione looked up in surprise, “How did you know about that?”

“You forget, my dear, that I moved into Malfoy Manor at 18 years old. I was married off to Lucius while he still lived at home with _his_ father. I know all about Abraxas’s relationship with Thaddeus Nott,” Narcissa said calmly, “I am not blind, I can see the parallels in my son's relationship with Theodore. They love each other very much and they-”

“Need each other,” Hermione finished with a nod, “Sadie and I have come to accept that. We had to if we wanted to be in committed relationships with them, but it was not the kind of thing that I wanted to become common knowledge.”

Andromeda chuckled, “Hermione darling, it is common knowledge to anyone who spends five minutes in a room with those boys.”

Daphne smiled slightly, “Andi has a point, Hermione.”

“And it is perfectly acceptable,” Narcissa said, “All that matters is that you are happy. Are you happy?”

Hermione nodded and managed a weak smile, “Yes, I am.”

“And Sadie is definitely happy,” Daphne said honestly, “So what harm does it do anyone, eh? They aren’t sleeping with each other. They aren’t having an affair. They just love each other and appreciate each others company.”

“Just as Abraxas and Thaddeus did,” Narcissa confessed, “But they were dedicated to their wives and their families. Draco was always more like his grandfather than his father on the Malfoy side of the family.”

Hermione smiled and said, “Thank you.”

Narcissa placed a cup of tea in her hands, “It must be very overwhelming for you. You are blending in just beautifully, but relationships in our world are very different than they are in your world.”

Andromeda nodded, “Oh, entirely. Sexuality is a different thing over here.”

“I find it strange,” Hermione admitted, “Because often our world feels very old-fashioned and victorian, but this is a more modern outlook.”

“Oh, not at all,” Narcissa chuckled, “It is the muggle world that has gone backwards.”

Andromeda smiled, “Cissa is right. In Victorian times, more was accepted, but it was hidden. Women had female lovers, and men had male lovers. But everyone married for status, for heirs and as a front. The scandalous things happened behind the scenes, but they still happened. That is exactly how things work here; all of the old families have scandals.”

“Abraxas and Thaddeus’s relationship was the skeleton in the closet for the Malfoy and Nott families,” Narcissa said.

“And goodness knows the Black family have more than one,” Andromeda said with an amused smile, “Sirius and Remus for one. Not to mention Bellatrix and her little triad with the Lestrange brothers. Then there was the ambiguous relationship between Amycus and Alecto Carrow.”

Daphne’s eyes darkened, and she said, “Percy is right, Hermione. We will forge a new world for our children. We won’t preach blood status. We will make it clear that they can openly love whoever they want. We fought for equality, happiness, peace and love.”

Hermione smiled and reached up to grip her hand, “You’re right, Daphne, that’s exactly what we fought for.”

Narcissa sipped her tea and sighed contentedly, “I am ever so pleased that you and Draco went down different paths in life, Daphne. I cannot envision a world in which my son is not madly in love with you, Hermione.”

Hermione smiled at this.

“And you are everything that Harry has ever wanted and more,” Andromeda said to Daphne.

Daphne smiled, a little sadly, and said, “I guess there is a lot of truth in something my old friend Tracey used to say after all…what is meant for you, will not pass you by.”

“No, it won’t,” Hermione agreed, squeezing Daphne’s hand supportively.

* * *

On Sunday morning, the group of candidates got up at 8 am, had breakfast at 8.30 am and gathered in the lecture hall at 9 am. By the time they had all been registered and given name badges the day before they hadn’t gotten started in the lecture hall until about 9.30 am so their start time was slightly earlier today.

“Welcome to day two candidates!” Sumner boomed in his cheerfully sarcastic way, “Because there are only 17 of you left we won’t be splitting you up into two separate groups today. We will be testing you in heats again like we did yesterday, however.”

“Today is going to be one of the toughest days of your life,” Sheppard continued, “Yesterday we wanted to make you black and blue, your physical and magical stamina was our priority. Today, we’re looking at your mental stamina.”

“We told you yesterday that we want the best, we _need_ the best,” Sumner said firmly, “And that isn’t just about how fit you are or how many spells you know. It’s about your mental strength, today we’re going to delve into your psyche, we are going to use everything that we know about you to find your weak spots and identify your breaking point. Once we know it, we’re going to try our best to break you. If any of you are uncomfortable with that, then I suggest you leave now.”

Like the day before there was a little shuffling, but nobody left.

Sheppard smirked, “Good. Now, those of you who pass the mental test will be subjected to one more test. We’re going to put you into groups and give you a case file. You will have 2 hours to solve that case, and we will be monitoring you closely as you try to do so, by the time we are finished with you today we _will_ know who this year’s new recruits are going to be.”

“Let’s get going then!” Sumner boomed.

All 17 candidates got to their feet and followed Sumner out of the side door at the front of the room. They were led to the same waiting room that they had spent a large chunk of the previous day in and just like the previous day Sumner began to boom out orders straight away.

“You did this yesterday, so you know the score. I’m going to call your name and give you your door number, you’re going to line up in front of that door, and you are not going to enter until I have counted down from 3,” Sumner boomed, “You are going to face a series of rooms again, but you _cannot_ fail the first room. From the second room onwards, however, if you do not meet the requirements, you will not be able to complete the test. Understood?”

There was a mumble of yes and a lot of nods.

“Good! Let’s get this started with heat number one then!”

“ **Anderson, Mark:** Door 1.

 **Black, Draco** : Door 2.

 **Carmichael, Eddie:** Door 3.

 **Crichton, Isaac:** Door 4.

 **Doyle, Jane** : Door 5!”

Harry gave Draco an encouraging smile as he lined up in front of the door to Testing Room 2. It was a bit like déjà vu considering that this was the same room he had been tested in the day before. The other candidates looked as nervous as Draco did as Sumner began his countdown.

“3…2…1!”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	12. Draco's Selection Test: Part Two

“3…2…1!”

With a somewhat shaky breath, Draco opened the door and stepped into the first room. He found himself in a reasonably small potions lab which had no windows. He frowned as he contemplated what this could have to do with his mental strength. Like in the physical and magical tests there was a plaque which provided further instruction;

_“When you cross the line, you will be faced with a scenario that will challenge your morals. There is no right or wrong choice in this test, but it gives us a gauge on your moral compass. Think carefully about your options and act on your own gut feeling. You will find a brief outline of the scenario you are faced with in the drawer provided.”_

The moment Draco finished reading the plaque, a wooden drawer emerged from beneath it. Draco took out the only object in the drawer which was a scroll of parchment, he unrolled it and read his scenario carefully;

_“A magical disease has spread across the globe and has killed millions of witches and wizards. Everyone is under strict quarantine to avoid the disease spreading any further; you have spent this time in quarantine developing two potions in your home laboratory. You know that one of these potions is a cure, but you do not know which one. The other potion is an earlier attempt at a cure which is deadly. Once you figure out which potion is the cure, you will be able to use it to save millions of lives. You have with you two people who are under your care, and the only way to identify the cure is to give each of these people one of the two potions. One person will live, the other will die, and you will be able to start saving lives with the cure.”_

Draco sighed as he crossed the line to allow the test to begin. He doubted that this was going to be timed and he was anxious to see who the two people under his care were going to be. The moment he crossed the line, they materialised on a ragged old sofa at the far end of the room.

“Of course,” Draco muttered under his breath, “I have to choose between my mother and my fiancé,” he shook his head and looked at the two vials of potion on the desk before him.

He frowned as he weighed up all of the possible options that he could see here. The way he saw it, he had two. He either gave the potions to the only two women he loved and risked losing one of them or he didn’t give them the potions and let himself be responsible for the demise of the wizarding race.

“So if I don’t give them the potions I am the destroyer of the wizarding race,” Draco mumbled to himself, “And if I don’t identify a cure they’re both going to die anyway, and I’m going to die too.”

He began to pace the small lab, “Or I give them both the potions and risk one of them dying. I have no idea which potion is which and I’m assuming I will be penalised for using magic to test them. Then again, if I test the potions with magic, I could risk damaging the compound, which would mean that the cure wouldn’t work anyway so magic is out of the equation.”

Draco frowned over at his mother and Hermione who were silent and sat with their eyes downward. He knew they couldn’t talk to him because they weren’t real, but he needed Hermione to guide his moral compass in the right direction at the moment. He sighed, “So if I give them the potions I’m taking a complete risk. I have no idea which one of them is going to live and which one of them is going to die…but what else can I do?”

He wracked his brain as he tried to think outside the box, “I could take one of the potions myself and then leave a note in case the one I take is the deadly one…Hermione or my Mother would find the note in my lab and realise that I had taken the deadly potion. They would be able to distribute the cure that way…but what if I hadn’t left any written record of how I made it? Hermione is talented, but what if she wasn’t able to recreate the cure?”

Draco let his head fall into his hands, “Wait! If I was to take one potion and I died, I would know the other one was the cure…that’s it! I don’t have to give both of them a potion. I only need to give a potion to _one_ of them. If they live then the potion I gave them must be the cure but if they die then the other potion is the cure.”

For a moment, Draco was very pleased with himself for coming up with this loophole. However, then he realised that there was still a big problem with it, “Now I just need to decide whose life I’m going to put at risk…either way I have a 50% chance of killing whoever I pick so I either kill my mother or my fiancé…”

He sighed and let his head fall onto the desk. He had to weigh up both options logically and rationally because he couldn’t let his heart make this decision. His heart didn’t want either of them to die, which meant he had to rely on his head.

“Hermione has just got a job in the DMLE,” Draco mumbled to himself, “She’s going to make big changes. She has all of these plans for the department and she’s friends with Harry Potter, so she has the right links to push change through. If she were to die prematurely, it would put all of that risk; she still has her whole career and her whole life ahead of her…”

“If my mother were to die there would be some upset,” Draco said to himself, “I would be upset, it would devastate Aunt Dromeda, but at least she would still have Teddy to hold onto. My mother doesn’t want to go back to work, I doubt she will re-marry, and I know she can’t have any more children. Logically, I have to pick her.”

His decision was made, but Draco still hesitated as he picked up one of the vials. He took a rather unsteady breath and walked over to the small sofa. He felt sick to his stomach as he held the potion out to his mother.

She took it from him, uncorked it and drank it in one gulp. Draco watched her anxiously as he took the vial back from her. At first, nothing happened, and Draco allowed himself to hope for a few seconds that he had managed to do this without killing either of them, but then his mother began to convulse, and she foamed at the mouth. Draco shut his eyes tightly as she choked and slumped down onto the sofa.

There was a click, and when Draco looked up, he realised that a door had appeared in front of him. He sighed and was about to walk through the door when a familiar disembodied female voice spoke to him, “You found a loophole which enabled you to save your fiancé, but the consequences of your actions were that you lost your mother and that you know her death is on your hands. However, you have saved the lives of millions of witches and wizards across the world.”

Draco yanked open the door and said sarcastically, “Thanks for that Auror Carter, but it doesn’t make the fact that I just killed my own mother any easier.”

Auror Carter’s voice said no more so Draco surveyed the room he had just walked into. Before he could even locate the plaque, let alone read it, a Dementor appeared out of nowhere right in front of him.

Draco jumped so violently that he smacked the back of his head off of the wall. He grabbed his wand from its holster, shut his eyes and pictured the look on Hermione’s face as he had proposed to her on stage at the prom. When he opened his eyes, he pointed his wand at the Dementor and roared, “Expecto Patronum!”

His Patronus leapt at the Dementor. It was an interesting sight to behold because his Patronus was a reasonably large, intimidating looking dragon. The Dementor shrunk back, and when the Patronus had chased it into the opposite wall, it disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Draco glanced around the room in an attempt to let his heart rate get back to normal. There were only two things in this room, one of them was the informative plaque, and the other was a wardrobe. Draco’s heart sank when he saw the item of furniture because he instantly knew that it would contain a boggart. He read the plaque all the same;

_“If you did not manage to defeat the Dementor, you have failed this room. If you did defeat the Dementor, congratulations but you are not finished yet. There is a boggart in the wardrobe which you will have to face when you approach it. If you fail to overcome the boggart, then you will fail this room.”_

Draco felt incredibly nervous as he walked towards the boggart. He had no idea what it would materialise as now. When he had been younger, his biggest fear had always been his father which was why he had been so reluctant to confront a boggart in front of a class of his peers.

He neared the wardrobe, and it burst open. Draco took a step back instinctively as a version of himself strutted out of the wardrobe. He was older, and his hair had been swept back into a ponytail. He realised, with a sickening feeling, that he looked like his father. All Draco could do was watch as two more figures emerged from the wardrobe; one was an older version of Hermione. She looked much the same, but she had bags under her eyes and a world-weary expression on her face. The third figure was a young boy with curly blond hair and grey eyes, Draco swallowed as he realised that this boy was their son.

He took another step back as a scene began to play out in front of him. The older version of himself was shouting at Hermione, but it was a silent scene, so Draco could not hear the words that were being said. Hermione was crying, and the little boy was cowering behind her as if he were afraid of Draco. This made Draco’s eyes fill with tears; he felt like he was frozen to the spot as he watched himself strike Hermione across the face and then pull his wand on the frightened little boy that was his son. With a jolt he realised what he was watching, he realised what his greatest fear was…it was that he would become his father.

Knowing this seemed to help him snap out of it. He raised his wand and tried to say, “Riddikulus” but nothing came out of his mouth. He cleared his throat and blinked to get the tears out of his eyes then said loudly and clearly, “Riddikulus!”

The spell hit the boggart, and the scene changed instantly. Draco and Hermione were sharing a large armchair, and they had the little boy on their laps, all three of them were smiling and laughing as they read a book together. Draco cleared his throat and hastily wiped his eyes as the scene dematerialised and the wardrobe door snapped shut.

Another loud click let him know that he had passed the room. Draco took his eyes off of the wardrobe and walked through the door that had just appeared beside it. This room was some kind of dungeon which immediately told Draco that he was going to have to withstand torture to pass this test. There was a red line on the ground and an informational plaque next to the door which Draco read;

_“When you cross the line, the door will lock, and you will be subjected to torture at the hands of a Death Eater. You are required to place your wand in the drawer provided, and in this drawer, there is a piece of information. The Death Eater will try and extract this information from you, but your task is to protect it at all costs. If you give up this piece of information, you will fail this room.”_

“Well it won’t be the first time a Death Eater has tortured me,” Draco muttered as he placed his wand in the wooden drawer beneath the plaque and picked up the small scroll, “It will be the first time they’ve done it for information rather than for fun though.”

He unrolled the scroll and scanned it, _“We are getting Potter to the safe house using seven decoys.”_

Draco frowned as the piece of paper combusted in his hands. As he looked down at the smouldering ashes, he found himself wondering if that was a real piece of information from the war. He did not dwell on it for too long as he crossed the red line on the ground, he figured the sooner he could get this over and done with, the better.

The moment he was over the red line, a masked Death Eater appeared and shackled him to the wall by his hands and feet. Draco looked up at the Death Eater expectantly as the robed man aimed his wand in Draco’s direction.

“Do you know where Potter is?”

“Why would I know where Potter is?”

The Death Eater slashed his wand through the air and sliced Draco’s arm open with a cutting curse, “You’re friends with him, is he with the muggles?”

“What muggles?”

“Don’t play around with me if you want to live, boy!” The Death Eater said as he slashed Draco’s other arm.

“Who says I want to live?”

The Death Eater growled, “You know we can’t touch him when he’s with the muggles, but they can’t leave him there forever. Where are they moving him to?”

“I don’t know,” Draco replied as the deep cuts in his arms stung like hell.

“Yes, you do,” The Death Eater hissed, “Shall we see if the cruciatus curse loosens your tongue?”

“By all means, let’s try it and find out,” Draco said calmly, “But I doubt you can cast it with the same power as Lord Voldemort, so I highly doubt it will work.”

The Death Eater took this challenge on board. He pointed his wand at Draco and yelled, “Crucio!”

Simulation or not, it hurt the same as it would in real life. It wasn’t anywhere near as strong as Voldemort’s curse though which Draco took some solace in. He gritted his teeth but didn’t shout out in pain as the curse forced him to his knees.

“We know that you are friends with Potter, so _where_ is he?”

“I wouldn’t tell you even if I did know,” Draco hissed.

“We can offer you far greater things than Potter can,” The Death Eater said.

“I don’t want glory, and I don’t want to be some dark lords bitch,” Draco said as he felt like every bone in his body was slowly breaking, “So trust me, you can’t offer me anything that I want.”

“Let’s see if you’re still as loyal when you feel like your flesh is burning,” The Death Eater said, with a thrust of his wand he upped the volume of his cruciatus curse. Draco groaned but still didn’t shout out in pain.

“How are they moving Potter?”

“I don’t know,” Draco said through gritted teeth.

“Are they going to use the floo? Are they apparating him out?”

“I do not know. How many times do I have to say it!”

“You’re lying!” The Death Eater hissed. He twisted his wand, and it felt like Draco’s spine was twisting, he gritted his teeth and groaned in pain once more.

“Black, where is Potter?”

“I will never tell you,” Draco hissed as the pain reached its peak.

“Fine,” The Death Eater said. All of a sudden, the pain stopped, and Draco looked up in surprise, he couldn’t have passed that easily, could he?

“Clearly the Cruciatus curse doesn’t work on you,” The Death Eater continued, “But there are other ways to make you talk. Which of your bones should we crush first? I think we’ll start with a knee cap…”

The Death Eater pointed his finger at Draco’s knee then balled his hand up into a fist. This time Draco did cry out in pain because the curse had just crushed his knee cap to pieces, he fell to the ground in pain.

“If you want to have any bones left, tell me where Potter is.”

“No,” Draco said through the haze of pain.

The Death Eater crushed his other knee bone, and Draco cried out in pain again, “I will never tell you where he is so you might as well just kill me!”

“I am not killing you until every bone in your body is broken, and I know where Potter is and how they are moving him,” the Death Eater growled. He clenched his fist again, and this time Draco felt his shoulder bone shatter, he screamed out in pain and shut his eyes tightly. He knew that it would all stop if he told the Death Eater what he wanted to know and for a moment he was tempted. Then he thought about how horrible it would feel to disappoint one of the few people who had believed in him and given him a second chance, and despite the pain, that gave him his fight back.

“Who is helping move Potter? Is Moody in on it? Are there any Ministry insiders?”

“I don’t know,” Draco said quietly, he didn’t have the energy to shout anymore.

The Death Eater growled in frustration. He got to his knees on the floor and grabbed Draco’s arm, “When they find your body, I want them to know what you are Black,” he spat.

Draco didn’t understand what that meant at first, but then he felt a searing pain in his arm. He cried out in pain then looked down to see that the Death Eater was carving something into his arm around his dark mark. The sight sickened him and all of a sudden; he was somewhere else.

The Death Eater had gone, and Draco was standing in his old home. He was watching the love of his life, shaking in pain as his aunt carved out the word “Mudblood” into her arm.

“No!” He screamed as he tried to get to her, but he couldn’t move because his feet were stuck to the floor and he wasn’t even sure if his words were getting out.

Searing pain in his arm brought him back to reality, and he was sweating and shaking on the floor once more as the Death Eater finished his masterpiece. It read, “Traitor.”

“I would rather be a traitor than a Death Eater,” Draco spat.

Upon these words, the Death Eater vanished and a door opposite the one that he had come through opened. Draco couldn’t move, and his vision was blurry, but he saw someone in white robes walking towards him.

A soft voice said, “Here, drink this. It will reverse any injuries you received in this room.”

Draco reached for the potion blindly and threw it back in one gulp. It took immediate effect; his vision began to return to normal, and all of the pain started to ebb away. After a few minutes, he got to his feet a little shakily and sighed with relief when he realised that he felt normal once more.

He frowned, the door was still there, but the healer who had come through it was gone. He was starting to wonder if he had been seeing things as he walked towards the door and hurried through it. He was grateful to leave the room.

In the next room, there was nothing but a table and two chairs. Sitting in one of those chairs was Auror Carter. She smiled at Draco, “You have done very well so far, Mr Black, please sit down.”

Draco took a seat opposite her and looked up at the Auror expectantly.

“This task tests if you have any psychopathic traits, it is part of the meticulous vetting we do for all candidates,” Carter explained, “You must take a small dose of veritaserum before we begin. Will that be a problem?”

Draco shook his head.

Carter handed him a phial with the smallest amount of veritaserum in it. Draco sipped the foul-tasting potion and gave her back the phial. She smiled at him and continued, “I am going to say a series of statements. To each statement, you must tell me if you disagree completely, disagree, neither agree nor disagree, agree or agree completely. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Then we will begin,” Auror Carter said as she dipped her quill into some ink and said, “I rarely follow the rules.”

“Disagree.”

“I admit that I often mouth off without thinking.”

“Agree.”

“I’ve often done something dangerous just for the thrill of it.”

“Disagree completely.”

“I enjoy high-speed flying.”

“Agree.”

“I enjoy gambling for real money.”

“Disagree.”

“I enjoy doing wild things.”

“Disagree.”

“I like to have sex with people I barely know.”

“Disagree completely.”

“I am an impulsive person.”

“Agree.”

“I keep getting in trouble for the same things over and over.”

“Agree.”

“I have used illegal spells such as the unforgivable curses.”

“Agree completely.”

“I enjoy taking risks.”

“Disagree.”

“I easily get bored.”

“Disagree completely.”

“I always miss appointments.”

“Disagree completely.”

“I never plan out my weekly activities.”

“Disagree.”

“I am a rebellious person.”

“Agree.”

Carter glanced over the notes she had been taking, “Okay Mr Black; you can take the antidote for the veritaserum,” she said as she passed him a phial. He took it immediately and watched her nervously.

“Your average score was 2.3,” Carter informed him.

“Is that good or bad?” Draco asked nervously.

“Very good,” Carter replied, “An average score of 4 or above worries us.”

“So I’ve passed?” Draco asked with relief.

Carter smiled at him, “You have. Now proceed through the door behind me for your final interview with two Senior Aurors.”

Draco nodded as he got to his feet, “Thank you, ma’am,” he said as he opened the door and stepped into the final room of the test.

Like the room he had just come from, all that it contained was a table, but there were three chairs. Sitting in one chair was Senior Auror Sheppard, and sitting in another was an Auror who Draco didn’t recognise.

“Welcome to the final interview Mr Black,” Sheppard said, “This is my colleague, Senior Auror O’Neill.”

Draco swallowed, he didn’t know what the final interview was, but he had an inkling that it wasn’t going to be easy.

“We need to ask you some pretty hard-hitting questions today,” Sheppard continued, “But we would ask you to remain calm and to co-operate with us as much as possible.”

“Yes sir,” Draco said with a nod, he could feel and hear his heart thumping.

“Shall we start with the obvious one? Why would the son of a notorious Death Eater want to become an Auror?”

Draco had expected that question. He knew he would have to expect that question for the rest of his career if he successfully became an Auror.

“I wanted to become an Auror before I knew that my father was a notorious Death Eater, as you put it,” Draco replied calmly if slightly coolly, “I knew my father wasn’t a good man and I never liked the way he treated my mother, but until I went to Hogwarts, I had no idea what he was.”

“In that case, what made you want to become an Auror?” O’Neill asked.

“When I was six years old, my mother took me into Diagon Alley,” Draco began, “My father was away on a business trip, or so I thought. He didn’t allow luxuries, so when he would go away, my mother would take me out for ice cream or to a Quidditch match. That was the day of the 1986 summer attack.”

“We always suspected your father of orchestrating that attack,” O’Neill said.

“I don’t know if he orchestrated it if that’s what you’re asking,” Draco said bluntly, “But I now know that he was involved. My mother had no idea, or she would never have taken me to Diagon Alley that day. I remember hearing the fight afterwards…it got violent, but I never knew what it meant until I was older.”

“Why did the attack make you want to become an Auror?” Sheppard asked.

“A blasting spell hit the canopy above Fortescue’s, my mother and I got trapped underneath when one of the wooden supports split and fractured her wrist,” Draco said as he looked down at his hands, “I just remember the shouting and the screaming, then there was a flash of red and then there were these men fighting the Death Eaters like they had no fear. One of them came over to us…I could never recall his name or his face, but he spoke to me and stopped me from crying while a healer looked after my mother. Ever since that day, I wanted to become an Auror.”

Sheppard smiled slightly, “That Auror was me, Mr Black.”

Draco stared at him for a moment then smiled, “Well, I never got the chance to thank you so…thank you.”

O’Neill rolled his eyes, “Alright there’s more cheese in this room than there is on an original Chicago pizza. At least we know that he’s not bullshitting us though Shep.”

Draco frowned, “I assumed there was a truth ward on the room anyway?”

“Not exactly,” Sheppard said, “But that antidote to the veritaserum you took earlier? It was just water.”

“Typical,” Draco said with a vaguely amused smile.

“Sorry son but we’re not going to spend this whole interview telling cute stories,” O’Neill said, “You did some horrible things during the war, didn’t you?”

Draco swallowed, “Yes.”

“Did you ever kill anyone?”

“Yes,” Draco replied quietly.

“How many?”

“Two,” Draco replied as he stared at his hands, “To become a Death Eater, you have to kill a muggle.”

“We’re aware of that,” O’Neill said sharply, “Who did you kill? A pretty young girl? Defenceless, easy prey?”

“No,” Draco said in a hoarse voice, “He was a homeless man, a heroin addict. I found him outside a club shooting up after…after raping a girl.”

“Do you think that makes you any less guilty? What are you, a vigilante keeping the streets clean?” O’Neill asked darkly.

“I don’t think it makes me any less of a murderer if that’s what you mean,” Draco said quietly.

“What about the other one? What’s your excuse for that one?” O’Neill asked.

“It was Valentine’s Day…Death Eaters kidnapped my girlfriend and my friends’ girlfriends. We went in to get them back, and Dean Thomas died, so did his fiancé Tracey Davis. There was a wand fight in a dimly lit cave. I killed one of them. Harry killed another and Susan killed the last one.”

Sheppard nodded, “We are aware of that occasion. We know that you were all pardoned for it, but we appreciate you not glossing over what happened.”

“Here’s the next question, how exactly did you fool a war heroine into falling in love with you?”

“If you think that anyone can fool Hermione Granger, then you have another thing coming,” Draco said coolly.

“I would beg to differ,” O’Neill said, “She’s intelligent, beautiful and brave. Don’t you think she deserves much better?”

“No, I don’t actually,” Draco said with an icy look, “I think being with someone who loves you completely is enough for anyone.”

“How did you do it? Was it a love potion or a compulsion charm?”

“It was neither and if you don’t believe me, feel free to ask my fiancé yourself,” Draco said coolly, “If anyone can judge me for my conduct over the past few years it would be the woman who was there for almost all of it. I will happily take any criticism that you have regarding my aptitude to be an Auror on board, but when it comes to Hermione, with all due respect sir, that is none of your business. For what it is worth, though, I would go through hell and back for her. In fact, I already have, and yes, she loves me. Most days I don’t know why but she does, and nothing you can say will make me doubt that.”

“You went through hell and back for her? Does that include when you watched her get tortured in your house by your own aunt?” O’Neill asked.

“That was the worst part of my war,” Draco said quietly, “I could handle the cruciatus curse, I could even handle being Voldemort’s bitch, but I couldn’t handle seeing her be treated that way. She is so pure and to watch that be torn away from her before my very eyes…I couldn’t have helped even if I had wanted to; my father made sure of that. He put a sticking charm on my feet and called me weak-minded.”

“I don’t think you’re weak-minded, not after seeing the amount of pain you just went through, out of loyalty to Harry Potter,” Sheppard pointed out.

Draco shook his head, “I’m a different person now than I was before, but the point is…Hermione and I talked about what happened that night, and we came to the same conclusion. During the war, both of us did what we had to do to survive. For Hermione, it was going on the run with Harry, and for me, it was not helping her that night. If I had interfered I would have been killed and…I’m not Harry Potter, I’m not the hero. Back then, I thought that made me a lesser man; I thought that made Hermione care less for me than she did for him, but now I realise that not every girl wants the hero. Sometimes a girl just wants a man who is good for her, whether that man is good or not is another matter.”

“Do you think you are a good man, Mr Black?” Sheppard asked.

“I think I’m a good enough man for Hermione and I think I’m a good enough man to be considered a friend by Harry Potter,” Draco said, “And honestly, that’s enough for me.”

“Now Mr Black, there is only one more question we have to ask you today,” Sheppard said sincerely, “And I’m afraid that it won’t be an easy one.”

“None of them have been,” Draco said honestly.

Sheppard nodded, “What was it like, being hugged by Lord Voldemort?”

Draco looked between Sheppard and O’Neill, who was the older of the two. He couldn’t work out if this was a joke or not but the moment he saw a slight sparkle in Sheppard’s eye he laughed and shook his head, “With all due respect sir, that question was a dick move.”

Sheppard grinned, “That bad, huh?”

“I would honestly go as far to say I preferred his cruciatus curses to his hugs,” Draco said distastefully.

Sheppard patted him on the back, “Understandable. You did well today, Mr Black, regardless of your result, I wanted you to know that.”

“Thank you, sir,” Draco said as he got to his feet and shook Sheppard’s hand.

“Well done Mr Black,” O’Neill said as he also shook Draco’s hand, “I’m sorry for the rude questions, but I was the bad cop today.”

“He’s always the bad cop,” Sheppard muttered as he led Draco out of the room into a large white waiting room. Once more, he was the first person here, “Take a seat Mr Black, when all of the recruits who have passed are gathered in this waiting room we will swing by to tell you what happens next.”

Draco nodded and smiled to himself. He knew that passing this stage wasn’t any guarantee, there was still the mock case to go, but he felt like he had gotten through the worst of it. He sat down in a comfortable armchair and waited nervously for his friends to join him. He could have groaned when Eddie Carmichael, the annoying older Ravenclaw, bounded out of one of the testing rooms.

Eddie grinned and made a beeline for Draco, “Alright! We did it, Aurors in the making!”

“There’s still a final test,” Draco said dryly.

“Come on, man, we withstood physical torture,” Eddie scoffed, “Mock case file is going to be a piece of piss.”

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he looked towards the doors once more. He sincerely hoped that it wasn’t a piece of piss for Eddie because Draco found him to be very irksome. No one else from their heat emerged from the doors in the next few minutes, so Draco sighed and tried to ignore Eddie’s constantly ramblings as he waited for his friends.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	13. Neville's Selection Test: Part Two

“Alright, boys and girls! Time for heat 2!”

“Where do you think he went?” Harry whispered to the others.

“I don’t know,” Theo whispered back, “Maybe he’s in on this part of the test?”

“You’ll find out soon I suspect Nev,” Harry said under his breath.

Neville nodded nervously as Sumner called them all forward.

“ **Dumas, Louisa:** Door 1.

 **Harper, Maxwell:** Door 2.

 **Kavanagh, Lesley:** Door 3.

 **Longbottom, Neville:** Door 4.

 **MacLeod, Douglas** : Door 5.”

Neville was as white as a sheet when he took his place in front of the door. He was more nervous for the mental tests than he had been for the physical and magical combined but Harry and Theo both understood why. Neville was, and always had been, terrified of the fact that he had a weakened mental state because of what had happened to his parents.

“3…2…1…Go!”

The door unlocked, and Neville stepped in, terrified of what would greet him on the other side. He frowned as he took in his surroundings, he seemed to be in an abandoned warehouse. It was dark, and there was no roof on this thing, so he deduced that it was night time. He already felt on edge as he read the plaque in front of him;

_“When you cross the line, you will be faced with a scenario that will challenge your morals. There is no right or wrong choice in this test, but it gives us a gauge on your moral compass. Think carefully about your options and act on your own gut feeling. You will find a brief outline of the scenario you are faced with in the drawer provided.”_

Neville took a breath and pulled out the drawer beneath the wooden plaque. He knew that he shouldn’t struggle too much with this one because he had pretty strong morals but knowing that and being able to make a tough call was a different situation altogether.

His hands shook as he looked down at the parchment in his hand and read the scenario that he had been given, “ _You are the leader of a small group of Aurors. You are on your way back from a completed mission when one of your men steps into an explosive ward. The ward alerts the enemy to your presence and as the Auror steps out of it, explodes and injures him badly. If the enemy finds your injured man, they will torture him and kill him. If you try to take him with you, then your entire group will be captured. The only way to prevent this injured Auror from being tortured is to kill him yourself.”_

Neville cursed to himself as the scene materialised in front of him. An Auror was lying on the ground in front of him; both of his legs were missing and lay a few feet away from him. There was blood everywhere; another two Aurors were crouched over the injured man. They were all frozen in position, but Neville got the point, it was to make him visualise the situation.

He sighed as his mind went into overdrive. The easiest way for him to come to an informed decision was to bounce ideas off of Harry, but Harry wasn’t here, so he had to compromise.

“I’m not insane,” Neville said as he looked up, “But my partner in crime isn’t here, so I’m just going to have to pretend that he is to work this out.”

He knew the Aurors were watching him, but nobody said anything. He looked at a spot directly in front of him and imagined he was talking to Harry, “So are there any other options apart from killing the Auror? Yes, I know I don’t have a lot of time to make the decision…we are probably in an anti-apparition zone, and if we take the injured Auror, then it’s going to slow us done. If we decide to take him, then I need to make that decision sooner rather than later. I have to think about this logically for a minute, carrying an injured man will impair our own ability to fight, and the enemy might catch up, if we take him then I would be endangering everyone on this mission.”

“Time is ticking Mr Longbottom,” A disembodied voice said.

All of a sudden, the scene came to life, which made Neville jump.

“Sir! What is our next call?” One of the Aurors next to the injured man asked.

Neville hesitated and looked down at the injured man. His breath caught in his throat when he realised for the first time that this was not an unnamed Auror, it was Harry.

Neville took a step closer and watched his best friend writhing in pain, “Nev, please,” he begged.

“I don’t think I can save you, Harry,” Neville said, his voice stuck in his throat.

“I’d slow you down,” Harry grimaced.

“We wouldn’t make it out,” Neville whispered.

Harry cried in pain, “I don’t want you to save me, Nev. Please, put me out of my misery and get the guys out of here. There’s no need for all of us to die; we all have girls to get back to; we all have families.”

Neville hesitated once more.

“Just do one thing for me, Nev,” Harry said, grabbing his hand, “Tell Daphne that I’m sorry that the last thing that we did was fight. Don’t let her be a lonely old spinster, okay? She’s hot as hell; she can’t waste that.”

Neville laughed tearfully but nodded.

“And tell Teddy that I died a hero, tell him I died saving a bunch of muggles or something, please,” Harry said as he choked on his own words, “Or maybe that it was a dragon attack, something cool okay?”

Neville swallowed hard, “Harry. You’re my best friend…I can’t-”

“Nev, please,” Harry said, “Make it stop. It hurts so much…just make it stop. I don’t want them to torture me. Just let me go peacefully, please.”

Neville swallowed the lump in his throat and took a shaky breath. He didn’t want anyone to suffer from the same fate as his parents, especially not Harry. But he also knew that killing Harry meant taking away a husband and a father. He knew that he had to make the decision sooner rather than later if he wanted to get the rest of his men out of there, so he went with his head rather than with his heart.

Neville placed his wand on Harry’s chest, “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

Harry smiled weakly, “Thank you.”

Neville took another breath and then stopped Harry’s heart with a simple medical charm. It was quick, and it was painless. In seconds he had ended his life.

The scene dematerialised, and a loud click alerted Neville to the fact that a door had appeared ahead of him. He began to walk over to it, and as he did so, a disembodied voice spoke to him, “You saved the lives of every Auror in your group by allowing the injured Auror to die. However, all actions have consequences. In this case, you would have to be the one to tell the Aurors wife and son that he had died in action.”

“Not to mention the guilt of living with the fact I killed my best friend,” Neville said glumly. He wiped the stray tears away with the sleeve of his cardigan and stepped through the door into the next room.

The moment he did so, a dementor swept down on him. He jumped back, drew his wand and visualised the night he and Lilly had danced together after they had finished restoring Longbottom Manor.

“Expecto Patronum!”

A huge bear bounded out of his wand and tackled the Dementor. It shrieked and drew back into nothingness, Neville glanced around warily after that in case there were any more surprises. All he found was a plaque which read;

_“If you did not manage to defeat the Dementor, you have failed this room. If you did defeat the Dementor, congratulations but you are not finished yet. There is a boggart in the wardrobe which you will have to face when you approach it. If you fail to overcome the boggart, then you will fail this room.”_

Neville took a step towards the wardrobe and briefly thought about how relieved he was that the boggart no longer took the form of Professor Snape. He could just imagine the laugh that would have given the Aurors observing his selection test.

After his initial relief, Neville felt nervous because he realised that he didn’t know what his boggart’s form was anymore. He did know that it would be something far more sinister than Professor Snape these days. He took a deep breath to prepare himself and stepped forward once more.

The door burst open, and the boggart took form. Neville felt sick to his stomach when he saw Lilly, deep down, he had known that she would feature in his worst fear. She was being tortured and to make it worse; she was being tortured with the cruciatus curse. She was on her knees screaming in pain, her body writhing and twisting.

Neville froze. His worst fear was seeing what had happened to his parents happen to Lilly. Her screams were blood-curdling, and it made his blood boil with rage. He could feel his wrath fuelling his magical power, so he raised his wand and roared, “Riddikulus!”

The charm hit the boggart, and the scene instantly changed. The cruciatus curse changed to a tickling charm, Lilly was no longer screaming, she was laughing. He paused for a moment and caught his breath. What he had just seen had terrified him because Lilly wasn’t just any healer; she was a trauma healer. He knew that meant there was every chance that what he just witnessed could happen to her and if it did Neville worried that it might break him.

A click snapped him out of his thoughts, and he took another deep breath to steady his nerves before walking through the door that had just appeared. The moment he emerged in the room, he knew that there was going to be an element of torture because this was a torture chamber.

There was a plaque in front of him and then in front of that; there was a red line. Neville stepped forward and read it;

_“When you cross the line, the door will lock, and you will be subjected to torture at the hands of a Death Eater. You are required to place your wand in the drawer provided, and in this drawer, there is a piece of information. The Death Eater will try and extract this information from you, but your task is to protect it at all costs. If you give up this piece of information, you will fail this room.”_

Neville had known that something like this would come up, but he was also dreading it. He wasn’t an idiot; he knew his own mind. His weakness was his parents and more specifically, the way they had been tortured. He could feel and hear his heart beating as he opened the drawer and unrolled the small roll of parchment that was hidden within it.

_“There will be a raid on a suspected hide-out for Death Eaters who escaped the war tomorrow night.”_

The moment Neville had read this information, the piece of parchment burst into flames, and a loud click came from behind him. Neville spun around and realised that the door behind him had disappeared; he was now locked in this room.

“When are they going to raid us, Longbottom?”

Neville jumped and spun around, while he had been lamenting the loss of the door, a Death Eater had appeared behind him. He swallowed his fear and replied, “I don’t know.”

The Death Eater pointed his hand at Neville’s knee cap and clenched it into a fist. Neville cursed loudly in pain and fell to the ground as his knee cap was crushed to pieces, “Don’t play dumb with me. You are an Auror, you know there’s going to be a raid so tell me where and I’ll let you live.”

“I’m not a dirty Auror, this isn’t the dark days before the war,” Neville said through gritted teeth, “I will not tell you anything.”

The Death Eater clenched his fist again, and Neville’s other knee cap was crushed. He cried out in pain from the floor as the Death Eater advanced on him, “How many men are they sending?”

Neville said nothing, so the Death Eater started to break bones in his legs, “Do they know who is hiding out there?”

Another bone was broken, “When is the raid going to be?”

“I won’t tell you!” Neville shouted.

The Death Eater was starting to get frustrated now, “Fine; I think we need to try a new tactic. Why don’t we see how far we can push you with the cruciatus curse? Will you last longer than your parents?”

Before Neville could get angry about that comment, the Death Eater had raised his wand and shouted, “Crucio!”

Neville screamed in pain as the curse wracked his body. The fact that several of his bones were already broken just meant that the cruciatus curse hurt more.

“When is the raid, Longbottom?”

Neville gritted his teeth and said nothing as the pain intensified.

“If you don’t tell me then I guess I’ll just have to find that girlfriend of yours,” the Death Eater said cruelly, “The two of you can get a suite in St. Mungo’s, just like your crazy parents.”

Neville gritted his teeth and shut his eyes tightly. He saw flashes of green and heard screams; he imagined his parents being tortured in their home back at Godric’s Hollow. He saw Lilly screaming in pain like she had been when he saw his boggart.

The Death Eater laughed, “Are you crying, Longbottom?”

Neville was shaking, but it wasn’t because he was crying, it was because he was losing control of his magic. When he looked up at the Death Eater, there was a fire burning behind his eyes, and without touching his wand, he blasted the Death Eater back into the wall, burning him badly in the process.

There was silence in the room for a moment; all Neville could hear was his own heavy breathing. He was sure he had failed as he shut his eyes and pictured Lilly, he remembered the dancing and the paint fights as they had decorated the house. He remembered the circus and their graduation, all of the kisses and all of the times he had made her laugh. It calmed him and brought his breathing back to normal.

When Neville opened his eyes, he realised that a door had materialised in front of him. There was no way he could get up and walk through it, so he was grateful when a healer walked in. She knelt by his side and told him that everything would be okay if he took a potion. He trusted her and took it, surely enough he began to feel his pain ease.

He got to his feet shakily when he felt able to. He took a deep breath and looked around; he was just waiting for someone to tell him that he had failed. After all, he had lost control of his magic. When nothing happened, Neville walked through the door tentatively.

He was relieved when all the next room contained was a table, two chairs and a woman he didn’t recognise dressed in red Auror robes. The woman, who was middle-aged with reddish-blonde hair, smiled at him, “Take a seat, Mr Longbottom. I’m Auror Cadman, and I will be assessing you for this next test.”

Neville sat down, “Was that real?”

“None of the injuries you received will bother you in real life,” Cadman said, “They were simulated.”

“They felt real,” Neville said honestly.

“They are designed that way,” Cadman said somewhat sympathetically, “Now, this next task will test if you have any psychopathic traits. It is an essential part of our vetting programme. Do you consent to taking a small dose of veritaserum before we begin?”

Neville nodded, “Of course, I understand.”

“Thank you for your co-operation,” Cadman said as she handed him a phial with a tiny amount of veritaserum inside it.

Neville drank it in one sip and handed her back the phial. Cadman smiled and explained, “I will read you 15 statements, and I need you to tell me whether you disagree completely, disagree, neither agree nor disagree, agree or agree completely with them. Do you understand?”

Neville nodded, “Yes, ma’am.”

“I rarely follow the rules.”

“Neither agree nor disagree.”

“I admit that I often mouth off without thinking.”

“Disagree completely.”

“I've often done something dangerous just for the thrill of it.”

“Agree.”

“I enjoy high-speed flying.”

“Disagree.”

“I enjoy gambling for real money.”

“Disagree Completely.”

“I enjoy doing wild things.”

“Agree.”

“I like to have sex with people I barely know.”

“Disagree Completely.”

“I am an impulsive person.”

“Agree.”

“I keep getting in trouble for the same things over and over.”

“Disagree Completely.”

“I have used illegal spells such as the unforgivable curses.”

“Agree Completely.”

“I enjoy taking risks.”

“Neither agree nor disagree.”

“I easily get bored.”

“Disagree Completely.”

“I always miss appointments.

“Agree.

“I never plan out my weekly activities.”

“Agree.”

“I am a rebellious person.”

“Agree.”

Cadman glanced down at her notes and scribbled for a few minutes. When she was finished, she looked up at Neville with a smile, “We get concerned with a score higher than 4 Mr Longbottom, your average score was 2.8.”

“Good to know that I’m not a psychopath,” Neville joked.

Cadman didn’t seem to see the funny side of it, “It is merely a precaution Mr Longbottom, not a certain thing. Would you please proceed through the door behind me for your final interview with two senior Aurors?”

Neville nodded, “Thank you, ma’am,” he said simply.

He stepped through the door behind her into another interview/interrogation room. It also had a table, but there were three chairs in this room, and two of them were occupied by Senior Aurors. One of them was Sumner, but Neville didn’t recognise the other one.

“Welcome to the final interview, Mr Longbottom,” Sumner said curtly, “This is my colleague Senior Auror Landry, and we’re going to be asking you some pretty tough questions today.”

“Ask away,” Neville said as he sat down opposite the two men.

“We have to start with the question on everyone’s minds,” Sumner said, “Are you really good enough to be an Auror?”

Neville bit back his anger at that comment, “Yes. I fought alongside Harry Potter. I thought that might have stood for something. I held my own against Death Eaters in the final battle; I beheaded that snake. I’m assuming you understand the significance of that.”

“You killed a couple of Death Eaters, and you destroyed a Horcrux. Do you think that makes you good enough to be here?”

“Yeah, I do,” Neville said as he felt his anger building up.

“You were a bumbling fool before all of that. How do you expect to live up to your parents' reputation or to better it?”

“By not getting cursed by Bellatrix Lestrange,” Neville said irritably.

“That’s something else we need to ask you about,” Sumner said, “They were some of the best Aurors we had, but they were caught and tortured. How do we know that you won’t be as weak as them? You could end up being nothing but a thorn in our side, a drain on our resources.”

“They weren’t weak,” Neville retorted, “They were great Aurors but regardless of how great someone is, hours of torture will weaken them! Call me weak if you want, but at least I fought, I didn’t spend the whole war hiding. I was in that school stopping those vindictive bastards they called teachers from torturing pupils! Where were the Aurors then? Where were they in the final battle? I didn’t see either of you two blast a werewolf off of one of your close friends!”

“Alright son,” Landry, the older and kinder looking of the two, said, “We understand that you went through a lot in the final battle but have you ever had the cruciatus curse used on you for a prolonged period of time?”

“I had it used on me every time I tried to stop the Carrows torturing first years,” Neville said darkly, “Maybe it wasn’t used on me for a long period of time but having it cast on you that often, it helps you build up resilience.”

Landry nodded, “We are sorry about the insensitive nature of these questions, but we do have to ask them.”

“Our next question concerns Harry Potter. He’s your best friend, is that right?”

“Yes, he’s one of them,” Neville replied.

“How would you feel if the two of you were selected and paired up? You would be in his shadow for your whole career,” Sumner pointed out.

Neville snorted, “With all due respect sir, I’ve been in his shadow since the day I met him. I don’t think there are many people out there who can outshine Harry Potter and to be honest; I’m okay with that. I’m not Ron Weasley, being second best doesn’t bother me because frankly, second best is better than the position I was in for most of my time at Hogwarts. As for being in Harry’s shadow, well there isn’t a greater wizard’s shadow to occupy sir.”

Sumner looked vaguely impressed with this answer, but he tried to hide it, “Alright, what about your girlfriend then, Miss Lillian Moon?”

Neville frowned, “What about her?”

“She is training to be a trauma healer. If she qualifies, she will be working alongside Aurors. Is that going to affect your work? What if she gets hit while caring for an Auror on the field and you see it happen?” Sumner asked sternly.

“As much as I hate the fact that she’s putting herself in danger, I know that Lilly is smart enough and strong enough to take care of herself. I know she would kill me if she thought I compromised my job or hers because of my personal feelings for her,” Neville replied calmly, “Our relationship is based on mutual respect.”

“I can see that,” Landry said with a slight smile, “I think we’re done here. Do you, Sumner?”

Sumner nodded, he got to his feet and shook Neville’s hand, “You did well today. Congratulations, Longbottom.”

Landry shook his hand too, “Congratulations on getting this far and best of luck.”

Neville bit back a grin as Sumner led him outside. His eyes scanned the waiting room, and he grinned when he saw Draco.

“You can talk to Mr Black once we have gone through your performance review,” Sumner said as he flipped open a brown file, “I am assuming that you want to know how you did?”

Neville nodded, “Yes, sir.”

“Alright, test one, your moral compass. The team noted that it was interesting that you weren’t sure how to make a decision without Harry Potter, which is why we inserted him into the simulation. It was clear that made it harder for you,” Sumner said.

Neville nodded.

“All the same, the team agreed with the decision that you came to in the end,” Sumner began.

“I can’t help it,” Neville admitted, “Harry and I bounce off each other. It’s how I come to my best decisions.”

“It worked so we can’t knock it,” Sumner admitted, “Test two was the Dementor and boggart test. We couldn’t fault your Patronus, and you didn’t let the fright of a Dementor springing on you knock your confidence. The boggart, again you defeated it, albeit a little aggressively.”

Neville simply nodded; he was worried about the feedback he would get on his physical torture test.

“Room three, physical torture,” Sumner said, “You withstood pain very well, and you loyally defended the information. We were worried that the cruciatus curse might be a weak point for you, but you handled it better than we were expecting. I have to bring up how you defeated that Death Eater though, you didn’t have your wand on you and that blast looked very much like accidental magic.”

“I did lose control of it for a second,” Neville admitted, “But I brought it back under control. I never used to be able to do that. I’ve been training myself.”

“It is still a concern,” Sumner admitted, “So if you were to get in, we would be sending you to a mental health healer to help you bring that under control.”

“I understand that, Sir.”

Sumner nodded, “You did fine when we vetted you for psychopathic traits, and your final interview was very well handled. Overall Longbottom, well done.”

“What happens, next sir?”

“Go and catch up with Mr Black while you wait for the rest of the candidates who have managed to pass this test,” Sumner said, “Once everyone has been tested, we will sort you into pairs and assign you a mock case file.”

“Alright, thank you, sir.”

Sumner nodded and got to his feet. He left without another word, so Neville headed over to Draco, the blond man looked relieved to be able to talk to someone other than Eddie Carmichael. He hugged his friend and said, “Thank Merlin, I’ve been going out of my mind.”

“What because you want me to be an Auror with you that badly?” Neville asked in surprise.

Draco rolled his eyes, “No you idiot, because I’ve been stuck with _him_ for Merlin knows how long.”

“Gee, thanks Draco,” Neville said with a weak smile as he sank into a seat next to his friend, “That was rough, wasn’t it?”

Draco nodded, “They didn’t pull any punches; that’s for sure.”

“Yeah,” Neville sighed, he glanced to the testing doors, “I guess I was the first one out?”

Draco nodded, “Was Theo in your heat?”

Neville shook his head, “No, you’re going to have to wait a bit longer to see if your boyfriend made it, sorry.”

“Don’t joke, Neville,” Draco said quietly, “Having just gone through that…I’m not sure Theo is strong enough.”

Neville sighed, “No…neither am I. Maybe we need to have a bit more faith in him though.”

“Maybe,” Draco said somewhat hopefully.

They began to compare notes on their tests to pass the time. Eddie got involved in the conversation, as he always seemed to. As they waited, a few more people emerged from the testing rooms. The first was Lesley Kavanagh, one of the girls they had briefly spoken to the day before.

The last person from Neville’s heat to make it through was Maxwell Harper, which made Draco grin, “Well done, Max!”

Max grinned, “Two Slytherins through already this year, would you look at that?”

Draco chuckled, and the two of them got to chatting about their experiences of the mental tests. Eddie seized the chance to start talking at Neville which Draco looked far too pleased about as he threw his friend an amused smirk.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	14. Theo's Selection Test: Part Two

“Heat 3!” Sumner boomed as he stepped into the room, clapping his hands loudly as he did so.

Harry and Theo shared nervous glances. They had a feeling that they would be up next.

**“Nott, Theodore:** Door 1.

 **Potter, Harry:** Door 2.

 **Redford, Jessica** : Door 3.

 **Wells, Julian:** Door 4.

 **Wilde, Emily:** Door 5.”

They all lined up. Harry glanced over at Theo and mouthed, “Good luck.”

Theo, who looked very pale, nodded in response.

“3…2…1…Go!”

Theo swallowed his fear and stepped through the door into the first room of his selection test. He wasn’t sure what he had expected to walk into, but he certainly hadn’t expected it to be a small, cramped boat. He frowned and took in his surroundings, he was definitely on a boat, and that boat was sinking, in the distance a huge cruise ship was aflame. Straight ahead of him was a plaque which he read carefully;

_“When you cross the line, you will be faced with a scenario that will challenge your morals. There is no right or wrong choice in this test, but it gives us a gauge on your moral compass. Think carefully about your options and act on your own gut feeling. You will find a brief outline of the scenario you are faced with in the drawer provided.”_

“Great,” Theo murmured as he opened the drawer and withdrew a scroll of parchment, “I need to use my non-existent moral compass.”

He unrolled the scroll and read his scenario very carefully. He had learned that it was best to have some semblance of a plan before stepping over the line;

_“You are on a cruise ship when there is a fire onboard which forces the ship to be abandoned. The lifeboats are carrying many more people than they were designed to carry. The lifeboat that you are in is sitting dangerously low in the water, a few inches lower and it will sink. The sea starts to get rough, and the boat begins to fill with water, you lose your wand in the struggle. If nothing is done, it will sink before the rescue boats arrive and everyone on board will die. However, one of the people on board is badly burned and may die before the rescue boat arrives.”_

Theo cursed the fact that he was going to have to work this out without a wand. He crossed the line, and the scenario began to play out. The sea started to slosh; people screamed and shouted; it felt authentic.

“I can’t use a buoyancy charm because I have no wand,” Theo mumbled to himself, “And I can’t transfigure anything into a new boat either…”

He took a breath and surveyed his surroundings, he felt lost without his wand, and he knew that the Aurors would view that as a weakness. There were no other boats nearby, and there was no way to signal any of the ships in the distance. Going back onto the cruise ship wasn’t an option either; the flames were consuming it incredibly quickly.

The boat lurched and sank a little further into the water. Theo jumped and grabbed the side to steady himself. He took that moment as an opportunity to survey the people on the boat. There were about 20 people crammed into the small lifeboat; Theo instantly spotted the badly burned man. Of the remaining passengers, most were children.

He swallowed as the boat lurched again; he knew that he didn’t have long to make this decision. If he failed to come to a decision, then they would all die, and he reckoned the Aurors would count that as a fail. The right thing to do would be to start a debate and come to a joint decision about throwing the burned man overboard, but he wasn’t sure they had time for that. He also knew that there would be objections, but it had to be done, or all of these innocent children would be lost at sea.

Theo swallowed hard and murmured, “I wouldn’t want anyone else having someone’s death on their conscience, so here goes…”

The boat lurched again, and Theo seized his chance, he leant forward and pushed the man overboard while the wave lapped up over the sides of the little boat. The moment he had done, so the scene paused.

Theo frowned as he waited for something to happen. He heard a click and realised that a door had appeared in the middle of the sea, “Way to ruin the illusion,” he said as he began to walk over water to get to the door.

As he did so, a disembodied male voice said, _“By throwing the injured man overboard, you saved the life of every other person on board the boat. However, every action has consequences. In this case, when the rescue boat reaches port, you get off and see a woman with three small children in tears, this is the family of the man you threw overboard.”_

“Yeah well, at least I saved all of those kids,” Theo said, to justify his decision to himself. He stepped through the door into the second room before the disembodied voice could say any more to him.

He hadn’t expected to see a Dementor the second he stepped into the room, so it made him jump. He fumbled for his wand, but by the time he had grabbed it, the Dementor was nearly upon him. He didn’t need to shut his eyes to conjure up his happiest memory; it was from his wedding day. Theo didn’t think he would ever tell anyone apart from Draco but, his happiest memory was just of watching Sadie laughing as she danced with Daphne.

“Expecto Patronum!”

His Patronus, which was a large dog, ran down the Dementor and it disappeared into the fog.

“Way to give me a heart attack,” Theo said to the empty room as he walked up to the plaque and read what it said;

_“If you did not manage to defeat the Dementor, you have failed this room. If you did defeat the Dementor, congratulations but you are not finished yet. There is a boggart in the wardrobe which you will have to face when you approach it. If you fail to overcome the boggart, then you will fail this room.”_

Theo wasn’t particularly worried about that because he had defeated a boggart before, in third year for the first time as well. He didn’t see it as a particularly challenging thing, but he did get a shock when he realised that his boggart had changed form. When it emerged from the wardrobe, it was in the form of Sadie.

He frowned as Sadie walked towards him and began to speak, “I’m leaving you, Theo. Why would I want to stay here in Britain with you when I can live in Egypt? There are curse breakers out there who are better looking than you, not to mention smarter.”

Theo swallowed and raised his wand, it wasn’t real, but it was playing on some pretty damn real fears.

“I am free without you, Theo. I don’t know why I ever married a womaniser like you anyway; it’s not like you would stay faithful to me and you certainly aren’t husband material. Why would someone like me ever want to have children with someone like you?”

Theo got angry at that; it gave him the drive he needed to raise his wand and say, “Riddikulus!”

It hadn’t been difficult; all he had to do was shut his eyes and remember a moment on their honeymoon. They had just been escorted away from the Eiffel Tower by the muggle police, then Sadie had gotten really pissed at him, so they had resolved the issue with angry sex. Then they had had make up sex, just for good measure and as they were lying in bed together, Sadie had burst out laughing and told him that she loved him, idiotic traits and all.

When he opened his eyes to look at the boggart, it was now Sadie and himself, but Sadie didn’t look cruel, and she was holding a small baby. Theo smiled slightly as a click let him know that the door was unlocked and that he had passed this room.

He stepped into the next room, and immediately, he felt sick. It was apparent that this was some sort of dungeon designed with one purpose in mind, torture. He swallowed hard and nervously read the plaque in front of him;

_“When you cross the line, the door will lock, and you will be subjected to torture by the hand of a Death Eater. You are required to place your wand in the drawer provided, and in this drawer, there is a piece of information. The Death Eater will try and extract this information from you, but your task is to protect it at all costs. If you give up this piece of information, you will fail this room.”_

Theo knew there was no point waiting to cross the line because there was no strategy to withstanding torture. You could either do it or you couldn’t so he opened the drawer and read the line of information written on his secret scroll;

_"The code to the vault is 0-3-6-4."_

The parchment burst into flames the moment Theo had read it, so he instantly stepped over the red line, he wanted this to be over as quickly as possible. The moment he was over the line, a Death Eater appeared before him.

“Do you know how to get into that vault?” The Death Eater asked.

“What vault?” Theo asked. He thought playing dumb might work.

The Death Eater held his hand out and clenched his fist, shattering one of Theo’s knee bones. It made Theo groan in pain and fall to the ground.

“Don’t play smart with me. Where is the entrance to the vault?”

“Oh I don’t know, that’s why they make them secret you see,” Theo said sarcastically, “But of course an ogre like you wouldn’t know that.”

The Death Eater growled and shattered Theo’s other knee bone, “Tell me how to get into that vault, Nott!”

“I think not,” Theo said, he was in agony, but he was determined not to show it.

The Death Eater flicked a finger towards Theo; it snapped a bone in his leg so badly that it pierced the skin. That one did make him scream in pain, “Is it a password or a code?”

“Not telling,” Theo said in a sing-song voice.

The Death Eater snapped another bone, this time in Theo’s arm, it hurt just as bad as the one in his leg had but he was determined not to give up his information, even though the pain was getting so bad that it was making him feel sick. He wasn’t Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom; he wasn’t a naturally brave person.

“Maybe the cruciatus curse will loosen your tongue, smart arse,” The Death Eater snarled.

“Oh, it’s worth a shot, I guess,” Theo said.

“Crucio!”

Theo didn’t want to look weak, but he did scream in pain because having your body twisted and contorted hurt like hell when you had broken bones sticking out of you.

“Where is the vault?”

“Didn’t I say that I wasn’t telling you? Is this the best you can do by the way?”

The Death Eater upped the volume of the curse, and Theo cried out in pain, to begin with.

“Where is the vault?”

Through clenched teeth, Theo said, “Shit, you’re not a very good Death Eater, are you? The last time I was tortured, the guy tried to rip my intestines out of me. You’re just making me twitch a little.”

“Little smart arse,” The Death Eater muttered as he broke another bone in Theo’s arm for good measure, “Maybe you won’t be so clever when I threaten to kill your sweet little wife if you don’t tell me what I want to know.”

“You leave my wife the hell out of this,” Theo growled, “You can do what you want to me, but if you touch one hair on her head, my friends will hunt you down and kill you.”

“Touched a nerve there, have we?” The Death Eater smirked.

At that, the Death Eater disappeared. Theo sighed in relief and felt a wave of pain rush over him. The world went black as his body went limp and his head hit the ground, hard. He wasn’t sure how long he was out for, but when he woke up, he felt fine, and he seemed to be cured of all of his injuries.

“Feeling better?”

Theo jumped and looked up, “Sorenson?”

“You have been healed,” Sorenson said, he cocked his head, “All injuries inflicted in here can be undone with a simple potion since none of them are genuine. I’m not even assessing you, by the way, I just wanted to be here to observe.”

“Are you still making sure that I’m good enough for your sister?” Theo asked, he got up on shaky feet and took a deep breath.

“No, I’ve known for a while that you are good enough for Sadie, I just wanted to spy on you,” Sorenson said honestly, “But I am starting to think you have a pain fetish.”

Theo winked, “Just ask your sister.”

Sorenson rolled his eyes, “You’re an idiot. Go through that door for the next test.”

Theo chuckled under his breath, “Alright, thanks, Sorenson.”

He went through the door, that he was fairly sure hadn’t been there before, and emerged into some kind of interrogation room. There was a desk with two chairs, sitting in one of them was a middle-aged, balding man in red Auror robes.

“Please take a seat, Mr Nott. My name is Auror Campbell, and I will be assessing you on this next test,” Campbell said.

Theo nodded and sat down across from the Auror, “What is the next test?”

“We are testing you to ascertain whether you have any psychopathic traits. It is an essential part of the strict vetting we undertake for this programme. I will require you to take veritaserum to ensure you answer honestly. Is that going to be a problem?”

“No, sir,” Theo replied.

The Auror handed him a phial with a small amount of veritaserum in it, and he took it straight away. Theo handed the empty phial back to the Auror.

“Thank you, Mr Nott. I will read you 15 statements, and you must tell me whether you disagree completely, disagree, neither agree nor disagree, agree or agree completely with each statement. Do you understand?”

Theo nodded.

“Are you ready to begin?”

“Yes, sir,” Theo replied.

“Alright,” Campbell said, “Statement 1. I rarely follow the rules.”

“Agree completely.”

“I admit that I often 'mouth off' without thinking.”

“Agree completely.”

“I've often done something dangerous just for the thrill of it.”

“Disagree.”

“I enjoy high-speed flying.”

“Agree.”

“I enjoy gambling for real money.”

“Disagree Completely.”

“I enjoy doing wild things.”

“Agree.”

“I like to have sex with people I barely know.”

“Disagree Completely.”

“I am an impulsive person.”

“Neither agree nor disagree.”

“I keep getting in trouble for the same things over and over.”

“Agree.”

“I have used illegal spells such as the unforgivable curses.”

“Agree.”

“I enjoy taking risks.”

“Disagree.”

“I get bored easily.”

“Agree Completely.”

“I always miss appointments.”

“Disagree.”

“I never plan out my weekly activities.”

“Agree.”

“I am a rebellious person.”

“Neither agree nor disagree.”

Campbell said nothing for a minute or two as he scribbled on the piece of parchment in front of him with his quill. It just made Theo feel even more nervous. He really didn’t want to be told that he had the potential to become a psychopath.

“We get concerned with an average score that is higher than 4 Mr Nott,” Campbell explained as he looked up, “Your score was 3.1.”

“Phew,” Theo said with a grin, “I didn’t want to be a psychopath.”

Campbell saw the humour in the joke, “Today is your lucky day. Would you please head through the door behind me to your final interview?”

Theo nodded as he got to his feet, “Yes, sir, thank you.”

He felt more nervous than he had all day as he stepped through that door into the final room. There was something very definitive about a final interview, funnily enough. He was so close that if he screwed up at this final hurdle, it would just make it all the worse.

The room he walked into was far less intimidating than he had been expecting. It looked very similar to the room he had just left; the only difference was the fact there was an extra seat and an additional person.

Sitting opposite the only vacant chair were two Senior Aurors that he didn’t recognise. The first, a woman with short curly brown hair smiled at him, “Congratulations for getting this far Mr Nott. I am Senior Auror Weir, and this is my colleague, Senior Auror Bates. We need to ask you some difficult questions in this final interview.”

Bates didn’t look as nice as Weir. He was short and stout in stature and had a frown that seemed to be permanently pasted onto his face. There was no debate over who was the good cop and who was the bad cop here, that was for sure.

“So Mr Nott, would we be right to say you are part of a fairly close-knit friend group that also includes Mr Potter, Mr Longbottom and Mr Black?” Weir asked.

Theo nodded, “That’s right.”

“What do you have to offer us then?” Bates asked, “Mr Potter is the saviour of the wizarding world, and Mr Longbottom is his snake killing sidekick. Even Mr Black, although he may not have been on the right side during the war, is a powerful duellist. It seems to me that you’re the weak link here so what do you bring to the table?”

Theo kept his cool because he knew that they were trying to get a rise out of him, “Harry did save the world that’s true, and Neville beheaded a snake. I’ll tell you what I bring to the table that those two don’t, I’m not a Gryffindor. I don’t run stupidly and blindly into situations, I assess the situation logically, and then I decide the best course of action. As for Draco, yes I’m not as powerful as him, but I would debate whether I was smarter. He has a great mind, but sometimes his lack of common sense is astounding. I’ll tell you what I bring to the table, common sense, and it’s my common sense that’s going to keep those three idiots alive.”

Weir smirked slightly, which made Theo happy; she liked his answer. Bates’s permanently glued on scowl didn’t shift though.

“How do we know that we can trust you to be a good Auror, Mr Nott? Given your past, we are wary,” Bates began, “How do we know that you aren’t cruel like your father?”

Theo swallowed; he didn’t know why he was surprised. He should have known that they would have dredged up all the shit in his past, “I am nothing like my father. I hate that man and all that he stood for, trust me. Maybe it isn’t a pleasant thing to think or say but when he died…I was happy.”

“Given your father’s crimes, that is understandable,” Weir said kindly.

“What you say may be so, but even the purest people can have secrets,” Bates added, “We don’t know what you have locked away. Your father had lots of things locked away, like your mother, for instance.”

“How dare you,” Theo hissed as he rose to his feet, “How fucking _dare_ you? What my father did to my mother was disgusting, and it’s why I wanted this job in the first place! If you lot had done your job and looked out for vulnerable women forced into marriages with _monsters_ like my father, then my mother would be alive today, but she slipped through the cracks, like so many others! You didn’t care about getting justice for her until she was lying on a slab in your morgue! I won’t be that kind of Auror; I want to help living people!”

He was still fuming as he paced the floor of the interrogation room under the watchful eye of the two senior Aurors, “My mother was killed, in the most horrible way, for falling in love! I don’t think anyone should be forced into marrying someone they don’t love, and I don’t think anyone should be punished because of who they love either.”

“Our apologies for the insensitive question Mr Nott,” Weir said as he placed a hand on his arm, “Would you please sit down?”

Theo’s blood was boiling, but he didn’t want to look like he wasn’t obeying orders, so he sat back down and tried to get his temper under control.

“We understand that this is a painful topic of discussion, but we have to explore it,” Weir explained.

Bates nodded, “We need to make sure that you are completely clean before we accept you into this programme. We don’t know how many people you have killed or hurt-”

“I haven’t killed anyone,” Theo cut in, “Not ever.”

“You have to understand our position here, Mr Nott,” Bates continued, “After all, boys learn all that they know from their fathers and your father was sick and twisted. We saw with your boggart that you are terrified of your wife leaving you. What would you do if she did find someone better? Would you take a leaf out of your father’s book?”

That was the final straw for Theo. He threw Bates back against the wall with wandless magic and fumed, “You have no fucking right to go there! I love my wife more than I have ever loved anything or anyone. I would never hurt her; I would kill anyone who tried to put her in pain. I am terrified of her leaving me because I don’t want to lose the one person who loves me unconditionally, despite all of the stupid shit I have done but for you to accuse me of ever thinking about doing what my father did…that’s not fucking acceptable!”

“Mr Nott,” Weir said gently as she grabbed his arm.

Theo threw her arm off of him, “No! I was a kid! I was a kid in that house when he killed my mother! He put me in that basement with the bloodstains when I was bad; what you just said was not acceptable.”

“Sorry, Mr Nott,” Bates said from the floor, “You are right; we went too far.”

“Your mother was a wonderful woman,” Weir said quietly, “She worked in the DMLE, and nobody had a bad word to say about her.”

“She didn’t deserve what happened to her,” Bates agreed as he got to his feet and dusted himself off.

“It is clear you are all Almina,” Weir finished, “And that you are nothing like your father, so we apologise for the line of questioning.”

“Thank you,” Theo said breathily, “And I am sorry for throwing you into a wall.”

“Don’t be,” Bates said, “Bad cop or not, I deserved it.”

Weir nodded her agreement which made Theo smile slightly, “Congratulations Mr Nott,” she said as she led him out of the room, “I just need to go over your report with you then you can join your friends.”

Draco and Theo grinned at each other when they locked eyes. Neville rolled his eyes and shook his head at the interaction between the two friends, once Theo had looked away from Draco, he grinned at Neville and gave him the thumbs up.

“Alright so test one,” Weir said as she opened up a brown file, “You did well on the morality test despite the fact you claimed to have no moral conscience.”

“I didn’t think I did have one,” Theo joked.

“I think we both know that’s not true,” Weir said with a smile, “You saved the lives of everyone on that boat by sacrificing one man.”

“Even though that man had a family,” Theo said quietly.

“And the fact you feel regret for that earns you points, trust me,” Weir said honestly, “Yes, that family lost out, but so many others were saved because of what you did. Had you saved the injured man, he would have died before reaching the rescue boats, and we would have called you foolish. Your response was logical and calculated; we like that.”

Theo smiled proudly at that.

“Test two, we couldn’t fault your defeat of the Dementor despite the fact it surprised you,” Weir said, “And your defeat of the boggart was also fine. It did flag up a weakness for us, though, combined with your physical torture test.”

“My wife, I know,” Theo said quickly, “And unfortunately, Sadie is always going to be my weakness.”

“I don’t think there’s any shame in that Mr Nott,” Weir said with a slight smile, “Now onto the torture test. You didn’t give anything away, which was great but as I said, it flagged up a weakness or two. We can’t change the fact that you react badly to someone threatening your wife, but we can change the fact that you were a smart arse to that Death Eater.”

“It’s in my nature ma’am.”

“Well you need to change that nature when you’re at work,” Weir said firmly, “Because the fact of the matter is, you got injured far more than anyone else here because of the fact you were being a smart arse.”

“Understood,” Theo said, and he did mean it.

“Your psychopathic traits test was fine, and your final interview was well handled,” Weir said, “We went too far, and we are sorry for that. Despite that, you remained relatively calm, given the circumstances.”

“So, what happens next?” Theo asked.

“You celebrate with your friends and wait for everyone else to finish being tested,” Weir said, “Once everyone who has passed is gathered in this room we will pair you all up and give you a mock case file.”

“Alright, thanks ma’am,” Theo said. He got to his feet, shook her hand then positively ran over to Draco.

“I’ve been so nervous,” Draco said as he allowed his friend to hug him, “I was worried you wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“Which part, the physical torture or the probing interview?” Theo asked sarcastically.

“Both,” Draco admitted.

Theo tutted, “You need to have more faith in me. Where’s Harry?”

Neville frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Well…he was in my heat,” Theo said slowly, “And he would have finished before me. Wouldn’t he?”

“I would have thought so,” Draco said cautiously, “You don’t think…”

“No,” Neville said quickly, “This is Harry we’re talking about. If we all got here, he’ll manage it, won’t he?”

Theo bit his lip, “Don’t you remember what Professor Lupin said about Dementors? The more bad things there are in your past, the harder it is to overcome them.”

“So?” Draco asked, “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Harry probably has more bad stuff in his past than we do,” Neville said quietly, “And these tests are all about our mental strength.”

“Oh,” Draco realised, “Oh shit.”

“Yeah,” Neville echoed as he glanced nervously at the doors to the testing rooms, “Oh shit.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	15. Harry's Selection Test: Part Two

“3…2…1…Go!”

Harry’s heart was beating out of his chest as he stepped into the testing room. He was well aware of the fact that he had always found it harder to conquer his mental demons than he had his physical ones. So far, this testing experience had been easy, but he knew that this was the hard part for him.

He took in his surroundings before reading the plaque in front of him. He was at a Quidditch ground, a pretty big one with a fancy top box. He figured that meant it was a pretty big game and therefore a good target for someone like a Death Eater to attack. With this in mind he stepped forward and read the plaque;

_“When you cross the line, you will be faced with a scenario that will challenge your morals. There is no right or wrong choice in this test, but it gives us a gauge on your moral compass. Think carefully about your options and act on your own gut feeling. You will find a brief outline of the scenario you are faced with in the drawer provided.”_

“Great,” Harry muttered as he pulled the scroll of parchment from the drawer, “I’m going to have to try and work around my hero complex, as Daph and Hermione like to call it.”

There was no response to this, so Harry unrolled the parchment and read the scenario that he had been assigned;

_“You are at a Quidditch game, and the daughter of the Minister for Magic has been taken hostage. The enemy demands that you hand over the Minister in exchange for his daughter. If you do not, he says that he will set off the proximity charm on the stand above him. This will cause an explosion which will kill everyone in the stand. Do you hand over the Minister, effectively signing his death warrant, or do you attempt to rescue the girl at the risk of destroying a stand full of civilians?”_

Harry had no idea what he was going to do as he stepped over the line, but he knew that he worked best when he was thinking on his feet. Therefore there was no point hanging about to formulate a plan.

“Mr Potter, are you going to save my daughter or not?”

Harry jumped, Kingsley had just appeared before him, “Don’t worry Kingsley, I’ll save your daughter, but I won’t let you die in the process.”

“And I will not let you kill a whole stand of civilians just to save me,” Kingsley countered.

“I won’t do that,” Harry assured him, “I’ll find a way around it.”

“And how are you going to do that?” Kingsley asked.

“I don’t know yet, but I’m working on it,” Harry said as he looked at the stand in question, “I can’t evacuate the stand because if I do, it will set off the proximity charm. There are portkeys of course, but the moment they activate the proximity charm would go off, and there’s no way to make sure every portkey would activate at once.”

“He would set off the proximity charm the moment he saw you setting up portkeys,” Kingsley pointed out, “He’s hiding underneath the stand, and there are extensive protective charms between him and us.”

Harry hummed thoughtfully for a moment, “There is a way to do this Kingsley, I just need to work it out…the only way I will get near this guy is with the element of surprise. I need to distract him and to minimise the risk. I need to get those spectators out of here somehow.”

“But how?” Kingsley asked desperately.

Harry frowned, “I can’t use multiple portkeys, but what if I only need to make one portkey? Didn’t Hermione say you can make anything into a portkey, no matter how big or small?”

Kingsley looked confused, “That is correct.”

Harry grinned, “Then I have a plan. Stay here, Kingsley,” he said as he approached the stand carefully. He knew how to make something into a portkey, but this was slightly more complicated because he planned to turn the entire stand into a portkey. It took him a good while, but he worked it out, and when he was finished, he made his way back over to Kingsley.

“What have you done?” The Minister asked him.

“I’ve made the stand into a portkey,” Harry whispered, “In about 30 seconds, it’s going to activate, taking everyone out of here.”

“But that will activate the proximity charm!”

“Proximity charms,” Harry began as the portkey whirred into action, “Have a delay.”

Surely enough, the stand disappeared, and about 2 or 3 seconds later, there was an explosion in mid-air, where the proximity charm had been set up on the spectator’s area of the stand. After all, nobody was stupid enough to put a proximity charm around _themselves._

The man orchestrating the attack looked so surprised to be suddenly standing in the middle of an empty field that he dropped his wand and loosened his grip on the Ministers daughter. Harry used a summoning charm to bring the girl over to him; then he pushed her into Kingsley’s arms so that she would be safe.

Before the enemy could grab his wand, Harry broke through his protective enchantments and stunned him, once he was on the ground Harry made sure that he was bound well so that he couldn’t escape then the scene paused once more.

Harry had to admit; he felt pretty proud of himself for that one as a click signified that he was free to move into the next room. He looked around and saw that a door had appeared in the middle of the pitch, but before he could go through it, he heard Auror Carter’s disembodied voice say, “ _All actions are supposed to have a consequence. However, in this case, you found a loophole which enabled you to save the entire stand of spectators, the Minister and his daughter. Congratulations, Mr Potter.”_

Harry grinned, “Why thank you, Auror Carter,” he said as he stepped into the next room.

He had been on a high from his victory, so when he sauntered into the next room, he hadn’t expected a Dementor to come out of the blue towards him. He heard his mother scream inside his head, and as he shut his eyes to conjure his happy memory, he saw a flash of green. It never stopped, but he could control it now, he didn’t pass out anymore.

He pictured Daphne saying yes and grinning after he had proposed to her and it blew away the screams and the light. He opened his eyes, and calmly said, “Expecto Patronum.”

His stag Patronus sauntered out of his wand and casually bucked the Dementor into nothingness with all the careless attitude of Harry’s Father; it almost made him smile. He had hoped that this meant that he had passed the room, but he knew that it wasn’t going to be that easy. The fact there was a plaque in front of him confirmed that;

_“If you did not manage to defeat the Dementor, you have failed this room. If you did defeat the Dementor, congratulations but you are not finished yet. There is a boggart in the wardrobe which you will have to face when you approach it. If you fail to overcome the boggart, then you will fail this room.”_

Harry hated boggarts; he knew that he could defeat them, but he still hated them because the fact of the matter was, they always involved death for him. He sighed and walked towards the wardrobe, dreading what might come out of it.

The door opened, and all of a sudden, the floor of the room was scattered with bodies. The bodies weren’t just random people either; they were the bodies of every single person that he loved. Theo and Sadie were lying together as if they had been hugging. Neville lay over Lilly like he had died protecting her. Hermione and Draco were holding hands as Remus and Tonks had been. Then came the worst one, Daphne. Seeing Daphne lying cold and lifeless was bad enough, but she was holding Teddy.

Harry had to swallow the bile that rose in his throat. He shut his eyes tightly as for a moment he found himself back in the great hall after the final battle. He remembered the bodies lining the great hall, the bodies of people who he had cared about.

He felt his magic begin to get out of control. His body shook, and he could feel the ground beneath him, beginning to shake too. He took a deep breath as he heard Daphne’s voice in his head telling him that it wasn’t real, that she and Teddy were fine.

When he opened his eyes, there was a fire in them. He channelled the magic that had been flowing dangerously through his body and threw the boggart back into the wardrobe without saying the incantation. Rather than the doors just slamming shut, the boggart was thrust into the wardrobe, and the wardrobe then went up in flames. Within seconds, it was just a pile of sparkling ash.

Harry frowned, he hadn’t known that it was possible to kill a boggart, but that appeared to be what he had just done. A click pulled him out of his thoughts; he looked away from the pile of ash and realised that a door had appeared next to it.

He took another breath to calm himself down and get his thoughts in order. Then he stepped through the door into the next room. He knew the moment he walked in that this was going to be the torture part of the test, but he read the plaque in front of him all the same;

_“When you cross the line, the door will lock, and you will be subjected to torture by the hand of a Death Eater. You are required to place your wand in the drawer provided, and in this drawer, there is a piece of information. The Death Eater will try and extract this information from you, but your task is to protect it at all costs. If you give up this piece of information, you will fail this room.”_

Harry didn’t feel too nervous about this test which probably wasn’t surprising given how much torture he had gone through over the years. He opened the drawer, unrolled the scroll and read the piece of information;

_“The Minister is in a safehouse in Shetland.”_

Knowing this, Harry stepped over the red line, and a Death Eater materialised in front of him. It wasn’t a real Death Eater, just someone dressed in the robes to try and intimidate and scare him.

“Where is the Minister, Potter?”

“How should I know?” Harry retorted.

“Because,” the Death Eater said as he crushed one of Harry’s knee caps with ease, “We think,” he crushed the second knee cap, “You took him there.”

Harry hadn’t let out a noise of pain at all, despite the fact the two injuries had been agonising and had forced him to the floor.

“Even if I had,” Harry said through gritted teeth, “And I didn’t by the way, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Cut the crap Potter,” The Death Eater said calmly, “I could break your bones all day.”

“I’ve had worse days,” Harry said, it was the truth.

“Is he somewhere remote?”

“I will tell you nothing,” Harry said firmly.

The Death Eater began to get angry at that. He snapped a bone in Harry’s leg, “Is he in Britain?”

Another bone was snapped, “Where is he, Potter?”

The Death Eater then crushed his shoulder bone which was the most painful injury so far, “If you don’t tell me where he is then I’m going to have to use the cruciatus curse on you.”

Harry glared up at the Death Eater but remained silent.

The man smirked viciously, “Crucio!”

Harry didn’t even cry out in pain as the curse wracked his body.

“Where is he?”

“Is he in Britain?”

The Death Eater amped up the pain level on the curse.

“Did you take him there?”

“Dammit Potter! Where is he?” The Death Eater roared as he amped up his curse to the full pain level.

Harry now felt like every muscle in his body was being torn apart, but his lips still remained tightly sealed shut.

The Death Eater ended the curse and holstered his wand, “Alright, I didn’t want to have to play it this way, but you leave me no choice. Tell me where he is, or I’ll hunt down your fiancé and torture her before your eyes until you tell me what I want to know.”

“They don’t call my fiancé the ice queen of Slytherin for nothing,” Harry said quietly, “She can look after herself. You would never find her, and if you did, she wouldn’t tell you anything.”

“Maybe not,” The Death Eater agreed, “But that kid of yours is pretty cute. You would hate to see anything bad happen to him, wouldn’t you? What’s the Minister for Magic’s location in return for little Teddy’s life?”

“Don’t you dare touch him,” Harry hissed, “You can do anything you want to me, but if you touch him or Daphne, I will kill you.”

“Not if I kill you first,” The Death Eater said calmly.

“If you kill me first, then someone else will kill you,” Harry growled, “You can trust me on that one.”

“Tell me where the Minister is, and your family are safe,” The Death Eater said calmly, “It’s that simple.”

Harry shook his head, “I will never tell you where he is, do you hear me? Never!”

Harry must have done enough because, at that point, the Death Eater vanished. The adrenaline rush began to wear off the moment he had done so, and when it did, Harry suddenly felt very weak and very sick.

He didn’t blackout, but the world around him became blurry. He was vaguely aware of someone dressed in white approaching him, but he could barely see anything, and his ears were ringing. He knew that he was on the verge of passing out as something was shoved down his throat. Whatever it was, it took a few minutes to work, but then his vision began to return to normal, and the pain slowly began to ebb away.

After a few minutes, Harry was able to glance over himself. He sighed with relief when he realised that all of his injuries had been healed; he got to his feet and looked around. He hadn’t heard a click, but he was hoping that a door had appeared.

Surely enough, there was a door straight ahead of him. Harry still felt a little shaken as he walked towards the door and headed through it. He wasn’t sure what would be waiting for him on the other side, so he was glad when it was just an interrogation room.

There was a table with two chairs, Auror Carter was occupying one of them. She smiled at him, “How are you feeling, Mr Potter?”

“Like I just got beaten within an inch of my life,” Harry said honestly, “Simulated or not, those injuries felt real.”

Carter nodded, “We design them that way. We need this experience to feel realistic.”

“I understand that,” Harry said honestly as he sat down opposite her, “Is this another test?”

“Yes,” Carter replied, “As part of our strict vetting procedure, we have to test you for any psychopathic traits you might exhibit.”

“Okay,” Harry said slowly.

“I need your oral consent to take veritaserum so that we can get accurate results,” Carter continued, “Is that alright?”

“That’s fine,” Harry said.

Carter smiled at him and handed him a phial with a small amount of veritaserum in it. Harry took the potion and then gave the phial back to the Auror.

“Thank you, Mr Potter,” Carter said, “Now, I am going to read some statements to you. I need you to tell me whether you disagree completely, disagree, neither agree nor disagree, agree or agree completely with each statement. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Harry said with a nod.

“Perfect, we will begin then,” Carter said, “The first statement is; I rarely follow the rules.”

“Agree completely.”

“I admit that I often 'mouth off' without thinking.”

“Agree completely.”

“I've often done something dangerous just for the thrill of it.”

“Neither agree nor disagree.”

“I enjoy high-speed flying.”

“Agree Completely.”

“I enjoy gambling for real money.”

“Disagree Completely.”

“I enjoy doing wild things.”

“Agree.”

“I like to have sex with people I barely know.”

“Disagree Completely.”

“I am an impulsive person.”

“Agree Completely.”

“I keep getting in trouble for the same things over and over.”

“Agree.”

“I have used illegal spells such as the unforgivable curses.”

“Agree Completely.”

“I enjoy taking risks.”

“Neither agree nor disagree.”

“I get bored easily.”

“Agree.”

“I always miss appointments.”

“Disagree.”

“I never plan out my weekly activities.”

“Agree Completely.”

“I am a rebellious person.”

“Agree Completely.”

Carter frowned as she did some scribbling onto a piece of parchment. To Harry, it felt like it took forever for her to finally look up at him, “Well, Mr Potter, your average score was 3.8.”

“Is that bad?” Harry asked, “You’re saying that likes it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s a little close for comfort,” Carter said, “We get worried when someone scores higher than 4.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, “I’m that close to being a psychopath?”

“You’re that close to displaying some psychopathic traits, but it’s a pass all the same,” Carter said with a kind smile, “Would you care to head through the door behind me? It will take you to your final interview with two Senior Aurors.”

Harry nodded and got to his feet, “Of course, thank you, Auror Carter.”

Carter just nodded back in return as Harry opened the door and stepped into the final room. He was nervous about this because it was an interview, he had gotten better at public speaking thanks to Daphne, but he still preferred actions over words.

This final room was similar to the one he had just left. However, instead of Auror Carter sitting across from him, he had Senior Auror Sheppard and an older gentleman that he didn’t recognise.

“Mr Potter, congratulations on getting this far,” Sheppard said, “Please take a seat.”

Harry sat down, and Sheppard said, “You know who I am and this is my colleague, Senior Auror Landry. We need to talk to you about some difficult subjects today.”

Harry just nodded; he was sure his parents would pop up somewhere or that the war would be mentioned. Both of those were things that he didn’t like to talk about.

“Let’s start with our big issue,” Sheppard began, “You tend to disobey the rules time and time again. We know that Dumbledore let you get away with it in school, but you have to do what we say here. Do you think you can carry on acting this way and become an Auror?”

Harry knew that he had to bite back his temper because it would only get him in trouble here, “I don’t break the rules because I’m a troublemaker. I break the rules because they are stupid, and sometimes they need breaking. Yes, students weren’t supposed to be out after curfew but had anyone else realised that my DADA Professor had Voldemort hanging out on the back of his head? No, they hadn’t. Was anybody else volunteering to fight the Basilisk that was getting ready to kill off muggle-borns? Nope just 12 year old me. Then there was the time someone nearly killed me by breaking the rules for me and entering me into the Triwizard Tournament,” Harry said as he ticked all of these things off on his hands, “So yes, I broke the rules when I was in school, but I did it to save lives.”

Landry smiled, “Good answer, son.”

“Next question,” Sheppard said as he shot Landry a stern look, “Why did you kill Voldemort?”

“Excuse me?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“You didn’t have to kill him,” Sheppard pointed out, “You could have taken him down and handed him over. We could have put him in prison, just like Grindelwald.”

“I didn’t intend to kill him,” Harry said honestly, “I used Expelliarmus, not the killing curse. There was a link between our wands, something to do with them both having a phoenix feather from the same bird, and it was _his_ killing curse that rebounded via that link and killed him.”

“So you don’t get a thrill out of killing then?”

“No,” Harry said irritably, “What kind of stupid question is that? I don’t get a bloody thrill out of it, but I don’t regret the fact that it happened either. I know for a fact that myself and plenty of other people wouldn’t feel safe with Voldemort locked up, him dying was the best thing for a lot of people.”

“And then there was the glory it brought you,” Sheppard added, “You do love the fame, don’t you? We all know that you have told lies in the past to get famous.”

Harry lost his temper at that, “If you want to question me, then that’s fair enough but don’t talk about all that bullshit! I was victimised as a teenager for telling the truth about Voldemort, the truth that nobody, _including_ your corrupt department, wanted to know! That’s why I wanted to join the Aurors; I wanted to make sure that I helped to turn it around. I wanted to get rid of all the dirty Aurors who jumped over to the dark side at the first sign of danger, so you have some nerve saying I lied to get famous!”

“Alright son,” Landry said calmly, “Just settle down, we understand what you have been through, and we would be very grateful to have you join us.”

Harry sighed, Landry was the good cop and Sheppard, who Harry had initially liked, was being a bit of a dick.

“We have a few more questions to ask you before we finish up here, Mr Potter,” Sheppard said, “We need to talk to you about your Slytherin influences.”

“My Slytherin influences?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“You hated Slytherins for years and then all of a sudden you befriend Draco Malfoy, did he have any blackmail on you?”

“For the love of Merlin,” Harry cursed, “This is ridiculous! No, he didn’t have any blackmail on me. We realised that our feud had been petty so when we returned to school we called a truce, and then we realised, embarrassingly enough, that we actually got on great.”

“What about your fiancé then?” Sheppard asked, “How do you go from hating Slytherins and dating the very wholesome Ginny Weasley, to dating the self-confessed ice queen of Slytherin?”

“Why is it any of your business how I ended up with Daphne?” Harry asked as he shook his head in disbelief at the two men.

“It’s our business if she forced you into it,” Sheppard said, “So was it a love potion or a compulsion charm? How did the bitch hoodwink you?”

Harry got to his feet angrily, so angrily that he flipped the table, “She is not a bitch, and she did _not_ hoodwink me! I’m with her because I fell in love with her and I will stay with her because she is amazingly clever and beautiful. She’s only 19, and she’s already a wonderful mum to Teddy. She is an amazing woman, and frankly, I don’t see why the house she was in at school should come into consideration at all!”

“Calm down Mr Potter,” Sheppard said as he righted the table, “It was a question we had to ask.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Harry growled, “It was none of your business, and if your last question is about Teddy then you better think very carefully about how you word it.”

Sheppard and Landry shared a glance. Harry had called it right then. Their last question _was_ about Teddy.

“We just worry that your attachment to your godson might affect your work,” Landry began, “As you say you are only 19 yet you care quite regularly for a very young child. This, combined with an intensive training program, is going to be a huge commitment. How are you going to manage that?”

Harry took a breath to calm himself, “I’m not an idiot, I know that it’s going to be hard. I’ll be training, and Daphne has just started her new job too, but I’m going to manage it because I have to. Teddy doesn’t have much, but he does have Daphne and me, and however we work it, we’re going to do the best for that little boy. Do you have kids, Aurors?”

Landry nodded, “A daughter and a grandson.”

Sheppard smiled slightly, “Two sons,” he admitted.

“Then you know exactly how it is,” Harry said quietly, “You can’t plan how you’re going to do something. I can’t tell you how I’m going to manage. I just know that somehow I will because I _have_ to for Teddy.”

Sheppard nodded, “That’s a perfectly acceptable answer, Mr Potter. I apologise for what I said about your fiancé, please don’t take it personally, it’s just a line of questioning that I had to pursue.”

Harry shook his head, “I understand. I’m sorry for losing my temper and flipping the table.”

“You were perfectly within your rights to do so,” Landry said, “But Kingsley wasn’t kidding when he said you had a temper.”

Harry looked a little sheepish, “Yeah, he was right there,” he admitted.

Sheppard chuckled and shook Harry’s hand, “Congratulations on getting this far Mr Potter. Please come with me.”

Harry followed the Senior Auror to the door, and Sheppard said, “Try not to run to your friends the moment you see them, I do need to do your report with you first.”

Harry grinned sheepishly at that. The moment he stepped out into the waiting room, he looked for his three friends, and he smiled when he saw them all anxiously awaiting him. They cheered when they saw Harry and Sheppard chuckled under his breath as he opened the brown file which contained Harry’s report.

“I’ll make this as quick as possible so you can celebrate,” Sheppard said with an amused smile, “Test one was all about morality. You excelled in that; I don’t know why that surprised us given what we have heard about your hero complex. You weren’t supposed to find a loophole; nobody has ever managed that in that scenario before.”

“Is that good or bad?” Harry asked.

“Good,” Sheppard admitted, “But it was also a little risky. Did you know that proximity charms have a delay?”

“I do,” Harry said sincerely, “I would never have done what I did otherwise.”

Sheppard seemed convinced because he nodded and continued, “I couldn’t fault your defeat of the Dementor, and you managed something I have never seen a candidate do before. You killed a boggart.”

“I didn’t think boggarts could be killed,” Harry said with a frown.

“Oh, they can be,” Sheppard said, “But it takes an immense amount of magical power, and in addition to that, the power has to be controlled perfectly. It was an amazing thing to behold Mr Potter, the fact you did it without an incantation was just the cherry on top of the cake.”

Harry smiled slightly as he felt himself swell with pride.

“However, you do owe us a new boggart,” Sheppard added.

“Sorry,” Harry said sheepishly.

“As far as physical torture goes, you can withstand a lot of pain,” Sheppard said.

“I’m used to it,” Harry said quietly, “Physically at least, but not when they threaten my family.”

“All of us are loyal to our family Mr Potter,” Sheppard admitted, “I would have reacted exactly as you did if anyone threatened my wife or my two boys.”

That made Harry feel slightly better, but he knew that Daphne and Teddy were one of his weaknesses, he knew that they always would be.

“Your psychopathic traits test was a little close for comfort, but I think that’s just because of the fact you’re a thrill-seeker,” Sheppard continued, “And your final interview went well, even if you did throw a table at us.”

“Sorry,” Harry said sheepishly, “I just don’t like people talking badly of Daphne. Her and Teddy are my everything. I can’t believe anyone who knows her would have a bad word to say about her. Well, apart from Theo, but he’s an arse.”

Sheppard laughed at that, “I’m saying nothing,” he said as he shut the report, “But I am done if you want to go and celebrate now.”

Harry grinned and jumped to his feet, “Thank you, sir,” he said as he bounded over to his friends.

Neville walked to meet him and pulled him into a firm hug. Harry frowned, but hugged Neville back, “You okay, mate?” he murmured.

“Yeah, just glad to see you,” Neville murmured back. He drew back and looked Harry in the eye, “You featured heavily in my mental test, and it wasn’t very positive.”

Harry’s eyes widened, “Oh shit. Did I…?”

“Yeah,” Neville said with a sigh, “You died, and it was pretty traumatic.”

“Hence the hug,” Harry said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, sorry,” Neville said sheepishly.

“It’s alright,” Harry said, patting Neville on the back, “I get it.”

“Once you two have finished having your moment,” Theo said with a grin, “We should be celebrating. We did it!”

“Oi,” Neville joked, “You can not talk to us about having a moment.”

Harry snorted, “He makes a fair point, you two have moments all the time.”

“Yes, but that’s just part of daily life, you should be used to it by now,” Theo said with a wave of his hand, “You two don’t do moments.”

“Yes we do, they are just more profound than yours,” Harry said with an amused grin, “Usually when someone’s life is in danger.”

“Like when he stood up to Voldemort like an idiot because he thought you were dead?” Draco snorted.

“Hey,” Harry chuckled, “You don’t get to slag Neville off. You threw me my wand; we had a moment. Just like our moment in Malfoy Manor when you looked me in the eye, and I knew that you recognised me.”

“Well, if you want to play it like that,” Theo snorted, “We have moments too, don’t we Nev?”

Neville sniggered, “What is this, best friend envy?”

Harry laughed, “Come on, all four of us are best friends. But when push comes to shove, I’ll always pick Nev, and you’ll always pick Theo.”

Draco nodded his agreement, “But we all got through.”

“And you know what that means?” Theo grinned.

“Oh no, not another group hug,” Draco groaned, but it was too late, Theo grabbed him from one side, and Harry grabbed him from another.

When they finally released Draco, he looked very disgruntled, much to the amusement of the others.

“What happens next?” Harry said, he still felt like he was flying up on cloud number nine.

“Once everyone has been tested, they pair us up and give us a mock case,” Theo replied.

“So we haven’t quite passed yet,” Harry said.

“We’ve done the hard part now though,” Neville pointed out, “Nothing can be worse than what they just put us through.”

“True,” Harry agreed as he glanced around the room to see if anyone else from their heat had made it.

“It’s just you and me so far,” Theo said as he realised what Harry was doing, “But I finished half an hour before you, we were freaking out. We thought you had failed.”

“I had a long morality test,” Harry said as he turned back to his friends, “I had to save a whole bunch of people, including the Minister and his daughter. I found a loophole, but it took me ages.”

“Just another day in the life of Harry Potter,” Neville joked.

Harry chuckled at that but glanced back around to the doors when he heard one open. A girl emerged, and Harry frowned, “Which one is she again?”

“Emily Wilde, Gryffindor from Gin’s year at school,” Neville said offhandedly.

“There are only two people in the last heat,” Harry said to his friends, “And one of them is Blanche, I hope she gets in, I kind of like her.”

“She’s got a surprising amount of personality, considering the fact she’s related to Blaise,” Theo joked.

It made the others laugh; the air was far less tense now that they all knew they had made it this far. The four of them moved the armchairs to get comfortable and spent the next little while comparing notes. None of them talked about how much their boggarts forms had scared them or about all the weaknesses their final interviews had brought up. After all, those were subjects to be discussed in the small hours of the night with the women they trusted above everyone else.

No one else from Theo and Harry’s heat got through, but eventually, the last heat finished. Both Blanche and Ophelia Wood made it through which brought the total amount of candidates left down to 10.

“Alright, boys and girls!” Sumner boomed as he walked into the waiting room with Sheppard by his side, “Get your arses down to the canteen for lunch. I’ll be back to collect you in just under an hour then you will be doing your final test. Fuel up, you're going to need your brains for this next one.”

As the group began to follow Sumner to the canteen, Theo suddenly said, “Harry, what did Sheppard mean when he said you owe him a boggart?”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	16. The Mock Cases

“I am so glad that’s over,” Blanche Zabini said as she fell into a chair at the table Harry, Draco, Neville and Theo were sharing.

“Me too,” Ophelia Wood agreed as she took the last remaining seat, “Mental and physical torture is not my idea of a fun morning.”

“Just another day at the office for some of us,” Neville said as he shot Harry an amused look.

“So you enjoy torture then Nev?” Harry joked, “I’ll have to ask Lil if you’re into that.”

Neville snorted in response, and Theo sniggered, “Funny you should say that. My brother-in-law crashed my test and asked if I had a pain fetish.”

The others all laughed, “What did you say?” Ophelia asked.

“That if he wanted to know he would have to ask his sister,” Theo said with an amused grin.

Draco whistled, “Sorenson Cauldwell is not a guy you want to be on the wrong side of. Have you seen the size of him? He would crush you like a bean.”

“Thanks for the confidence,” Theo said as he clapped Draco on the back, “Great best mate you are.”

Harry shook his head at the pair of them, “Do you think this last test is going to be hard?”

“Compared to everything else, I doubt it,” Blanche replied, “It’s just a mock case.”

“What do you reckon they’ll do?” Neville asked, “Give us a case file and ask us to find out who did it?”

“Probably,” Harry replied, “But you say that like they will all be murders. I imagine they will variate. If we do become Aurors, we won’t just be going after murderers. We’ll be looking at kidnappers and all sorts of major crimes.”

“To begin with,” Draco cut in, “For two years after we graduate we will be doing all sorts of stuff, but then we get to specialise.”

“How do you know that?” Theo asked in surprise.

Draco shrugged, “Aunt Dromeda gave me some of cousin Dora’s old Auror training books, so I read them.”

“Did anyone else read a book to prepare themselves for today?” Harry asked with a grin, “Or was that just Hermione Granger’s fiancé?”

Neville laughed loudly, “You two are perfect for each other.”

“The Slytherin prince and his Gryffindor princess,” Theo said as he made a face, “It makes me want to puke.”

Draco rolled his eyes and threw a crust of bread at Theo, “Shut up you prat.”

Everyone laughed, and the air felt so much more comfortable. Deep down, they all knew that the hardest part was behind them now, and most of them were looking forward to their mock case file. The rest of lunch passed quickly, and before they knew it, Sumner had come to get them.

The ten candidates followed him through the maze that was the Auror training complex until they reached the same waiting room they had emerged into after their mental tests. It had been transformed though, the room was split into five sections, and each part was separated by screens. In each section there were two chairs, a table kitted out with parchment and quills, and a blackboard with lots of different colours of chalk.

“Alright guys, listen up!” Sheppard said as he slipped into the room, “We are going to pair you up and give you all a mock case file. To keep things easy and so we can assess you all fairly, you will all be given a murder case. You are going to have an hour to sift through the evidence and find out who the killer is. We want to know who, why, where and when. Once you think you know all of the answers, make sure you are ready to present to me as well as to the rest of the candidates. Is that clear?”

“Yes sir,” Everyone replied in unison.

“Great, so pair number one is Harper and Wilde,” Sheppard began, “Come over here and get your case file.”

Maxwell, the Slytherin who had been in the year below them, and Emily, a Gryffindor who had also been in the year below them, walked over to Sheppard.

He handed them a brown folder, “I want you to solve the murder of Sophia Johnson, a Ministry worker from London. Take the cubicle at the back there and don’t start until I say so.”

“Yes sir,” They said before heading over to their cubicle.

“Pair two is Carmichael and Kavanagh,” Sheppard continued.

Eddie, the Ravenclaw who had been a few years above them, and Lesley, the Hufflepuff who had been in Cho’s year, walked up to Sheppard to receive their case file.

“I want you two to solve the murder of Brynn Briarson, a dragon tamer from Wales. Take the cubicle next to Harper and Wilde.”

“Yes, sir,” They said. Then they headed over to their cubicle.

“Pair three is going to be Wood and Zabini,” Sheppard said as he glanced up from his parchment. He rolled his eyes, “Yes boys, that means the golden foursome will be staying together in some form. Don’t get too excited now.”

Harry, Draco, Neville and Theo couldn’t help but chuckle at that as Blanche and Ophelia walked over to Sheppard. He handed them a case file and said, “I want you to solve the murder of Rebecca Frume, muggle wife of a famous alchemist, from Wiltshire. Have the middle cubicle.”

“Yes sir,” Blanche and Ophelia said before heading over to the cubicle in question.

“Pair number four,” Sheppard said as he looked towards the four over-excited boys, “Longbottom and Nott.”

Neville and Theo shared an amused look. They weren’t sure how well they would work together, but they got on as friends, so that was a good start.

Harry shot Draco a grin because he realised that this meant he was going to be paired up with the Slytherin.

Theo and Neville walked up to get their task and Sheppard handed them a case file, “I want you guys to solve the murder of Damien Chambers, notorious thief and scumbag from East London. Take the front left cubicle.”

“Yes sir,” They said in unison. They shot Harry and Draco one last grin before stepping into the cubicle.

“Which leaves former schoolboy enemies, Black and Potter,” Sheppard said as he beckoned them forward, “I want you two to solve the murder of Howard Jackson,” he handed them a case file, “Auror from Arbroath up in Scotland. Take the front left cubicle.”

“Yes sir,” They echoed as they slipped into the final cubicle.

“Alright you have an hour to solve these cases, your time starts…now!”

* * *

“So,” Neville said as he flipped open the case file and slid Theo a picture, “This is Damien Chambers. He has a long list of priors from petty theft right up to assault on an Auror.”

“Nice guy,” Theo said sarcastically, “Why do we care that he died, exactly?”

“Because even if you murder a bad person, it’s still murder,” Neville pointed out, “He was 28 years old, born in East London, his parents died when he was young.”

“Raised in a life of crime,” Theo said with a nod, “It’s a common story. How did he die?”

“He was found underneath a railway bridge near the Tower of London,” Neville replied, “Without his head.”

“What?”

“He was beheaded,” Neville said as he looked up at his friend, “They found his head a few metres away.”

Theo made a face, “That’s disgusting. Did they manage to work out if his head was severed magically or manually?”

Neville glanced over the report, “Medical examiners report states that the rough pattern suggests an object like a machete. Definitely not magical, the wound wasn’t clean cut enough.”

“So a muggle might have done this,” Theo said.

“Could well have done,” Neville agreed, “The report also says he died without any toxins in his system so he wasn’t on drugs and he hadn’t been drinking.”

“Anything else of note in there?”

“Just that they found tiny shards of glass in his feet and lower legs,” Neville replied.

Theo frowned, “Right, when did they find the body?”

“Dogwalker found him at 6.30 am,” Neville replied, “So what are we thinking? Work out the why first?”

“We can’t work out the why until we know the who,” Theo said slowly, “We can’t work out what the motive is until we have a suspect.”

“But if we trace his movements then we could work out why he was killed based on what he was doing the night before his death,” Neville pointed out.

“There are too many variables,” Theo said with a wave of his hand, “Trust me, my way is better. Do we have a list of suspects in there?”

“Look yourself,” Neville said somewhat irritably as he slid the file over to Theo.

Theo ignored Neville’s remark and thumbed through the file, “Alright, so we have a spurned drug addict lover plus a whole bunch of loan sharks that wanted him dead.”

“Why would a loan shark kill a thief?” Neville cut in, “You can’t squeeze money out of a dead man. If they let him live until his next heist then they would get their money.”

“Fine, what about the spurned lover?” Theo asked, “Maybe he was moving on, and she was jealous.”

“And you said that my way had too many variables?” Neville retorted as he grabbed the timeline of the victim's movements from the file, “Let’s try it, shall we? The victim was found at 6.30 am by a dog walker. Before that he was last seen at 3.05 am by a taxi driver, he was dressed in black and was glancing around like he was paranoid.”

“All that proves is that he was going to rob somewhere,” Theo pointed out, “It’s hardly evidence of anything. Is it?”

“Maybe not on its own but he was last seen very near the Tower of London, and his body was found near there too,” Neville pointed out.

“So?”

“This guy was a thief of all sorts, but it seems like his speciality was being a jewel thief. He used magic to penetrate muggle buildings, what nice jewels do they keep in the Tower of London, idiot?”

Theo frowned, “The crown jewels…holy shit, do you think he was trying to steal the crown jewels?”

“Even if he was, it doesn’t explain his death,” Neville admitted, “If the authorities had caught him they wouldn’t have beheaded him, they would have arrested him.”

“So what is the link between the crown jewels and his death…” Theo mused, “Could the shards of glass be from where he broke into the building?”

“Yes,” Neville said slowly, “Which implies that he got in, but something happened before he could get the jewels.”

“Somebody stopped him,” Theo realised.

“But who,” Neville mused, “I think we can rule out the suspects on that list of yours. This wasn’t someone that the victim knew.”

Theo thumbed through the case file for any further information, “I think you might be on the right lines, there is a list of the security staff who were working at the Tower that night and…there is the background report for all of them too.”

“Any of them flag up anything out of the ordinary?”

Theo shook his head as he flicked through them, “No, most of them have clean records but…”

“But what?” Neville asked as he looked over Theo’s shoulder.

“One of the guys they questioned doesn’t seem to exist,” Theo said with a frown, “There is no birth certificate on record for him or a national insurance number.”

“So he has a false identity,” Neville realised, “What kind of people have false identities.”

“Apart from Hit Wizards, you mean?” Theo said.

Neville frowned, “And government workers.”

“What?”

“The Muggle government,” Neville said quickly, “Haven’t you heard of MI5 and MI6?”

Theo shook his head, “What are they?”

“The Muggle equivalent of Hit Wizards and Unspeakables, all mixed into one,” Neville said quickly, “If an undercover MI5 worker killed Chambers then he wouldn’t exist because they take careful procedures to cover up their identities when they employ them.”

“Why would a government worker want to kill a thief, though?” Theo frowned, “Isn’t that still a pretty brutal way to punish a thief?”

“It’s not about the fact he’s a thief,” Neville said, “It can’t be…not for the government to be involved. It has to be something bigger than that.”

“Something bigger than stealing the crown jewels?” Theo snorted.

“Hey, it wouldn’t be the first time that-”

“What?” Theo asked. Neville had stopped mid-sentence.

“Theo, that might just be it!” Neville said excitedly, “It wouldn’t be the first time that someone had tried to steal the crown jewels.”

Theo frowned, “I’m not following Nev.”

“What if,” Neville began as he grabbed a piece of chalk, “The crown jewels were stolen before, and the government failed to retrieve them. What if Chambers went to steal the jewels and came across a huge conspiracy?”

Theo’s jaw dropped, “He would realise straight away that they were a fake because he was a jewel thief.”

“Exactly,” Neville said, “So the undercover government worker could have killed him to cover it up.”

“Holy shit…that’s twisted,” Theo said, “But also kind of exciting. Here’s the only thing I don’t get though, why the beheading? Maybe it was to frame someone else, what does that old saying go like? There is no honour amongst thieves.”

“Thieves don’t behead each other though,” Neville pointed out, “Beheading is generally a punishment reserved for traitors. That’s kind of what makes it appropriate actually.”

“I think we might have worked this out,” Theo said with a grin as he also grabbed a stick of chalk, “Nice work Nev!”

Neville chuckled as he hi-fived Theo, “Let’s get this down while it’s fresh.”

* * *

“Do you want to read or listen?” Harry asked Draco as he flipped open the case file.

“Read,” Draco replied as he reached for the file.

“I wanted to read,” Harry objected.

“Why did you bother asking then Pothead?” Draco retorted.

“It was a rhetorical question.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “Just make a copy of the case file and give it to me.”

“Deal,” Harry said. He copied the case file and handed it over to Draco; he already had a feeling that this wasn’t going to go down very well. He and Draco were friends, but they both liked to be in charge, so he had a feeling that they were going to clash with this task.

“Okay so our victim is Howard Jackson, 31 years old, been an Auror for just over ten years,” Draco said as he scribbled this information onto the chalkboard.

“His body was found at an Auror base on Salisbury Plain,” Harry continued, “Do you know what they use it for?”

“It’s an abandoned village,” Draco replied, “They use it for training purposes, but it’s not just any kind of training.”

“Oh, are we talking special ops?” Harry asked.

Draco frowned, “What’s that?”

“Muggle army,” Harry replied, “Special operations, they do the jobs that require extra care.”

“Yes well for us that is known as Elite Squad, and yes, that’s what they do at Salisbury plain,” Draco said, “Our guy was training a new bunch when he was killed.”

“They found his body in an alley behind what was once the village pub,” Harry explained, “Do you think he was trying to apparate away?”

“Possibly but I expect the base will have anti-apparation wards up,” Draco said.

“If he was injured then he would have been panicking,” Harry pointed out, “So he might have tried to apparate anyway.”

“I don’t think he had time to panic, he was bludgeoned to death,” Draco said with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s a very physical way to kill someone for a witch or wizard. I’m assuming you have to be magical to get into that base?” Harry asked.

Draco nodded, “There are anti-muggle wards up.”

“They might have physically killed him to avoid being traced,” Harry mused, “All Aurors have to register their wand signature so that if they accidentally kill a civilian in combat, it can be traced back to the Auror who did it.”

“You think that means an Auror did this?” Draco asked.

“Well it makes sense, doesn’t it?” Harry asked, “Why else would you bludgeon someone to death when you could use a killing curse?”

“True,” Draco mused, “Are you glancing over the Medical Examiners report?”

“Uh-huh,” Harry hummed, “Not that it gives us a lot to work with. The ME reckoned that the attacker was male because of the strength required to inflict these injuries. She also reckoned that he was about 6 foot tall.”

“No physical evidence on the body and no sign of the murder weapon,” Draco added, “If he had any sense he would have destroyed it immediately.”

“And an Auror would know how to kill someone without leaving any physical evidence,” Harry added, “It all points towards the fact he was killed by another Auror.”

“Even if that is true, and it is a wild assumption by the way, then what is our motive?” Draco countered, “Why would an Auror kill one of his own? They live by a strict code of honour.”

“I know,” Harry said, “But people can break codes.”

“Speaking of codes…” Draco said as he pulled a piece of parchment from the case file, “The ME found a coded message in his pocket.”

Harry frowned, “Do you have any idea what kind of code that is?”

“It’s nothing I’ve ever seen before but cracking it might be the key to solving this case,” Draco said.

“You took Ancient Runes, didn’t you?” Harry asked.

Draco nodded, “What does that have to do with a coded message?”

“Runes, codes, same thing,” Harry said with a wave of his hand, “The point is, you know more than I do. Why don’t you work on cracking that code while I look through the list of suspects and the timeline of our victim's last movements.”

“Alright,” Draco said, he sat down with a quill and a piece of parchment and began to work out different variants of codes that he had encountered to see if any of them looked similar.

Harry sifted through the list of suspects and managed to narrow it down to two people. He knew from the ME’s report that it couldn’t have been a woman which left Jackson’s estranged brother who was a criminal and his best friend, an Auror who a witness had seen him fight with on the morning that he had been killed.

Once he had done this, he glanced over the timeline of events and noticed a recurring theme regarding this best friend Auror.

“Draco, I think I’ve got something,” Harry said.

Draco looked up, “Yeah?”

“Yeah, our victim’s best friend was an Auror. They were partners actually, his name was Daniel Cove,” Harry said, “According to this timeline he might well have been the last person to see Jackson alive. On top of that, a witness saw them arguing about 2 hours before Jackson’s body was found.”

“Alright so he had the opportunity,” Draco conceded, “But what about motive? Did that witness happen to say what the argument was about?”

“She only heard snippets,” Harry replied, “But she got the impression that it was about Cove’s wife and she said it was very heated.”

“What did Cove say when he was questioned?”

“He said that he and Jackson did argue,” Harry said as he looked down at the witness statement, “Apparently Jackson had blown off Cove and his wife for a joint dinner date, and it wasn’t the first time it had happened.”

“That doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that would cause a heated argument between two close friends,” Draco frowned.

Harry nodded, “That’s what I was thinking. Cove was lying about the reason that they argued.”

“Did Cove’s wife give a statement to confirm his alibi for the murder?” Draco asked.

“Yeah, she said that around the time that Jackson was murdered, Cove floo-ed her to check how she was getting on,” Harry replied, “Because she was…pregnant.”

Draco’s frown deepened, “Pregnant.”

“Yeah, Draco are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I think that if Cove’s wife was pregnant with another man’s baby, Cove would want that other man dead, Auror partner or not,” Draco said.

Harry nodded excitedly, “Catch this, one of the Aurors who found Jackson’s body called him a notorious charmer so charming his best friends wife wouldn’t be difficult.”

“It’s definitely a motive,” Draco agreed, “Auror partner or not, I would kill you if you slept with my fiancé.”

“Again, you mean,” Harry joked.

“Yeah well, same to you,” Draco said with a vaguely amused smile, “I was just starting to get somewhere with that code by the way. It is a mixture of runes and muggle military code. I had worked out that there was a time and a place on there.”

“What if Jackson was planning to meet Cove’s wife?” Harry asked, “What if she was going to leave Cove for his best friend?”

Draco whistled, “That couldn’t have been easy for the guy to hear. The time was noon, and the place was somewhere in Salisbury town.”

“Jackson was killed at around 11.30 am,” Harry said slowly, “If we’re right then he was killed before he could meet up with Cove’s wife.”

“Which definitely gives Cove the best motive for murder,” Draco realised, “And a sketchy alibi. He could have killed Jackson right before or after he floo-ed his wife.”

“Not to mention that his wife could be covering for him,” Harry added, “Surely she would have suspected that it was him who killed Jackson. If she was scared of him, then she would lie to support his alibi.”

“I think we have him,” Draco said as he threw Harry a piece of chalk, “Let’s get this down, so we’re ready to present it.”

* * *

“Alright guys, that is time!” Sheppard called when his stopwatch hit the hour mark, “I want everyone up front with me right now!”

Nobody was stupid enough to disobey the Senior Auror. Everyone made their way up to the front of the room; some people looked more nervous than others about presenting their case.

“We are going to go around the cubicles, and each pair will present their findings,” Sheppard explained, “Let’s start with the first pair, Harper and Wilde, you two are up.”

They didn’t look particularly nervous as they led the group to their cubicle. Everyone gathered around the blackboard as Maxwell stood on one side of it, and Emily stood on the other side.

Maxwell looked fairly confident as he started them off, “Alright so we were tasked with finding out who murdered Sophia Johnson, a goodwill Ministry worker who was trying to help children and families who were orphaned or split apart by the war.”

Emily looked a little more nervous as she took over. Although she and Maxwell were the same age, she looked far younger. She was relatively petite and cutesy looking with a blonde bob and a pretty face. Harry knew it was wrong, but he judged her by her looks when he first saw her and had thought she would never get this far.

“She was found on the site of a new orphanage that she was overseeing the building of,” Emily began, she wrung her hands together. Still, her voice didn’t shake, “Her body was found inside a concrete block which made it hard for the Medical Examiner to find any physical evidence linking her to her killer. The ME did discover that she had been reaching for something before she died; we assumed that it was probably her wand.”

“The ME also established that she had died from a blow to the head,” Maxwell said, “With a very heavy object. It made it look unlikely that a woman had done it, but we couldn’t find a male suspect who fitted the bill at all. Then Emily had an idea.”

“I wondered whether the victim could have gotten the blow from falling hard onto something rather than being struck,” Emily explained, “And the more we looked into it, the more the evidence seemed to build up. It looked like someone had pushed her, she had hit her head and died then they had put her into the block of setting cement to cover it up.”

“It meant that our killer could be a woman, so we started to look into one of her co-workers,” Maxwell said, “A woman by the name of Rosa Smith who was working on the project with our victim. We discovered that they had been good friends up until a week or so before our victim's death, so we had to try and work out why they had started arguing.”

“We had a look at the Gringotts account for the orphanage project and noticed that there were a few inconsistencies,” Emily added, “Money was coming from the Ministry fund allocated for the project, but money was also coming in from our victims own account. With a little extra research, we worked out that our victim was embezzling money illegally from the Ministry for the project.”

“Once we had worked that out, we realised that this co-worker had argued with our vic, accidentally killed her and then thrown her into the cement to cover it up,” Max finished.

Sheppard looked vaguely impressed, “Pretty good, don’t you think Sumner?”

They all frowned, they hadn’t seen Sumner since he had led them into the room.

“Not bad,” Sumner’s voice said from above.

Everyone looked up and saw Sumner sitting on a balcony above the room; he was smirking.

Sheppard looked around at the stunned faces, “That’s right, Sumner watched your every move from up there. We aren’t just interested in your findings; we’re interested in how you came to these conclusions. As for your case presentation Harper and Wilde, it’s not bad. You have the correct killer, and you also have the correct cause of death, almost. You did overlook the fact the victim was reaching for something, though, it wasn’t her wand.”

“What was it, sir?” Maxwell asked.

“It was her colleague’s hand,” Sheppard replied, “You were right to say that this was an accident. She didn’t mean to kill her colleague and friend, she pushed the victim, and she hit her head on the concrete mixer. This left the victim disorientated, so she fell back towards the setting concrete. Her colleague reached out to save her.”

“Damn,” Max said, “We were close.”

“Very close,” Sheppard agreed, “And either way, you would have had your killer arrested, which is the main thing. How did they work together, Sumner?”

Sumner had a sonorus charm on his voice because he spoke in a normal tone when he replied, “They worked well together. Wilde was happy to let Harper take the lead, but she came up with as many great ideas as Harper did. I could see a good cop, bad cop thing working very well there. Harper was methodical and logical, Wilde was more emotional, but because of that, she could put herself in the victim's shoes which helped her come to different conclusions.”

Sheppard looked impressed as he looked over at the pair, “Good job Harper and Wilde.”

They both looked fairly pleased with themselves as Sheppard turned to the next pair, “Alright, Carmichael and Kavanagh, take us to your cubicle.”

The next pair did so. Eddie had no problems with confidence, he happily took point at the front of the blackboard and puffed his chest out. Harry had to bite back an amused smile as he noticed Draco shaking his head in disbelief, he had made it clear that he didn’t like the guy. Lesley Kavanagh was a lot quieter, she had mid-length brown hair and looked like quite a withdrawn tomboy.

“So we were tasked with finding out who killed Brynn Briarson, who was a dragon trainer from Cardiff. He worked at the only remaining dragon reserve in Britain which is in Snowdonia National Park,” Eddie began, “He was found in his cabin on the grounds of the dragon reserve. He had been strangled to death, at first we thought it was some kind of spell, but then we read that the ME had found small shards of metal in the wound, so we figured he had been killed manually with some sort of wire.”

“Only magical personnel would be able to get into the reserve,” Lesley said quietly, “So we knew it had to be a witch or wizard, and we knew it had to be one of the members of staff.”

“There weren’t many staff there, so that narrowed it done,” Eddie added, “It looked like a crime of passion, and there was only one female worker at the reserve. Briarson didn’t have a wife or girlfriend, so we figured that he was sleeping with his co-worker and she killed him in a fit of rage, but we had to work out the how.”

“In the witness report, we found out that Briarson had argued with the woman the day before over the welfare of a dragon,” Lesley said, “Many dragon trainers view the dragons they raise like children. If Briarson had intended to report her bad treatment of the dragon, then she probably would have lost her job and the dragons she loved.”

“So she killed him,” Eddie finished.

Sheppard looked between them in disbelief, “That’s your conclusions?”

Eddie nodded, “How close are we?”

“About as close as Antarctica is to experiencing a heatwave,” Sumner said from above.

Draco and Theo both sniggered behind their hands which made Harry and Neville exchange amused looks.

Sheppard flipped open his copy of the case file, “Alright, let’s start with the how. The victim was strangled; you got that much right. However, just because there were shards of metal does not mean he was killed without magic. His killer used a magical whip charm to suffocate him. As for the whole spurned lover killing him in a passion, it is plausible I suppose but not with a female lover. If you had bothered to read the page on background information on Briarson, then you would have known that he was gay.”

Harry couldn’t help but snigger at that piece of information, Neville nudged him in the ribs for it.

“You were almost onto something when you said that she killed him because of the fact he was going to report her and therefore cause her to lose her job,” Sheppard admitted, “Briarson was killed because he was planning to expose the mistreatment of dragons at the reserve by some of the trainers. This would have caused the reserve to close, but there was someone who would have lost out more than anyone else if that had happened.”

Eddie hit himself in the head, “The Head Keeper!”

“Too little too late Mr Carmichael,” Sheppard said, “But yes, he was killed by the head keeper. Was there a reason you didn’t mention the odd message the victim received via floo before he died?”

Eddie frowned, “What odd message?”

“So you didn’t read the witness reports fully either then,” Sheppard realised with a shake of his head, “One of the workers on the reserve heard snippets of a floo conversation the victim had. It was encrypted, so they had no idea who he was talking with, but he said that he was going to meet with the person on the floo that evening with the information he had gathered. This floo conversation happened within hearing distance of the Head Keepers office.”

“Shit,” Eddie muttered.

“Yeah, shit is the right word,” Sheppard said as he looked up at Sumner, “How did they work together, Sumner?”

“They didn’t,” Sumner replied, “Miss. Kavanagh barely said a word, Mr Carmichael completely took over and didn’t let her get a word in edgewise. I think we can put the blame on both sides there, Mr Carmichael should not have been so overbearing but Miss. Kavanagh should also have worked harder to be heard.”

Sheppard nodded and looked back at the pair, “Stay here. Once the other pairs have finished presenting their cases, you will be escorted from the premises. Unfortunately, your journey towards becoming an Auror ends here.”

Harry was sure that he heard Draco sigh with relief upon hearing that news.

“Wood and Zabini, I sure hope you can do better than that,” Sheppard said as he indicated that they should lead the group to their cubicle.

“So do I,” Blanche joked as she stood on one side of the blackboard, “Do you want to kick things off for us Fee?”

Ophelia, who was tall and very pretty with long brown locks and deep brown eyes, smiled, “Sure. We were asked to find out who killed Rebecca Frume. She was a muggle and the wife of renowned British alchemist, David Frume. They lived in Wiltshire together, and Mrs Frume worked as a dog beautician.”

“We had no idea what that was,” Blanche cut in, “But we figured it had something to do with cutting dogs hair and making them look nice. At first, we thought it was irrelevant, but then we found out that Frume’s body had been found stuffed into one of the kennels where she kept the dogs she worked with, in the backyard of their home.”

“Her body was found by Mr Frume,” Ophelia said, “So we immediately suspected him, as typical as it is to suspect the husband when a woman dies. We looked into the ME’s report and discovered that she had several bruises on her body, which seemed to be from around the time of death but that they hadn’t killed her. The cause of death was that she had been suffocated by a python which made no sense to us at first because pythons aren’t exactly native to rural Wiltshire. Once we read the witness statements, though, we realised that Mr Frume keeps a weird and wonderful menagerie in his backyard for experimentation purposes.”

“Which just made us hate the sick bastard even more,” Blanche admitted, “So we talked about the likelihood of one of these animals escaping and came to the conclusion that even if it _did_ escape, it couldn’t stuff a woman into a kennel, regardless of any weird experiments our crazy alchemist did on it.”

Harry chuckled under his breath; he was really beginning to like Blanche and Ophelia; they were down to earth.

“And Mrs Frume couldn’t stuff herself in that kennel either,” Ophelia added, “So all of the evidence was pointing at Mr Frume, he owned the murder weapon, and he had the opportunity to kill Mrs Frume because he was working in his underground lab in the basement of the house at the time of the murder.”

“The only thing we were missing was a motive,” Blanche continued, “Then Fee noticed something strange about her clothes from the autopsy photograph, so we had a second look at the ME’s report. When the victim came in, she had been dressed in crumpled clothes which could easily be explained by the fact she was shoved into a dog kennel.”

“But the weird thing was that she had her top on back to front, her bra wasn’t fastened right, and the zip on her jeans was undone,” Ophelia said, “Blanche joked about it by saying she had either gotten dressed in the dark or she had been dressed by a guy. That gave me an idea; most men don’t have the slightest clue about how a woman wears her clothes, so I started to wonder if the victim had been naked when she died and had been dressed afterwards.”

“If the victim had been naked then it implied that she had been having sex before she died,” Blanche said, “So a look at the foreign bodies report that the ME filed told us that she had no drugs in her body, but she did have a small amount of alcohol in her system. It also told us that traces of sperm had been found, implying that she had sex before being killed.”

“With this in mind we concluded that Mrs Frume had been having an affair,” Ophelia finished, “When her husband walked in on her and her lover, he beat his wife first which explains the bruises and probably rendered her unconscious. Then he set his python on his wife to kill her. We can only assume that her lover got away; we think he was hiding and refusing to come forward as a witness because he was scared of Mr Frume. Either way, once Mr Frume had killed his wife, he dressed her and shoved her in the kennels, perhaps to make it look like an angry customer had killed her instead.”

Sheppard nodded, “I’m impressed. You were correct about the cause of death and the motive. Mr Frume did walk in on his wife having sex with her lover, and he did beat her to within an inch of her life before setting his snake on her. You used the forensic evidence available to you very well so good work on that. You did only miss one detail, but it was a bonus anyway. The lover didn’t manage to get away, Frume killed him too, but there was no body to find. Any guesses why?”

Blanche made a face, “Please tell me he didn’t cut the guy up and feed him to the python.”

Sheppard smirked, “That’s exactly what he did.”

“Sweet Salazar, I hate this guy,” Blanche muttered under her breath.

“So do we, that’s why he’s rotting in Azkaban,” Sheppard said with a vaguely amused smile, “How did they do, Sumner?”

“Very well,” Sumner replied, “They worked well together. Neither of them fought for the lead of the case, they just split up and tackled different aspects to get through the evidence faster. They read everything thoroughly; Wood was the logical one who came up with most of the conclusions based on forensic evidence. However, Zabini was the one who was able to look at the evidence in a different, more practical light to come to the more surprising conclusions that Wood hadn’t considered. Overall, they make a great team.”

Sheppard smiled at the two girls, “Congratulations Wood and Zabini, great work.”

“Thank you, sir,” They echoed as Sheppard turned to Theo and Neville, “Longbottom and Nott, let’s see what you managed to come up with.”

Theo and Neville led the group to their cubicle, Neville stood next to the chalkboard, and Theo pushed himself up onto the table. He gestured at Neville, “If you would like to start us off Mr Snake Killer, sir.”

Neville rolled his eyes, “We were tasked with finding out who killed Damien Chambers. He was a thief of all sorts, but his speciality seemed to be jewels, and he was from the East End of London. He grew up in a life of crime, he was an orphan, general scumbag for the most part, but I don’t think that means he deserved to get his head whacked off.”

Theo shrugged, “He was found underneath a railway bridge close to the Tower of London with his head lying a few feet away from him. The cause of death was obviously decapitation, and from the ME’s report, it looked like it had been done by hand. The wound was too rugged to be caused by magic; magical decapitation tends to leave a cleaner wound, less blood, you know?”

“So we suspected a muggle rather than a witch or wizard,” Neville said, “To try and work out who had killed him, we traced his last movements. The victim was found by a dog walker at around 6.30 am, but he had last been seen at around 3 am by a taxi driver. That witness had seen him dressed in black near the Tower of London, so we started to speculate about whether our jewel thief was planning on stealing the crown jewels.”

“We followed that line of investigation and worked out that the shards of glass the ME had found in his feet and legs implied he had successfully managed to break into the tower but that he hadn’t been able to steal the jewels. We couldn’t work out why someone had killed him for attempting to steal the jewels rather than just arrested him then Neville made a comment about how it wouldn’t be the first time that someone had tried to steal the crown jewels.”

“It made me realise something,” Neville continued, “If someone had stolen the crown jewels before and the authorities hadn’t been able to find them, then the ones under guard in the tower were fakes. If our jewel thief got close enough to steal them, then he would know straight away that they were fake and we think that he was killed to cover that up. Our best guess at the who is an MI5 agent, one of the guards working in the tower that night was there under a false identity. By all accounts, he didn’t exist at all; he had no birth certificate, national insurance number or bank account.”

“Once we had worked that much out, we realised that our unnamed government worker had killed Chambers,” Theo said, “So that he couldn’t tell the world that the crown jewels were fake. We disagreed on the reasoning behind the fact the victim was beheaded; I thought it was because there is no honour amongst thieves, but Neville thought it was because, as far as the government were concerned, Chambers had committed treason and treason was punished with beheading back in ye olde times.”

Sheppard nodded, “Good work, boys. I must admit, I gave you a difficult one. With both of you being wizarding, I wasn’t sure how much you would know about muggle government bodies.”

“My girlfriend is a muggle-born,” Neville said with a smile, “With a huge thing for Pierce Brosnan and the Bond films.”

Sheppard laughed, “I guess that makes sense. Anyway, as I was saying, you were virtually spot on. The victim was beheaded by a government agent to cover up the fact that the crown jewels are fake. You were wrong on your reasoning behind that though; they weren’t stolen and replaced with fake jewels. They were nearly stolen, and it was too close a call, so the real crown jewels were taken and hidden somewhere nobody would be able to find them. The ones in the tower are fakes, excellent fakes but fakes all the same.”

“What about the beheading?” Theo asked, “Which one of us was right?”

“Mr Longbottom was,” Sheppard replied, “As far as the government are concerned, he committed treason, and as Mr Longbottom said, the punishment for treason was often beheading.”

Neville shot Theo a smug look at that as Sheppard looked up, “What did you make of that, Sumner?”

“Well I can’t fault their conclusions,” Sumner said, “But as for how well they worked together…well, Longbottom definitely took the lead out of the two of them but they disagreed on how to do things, not to mention certain conclusions that they were reaching. I think as much as they are friends, they clash when working together.”

“Alright, noted,” Sheppard said as he looked at the two boys, “Well done all the same boys. Right wonder boy, how did you and Black get on?”

Harry had to bite back the urge to roll his eyes at that. He and Draco led the group over to their cubicle, and then they stood on either side of the blackboard to present their findings.

“So we were asked to find out who killed Howard Jackson,” Harry began, “He was an Auror who was found dead in a camp on Salisbury field. Draco knew that the purpose of the camp was for training the Elite Squad Aurors so we figured it would have pretty tight security. With that in mind, we knew that whoever killed Jackson had to have had access to the base, so our prime suspect was probably an Auror.”

“The ME’s report stated that Jackson had been bludgeoned to death, the force it would have taken to kill someone that way implied that it had been a man. In addition to that, the angle of the blows led the ME to believe that the killer was about 6 foot tall,” Draco explained, “The ME had also found a coded message in the victims pocket, so I started to try and decode that.”

“While Draco was doing that, I started to look at the list of suspects, and I managed to narrow it down to two because we knew the killer had to be a man,” Harry said, “That left his estranged brother and his best friend and Auror partner Daniel Cove, but his brother was only 5 foot 3, so it was unlikely that he could have killed Jackson. As well as being physically able to kill Jackson, the Auror partner had the opportunity to do so too. He was the last person to see Jackson alive a few hours before his death and the last thing they had done was argue.”

“According to his witness report, Cove said they argued because Daniel had cancelled on plans to have dinner with him and his wife,” Draco said, “But we thought that sounded like a petty thing for two best friends to argue about, especially when a witness had described that argument as very heated, so we started to think that Cove was hiding something.”

“We looked back over at the witness reports and realised that Cove’s alibi was sketchy. He said he had been on the floo to his wife at the time that Jackson had been murdered, but he could easily have killed Jackson just before or after he floo-ed his wife,” Harry continued, “Through that discussion, we also discovered that Cove’s wife was pregnant which gave us a brainwave.”

“We figured that if Cove’s wife happened to be pregnant with another man’s child, then Cove would want that other man dead, regardless of whether it was his Auror partner or not,” Draco said.

Harry nodded, “One of Jackson’s fellow Aurors had also called him a notorious charmer, so it wasn’t unbelievable to think that he could have charmed his Auror partners wife which gave Cove motive.”

“I had also just begun to decode the message,” Draco added, “It was a mixture of runes and muggle military code, and I had managed to get the time, noon, and a place, Salisbury Town, out of it. Harry worked out that Jackson was planning to meet Cove’s wife, maybe to run away with her. Either way, it looked like Cove’s wife was going to leave him for his best friend.”

“Jackson was killed half an hour before he was supposed to meet Cove’s wife so it looked very likely that Cove had killed him before that meeting could take place,” Harry finished, “And we suspected Cove’s wife of covering for her husband with her alibi. Once the news came out that Jackson was murdered, she would surely have started to suspect her husband, and by that same logic, she must have been afraid of him.”

Sheppard grinned, “Spot on boys, great work. I cannot fault anything that you just said, you got everything right, and you didn’t miss a trick either.”

Harry and Draco shared a grin at that news. Theo and Neville rolled their eyes at each other behind them.

“What did you make of that Sumner?” Sheppard asked.

“Can’t fault their conclusions,” Sumner agreed, “But I can say that I don’t think they are best suited to each other. These two are very similar, too similar, I think. There was an element of arguing about who was in charge, and they worked very well independently, but I believe that they did that to avoid any further arguments. Mr Potter and Mr Black are both leaders at the end of the day, and two leaders shouldn’t work together.”

“Noted, thank you, Sumner,” Sheppard said as he turned back to the pair, “Alright then everyone, back up front with me.”

The group walked to the front of the room and Sumner came in to escort Eddie and Lesley out of the room.

As he did so, Sheppard smiled at the others, “Congratulations. Everyone in this room has just been accepted into our Auror training program.”

Harry, Draco, Neville and Theo all shared grins at this news.

“And in addition to that, this little task was to help us pair you up,” Sheppard continued, “The pairs I am going to put you in now are the pairs you will remain in until you are all fully-fledged Aurors in three years. This little task has shown us who works well together, and who doesn’t.”

The four boys looked at each other somewhat nervously; they had been the only ones who were given the feedback that they hadn’t worked that well together, so they were worried about getting separated.

“Wood and Zabini, you two made a great team, so we don’t see any reason to change it,” Sheppard began, “Same goes to you guys, Harper and Wilde.”

This left the four boys; they all breathed a sigh of relief. One way or another, they would all be together.

“I’ve taken on Sumner’s advice about you four,” Sheppard said as he looked at them, “Potter and Black, you are both leaders. Longbottom and Nott, don’t take offence but you are both sidekicks so Potter we would like you to have your snake killing sidekick back and Black, you can have your boyfriend back.”

Harry shot Neville an amused smile as Theo jumped on Draco and pretended to cry with happiness. It made the rest of the room burst into laughter; even Sheppard cracked a smile.

“Alright break it up, ladies!” Sheppard cut in, “Head home and enjoy some rest and relaxation. We will be in touch with you soon to tell you what happens next.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	17. Home is Where the Heart Is

When Harry and Draco walked into Potter Manor on Sunday evening, neither of them were surprised to see their other halves anxiously awaiting them.

“How did it go?” Hermione asked the second the door had shut behind them.

Daphne didn’t say anything as she surveyed Harry, “They’re in.”

Hermione spun around to look at her, “How do you know?”

“It’s written all over your face,” Daphne said to Harry with a slight smile, “You’re in, aren’t you?”

Harry grinned, “We’re in.”

Hermione squealed and ran over to Draco; she practically jumped on him to hug him. Draco laughed and hugged her back, “I guess you’re pleased about that, then.”

“I’m so proud of you,” Hermione beamed as she released him.

Daphne hadn’t been quite so dramatic, she just hugged Harry tightly and said, “I knew you could do it, but there was a tiny part of me that was still nervous for you.”

Harry chuckled, “Thanks. We found out who our partners are too.”

“Are you two together?” Hermione asked curiously from where she stood by Draco’s side.

Harry shot Draco an amused look, “No, apparently we’re not compatible.”

Daphne snorted, “What is this, a dating company?”

Draco chuckled, “No, they put us into pairs and asked us to solve a mock case file. We were together, and so were Theo and Neville. We were told that since we were both leaders, we couldn’t work together.”

“And Neville and Theo clashed too much,” Harry added, “So I got my snake killing sidekick back, and Draco got his boyfriend back.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “As much as we all joke about you and Theo, you will be glad of that won’t you?”

“There’s nobody I would trust to have my back more than Theo,” Draco admitted.

“And there’s nobody I would rather have by my side in a fight than Nev,” Harry said, “So we’re all happy.”

“Good,” Daphne said with a smile, “I figured you would have had a pretty physical weekend, so I made the bathroom nice for you. Fancy discussing it in a nice hot bath?”

Harry grinned, “Definitely,” He said as he let her lead him up the stairs.

“We’ll just stay down here in case you two get carried away!” Draco joked.

Harry snorted in amusement, “Carried away? Like there’s any chance with you two here, when are you moving out again?”

“Shut up Potter!” Draco retorted.

* * *

“So, how was it?”

“It was good,” Harry said, he was lying in a very big, very comfortable bath and after the weekend he had just had, it felt like heaven.

“Really?” Daphne asked, “It wasn’t hard?”

“It wasn’t easy,” Harry admitted, “But I knew it wasn’t going to be. I think I did pretty well though, the physical test wasn’t an issue; it was kind of fun. There was an obstacle course and a flying course, is it weird that I enjoyed it?”

Daphne laughed, “No, you’re an adrenaline junkie. Did you not find any of it difficult?”

Harry opened his eyes to look at her, “Some parts were harder than others. The magical ability test was okay too, I don’t want to sound cocky, but I had experience with most of the stuff they tested us on.”

“What did they test you on?” Daphne asked curiously.

“We had to take down Death Eaters in a mock attack on Diagon Alley. Then we were tested on how good our shield charms were and on how many spells we knew. They finished it off with a duel like I thought they would,” Harry replied, “If anything, it was annoying how close to perfect I got on some tests. I only missed one Death Eater in that mock attack, and there was another test where we had to dodge spells, I only got him once, and it was right at the very end.”

“Hey, nobody is perfect,” Daphne pointed out, “And if you start to believe that you are then you’re more likely to get hurt.”

Harry smiled at her, “You are going soft.”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Hey, I’m wearing an engagement ring now, and I’m thinking about adopting Teddy with you. You’re not going to go and get yourself killed right when I’m getting the hang of this whole commitment thing, are you?”

Harry chuckled, “I’ll be careful, I always am.”

“So what else did they test you on?” Daphne asked as she threw a clump of bubbles at him.

Harry shook his head in amusement, “Just mental stuff. Whether we could defeat a Dementor and a Boggart, withstand torture, that kind of thing.”

Daphne gave him a knowing look, “Give it up.”

“Give what up?” Harry asked innocently.

“I can read you like a book, and you are a terrible liar,” Daphne said, “It wasn’t all easy, some parts were tough, and you need to talk about those things.”

“Coming from the person who bottles everything up?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Exactly, I know how hard it is to keep everything inside,” Daphne pointed out, “So when you have a perfectly good person to talk to, then talk to that person.”

Harry sighed, “It just brought up some bad memories from the war, but I am fine.”

“Bullshit,” Daphne said sternly.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Daph,” Harry said as he looked her in the eye for the first time.

Daphne narrowed her eyes at him, “You realise that not telling me is pointless, don’t you? Because Draco will tell Hermione or Neville will tell Lil, so I’ll work out what they did to you in there eventually. If I have to find out from someone else then I’m going to be pissed, but if you tell me now, then I’m going to be sympathetic and trust me, you will prefer sympathetic.”

Harry chuckled at that, “You’re right, I will prefer sympathetic.”

Daphne smirked, “So what happened?”

“They tested our moral compass,” Harry began, “Which was easy for me because I found a loophole. I was supposed to have to pick whether I saved the Minister for Magic or his little girl, if I saved the girl then the bad guy was going to set off a proximity charm on a stand full of spectators, but I turned the whole stand into a portkey and saved everyone.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Daphne asked, her tone implied that she was exasperated, but her smile said otherwise.

Harry smiled a little, “The second task was the Dementor and the Boggart. The Dementor was easy but the Boggart…I don’t like my new worst fear.”

Daphne frowned, “Why? What is it?”

“It was everyone that I knew, dead,” Harry replied quietly, “Theo and Sadie were hugging, and Neville was lying over Lil and Draco and Hermione were holding hands.”

“What about me?” Daphne asked gently as she took his hand underneath the water.

“You were holding Teddy,” Harry said, his voice devoid of emotion.

Daphne’s face fell, “Oh…Merlin Harry that is awful.”

“Yeah,” Harry said as he tore his eyes away from her, “It made me sick, and I defeated the Boggart with wordless magic but I kind of…well, I killed it.”

Daphne’s eyes widened, “You killed it? They are very hard to kill.”

“Yeah, that’s what Auror Sheppard said too,” Harry admitted, “I thought he would be pissed, but it impressed them.”

Daphne nodded, “It shows how powerful you are, I guess. Did you say that they tortured you in there?”

“Yeah, to see if we could withhold information,” Harry replied, “The physical torture was fine. I could handle the bone-crushing curse and the cruciatus curse. I could even handle it when they threatened you because you’re one of the most powerful witches that I know, and you could easily have been an Auror if that was what you had wanted.”

“But?” Daphne said.

“But when they threatened Teddy,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “I just lost it.”

“They threatened Teddy?” Daphne asked in a dangerous tone of voice, “Our one-year-old…” she trailed off because she wasn’t quite sure what she should call him.

“Yeah,” Harry said with a nod, “I don’t know what he is to us anymore either, but I know he’s probably the most important thing in my life.”

“And he’s a baby, how sick are these Aurors?” Daphne asked angrily.

“I know why they did it,” Harry admitted, “They have to identify our weaknesses, and Teddy…he’s a weakness, so are you.”

“They can hardly hold it against you though,” Daphne pointed out.

“They don’t, they understand,” Harry said, “Because they have wives and kids too. If you think what I just told you is bad though, you should hear some of the things they asked me in my final interview.”

Daphne frowned, “I’m listening.”

“They had to ask tough questions, I’m fairly sure there was a truth ward or something up so we couldn’t lie,” Harry said, “I think it was partly to see how we reacted and partly to see if there were any skeletons in our closet. They asked me a couple of stupid questions like why I killed Voldemort instead of turned him in then they started asking about you and Teddy.”

“What did they say about Teddy?” Daphne asked cautiously.

“They implied I wouldn’t be able to do my job as an Auror because of Teddy,” Harry admitted, “They asked how I would cope with caring for a young child and going through the tiresome experience of Auror training.”

Daphne scoffed, “They have no right to ask you about that! It’s like saying if you have kids you can’t be an Auror, that’s ridiculous!”

“I told them as much,” Harry said honestly, “And in answer to their question I said that we would manage because we have to. Teddy needs us, one way or the other we’ll make it work. Won’t we?”

Daphne frowned up at him, “Of course we will. Why did you make that into a question?”

Harry shrugged, “We had a serious discussion about adopting him Daph, that’s a big thing to ask of a 19-year-old, he’s my godson, but you don’t have that kind of obligation to him. I would understand if it meant we…that our relationship…”

“If it broke us up?” Daphne asked hotly, “How can you say that I have no obligation to Teddy? He is your godson, but I love you, Harry and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That makes him my responsibility too; I wouldn’t have had that discussion with you if I wasn’t okay with it.”

“I just needed reassurance,” Harry admitted, “It’s a big thing to do when we’re so young.”

Daphne nodded, “Yeah, it is, but if anyone can do it, then it’s us.”

Harry smiled at her, “Sorry, I should have put a bit more faith in you, in us. That whole interview just made me doubt things a little; they asked some searching questions.”

“About us?” Daphne asked.

Harry nodded, “Yeah, about us.”

“Let me guess,” Daphne said dryly, “They asked if I manipulated you because I’m a horrible, slimy Slytherin snake?”

“Pretty much,” Harry replied, "The first mistake was that they called you a bitch and the second mistake was that they asked how you had forced me into our relationship, whether it had been a love potion or a compulsion charm.”

“Fucking bastards,” Daphne cursed, “What did you say? You better have defended me.”

“Of course, I defended you!” Harry exclaimed, “I flipped a table and told them I fell in love with you because of your beauty and your intelligence and that I didn’t see why your Hogwarts house made a damn bit of a difference to them.”

Daphne smiled slightly, “Really?”

“Really,” Harry said as he caught her eye, “You didn’t need any potion or charm to hoodwink me, from the moment I started talking to you when we started that eighth year I knew.”

“You knew what?” Daphne asked as she leant in closer.

“I knew you were the one,” Harry replied simply.

Daphne smiled, she was now very close to his face, “Cheesy talk like that will get you everywhere, Mr Potter,” she murmured as she captured his lips in a kiss.

* * *

When Theo stepped through the fireplace into the kitchen of No.11 Grimmauld Place, he smiled. It was the first time he had been away from the house for longer than a couple of hours, and coming home felt amazing. He had never had a happy home to go home to, but the moment he stepped into the kitchen, he smelled the makings of a home-made meal combined with the vanilla candles that Sadie liked the smell of.

As he brushed the ash from his clothes, he heard the sound of footsteps above. Sadie had heard the floo go, and seconds later she rushed into the kitchen with pink cheeks.

“You’re back!”

Theo chuckled as she threw herself at him. He picked her up and spun her around when he placed her back down, he leant in and kissed her. Sadie kissed him back passionately, and when she drew back, her cheeks were even pinker than they had been before.

“I need to go away for the weekend more often,” Theo joked as he ran a hand through his hair.

Sadie smiled sheepishly, “I missed you.”

“I guessed,” Theo said with a grin, “Do you want to know how it went?”

“I want to know everything,” Sadie said eagerly, “Do you know if you got in? Did they tell you straight away or are they making you wait?”

“They told us,” Theo said, he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face, “We got in, all four of us.”

Sadie squeaked in excitement, “That’s great, Theo!”

“It gets better,” Theo said as he pushed himself up onto the dining room table, “We got paired up.”

“Ooh, did they put you with Nev?” Sadie asked as she began to open cupboards in search of something.

“Initially, yeah,” Theo said with an amused smile, “We had a mock case to solve, and they paired us up. They put me with Nev and we kind of clashed, Draco and Harry argued over who was the leader when those two were paired up so-”

“So they put you with Draco,” Sadie finished.

Theo nodded, “And to be honest, I’m glad. I get on great with Nev, but Draco will always be my best friend, and now that he’s my Auror partner, I’ll always be able to have his back.”

“And he’ll always have yours,” Sadie said with a smile, “Things are only going to get worse now. You’ll spend more time with Draco than you do with me.”

“Yeah but Draco doesn’t have the same assets that you do,” Theo said as he shot her a suggestive look.

Sadie chuckled, “Save that for later. For now, tell me all about the weekend,” she said as she poured out two glasses of wine.

Theo grinned, “Well, it wasn’t easy, but I got through it. I thought the physical fitness test was pretty hard; to be honest, those three are way fitter than me.”

“I’d beg to differ,” Sadie pointed out.

Theo raised an eyebrow at him, “I thought we were saving that for later.”

“We are,” Sadie said with an amused smile, “What kind of stuff did they test you on?”

“There was a reflex test,” Theo began, “We had to dodge spells and I…well I sucked at that. Then there was an assault course which was fine, apart from all the magical creatures.”

Sadie smiled slightly, “Did they attack you?”

“Yes, and it’s not funny!” Theo objected, “Do I look like a piece of meat to every magical creature in existence?”

“Are you stripping?” Sadie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, I’m showing you my first war wound,” Theo said as he tossed his shirt onto the ground and showed her his arm.

“Ouch! What did that?”

“A bloody Kappa!”

“Why didn’t you just trick him into bowing?” Sadie asked with a frown.

“Because I know nothing about magical creatures, clearly,” Theo said with a roll of his eyes.

“Yeah, we’re going to have to fix that. Let me talk to Luna and see if we can give you a crash course before you’re a fully qualified Auror,” Sadie said, “Does it hurt?”

“Nah, not anymore,” Theo replied, “But it hurt like hell at the time.”

“Guess that teaches you not to get bitten by a Kappa again,” Sadie said as she bit her lip to try and stop herself from laughing, “You still did okay on the course though, didn’t you?”

“I finished it within the time limit, but I only had 2 seconds to spare,” Theo answered, “And I nearly screwed up the flying assault course too, but that was my own fault. I tried to go too fast, so I missed some of the hoops we had to fly through which gave me a time penalty. Oh, I hotwired a scooter, but I kind of got in trouble for that.”

“Isn’t it illegal?”

“In the muggle world, yeah,” Theo replied, “But-”

“But we have a law which states that breaking laws knowingly in the muggle world is still a breach of the law generally,” Sadie cut in, “So technically, it was still breaking the law.”

Theo rolled his eyes, “Semantics. Anyway, the test on my magical abilities went better.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Sadie said honestly, “I figured that would be your strong point. As much as you try to hide it, you’re smart.”

Theo smiled at that, “Thanks, love.”

“So what did they test you on?” Sadie asked as she sipped from her glass of wine.

“It was all in a simulated version of Diagon Alley,” Theo began, “The first part was a Death Eater attack.”

“That’s a bit close to the truth, isn’t it?” Sadie asked with a frown.

“I think that was the point,” Theo admitted, “They wanted to know we could handle real-life situations like that. I think I did pretty good, I got them all, accidentally killed one, but that’s no great loss.”

“Your best friend was once one of those Death Eaters you’re talking about,” Sadie pointed out, “Try to show some empathy.”

“I was once one of those Death Eaters,” Theo reminded her.

“They marked you, but you weren’t one of them,” Sadie said, she grabbed her husband’s hand, “You were always on the right side, even if you didn’t want to admit it.”

Theo shrugged, “It didn’t always feel that way love.”

“Well, it was that way,” Sadie said firmly, “Although I don’t know why I told you to show empathy, it’s never been a strong point for you.”

“True,” Theo admitted.

Sadie sighed, “You’re going to have to get better at it though, Theo. With this job…if you can’t show it for real you’re going to have to learn to pretend.”

Theo tried to resist the urge to roll his eyes; he hated it when Sadie was condescending, “I’m sure I can learn. Do you want to know about the rest of the test?”

“Of course I do,” Sadie said, she knew that she had offended him, but it had needed to be said.

“I did okay on the shielding test, but I did kind of freeze up when they fired the killing curse at me,” Theo admitted.

“They used the killing curse?” Sadie asked in disbelief.

“Oh, not for real,” Theo said with a shake of his head, “If it hits you, it doesn’t kill you. It’s just to see what your reaction to it is and my reaction sucked because it hit me.”

“I’m getting more and more glad about the fact Draco is going to be there to keep you safe from now on,” Sadie said with a slight frown, “Because that’s disconcerting to hear.”

“I didn’t see it coming in all fairness,” Theo said to defend himself, “I got hit by another spell, and I had a head injury. You know me, Sadie, I’m usually totally on the ball.”

“I know,” Sadie said, but she still chewed on her lip nervously.

“They did a test to see how many spells we knew as well then they finished it off with a duel which I aced,” Theo finished, “I know I’m not the most powerful dueller, not compared to Harry, Draco and Nev but the Auror who tested me did say that she liked my duelling technique.”

“The distract-your-opponent-with-weird-arse-spells technique?” Sadie joked.

“You joke but the Auror thought it was clever,” Theo said with a smirk.

“That all sounds fairly tame, to be honest,” Sadie admitted, “I thought it was supposed to be really hard.”

“Well there were mental tests too,” Theo said, “But they weren’t that hard. We had a situation that was supposed to challenge our moral compass-”

“Stop pretending you don’t have one,” Sadie cut in, “I know you better than that. What did they make you do?”

“It wasn’t that hard,” Theo said honestly, “I was on a ship which went on fire, and there was this injured guy on our lifeboat. I had to decide whether to throw the injured guy overboard and save everyone else on the boat or to let him live, which would mean the boat would sink.”

“So you threw him overboard,” Sadie realised.

“Yeah,” Theo said with a nod, “It was a no brainer, but then I found out that the consequence of choosing that course of action was that when the rescue boat got back into port, I would have to see a woman with three kids crying.”

“His family.”

Theo nodded, “Yeah.”

“Please tell me you felt at least a little guilty for that,” Sadie said as she looked at him cautiously.

“Of course I did, I’m not a sociopath,” Theo scoffed, “I felt terrible, but the majority of the people on that boat were kids so by throwing that guy overboard, I saved a whole bunch of kids. Who knows, one of those kids might have gone on to cure cancer or something.”

“True,” Sadie said with a slight smile, “Was it all like that?”

“Nah,” Theo replied, “There was a Dementor and a Boggart to defeat, both of which were fairly easy. I mean school kid spells, you know?”

“What form did your Boggart take?”

“Why?”

“Because something flashed in your eyes when you started to tell me about it, so I think it’s something bad,” Sadie replied.

Theo didn’t want to tell her, but he knew that it was a conversation they would have to have soon anyway, ideally before she left for Egypt.

“It was you.”

“Me?”

“You,” Theo said as he stared down at his hands, “It was you telling me that you had met someone better in Egypt, you telling me that you were leaving me because there were smarter, better-looking people out there.”

“Theo,” Sadie said with a sigh, “How many times do I have to tell you? You don’t have to worry about that. Maybe there are smarter, better-looking people out there but I don’t want anyone else, I want you.”

“I know,” Theo said as he reached out and grabbed her hand, “I just…you’re the best thing in my life and the thought of losing you, it terrifies me. Alright?”

Sadie nodded, she reached out and grabbed his hand, “Okay, as long as you promise that it isn’t anything more than that.”

“It isn’t,” Theo promised.

Sadie looked at him for a moment then nodded once more, “What else did they test you on?”

“They made sure we weren’t psychopaths, I’m not by the way,” Theo added as an afterthought, “Although Harry came pretty close, Auror Sheppard reckons it’s because he’s an adrenaline junkie.”

“I guess that makes sense, people who seek dangerous thrills do have the potential to become a threat,” Sadie said thoughtfully.

“Since when were you a psychologist?” Theo asked in amusement.

“I just know a little about a lot, okay?” Sadie said with a roll of her eyes, “Did they torture you? Lil said she thought they would test to see how you handled being tortured.”

“Yeah, they gave us a piece of information and told us to protect it while a Death Eater tortured us,” Theo said with a wave of his hand, “It was fine,” as he said the words he remembered the excruciating pain of his bones crushing to dust. He remembered screaming as the cruciatus curse burnt his skin, but he tried not to show it. He didn’t want Sadie to worry any more than she needed to.

“Theo, being tortured isn’t fine,” Sadie said gently.

“It was only for ten minutes,” Theo said, “It wasn’t any worse than slowly starving to death in the dark tower, honestly.”

Sadie didn’t look convinced, but before she could say anymore, Theo started talking again.

“Then they finished the whole thing off with a final interview,” Theo said to keep Sadie distracted so that she couldn’t question him further on the torture subject, “They said they had to ask some pretty hard-hitting questions but…I didn’t expect them to talk about my mother.”

Sadie’s eyes widened, “They had no right!”

“They thought they did,” Theo said dryly, “Apparently they had to make sure that I wasn’t cruel like my father.”

“You are nothing like your father!” Sadie exclaimed, “How dare they! Oh if I could curse those Aurors, I would!”

Theo smiled slightly, “As cute as that is, I don’t think it would be helpful.”

“Are you okay?” Sadie asked softly, “I know how much you hate talking about your parents.”

Theo shrugged, “I’m fine. I got through it, didn’t I?”

“Yes, but-”

“I’m fine Sade,” Theo said as he raised his wine glass, “Let’s just celebrate the fact I did it, alright?”

“Alright,” Sadie said, she wasn’t convinced, but she knew when she could push and when she needed to shut up.

She raised her glass to his, and in unison, they said, “Cheers.”

* * *

“Those two are totally going to have sex upstairs, I’m not going up there for at least an hour,” Draco said distastefully.

“Maybe they missed each other this weekend,” Hermione said as she grabbed a couple of mugs and set the kettle on to boil, “I missed you.”

“Did you?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?” Hermione asked as she raised an eyebrow at him, “Surprisingly, I like to spend time with my fiancé.”

“I know, it’s just…you’re better at entertaining yourself than Daphne is,” Draco said with a vaguely amused smile, “You’ll just read a book or something, but Daph is restless.”

“You’re telling the person who had to spend the whole weekend with her,” Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, “I introduced her to bowling on Saturday afternoon then I took her to the cinema on Saturday night. Then on Sunday, we went to the Burrow, and I mean family drama doesn’t even cut it.”

Draco grinned, “What happened?”

“Oh Ginny only went and married Blaise in secret,” Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, “Then Molly kicked off and started being a bigot, only for Percy to stand up and give this awe-inspiring speech about how we would raise our children to be liberal and in doing so, forge a better world for them.”

“So we missed a lot then?” Draco summarised.

“Yeah,” Hermione said with a shake of her head, “I wish you had been there; it was horrible.”

“I’m sorry,” Draco said honestly, “I missed you while I was away. It wasn’t exactly a relaxing weekend for me either; it was hard.”

“You knew it would be,” Hermione said as she placed a mug down in front of him. She sat on the opposite side of the table and cradled her own coffee, “Do you want to tell me about it?”

“You’ll force it out of me if I don’t tell you, won’t you?” Draco asked her with a fond smile.

Hermione smiled back, “Yep.”

“Then I guess I don’t have a choice. To be honest, some parts were okay. The physical test was fine for the most part. There was a test where we had to dodge spells to test our agility, and I was good at that, being a seeker and all. Then there was a physical assault course and a flying course. I found both of them okay. The flying course was kind of fun, and I set a new record for the time, then Harry had to go and equal it.”

Hermione bit her lip, “Ah, I bet that didn’t go down well.”

“Somebody had to have been faster in milliseconds,” Draco said, “I will find out who.”

“I’m sure you will,” Hermione said as she took a sip of coffee to hide her amused smile.

“Then I had to subdue a suspect, that was fine as well,” Draco continued, “And the next set of tests were on magical ability.”

“Oh, you should have been fine with those then,” Hermione said, “You’re one of the most powerful wizards I know.”

“After Harry and Neville,” Draco pointed her.

“It doesn’t have to be a competition,” Hermione said firmly, “Settle for being one of the best of your generation, okay?”

Draco shrugged, “It started in Diagon Alley. We had to capture Death Eaters that were attacking the alley; it looked similar to the wartime attacks.”

“How did you do?” Hermione asked.

“Okay, I think,” Draco replied, “I got seven, nearly got another one and killed two. They looked down on killing them because if we kill them, we can’t question them.”

“Never mind the fact that killing is bad,” Hermione pointed out, “It’s a sin.”

“Since when were you religious?” Draco asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m not,” Hermione said, “But-”

“No buts, you don’t get to tell me that killing is a sin when you don’t believe in religion,” Draco said, “Because if you don’t believe in religion, then you don’t believe in sins.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “It’s a phrase, alright? I don’t want to get into a debate on religion with you on a Sunday night so just tell me about the rest of your tests.”

“They tested how well we could shield and how many spells we knew,” Draco said, “Both of which I found easy enough. Then there was duel with one of the Aurors testing us at the end. I won, obviously.”

“You’re a good duelist,” Hermione said with a smile, “You can hold your own against Harry, and that’s saying something.”

“The Auror seemed impressed enough,” Draco said, “They noticed that I favour sneak tactics and strategy over pure power. That’s how I beat Harry; he just throws everything into a duel without thinking about it. Typical Gryffindor.”

“Hey,” Hermione objected, “Sometimes I think you forget that I was a Gryffindor too.”

“Honestly, most of the time I do,” Draco admitted.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, “And what is that meant to mean?”

“You’re as loyal as a Hufflepuff, as smart as a Ravenclaw, as brave as a Gryffindor and you can be as sneaky as a Slytherin. You embody so many traits of other houses that sometimes I do actually forget,” Draco told her.

Hermione smiled slightly, “I guess I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“That was how it was intended,” Draco said honestly.

Hermione looked up and caught his eye, “What else did they test you on?”

“They had a whole bunch of mental tests,” Draco replied, “The first one was a morality test. We got given this scenario, and we had to decide what to do, either way, people died.”

Hermione nodded, “Typical morality test, often used in muggle psychology. I’m intrigued that they used it in a wizarding setting. What did you have to do?”

“The scenario had been that a disease had wiped out a lot of witches and wizards across the world. I was in a lab where I had developed two potions, one was an early attempt at a cure which was poisonous, and the other was a cure. I didn’t know which one was which and I had two people under my care. The only way to test it was to give each of them a potion.”

“Knowing that one of them would die,” Hermione said with a nod, “Who were the two people? Harry and Theo?”

“You really don’t have any idea how important you are to me, do you?” Draco asked her with a surprised look, “You were one of them, obviously.”

“And Theo was the other?” Hermione guessed.

“No, my mother was,” Draco said, “Why are you so fixated on Theo?”

“You know why,” Hermione said simply, “Anyway, what did you do?”

“I found a loophole, sort of,” Draco said, “I realised that I didn’t have to give both of you a potion, I could give one of you both of the potions. If the first one didn’t work, then I would know it was the cure, and you would both live. If the first one killed the person I gave it to then, I knew the other one was the cure.”

Hermione nodded.

“So I gave the first potion to my mother and…she died,” Draco finished.

“You killed your mother for me?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

Draco looked up and caught her eye, “There’s not much I wouldn’t do for you, Hermione.”

Hermione glanced down with pink cheeks.

“Have I embarrassed you?”

“No,” Hermione said honestly as she looked up and gave him a sheepish look, “It’s just…when you get intense like that…well, I would normally do something that I can’t do in Harry and Daphne’s kitchen.”

Draco smirked, “Those two are probably going to be upstairs for a while.”

Hermione shook her head, “Oh, no…no way.”

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, “Come on, Hermione, are you a Gryffindor or not?”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, “Don’t challenge me.”

“Why? Because I know you’ll rise to it?” Draco asked as he walked around the table and pulled her to her feet.

“That’s exactly why,” Hermione said, “This is Harry’s kitchen; it’s not happening.”

“Fine,” Draco shrugged, “I guess this is why I always forget you’re a Gryffindor though. It’s not like you act like one, here was me thinking I would get to have wild, crazy sex now that I have a Gryffindor girlfriend-”

Before he could say anymore, Hermione grabbed him and pulled him in for a kiss. He doubted that she noticed him smirking against her lips.

Hermione quickly pulled away and as quick as a flash had her wand drawn and pointed straight at Draco’s crotch.

Draco gulped, “What the hell, Hermione?”.

Hermione grinned in a predatory way as she said, “Don’t think I couldn’t tell you were smirking, Draco.”

With a flick of her wand, she banished his trousers and underwear. She then grabbed his dick and began to stroke him slowly. “This is the thing Draco. You think you can challenge me and I’ll rise to it, but right now the only thing rising is you,” she said with a smirk.

Draco smirked right back at her. He spun them around, holding her hands above her head as he pushed her up against a wall. He kissed her hard as he moved one of his legs between Hermione’s and nudged them open, “But you did rise to the challenge, love,” he murmured in her ear. He banished her jeans with wandless magic and spun her around so that her chest was pressed against the cold, stone wall.

“Because,” he continued, casting the protection spell wordlessly. He held her hips and drove into her from behind, “I said you would never let me fuck you in Harry and Daphne’s kitchen. Yet here we are.”

Hermione gasped as he entered her roughly and moaned when he started to fuck her with slow, hard thrusts. “Maybe it’s just nice to see you taking control for once,” she said breathily as he continued to slam into her.

Draco laughed against her neck, “What can I say? The idea of kinky kitchen sex really appealed to me, even if I did think you were going to hex my balls off just now.”

Hermione laughed and pushed back against Draco, making him lose balance slightly. She then pushed him into one of the kitchen chairs and moved to straddle him. As she slid down onto him, she moaned and gripped his shoulders.

“What the-”

Hermione smirked at him, “Couldn’t have you thinking you’d won now, could I?”

Draco grabbed her arse with both hands as he said, “ Surely, since we are now shagging in our best friends kitchen, I did win?”

Hermione sighed in exasperation, “ Shut up Draco, or I’ll stop and leave you hanging,” she punctuated this comment with a roll of her hips, “You know I would”.

Draco paled slightly but still smirked, “Sorry love. I wonder how I’ll ever make it up to you,” he said as he slid his hands up under her bra and kissed her neck.

Hermione moaned into his ear, “Just stop talking and fuck me, Draco.”

From the half-moan, half-groan that escaped his lips and his increased tempo, she thought he had gotten the message.

* * *

Neville knew that Lilly would be excited that he was back, but he didn’t expect her to pop out seconds after he had stepped into the entrance hall.

“Nev!”

She was such a little pocket rocket that he had seconds to work out that she was hurtling towards him. As a result, he ended up flat on his back with her on top of him.

“There’s no way that you got in with those reflexes,” Lilly chuckled as she got to her feet.

Neville groaned, “I was hurting enough thanks, Lil,” he said as he pushed himself to his feet, “And for your information, you are looking at Auror Recruit Longbottom.”

Lilly grinned, “I knew it! Guess that means I’m going to be fixing you up soon. Come on; I made dinner!”

“You are really excitable,” Neville said with a fond smile as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen.

“Well I’ve missed you,” Lilly said, “And I want to hear about how it went. Did they tell you straight away that you were in?”

Neville nodded and sank into a chair in the kitchen, “Yep, and they paired us up.”

“Ooh, let me guess. You’re with Theo?” Lilly asked as she began to uncover several dishes that were laid out on the table.

“No…Lilly, what is going on?” Neville asked with an amused smile.

“I made you a welcome home feast,” Lilly chirped, “I got bored this weekend Nev, really bored. I tidied the whole manor; then I went to the cinema with Daphne and Hermione to see _“The Blair Witch Project”_ which sucked really badly. Then I got bored today, so I cooked a lot.”

“You really aren’t good at being idle, are you?”

“Nope,” Lilly said as she bit her lip, “What do you mean, you aren’t paired with Theo?”

“Exactly how it sounds,” Neville said with a smile, “Harry is my Auror partner.”

Lilly sighed in relief, “Don’t tell Theo, but I feel so much better knowing that. You and Harry are two of the most powerful wizards that I know; I think you will make a great team.”

“Thanks, Lil,” Neville said with a smile, “The whole weekend was actually okay. The physical test was a bit challenging, there was this obstacle course which was designed for skinny runts, but I got through it. Oh and there was a flying assault course too, I wasn’t the fastest, but I managed it.”

“Did all of our running pay off?” Lilly joked.

“Kind of,” Neville said with a smile, “I had to chase a suspect down, and I managed it. I think it just helped me build up stamina though.”

“What other kinds of tests did they do?” Lilly asked curiously.

“They tested our magical ability, starting with a mock Death Eater attack in Diagon Alley,” Neville said, “I thought I would be good at that, having fought Death Eaters during the war but I had really bad luck. Sometimes I think I’m cursed.”

Lilly laughed, “You’re not cursed. What happened?”

“I accidentally knocked a Death Eater down a chimney. Then I severed one of the supports of a metal sign hoping one of the Death Eaters would run into it and get knocked out, but it slit his throat,” Neville admitted sheepishly, “Then to top it all off, I stunned one of them, and he fell unconscious into a barrel of water and drowned.”

Lilly tried to hide her amused smile, “Yeah, you’re cursed.”

Neville chuckled, “Apart from that, I think I did okay in the magical tests. I didn’t find the shielding test or the test to see how many spells I knew difficult. The last test was a duel which was okay since I’m always duelling Harry, Draco and Theo.”

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, “Are you seriously telling me that Auror training selection was easy?”

“Not exactly,” Neville said honestly, “Today we had our mental tests, and they were the hardest part of the whole weekend.”

Lilly frowned, “They didn’t torture you, did they?”

“A little,” Neville admitted, “But the first thing they tested was my moral compass. They gave me this horrible situation where I was in charge of a group of Aurors. One of them had lost both of his legs, and the bad guys were coming for us. I had to make a choice.”

“Save him and risk the lives of every other Auror or let him die,” Lilly said quietly.

Neville nodded, “Yeah, and I mean that alone would have been hard but…it wasn’t just any Auror that was injured; it was Harry.”

“Oh shit, Nev,” Lilly bit her lip, “That is tough. What did you do?”

Neville sighed as Lilly grabbed his hand, “I didn’t want him to suffer. I knew if I left him there, he would be captured and tortured. I knew they would humiliate him so I…I used a charm to stop his heart.”

Lilly didn’t say anything after Neville told her this. He chanced a glance up at her and saw her frowning deeply, “How could you make a decision like that? I don’t think I could.”

“You might have to Lil,” Neville said gently, “What are you going to do if there’s an attack, and lots of people are injured?”

“I would treat those with the worst injuries first,” Lilly replied.

“What if you had five minutes to save who you could and get out?” Neville asked, “Would you still waste time on the ones who were probably going to die or would you save the ones who had a chance at living?”

“Honestly Nev, I’ve never thought about it like that,” Lilly admitted, “I don’t know what I would do. How did you manage to make a decision like that under pressure?”

“Because,” Neville said quietly, “Because it’s not the first time I’ve had to do it.”

Lilly looked up in surprise, “What?”

“During the final battle…” Neville trailed off, “You were fighting with Daphne and Susan.”

“And you fought with Theo,” Lilly remembered.

“I got side-tracked by Theo,” Neville said with a frown, they didn’t talk about the war, “Hannah and I had just veered Greyback away from a group of kids. She took them into the school to evacuate them, and I followed him, then I heard Sadie shouting Theo’s name, so I jumped in to help him. After that, I went down to the courtyard where I had last seen Greyback, and I arrived just in time to see Hermione blast Greyback off a cliff because he had attacked Lavender. They were obviously going somewhere in a hurry, so they ran away.”

Neville paused and took a breath, “But Lavender, she was attacked by Greyback, and she was still alive after the attack.”

Lilly’s eyes widened as she realised where Neville was going with this.

“She had been bitten, and she was really badly hurt,” Neville said, his voice was almost a whisper now, “If she did live, she was going to be a werewolf, so she begged me to…” his voice broke.

“It’s okay Neville,” Lilly said gently as she gripped his hand, “I understand. You don’t have to say it.”

“No,” Neville said hoarsely, “I do, I need to tell someone. I stopped her heart, quickly and painlessly. I didn’t want her to suffer, not like my…not like my parents did.”

Lilly sighed and wrapped her arms around him, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry that I never knew that. I wasn’t the most supportive friend after the war; I just ran away to spend time with my Dads in Japan.”

Neville shook his head, “You had your own demons to face, Lil. And I don’t talk about the war to anyone; you’re the first person I’ve told about that.”

Lilly could tell that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, “Why don’t you just finish telling me about the tests?”

Neville nodded and cleared his throat, “They tested us for psychopathic traits, and they made us defeat a Dementor and a Boggart. They tortured me, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle, you know what it was like with the Carrows during the war.”

Lilly nodded, she could tell that something was bothering him, but she knew that it wasn’t about the torture.

“Then there was a final interview,” Neville said, “They asked us tough questions to see how we reacted. I think I must have been under veritaserum or something because I couldn’t lie. Either way, I got through it.”

Lilly smiled, “I’m proud of you,” she said honestly.

Neville tried to smile back, but it came out as more of a grimace, “Do you mind if I bypass the feast and get an early night? It’s been a hard weekend.”

Honestly, Lilly felt a bit put out by that, but she also understood, “Yeah, I get it, Nev.”

Neville pushed himself to his feet and nodded, “Night, Lil,” he said as he disappeared up the stairs.

* * *

The occupants of High Top House were all in the drawing-room when Blanche blew in with a grin on her face, “Guess who just _aced_ selection? You’re looking at Recruit Zabini right here, guys!”

When there was no grand outpouring of praise, Blanche looked upon the occupants of the room with a frown. Ginny had obviously been crying, and Blaise was sitting with his arm around her. Everyone seemed rather solemn.

“What happened?” Blanche asked anxiously, “Are you okay, Ginny? Is the baby okay?”

“The baby is fine,” Zara said smoothly, “We just had a visitation from Molly Weasley.”

“Did she kick-off?” Blanche asked angrily, “Cause I’ll hex her for you-”

Ginny shook her head, “No, Blanche, she apologised.”

“Apologised?” Blanche asked, raising an eyebrow at her mother, “She _apologised_?”

Zara bowed her head, “She said she was distraught to hear that her daughter had been married in the ministry without her family present. Ginevra told her mother that she would prefer to stay here than at the Burrow, and Molly was very understanding of that, but we do have two days to plan a wedding.”

Blanche snorted and sat down on the arm of Ginny’s chair, “I go away for a weekend, and I miss all of this drama?”

Ginny laughed weakly, and Blanche smiled at the younger girl.

Zara smiled slightly too, “Luckily, as I told Molly, I do have rather a lot of experience when it comes to wedding planning, so throwing something together should not be an issue. However, this wedding will take place at the Burrow because that is Ginevra’s familial home.”

Blanche made a face.

Zara fixed her daughter with a warning look, “We will _all_ attend. Ginevra will have the big, white wedding that she deserves and we shall celebrate the union of our two families, _supportively_.”

Blanche rolled her eyes, “Subtle, Mother. Yes, I will be on my best behaviour but only because I like Ginny.”

Ginny laughed and looked up at Zara, “I’ll let my mum give me the big, white wedding if that makes her happy, but I’m not wearing a white wedding dress. I’m many things Zara, but I’m not a hypocrite.”

“Quite right,” Blanche said, she nudged Ginny and said, “You should wear red since you’re a scarlet woman,” she winked at Ginny.

“Blanche,” Zara hissed while Blaise rolled his eyes.

They had both expected this comment to upset Ginny, but the redheaded girl just laughed and said, “Do you know what? I think I will just to prove a point.”

Zara smiled and said, “I shall help you pick a dress out, my love. Blanche, would you like to come along?”

“Sure,” Blanche replied.

“Can I come?” Billie asked excitedly.

“Can I wear a suit?” Beatrice asked.

Zara rolled her eyes, “Billie, of course, you can come. Bea, you cannot wear a suit, but if you prefer to wear dress robes, then that is fine.”

“Yes,” Beatrice grinned, “Blaise, can I borrow your dark blue ones?”

Blaise chuckled, “Bea, will I ever get them back?”

“Yes, but they might not fit you anymore,” Beatrice said with a smirk.

“Then it’s not borrowing, is it?” Blaise asked. He chucked a pillow at her, “But since I love you, you can have them.”

“You’re the best brother,” Beatrice said, kissing him on the cheek, “Thanks, Blaise.”

“Anytime,” Blaise said. He turned back to Ginny, who was smiling, “I’ll wear red to match my wife.”

“Maybe I should wear white, I’m young and innocent,” Blanche joked.

“You are certainly virginal enough as far as sex with men is concerned,” Zara said, shooting her daughter an amused smile.

“Are we bonding, Mother?” Blanche asked with a raised eyebrow, “That was fond rather than scathing!”

Zara raised an eyebrow at her, “I have no issue with your sexual preference my love. I would just prefer it if you could maintain a steady relationship. However, this is not the time to have _that_ argument. I believe congratulations are in order.”

Blanche smiled as her mother pulled a bottle of champagne out of the drinks cabinet, “We have three Aurors in the family now.”

“Thank you,” Blanche said with a genuine smile.

Zara smiled back and kissed her daughter on the cheek, “I am proud of you Blanche, but I do not want to lose any more children.”

Blanche nodded and hugged her mother, “You won’t, Mother,” she promised.

* * *

Daphne was woken in the middle of the night after Harry had gotten back from selection by a horrible scream. She sat bolt upright in bed, and it took her tired brain a moment to work out that the cry had come from Harry. Daphne turned to look at him; he was writhing next to her in their bed. He was sweating, his eyes were screwed together tightly, and he was gasping and crying out in his sleep.

“Daphne!” Harry cried in his sleep, “Daphne, take Teddy and go!”

Daphne swallowed hard; he was having a nightmare, and waking him up could be dangerous.

“Go! Run!” Harry shouted, “I’ll hold him off.”

“Oh, sweet Salazar,” Daphne whispered. Harry wasn’t having any nightmare; he was having a nightmare about what had happened to his parents happening to them. To them and Teddy. Whatever they had done to him at selection, it had brought back terrible memories and perhaps even triggered PTSD that he thought he had overcome.

Daphne didn’t know what to do; this wasn’t just a nightmare; it was a night terror. Her sister used to have them as a child, and they were always about the fire that had devastated their house and nearly killed them. Astoria would scream and cry, but she couldn’t be woken. All Daphne could do was hold her while she flailed and be there for her when she eventually awoke.

Daphne tried that with Harry, but the minute she touched him, he got violent. It seemed to make his night terror worse, he shouted louder and punched Daphne in the face as he waved his arms around. Daphne drew back and touched her nose; it was tender and bleeding.

She sighed and got to her feet. She sat down on a stool in front of her dresser and fixed her nose with magic. Then she looked over at Harry and let her head drop into her hands. She had expected this; she thought that the real world might break him. She had worried that when he didn’t have Hogwarts to fall back on, all of this would come back to hit him.

It was made worse by the fact that Daphne knew exactly what he was going through right now, but she had no idea how she could help him. During the war, she had been the victim of a nightmare curse which had trapped her in her own personal hell. She had done terrible things, and although it hadn’t been real, she remembered it all. Harry was putting himself through hell right now, and she couldn’t do anything about it.

Harry screamed, “NO!” then woke up with a start.

Daphne immediately moved over to the bed and grabbed his arm as he breathed heavily. He yanked his arm out of her grip and jumped back.

“It’s okay baby,” Daphne said softly, “It’s just me.”

Harry tried to catch his breath, “I…”

“You were having a night terror,” Daphne said softly, “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Harry nodded and wiped the sweat from his brow, “It…uh…they stopped when I went back to school.”

“I know it was about Teddy and me,” Daphne said gently, “You said our names.”

Harry pushed himself to his feet and grabbed a dressing gown from the back of the door, “Yeah, it was,” he said, keeping his back to her.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Daphne asked.

“No,” Harry said harshly, “Just go back to sleep, okay? I’m sorry that I woke you up.”

“Harry-”

“I just want to be alone, Daphne!” Harry snapped, “And I don’t want to go back to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He slipped out of the room, and Daphne threw herself back onto her pillows, not expecting to get any sleep that night.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	18. I've Lost Who I Am

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into that last night.”

Draco grinned over at Hermione as they lay in bed together, “I am so glad I talked you into doing that.”

Hermione shook her head. She sat up in bed and tried to fix the mess that was her hair, “If Harry and Daphne ever find out…”

“Don’t worry, they won’t,” Draco said with a smile, “I only brag to Theo about how good you are in the bedroom.”

Hermione snorted in amusement.

Draco chuckled, “I never even got to finish telling you about the selection process last night, you distracted me.”

“I think you will find,” Hermione said as she got to her feet, “That you distracted me.”

“True,” Draco said with a sly smile, “Do you want to hear the rest?”

“Of course I do,” Hermione said.

“I was telling you about the mental tests, wasn’t I?” Draco asked.

“Yes, you had just told me about the moral compass test,” Hermione said as she sat down at her vanity and began to glamour herself up for the day ahead.

“Ah, yes,” Draco nodded, “So after that, I had to defeat a Dementor, then a Boggart.”

“Well both of them are fairly straightforward,” Hermione said, “Depending on the form your Boggart takes of course.”

“Yeah,” Draco said with a frown, “My worst fear these days is very psychological.”

Hermione turned around to look at him, “Go on…”

“My worst fear is that I become my father,” Draco admitted.

Hermione sighed, “Oh Draco, you know that will never happen. Don’t you?”

“Clearly not, or it wouldn’t be my worst fear,” Draco pointed out.

“Your father was a cruel, vindictive man, but you are nothing like him,” Hermione said, “Despite his best efforts, you are a good man.”

Draco frowned, “Do you really believe that?”

“Of course I do,” Hermione said, “I don’t know why you doubt it all of a sudden.”

“The Aurors, they made me doubt it,” Draco admitted, “They asked me how I had made you fall in love with me…whether it was a love potion or a compulsion charm.”

Hermione scoffed, “And you let that get to you?”

“Well they have a point,” Draco said.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, “If you used a love potion on me, you are dead meat.”

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Draco said as he shook his head, “The point they were making was that you are this beautiful, intelligent war heroine and I’m…me. I know that it’s working now, but it’s never going to work in the long-run, is it? I mean, how would we explain to our kids that my father is responsible for that scar on your arm? What would you do when they went to Hogwarts and got treated like shit because their dad was a Death Eater? You don’t want that kind of life.”

“Since when do you get to tell me what kind of life I do or don’t want?” Hermione asked hotly.

“Hermione, I know you think you love me now, but I’m afraid that if I don’t let you go, you’re going to grow to resent me,” Draco admitted quietly.

“Stop trying to tell me how I’m going to feel,” Hermione said irritably, “You don’t know how I’ll feel in five or ten or fifty bloody years any more than I do. I know there are going to be challenges ahead, but there were challenges when we first got together, and we got past them.”

“This is different, Hermione,” Draco said with a sigh, “A life with me is a life with a lot of baggage. It’s not the perfect, happy life you would have had with Ron.”

“I wouldn’t have had a perfect, happy life with Ron because I didn’t love Ron!” Hermione exclaimed, “I love you, despite everything! I know I shouldn’t, and sometimes I don’t know why I fell in love with you. I like everything in my life to be rational, but what I feel for you isn’t, I can’t explain it because it’s not something I think, it’s something I _feel_.”

“Only you could come up with a logical argument then finish it with something completely illogical,” Draco said with a fond smile.

“Don’t smile at me like that,” Hermione said irritably, “Five minutes ago you were talking like you were going to leave me, and now you’re giving me that bloody smile?”

“I’m sorry,” Draco said sincerely, “I just…they got in my head.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Hermione said, she was still worked up, and Draco knew he was going to feel the consequences of speaking his mind for at least a day, “I thought you were smarter than that. Since when do you let people get in your head?”

“When it concerns you and what’s best for you, I can’t help it,” Draco said honestly, “I didn’t realise it until this weekend but Hermione, you’re my biggest weakness.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” Draco said with a smile, “You love me.”

Hermione groaned, “You can’t just nearly leave me and then say stuff like that, Draco!”

“Why not?”

“Because!” Hermione exclaimed, “Mixed signals!”

“Why don’t you come back to bed?” Draco suggested, “Then I can make sure you know exactly where you stand.”

Hermione scoffed, “After that? No chance.”

Draco groaned as Hermione began to throw some clothes on, “I’m going to see my mother for a few days.”

“Come on! I didn’t mean to piss you off!” Draco exclaimed.

“You have pissed me off, but that’s not why I’m going,” Hermione muttered, “It’s her birthday tomorrow, remember?”

“Shit, yeah. Well, I’ll come with you-”

“No, you won’t,” Hermione said simply. “I will go alone _because_ you have pissed me off.”

“Fine,” Draco muttered, “I’ll stay at Greengrove house with my mother for a few days then.”

“You do that.”

“I will.”

“Fine.”

“Fine!”

* * *

When Daphne stepped into the kitchen the following morning, there was no sign of Harry. She sighed and set the kettle on the stove to boil. There was a note on the larder door which she scanned,

_Daph,_

_Draco is a dick, I’m staying with my parents for a couple of days, and he is at Greengrove House._

_See you soon_

_Hermione x_

Daphne sighed; it seemed like everyone was fighting. She had worried that this might happen after school. She had faith in Theo and Sadie, but the rest of them had been living in a little bubble where their Hogwarts house, blood status and class didn’t matter. Out here in the real world, it did, whether they liked it or not.

She cast it out of her mind and opened up a new carton of coffee. When she opened the bin to throw away the foil lid, her heart sank when she saw an empty bottle of Ogdens in the bin. She abandoned her coffee and sat down at the breakfast bar; she was trying very hard to hold it together.

“He was a mess last night.”

Daphne looked up at the only portrait that hung in the kitchen. Most of the paintings were in a place of honour, such as the entrance hall or the drawing-room. The kitchen was traditionally the domain of the lesser, so only one portrait hung there, and there was no name attached to it.

It just struck Daphne that she had no idea who the woman in the portrait was. She was beautiful, with long blonde hair and grey eyes.

The portrait woman wore a simple black and white dress with ribbons on the sleeves. She looked to be in her mid 20’s.

“I do not tend to talk to the occupants of the house,” She said, “Sorry mistress, but it seemed as though you needed a friend.”

“I do,” Daphne agreed, “And forgive me for not knowing, but who are you?”

“My name is Anastasia,” She said with a kind smile, “But most people call me Ana.”

“Why do you not talk to the occupants of the house?” Daphne asked curiously, “And why did you refer to me as mistress?”

Ana smiled sadly, “I was a squib, mistress. I was born a Malfoy, and my family were ashamed of me.”

“You were born a squib, and you lived?” Daphne asked in surprise.

Ana nodded, “Yes, my father was Hyperion Malfoy. I was his eldest child, by the time he realised that I was a squib, he had lost several children, and he could not bear to lose more.”

“Of course,” Daphne realised, “Abraxas was the only surviving child of several.”

“Between myself and Abraxas, there were three children born sleeping or who died in infancy,” Ana explained, “And my younger brother, Alaric, he died in the final days of the Great Muggle War.”

“I’m sorry, Ana, that’s terrible,” Daphne said. The kettle screeched to a boil, and Daphne removed it from the stove, “So if you’re a Malfoy, how did your portrait end up in Potter Manor?”

Ana replied with a sad smile, “My father was going to cast me out when I did not receive a Hogwarts letter, but Elijah Potter offered to take me on as help. I was eleven when I moved into Potter Manor and Elijah’s son, Charlus was significantly older than me, but we fell in love. It began when I was 16, and as I was both a servant and a squib, it was highly frowned upon. Charlus was married off to Dorea Black in 1914, as soon as she turned 18.”

Daphne nodded knowingly, and Ana continued, “She knew of our affair and put up with it. Charlus’s father disapproved, but he died young, and Charlus became head of the family the year after he married Dorea. When I died of dragon pox, I was only in my 20’s and Charlus wanted a portrait of me to be placed in the manor, but Dorea was against the idea.”

“So you ended up in the kitchens,” Daphne realised.

“My rightful place, as far as Dorea was concerned,” Anastasia said simply.

“That’s awful,” Daphne said, she sipped her coffee, “I’m sorry.”

“It is quite alright, mistress.”

“Don’t call me that,” Daphne said with a shake of her head, “I’m not your mistress. I’m Daphne, and you’re Ana.”

Ana smiled, “You are very kind, and I am sorry that you are suffering right now.”

Daphne sighed, “It is what it is, Harry has had a hard life. He’s fought a war, and now he’s…”

“An alcoholic?” Ana asked.

“I don’t know, I’m starting to think so,” Daphne said, resting her head in her hands.

“He was distraught last night,” Ana said quietly, “He was drinking, crying and talking to himself an awful lot. He reminded me of Charlus.”

“Was Charlus an alcoholic?” Daphne asked in surprise.

“No, but he was a war veteran,” Anastasia replied, “He was 20 years old at the start of the Great Muggle War which killed my brother. I was only 14; I stayed here while the men fought. Charlus served his country; he was a dragon rider.”

“Sweet Salazar,” Daphne muttered, “A dragon rider? So the aerial attacks on the German trenches, Charlus participated in that?”

Ana bowed her head, “Charlus saw awful things, and he was never the same after the war. Perhaps Harry could spend some time in the study with him? His grand portrait hangs in the entrance hall, but there is another in the study.”

“I need to get through to Harry first,” Daphne said as she pushed herself to her feet, “But I think that is a wonderful idea Ana, and please don’t think that you should sit quietly in your frame. You might never have been allowed to marry into the family, but you are a Potter. You have as much right to be here as we do.”

“I wish that were so,” Ana said with a sad smile, “But I cannot leave my portrait. That was one of the conditions that Dorea gave when she allowed Charlus to commission it. He could come to the kitchen and talk to me, but after he died, I could no longer converse with him.”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Do you know what? Once I’ve gotten Harry back to himself again, I’m going to have to have a word with this Dorea Black.”

“I would not do so if I were you,” Ana said, “She is a very difficult woman.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Daphne said, “I have experience with that sort, my mother is one.”

Ana laughed, “I like you, Daphne.”

“I like you too, Ana.”

* * *

Daphne was almost hopeful that Harry had realised he had a problem when he called a family meeting that afternoon. But it turned out to be about Ginny and Blaise. He had gathered everyone together to tell them that Blaise and Ginny were getting married on Wednesday, which was two days away. He filled everyone in, on how technically they were already married but that Molly wanted to give Ginny a big, white wedding.

Then Daphne and Hermione filled the boys and Lilly and Sadie in on what had happened at the Burrow while they were away at selection. The summary of the meeting was that they all had to go and be as supportive as possible because they owed that to Ginny or Blaise, depending on which side of the Gryffindor/Slytherin divide they had been on during the war.

Daphne tried to talk to Harry again that evening, but he just pushed her out again. He started coming to bed later than her, and when she rolled over to hug him in the middle of the night, she could smell firewhiskey on his breath.

She knew she had to talk to him about it, she knew she had to do something, but in the end, it all came to a head-on Ginny’s wedding day.

Daphne was getting ready for the wedding at No. 11 Grimmauld Place with Sadie. She was sitting in front of a vanity brushing her long hair out when she noticed a slight mark on her face. She leant forward and touched it gently; it still felt tender.

“What’s that, honey?”

Daphne looked up, “What, Sade?”

“The mark on your nose,” Sadie replied.

“Oh, it was broken. I fixed it with magic, but it still twinges,” Daphne frowned.

“How did you break it?”

“Harry was having a night terror, and I tried to wake him up. He didn’t mean it.”

Sadie put down the dresses she had been examining and looked at her best friend, “Daphne, that sounds far too much like ‘I fell down the stairs’ for my liking.”

“No, Sade, he doesn’t hurt me, I swear,” Daphne promised as she got to her feet, “But he’s not himself right now either.”

“How so?” Sadie asked.

“He drinks too much,” Daphne sighed, “I don’t know if I could call him an alcoholic, but he’s definitely alcohol dependant. He doesn’t drink to get through the day, but he does it to get through the night.”

“That’s understandable though,” Sadie reasoned, “With all that he has been through.”

“It’s not normal though,” Daphne argued, “And it’s spiralling.”

Sadie opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, a voice came from the doorway, “He is.”

“Theo!” Sadie exclaimed, “We’re in our underwear.”

“And?” Theo asked as he stepped into the room and handed Daphne a silk robe, “You’re my wife, Sadie, and I’ve seen it all before, Daph. I’ve caught you in many a compromising position.”

Daphne smiled weakly and put the robe on, “You agree with me, Theo? About Harry?”

“Yeah,” Theo said honestly, “Ever since we left school, he has been drinking more. He’s always the one who suggests that we open another bottle. He goes way too hard at every party; he has a problem.”

Daphne breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Theo into a hug, “Thank you, Theo. I was starting to think that I was going crazy.”

“No, Daph,” Theo said when she drew back, “You aren’t, and Harry needs help before we start Auror training, or this will fuck up his career.”

“I’ve tried, Theo,” Daphne said honestly, “Every time I mention it, he closes up more, and I think I’m doing more harm than good.”

Theo looked hesitant for a moment then bit his lip, “Sade, babe, don’t take this the wrong way, okay?”

Sadie raised an eyebrow at her husband, “Okay.”

Theo turned back to Daphne, “I know it’s not the same, I know they aren’t as close as us, _but_ Harry and Neville are similar to Draco and I. And if I was in Harry’s position…well, Harry’s a smart guy like me, so I think I understand the way he’s thinking here. If it were me, I would be aware that I had a problem even if I was trying my hardest to deny it to myself. I wouldn’t want to mix Sadie up in my mess. I wouldn’t want to tangle her up in it and hurt her. I would push her away to protect her, and I think the only person who could get through to me would be Draco.”

Sadie smiled slightly, “I’m not offended, Theo. I learned a long time ago that sometimes Draco can get through to you when I can’t. Don’t you remember what you said when you woke up after we rescued you from the Dark Tower?”

Theo frowned, “No…what did I say?”

Sadie smiled, “You said you loved us. Not that you loved me, or that you loved Draco. But that you loved us and that just sums it all up perfectly doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Theo mused, “I suppose it does.”

“And it gives me a perfect insight into how he’s thinking right now,” Daphne added, “Thank you, Theo, you can be a right arsehole sometimes, but I’m glad that we’re family, you know?”

Theo smiled warmly, “You just called us family.”

“I know, I don’t do it very often-” Daphne began.

“You avidly deny it most of the time,” Sadie snorted.

Daphne chuckled and kissed Theo on the cheek, “I know, but you are my cousin, and I’m proud of that right now.”

Sadie smiled at the sight, “Finally! It only took you guys eight years to start getting on!”

Daphne chuckled and glanced at the clock, “Oh shit, look at the time. We better hurry up and get ready!”

* * *

“I can’t quite believe we’re at Ginny’s wedding,” Harry murmured to Daphne later that day. The ceremony had just finished, but it had all been for show because they had already had the real service at the ministry the week before.

It was a small affair. It was just the close friends of Ginny and Blaise, the Weasley’s and the Zabini’s. Aunt Muriel hadn’t been invited, and Harry suspected that it was a good thing given how stubborn she could be.

“If Molly had her way, this would have been your wedding,” Daphne said dryly. Things had been strained between them all day. Tension about Harry’s alcohol intake had been simmering underneath the surface.

Harry frowned, “What do you mean?”

“At the Burrow on Sunday,” Daphne answered quietly, “She said that none of this would ever have happened if Ginny had just married you like she was supposed to.”

“She said that in front of you?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“Don’t worry, I stuck up for myself,” Daphne said. She smiled as Percy waved at her from the other side of the garden, “And so did Percy,” she added, waving back.

Harry smiled, “He’s good for Suse.”

“He’s brilliant for her,” Daphne agreed, “I hope they last.”

“Yeah me too,” Harry said as they stood in the garden while the Weasley men lit a massive barbeque. This wasn’t anything too fancy, just a barbecue with a party in the garden to follow. The point was that they could say that Ginny had a wedding, that she had been married properly.

It was apparent now that Ginny was pregnant, the baby was due in October, so she did only have two and a half months to go. She was wearing a lovely red dress with a sequinned bust with a silken skirt that flowed down over her bump. Daphne followed Harry’s line of sight, “Do you wish you had married her?”

“What?” This drew Harry back into the present, “No, I don’t wish I’d married her. I was just smiling because I’m happy to see her happy after this whole thing.”

Daphne sighed and nodded, “I’m going to catch up with Bill. I want to talk to him about my training course.”

“Daphne-”

“Just go talk to Draco or something,” Daphne muttered as she walked away.

Harry shook his head at her and grabbed a beer from the ice bucket, which was a paddling pool filled with beer and ice water.

“Hey, Harry!”

Harry smiled, “Hey, Blanche.”

“So you’re an honorary Weasley, so I hear?” Blanche asked conversationally as she grabbed a beer.

“Kind of,” Harry laughed, “Who said that?”

“Ginny,” Blanche replied. She cocked her head and looked up at Ginny, who was holding Blaise’s hand and smiling as she spoke to Zara, “She’s radiant, isn’t she?”

“Glowing,” Harry said with a smile, “She suits pregnancy.”

Blanche nodded thoughtfully, “She’s living with us at the moment. She doesn’t want to move back in here. I have no idea what they will do when the baby is born. They were given a plot of land when they were married, but it takes time to build a house.”

“Oh, she’ll probably stay with you guys,” Harry said honestly, “The Burrow has always been a bit crowded for her. I imagine you live in a huge house?”

“It’s comfortable,” Blanche agreed.

“At least Molly saw the error of her ways,” Harry said as he looked at the redheaded woman. She was talking to Arthur at the other side of the garden, “The last thing I wanted to see was the Weasley family splitting in half over a difference of opinions.”

Blanche nodded and said, “Anyway, it was nice seeing you. Talk to you at training!”

* * *

“Harry, you’re drunk.”

Harry snorted and shook his head at Daphne, “No, I’m not. I’m just having a good time, is that illegal?”

It was late, and the wedding was coming to an end. Ginny and Blaise had left a while ago, but Ginny was heavily pregnant, so that hadn’t come as a surprise. Most of the Weasley men were still going strong, but it was pitch-black, and the garden was only lit by the moon and the fairy-lights.

“Harry,” Daphne sighed, “We need to go home-”

“You go home,” Harry said, “I’m having fun. I’ve just been chatting to Charlie about dragons, eh Char?”

“Yeah,” Charlie said, glancing between Harry and his fiancé, “But you are a bit drunk, Harry-”

“I’m not fucking drunk! I’ve barely even had that much to bloody drink!” Harry snapped, “Why are you all attacking me right now, huh?”

“Harry-”

Harry opened his mouth to shout some more, but before he could, someone said, “Stupefy.”

Harry fell to the ground, and Lilly stepped over him, “I’ll help you get him home, Daph.”

“Thanks, Lil,” Daphne said gratefully.

“Sorry, Daphne,” Charlie said, “Georgie and I shouldn’t have introduced him to beer pong.”

“It’s not your fault that he doesn’t know when to stop Charlie,” Daphne said as she grabbed one of Harry’s arms and Lilly grabbed the other.

They dragged him out of the garden then side-apparated him back to Potter Manor. Daphne levitated him up the stairs and threw him into his bed. When she got back into the entrance hall., Lilly took her hand and dragged her into the drawing-room. She forced her into a seat and clicked her fingers.

Kreacher appeared.

“Hey Kreacher,” Lilly said with a kind smile, “Would you mind getting some tea for your mistress? She has had an awful evening.”

“Of course Mistress Daphne,” Kreacher said. He bowed loudly then disappeared with a crack.

“Daphne,” Lilly said, kneeling in front of her friend's chair, “What’s going on?”

“I think Harry’s an alcoholic,” Daphne finally blurted out, and with the words, came tears that she had been holding back for weeks.

“Oh Daph,” Lilly rose to her feet and sat down next to her friend. She wrapped her arms around her and said, “Yeah, I think he might be too.”

“Do you?” Daphne asked, looking at Lilly through her tears.

Lilly nodded, “My parents split up when I was little, and my mum has dated scumbag after scumbag since then. I know the signs, and I was starting to think that Harry showed more than a few of them.”

“My father was alcohol dependant,” Daphne said tearfully, “And I can’t be with someone like him Lilly…I just can’t.”

“Maybe we can help.”

Lilly looked up at the portrait of the Marauders. It hung in the middle of the drawing-room, and at the moment, all four occupants stood at the front of the frame.

Daphne wiped her tears and got to her feet, “How so?”

“Well, if it was me…” James said, “As much as I love my Lily-flower, it would take Sirius cursing me in the nuts and calling me a prick to make me realise that I needed to change.”

“And I would be more than willing to do that,” Sirius piped up.

Remus smiled sadly, “He needs Neville. Just like I needed Sirius when I went off the deep end after the first war.”

This surprised Daphne, “You were an alcoholic Remus?”

Remus nodded and bowed his head shamefully, “After James and Lily died, and Sirius was imprisoned, I had nothing. I was an alcoholic for several years. I tried to drink myself to death until Dumbledore brought me back to my senses and offered me a job at Hogwarts.”

Daphne sighed and nodded, “I get it.”

“Come back to Longbottom House,” Lilly said softly, “You shouldn’t be here alone with him right now. Not with all of this going on. Let him sober up and come back in the morning. Hopefully, you will be able to have a reasonable conversation with him then.”

“Yeah,” Daphne said, “I will, thanks, Lil.”

* * *

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come back with you?”

Daphne shook her head and slipped her shoes on. She had spent the night at Longbottom House, but now Neville and Lilly were anxious about her leaving.

“I need to talk to him on my own first, Neville,” Daphne said, “But I will leave the floo open, and if things get heated, you guys can come through. Okay?”

“Okay,” Neville agreed.

Lilly kissed her on the cheek and said, “I hope it goes well.”

Daphne nodded and threw some floo powder into the fireplace. She stepped into it and said, “Potter Manor.”

When she stepped out into the drawing-room, she felt sick at the sight before her. Harry was sitting in an armchair drinking, and it was barely lunchtime.

“Where the hell were you last night?” Harry asked when he saw her.

“Where the hell was I last night?” Daphne fumed, “ _Who_ the hell were _you_ last night? I’ve had enough of this! My father was an alcoholic, and regardless of what you say or what you tell yourself, you are too!”

“I’m not an alcoholic,” Harry scoffed, “And I’m nothing like your father. So what if I have a drink some nights-”

“You don’t have a drink some nights; you have a drink _every_ night!” Daphne fumed, “And that was how it started with my father. He had a drink every night before bed, and the next thing I knew, he was so blind drunk that he was setting fire to the fucking house with his children inside it! I hated my father, Harry. I can’t live with someone like him and I certainly cannot someone like him.”

“So you’re breaking up with me now?” Harry asked in disbelief, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

The floo roared, and Neville stepped into the drawing-room, “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he countered. Lilly slipped into the room after him and took Daphne’s hand, she was shaking, partly with rage and partly because she was upset.

“Nothing is wrong with me!” Harry snapped, “I’m fine! I am absolutely fine! I like a drink before bed, so what? I like a drink to celebrate, so I’m a fucking alcoholic now, am I?”

“Harry James Potter!”

The shrill yell made him freeze for a moment. When he turned around, his mother was standing at the front of the Marauders portrait, and she looked infuriated, “Listen to your friends because what they are telling you is the truth, whether you want to hear it or not! Deep down, you know that!”

“You need help, son,” James agreed.

“And you’ve got a good lad there whose willing to help you,” Sirius said, nudging his head in the direction of Neville.

“Accept his help, Harry,” Remus said, “Don’t push it away because if you keep pushing people away, you won’t have anyone and you will end up alone like I was. But it will be by choice rather than circumstance.”

Harry looked down at his hands, they were shaking, and he felt his anger turn to grief. He looked up at Neville and said, “Neville…just…just get me out of here, please.”

Neville nodded and stepped forward, “Come on,” he said, putting an arm around Harry and leading him out into the entrance hall. The door to the manor slammed shut, and Daphne sank into an armchair.

Lilly summoned Kreacher and asked him to make tea. Then she sat down with her friend.

“Where the hell have they gone?” Daphne asked Lilly.

Lilly replied, “This is something that they have talked about. At the end of the day, Draco and Theo are both powerful wizards, but Harry and Neville are far more powerful. They know that if either of them loses control of their magic, it would be catastrophic, so they agreed on a safe place.”

Daphne frowned, and Lilly continued, “Somewhere they could go where nobody would get hurt because they know that the only person who could stop them or help them in that situation is the other one.”

“Why didn’t I know that?” Daphne asked tearfully, “You and Neville have been together for less time than Harry and I, but you knew all about that. Why didn’t he tell me?”

Lilly smiled sadly, “Because he wants to protect you from all of that, Daphne. He loves being the man that you love, but he’s ashamed of the person he was before that. What you need to remember is that although you and Harry both fought in the war, you fought separate battles. Whereas Neville and I, we fought together. I know he wanted to protect me but he couldn’t because I snuck back into school when I shouldn’t have been there to fight for what was right. He had no choice but to let me fight, and he hated that. Back then, we had to be completely honest with each other. I had to tell him things he didn’t want to hear, and he had to tell me some unpleasant truths too. We tell each other everything, and that has carried on into our relationship. It’s not always a good thing, sometimes you need to be able to tell each other little white lies, but Neville and I aren’t very good at that.”

Daphne just sighed.

“Harry knows he has a problem, and he’s scared,” Lilly said softly, “He doesn’t want to hurt you, and he doesn’t want to tangle you up in his emotional drama, so he’s pushing you away.”

“Do you think Neville can get through to him?” Daphne asked quietly.

“Honestly?” Lilly said, “I think we already have. Otherwise, Harry would never have done what he just did. It took him realising that we were right to let the anger ebb away. As soon as the anger went, the grief hit him, and that’s when he loses control of his magic.”

Daphne sighed, “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

“He’s with Neville,” Lilly smiled, “Of course he’ll be okay.”

* * *

Neville knew that Harry was upset, but he had to let all of the anger out before he would allow himself to cry about it.

“You are an alcoholic, Harry,” Neville said as they stood in the middle of a desert together, “Stop denying it. You rely on alcohol to sleep; you use it to numb all the pain.”

Harry shook his head, “I’m not an alcoholic, Neville! I could stop drinking whenever I want.”

“Well stop then,” Neville said simply.

“I will.”

“You won’t,” Neville said firmly, “Because it goes beyond that. You drink because you have PTSD, Harry. You had it after the war, and we all thought it went away, but maybe Hogwarts just kept it bay for a while. You need to stop drinking, and you need help because we didn’t go through the war and survive just for you to fall off the fucking deep end now!”

Neville could see that Harry’s anger was building.

“Think about Daphne,” Neville said, “Think about how much losing her is going to hurt because you are _going_ to lose her. She doesn’t want to marry a waste of space alcoholic like her father. Did you even realise that you broke her nose the other night? She tried to bring you out of one of your nightmares, and you flailed and broke her nose. And do you know what she did? She didn’t get angry like any normal person would. She fixed her nose, and she still tried to help you, but then you shoved her away and went to drink a bottle of firewhiskey. What part of that do you think is normal, exactly?”

Harry’s hands began to glow.

“And think about Teddy,” Neville continued, “Think about your godson. Think about how much he needs you because if you carry on down this road, you will never be allowed to adopt him.”

Neville cast the most powerful shield charm that he knew, and strengthened it with another over the top just for good measure, “Think about the people you love and stop being such a selfish fucking bastard!”

Harry lost it, and an almighty explosion wracked the desert. The sandstorm it whipped up would die out before it reached civilisation at least. As the sand cleared, Neville saw the size of the crater that Harry’s loss of control had created. It was deep and wide, and at the bottom of it, Harry had curled himself up into the foetal position. Neville sighed and scurried and slid down the crater to the bottom.

Harry was conscious, but he was also hysterical. His clothes were singed, and tears were streaming down his face.

“I can’t lose them, Neville,” Harry whispered, “My selection tests, the mental ones…they were all about losing people I love. I can’t lose Daphne, and I can’t lose Teddy, I can’t lose you. I just _can’t_.”

“You won’t,” Neville murmured as he pulled Harry to his feet.

The shorter man was shaky on his feet. Neville held him tightly, “You won’t lose any of us, Harry. The war is over.”

Harry just continued to cry.

“It’s over, Harry,” Neville whispered, shutting his eyes tightly as he calmed his best friend down, “Come on, you need to go home.”

Harry didn’t object. He let Neville side-apparate him back to Potter Manor. Neville forced him onto a bench in the garden, and they sat in silence for a long moment.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Neville said as he turned to look at his friend, “It’s going to be okay.”

Harry wiped his tears away with the singed sleeve of his shirt, “Is it?”

Neville nodded, “Yeah, it is. Because from now on, you’re going to be honest with yourself and with the people who love you. Daphne is going to be okay, and she’s going to help you through this. Then when you get through this, you’ll be able to adopt Teddy, and that will bring a whole lot of sunshine to your life.”

Harry managed a small smile at those words.

Neville put his arm around his friend, “You need to stop drinking though because the man you are becoming…that’s not the kind of Dad that Teddy needs. He needs a Dad that he can rely on and be proud of and that’s the Harry Potter I know underneath all of this shit. Okay?”

Harry nodded, “Yeah.”

“And it’s not the kind of Husband Daphne needs,” Neville continued, “She needs the Harry that she fell in love with and that’s the man you truly are, not this. This is just how you are manifesting your PTSD from the war, and you know how to get over that. Don’t you?”

“I need to stop drinking,” Harry murmured.

“And you need help,” Neville said, “It doesn’t matter who you let help you. Whether you go to St. Mungo’s or talk to Daphne, or me.”

“As soon as I stop drinking, the nightmares will come back,” Harry said, dropping his head into his hands.

“I know,” Neville said honestly, “I know they will and when you stop being an idiot and let Daphne in, she can help with that.”

Harry sighed; it was the world-weary sigh of an older man, not a young man with his life ahead of him.

Neville grabbed his best friends hand, “And Harry?”

Harry looked over at him.

“I’m here,” Neville said sincerely, “I’m always here and I would always rather that you came to me than turned to a bottle of Ogdens. I’m a real living human who loves you and who wants to see you get past this. I don’t care if it’s the middle of the night, if you feel like you need a drink, don’t touch the bottle. Come to me instead, and I don’t give a shit what time of night it is. I’ll duel you if you’re angry, I’ll hug you if you need to cry. I’ll listen if you need to talk and I’ll make sure you realise that it’s not alcohol you should depend on when you’re depressed, it’s me. Okay?”

“Thanks, Nev,” Harry said with a weak smile, “I just…I can’t cope. If it’s a dark wizard, I can throw a spell at it, but I don’t know how to deal with this.”

“That’s why we’re here. We’re not just your friends, we’re your family,” Neville promised him, “And we all have things from the war that we struggle to deal with. Do you know what mine is?”

Harry shook his head and leant back against the cold, metal bench.

“After Greyback attacked Lavender, she was still alive,” Neville said as he stared straight ahead, “And she begged me to kill her. That was why they gave me that morality test because, in the morality test, I had to make that call about you. I had to stop your heart, and you were telling me to tell Daphne you were sorry that the last thing you had done was fight. You were telling me to tell Teddy you had died saving muggles or in a dragon attack, something cool, you know?”

Harry swallowed hard at that and gripped Neville’s hand more tightly.

“And it was unbelievably hard not to lose myself and flashback to the war,” Neville said honestly, “Because Lavender begged me to put her out of her misery. She was in so much pain, her injuries were horrific, and if she had survived them, she would have been a werewolf. That would mean social suicide for her; she’s from a good family, a family that would not accept her, and all Lavender ever wanted was to be accepted and liked. I tell myself that on the days when I need to convince myself that I did the right thing because, of course, I have days like that. There are nights when I wake up in a cold sweat, and I see her standing at the edge of my bed because what I did haunts me.”

“I’m so sorry, Nev.”

Neville shook his head, “But it had to be done. We all did what had to be done, and we all struggle with the consequences of that. Hermione wakes up from nightmares screaming Draco’s name, and it’s not ‘Draco’ she’s saying, it’s ‘Malfoy’ because she’s right back in that drawing-room. And Draco has to comfort her through that, despite the immense guilt he feels. Draco is still haunted by Pansy’s death, and Daphne feels responsible for Tracey’s. Sometimes you overlook that because you get wrapped up in your own drama. But from everything I know, Daphne and Tracey were like a female Draco and Theo. Daphne will never forget her, and sometimes she writes letters to her because she wants to find a way to talk to her best friend. I hate to call you selfish because you really aren’t. You saved our entire world, and you were willing to die to do that because you loved all of us so much. But sometimes I think you forget that we all love you just as much too.”

Harry smiled genuinely and got to his feet, “Yeah, I do forget, and I shouldn’t. Thank you, Nev. You’re a lot stronger than me where all of this is concerned, you know?”

Neville shook his head, “Nah, I’m not. Come on; you’re Harry Potter.”

“And you’re Neville Longbottom,” Harry said, he smiled at his best friend, “The bravest guy I know.”

Neville got to his feet and pulled Harry into a hug, “Harry, I can’t deal with this.”

Harry frowned as he drew back, “I know, I’m sorry for-”

“No,” Neville cut in, “I mean I can’t deal with all of this emotional, telling each other that we love each other stuff. We’re becoming like Draco and Theo.”

“Oh good Godric, we are,” Harry groaned, “We’re not becoming a foursome.”

“You sure?” Neville joked, “I mean, your fiancé is pretty hot.”

Harry grinned, “Yeah, I know she is, so I’m not sharing her.”

“Not even with your best friend?” Neville asked with mock disbelief as they stepped into the entrance hall.

“Especially not with my best friend,” Harry snorted.

“What are you not sharing with your best friend?”

Harry turned to look at Daphne; she was leaning in the door of the drawing-room. She was made up perfectly because she didn’t want Harry to know that she had been crying.

“Oh, we were just discussing how we seem to have a more profound bond now,” Neville said with a wave of his hand, “Like Draco and Theo.”

“So I was telling Neville that we’re not becoming a foursome,” Harry cut in.

“Honestly,” Lilly muttered as she appeared by Daphne’s side, “Does everyone in our friend group have a more ‘profound’ relationship with their best friend? I mean that’s basically just a way of saying I love you, but I don’t want to shag you, right?”

“It’s a Potter thing.”

Harry laughed and looked at the Marauders portrait. Lily shot a pointed look at James and Sirius.

“To be fair, I did want to shag him, but he said he was _exclusively_ straight,” Sirius snorted.

“Unlike Remus who is straight unless the guy is Sirius,” James chipped in.

“Oh, shut up,” Remus muttered with a roll of his eyes as James and Sirius started bickering.

Harry looked away from them and smiled somewhat sadly at Daphne, “I’m sorry.”

“I know you are,” Daphne said, drawing him in for a hug.

He breathed in deeply and murmured, “I know that things need to change.”

Daphne pulled back and kissed him lightly, “They do, and I think I know someone who can help with that.”

“Daphne, I can’t go to therapy-”

“It’s not therapy,” Daphne promised, “Not in the way that you think. I know a fellow war veteran who might be able to help you.”

“Who?” Harry asked with a frown.

“That would be me, Harry, my lad.”

Harry took a step back into the entrance hall, “Charlus?”

Charlus bowed his head, “I fought in the Great Muggle War, Harry. I was young, and I saw horrific things. Your young fiancé asked me if I would converse with you about the things that you saw and I would be more than happy to do so. There is another portrait of me in the study where it is comfortable and secluded.”

“Once a week,” Daphne said, eying Harry carefully, “Talk to Charlus, be honest with him, and I think you might be able to start coming to terms with what happened back then.”

Harry nodded, “Yeah,” he promised, “I can do that. I owe you that.”

Neville smiled and gripped Harry’s shoulder, “Are you two going to be okay?”

Harry looked at his fiancé, “Are we?”

“Yes,” Daphne promised him, “We’re going to be just fine, Neville.”

“We’ll head home then,” Neville said, hooking his arm around Lilly.

Lilly smiled at them, “But you know where we are if either of you needs us.”

Harry and Daphne nodded as the couple left through the floo. Once they were gone, Harry turned to Daphne and said, “I’m sorry for breaking your nose, Daphne. I didn’t even know until Neville told me and I can’t believe I could do something like that to you-”

“No,” Daphne cut in, “You were asleep. It wasn’t your fault.”

“All the same, don’t you think I should sleep somewhere else until the nightmares start to ease-”

“No,” Daphne interrupted, “I think we should magically expand the bed to ease your worries, but there is no way we are sleeping in separate rooms. I will not let this divide us, do you understand?”

Harry nodded, “The nightmares will get worse before they get better.”

“Everything always does,” Daphne reasoned, “But just like everything else, we will get through this together. Okay?”

Harry nodded once more, “Is there anything I can do to apologise for all I’ve put you through?”

Daphne smiled slightly, “There is one thing.”

“What is it?” Harry asked, hooking his arm through hers as she led him towards the kitchen.

“There’s this portrait in the kitchen…”

* * *

“Lil,” Neville said sincerely, “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“About Harry?” Lilly asked as she set a cup of tea in front of him.

“Not really,” Neville frowned, “I mean what happened with Harry and what happened in the selection test triggered it, but…it’s about us.”

Lilly looked a little concerned, “Okay?”

“Harry is terrified of losing Daphne and Teddy, it’s part of what made him jump off the deep end,” Neville said quietly, “And I reassured him that he doesn’t need to worry about because there isn’t much chance of something happening to them. Daphne’s going to be a curse breaker, and yes the job has a few dangers, but…it’s not the same as what you’re going to be doing. You’re going to be in the thick of it, with spells flying over your head as you heal injured Aurors.

Lilly frowned, “I don’t like where you’re going with this, Neville.”

“I just want to know if you want to be a trauma healer forever or if this is just an adrenaline rush seeking phase you’re going through at the moment,” Neville said.

Lilly’s frown deepened, “I don’t know, and I won’t know until I’ve done it for a while. If I love it, then I don’t see any reason why I would stop doing it.”

“I’m not sure I can handle it, Lilly,” Neville said quietly, “I don’t know if I can cope with you putting yourself in danger every day. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you…if I lost you.”

“Neville,” Lilly sighed, “I’m a big girl. I can look after myself. I passed all of the tests, that means I’m capable.”

“I know you’re capable,” Neville said honestly, “But my parents passed all of the tests and they were capable. Look what happened to them. I just don’t know if this is going to be the right thing for you, or us.”

“Who are you to say whether it’s the right thing for me or not?” Lilly asked as she began to get worked up, “It’s my life, and it’s my choice.”

“I’m in your life now Lilly, doesn’t that mean something?” Neville asked hotly.

“It doesn’t mean you get to dictate!” Lilly exclaimed, “Maybe you’re used to witches being meek and doing what their other halves want, but I’m not from this victorian world Neville!”

“Is that really what you think of me?” Neville asked angrily, “That I’m some old-fashioned pureblood who wants to control you?”

“Well, you’ve started to act like one lately!” Lilly bit back, “With your manor and your house-elf and your seat on the Wizengamot. How are you any different to Draco or Theo?”

“First of all, I don’t see why you make that an insult,” Neville argued, “Draco and Theo are good to their other halves, they don’t control them. Yes, I have a seat on the Wizengamot which I want to use to bring about change, and yes, I have a Manor, but you picked the house-elf, Lillian!”

“That’s not the point and don’t call me Lillian!” Lilly scoffed, “The point is you want to control what job I do. I’ve wanted to be a healer for years, and I’ve gotten into one of the most elite programmes there is! I won’t give that up, not for anything.”

“Not even for me?” Neville asked.

“Not even for you,” Lilly said firmly, “And if you say that you would give up being an Auror for me, then you’re lying.”

“No,” Neville said coldly as he got to his feet, “I wouldn’t be because frankly, you are far more important to me than a job. I would give up anything for you, including being an Auror but since you don’t feel the same, I think I’ll pack a bag and leave for a while.”

“Neville-”

“I don’t feel like being around you right now,” Neville cut in as he swept out of the room. In minutes he had packed a bag and left, slamming the door loudly behind him

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	19. It's Time to Take a Heart Break

Harry sighed heavily when he heard the doorbell ring downstairs.

“Draco or Hermione will get it,” Daphne said before he could even think about getting out of bed.

“They are out,” Harry mumbled, “I heard them leave.”

“Kreacher will get it then,” Daphne said, “So don’t go anywhere.”

“Alright,” Harry conceded, he was exhausted both emotionally and physically after the events of the day.

Daphne curled up against him and readjusted the book that she had been reading. Harry shut his eyes in the hope that he could get a little sleep; he needed to catch up after such a busy weekend.

The moment he had closed his eyes, a loud crack made them pop open.

“Kreacher,” Daphne groaned, “Can’t you tell whoever it is to go away?”

“No mistress Daphne,” Kreacher said as he hung his head, “Mister Longbottom is here, and he very much insists on seeing Master Harry.”

Harry got to his feet, “It must be important, or he wouldn’t be here at this time of night.”

“He and Lilly seemed fine when they left earlier,” Daphne pointed out.

“I seemed fine until we left school then this happened,” Harry pointed out as he threw a t-shirt on, “Appearances can be deceiving. Tell him I’ll be down in a minute, Kreacher.”

“Yes Master Harry,” Kreacher said, he bowed his head once more then disappeared from sight.

“I get it, you know?” Daphne said, “And after he saved you from yourself, he deserves any help that you can give him.”

“It wasn’t just him,” Harry said, leaning down to kiss his fiance, “It was both of you.”

“Don’t say that,” Daphne groaned, “That’s the kind of say Draco and Theo say, and this isn't becoming a foursome!”

Harry just chuckled at her expense as he trudged downstairs. When he stepped into the kitchen and saw his friend nursing a cup of tea with bloodshot eyes, he knew that something bad had happened.

“What happened?”

“Lilly,” Neville said quietly, “I think…well…we…we sort of, broke up.”

Harry frowned, “What? But you were fine earlier, and you couldn’t wait to get back to her after while we were away at the weekend. What happened? Did she do something?”

“No, she didn’t do anything,” Neville said as he shook his head, “I did. I…well, my selection tests brought some stuff to the surface too. Stuff like I don’t know how I’m going to cope with her being in danger every day. So I…well, I told her that I couldn’t handle her being a trauma healer forever and she said that I couldn’t dictate what she could and couldn’t do with her life.”

“Which is fair,” Harry said diplomatically.

“I know,” Neville said, “But then she said she really wanted to do it and she wouldn’t give it up for anything, not even me. She said if I said I would give up Auror training for her, then I would be lying but that’s the thing, Harry, I _would_. I would give up anything for her, and she doesn’t feel the same.”

“Shit,” Harry frowned, “That’s not good.”

“Exactly,” Neville said with a world-weary sigh.

“I mean I don’t know if you want my opinion but if you do,” Harry said slowly, “If you resent her job and she resents you for resenting it…well, that’s not going to leave you in a good place.”

“I know that,” Neville said, “But I can’t handle seeing her put her life in danger every day. If something did happen to her in the field and I saw it…I don’t know what I would do.”

“I get that,” Harry said honestly, “I mean, you know I do. But at the risk of sounding like an agony aunt Nev, I’m not sure that’s the real problem. I think that’s just what brought the real problem to the fore.”

“You think the real problem is that I’m more committed to this than she is,” Neville realised.

Harry nodded, “And I know how your brain works. You’re worried that she’s not as committed as you and you’re worried about that just before she’s due to go to France for six months. You’re worried she’ll meet somewhere else there.”

“I should have more faith in her though Harry,” Neville said with a frown, “I should trust her.”

“Did you have any worries before this argument?” Harry asked.

Neville shook his head.

“There you go, it stems from the commitment issue,” Harry said, “And to be honest, I don’t know how you can fix that.”

“You mean you don’t know if we can,” Neville said quietly, “And I don’t know if we can either, but, I need somewhere to stay.”

Harry cocked his head at his best friend, “Don’t you own Longbottom house? Shouldn’t you have kicked Lilly out?”

“I left voluntarily,” Neville said honestly, “I have you as an option or I could beg Theo and Sadie to let me stay but Lilly…she doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“You both have here as an option, not just you,” Harry said honestly, “And you can stay, I mean of course you can stay, Nev. You saved my life today, and there’s not much I wouldn’t do for you but… I really think you need to try and work things out with Lilly. When does she leave?”

“A week today,” Neville replied glumly, “But the thing is if she isn’t as committed to our relationship as I am, how are we going to manage six months long-distance?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said honestly, “I know that Daphne and I couldn’t handle it, but every couple is different. You should talk to Theo, he and Sadie are going to have to spend weeks apart when she’s in Cairo. If anyone would understand it would be him.”

Neville nodded, he sighed heavily, “What room will I stay in?”

“Well,” Harry said with a grimace, “Daph and I are on the top floor, and Draco and Hermione are on the second floor so if you want any peace, I would go with the annexe.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to be near happy couples right now,” Neville said darkly, “The annexe has its own sitting room, and kitchen doesn’t it?”

“It doesn’t have a kitchen, but I can have Kreacher bring you meals,” Harry said as he lifted the bread bin and picked up a key.

He threw it at Neville who caught it and began to head towards the door.

“Nev,” Harry said before he could leave the room.

Neville paused and turned around, “Yeah?”

“I do have a master key, so if I don’t see you for a few days, I’ll be checking in,” Harry said, “You looked out for me when I needed it so don’t expect me to do anything less for you.”

“I appreciate the thought, but don’t worry Harry, I can handle a little heartbreak,” Neville said somewhat sadly as he disappeared into the annexe.

* * *

“Right!” Harry barked, “Are you all listening?”

Everyone fell silent.

“I have called this family meeting-”

“Harry,” Theo cut in, “Is this becoming a thing? Because you do realise that we’re not actually a family-”

“Theo, shut up,” Harry said matter of factly, “We are a family because that goes beyond blood, but if you want to get into blood. Draco, that’s a portrait of your great Aunt up there, a Potter who became a Malfoy.”

Elladora waved at Draco from her portrait. She was beautiful, with jet black hair and deep green eyes. This portrait was of her in her late teens, before she had been married off to Abraxas.

“And Theo,” Harry said, “See that portrait up there? That’s my great-great-grandfather Elijah Potter with his wife Igraine Nott, the sister of _your_ great-great-grandfather.”

“Good to know that we haven’t lost our regal good looks,” Theo joked.

Harry smiled, “That woman with the reddish-blonde hair in that portrait? That’s Cordelia Cauldwell. She married Elijah’s younger brother, Nicholas. We all have family in this room, and we _are_ all family which is why family meetings _are_ becoming a thing.”

“Where’s Nev then?” Theo asked, “Or is there not a Longbottom portrait which makes him un-invited?”

“There is a Longbottom portrait,” Harry remarked calmly, “That’s Harfang II who married Adeline Potter.”

“So you're related to everyone, basically?” Hermione asked, with an amused smile.

“You included through our side of the family, princess,” Theo said, nudging her in the ribs.

“I really hate being a Nott sometimes,” Hermione muttered.

“At least we’re not Blacks,” Theo joked.

Several portraits objected _because_ they were Blacks and Harry raised his voice again, “Anyway! This has gone off-topic. The first topic of discussion for the family meeting is me. It has come to my attention that I am well on my way to becoming an alcoholic. Daphne and Neville have knocked some common sense into me so I would like to give you all fair warning, I’m going cold turkey here which means I’m going to be having nightmares and not sleeping well, so I apologise in advance if I become a snappy bastard.”

Theo smiled proudly, “Well done. That must have been a tough thing to say.”

Daphne held Harry’s hand, “But saying it is the first step.”

Harry smiled weakly, “Thank you, guys. But if anyone sees me going near a bottle of firewhiskey until I get this under control, you have permission to hex me. Clear?”

“Clear!” Theo said.

“You don’t have to sound so hopeful, Theo,” Harry snorted, “The second topic of conversation, well that concerns Neville and Lilly’s absence. They have broken up.”

A general shout of, “What?” went around the room.

“Simmer down!” Harry exclaimed.

“We left for a grand total of three days, _and_ we just saw you at Ginny’s wedding. In that time, you have become an alcoholic and Neville, and Lilly have broken up?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

“I’ve been an alcoholic for weeks, Hermione,” Harry said sincerely, “I just came to terms with it yesterday. As for Neville and Lilly, it happened yesterday too. Long story short, Neville feels more committed to their relationship than Lilly. It goes deeper than that, but the point of the matter is that Neville is currently living in the annexe.”

“So we think someone should go and see Lilly,” Daphne said, “Just to check how she’s coping with the break-up. I thought about going but Sade, you and Hermione are closer to her.”

Sadie looked at Hermione, “We all talked in the library, but I think you probably got closer to her than I did in our last year at school.”

Hermione nodded, “I’ll go right now. Did Neville let her stay at Longbottom House?”

“Yeah, he was worried that she wouldn’t have anywhere else to go,” Harry said.

“I’ll see how she is,” Hermione promised, “Don’t wait on me for dinner. I can have mine cold!”

She swept out of the room, and Sadie mused, “You know, we should probably start inviting Suse to family meetings, or she’ll start feeling left out.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Harry joked, “There’s not a painting of a Bones in Potter Manor.”

“Excuse you!”

Harry turned around and saw a woman waving at him from a portrait. She had long, deep red curly hair, “Did you just see a ginger portrait and assume it was of a Weasley?”

Draco snorted in amusement.

“Oh, you’re a Bones?” Harry asked with interest as he glanced at the nameplate attached to the portrait, “Dorothea Bones, you were married to Isaac Potter.”

“I was,” Dorothea said, “And I was the first female Auror in the British Ministry. You ought to learn more about your famous relatives.”

Harry turned to his sniggering friends and said, “Well, I see where Susan gets it from.”

* * *

“I don’t want to talk to anyone, Hermione.”

“I don’t care, Lilly, you need to talk to someone,” Hermione called through the door.

“I don’t have to let you in.”

“I know plenty of ways to get in,” Hermione remarked.

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do,” Hermione said, “I’m the smartest witch of my age, remember? I just don’t generally use my magical knowledge to break and enter, and I would prefer not to start now.”

There was a click, and the door swung open. Lilly didn’t look like she had been crying, but Hermione could tell that she was upset, “Can I come in?”

Lilly sighed, “If you’re here to lecture me then no.”

“I’m not here to lecture you,” Hermione promised, “I’m here to make sure that you’re okay.”

Lilly obviously believed her because she took a step back and let her walk into the hallway. Hermione made her way straight to the kitchen, and Lilly trudged after her.

Hermione could tell that Lilly was channelling her emotions. She was upset, but she didn’t want to break down, so that was coming out as anger.

“So,” Hermione said as she filled the kettle and put it on the stove to boil, “I want to hear your side of the story.”

“Why? Does Neville’s side paint me as a crazy bitch like Hannah?” Lilly asked.

“Lil, you don’t have to be so aggressive,” Hermione said gently, “I haven’t even spoken to Neville yet, so I want to hear how it happened from your point of view.”

Lilly sighed deeply and sank into one of the kitchen chairs, “Everything that happened with Harry, you know basically becoming an alcoholic because he’s so scared of something happening to Daphne and Teddy? That got to Neville, and I can understand him being worried about me. He told me I was his weakness which most girls would consider cute, I guess. But then he questioned my career, and I’m sorry Hermione, but who is he to decide what I do with my life?”

Hermione nodded, “The career path you chose to go down is completely your decision.”

“Exactly!” Lilly exclaimed, “And I said I wouldn’t give up anything to do this job because it’s such a good opportunity. He got upset when I told him that included him, but he’s being a hypocrite because I know he wouldn’t give up being an Auror for me!”

“Did you actually ask him that?” Hermione asked.

Lilly frowned, “What?”

“Did you ask him if he would give up being an Auror for you?”

“Not exactly,” Lilly said a little sheepishly, “I said he would be lying if he said he would give up being an Auror for me and he said that he wouldn’t be because he would give it up. But he’s lying Hermione; he wouldn’t. Him and Harry gallivanting all over the country catching bad guys, it’s what he’s always wanted, he wouldn’t give that up.”

Hermione sighed and slid a cup of tea across the table to Lilly, “I don’t mean this to sound condescending Lilly so I’m sorry if it comes across that way but, the thing is. Harry would find it hard to give up being an Auror because all he has ever known is fighting bad guys, but Neville is different. He has other things that he’s good at and other things that he enjoys, he loves Herbology, and at heart, he’s a family man. I think he would happily be an Auror for a few years then give it up for a quieter life when kids came along.”

“What are you getting at here, Hermione?”

“I’m just saying, from his point of view being an Auror is a good job to do while he’s young. It’s dangerous, and it gives him purpose, but he wouldn’t do it forever, and I think he’s worried that you would,” Hermione explained, “He loves you, Lilly. He has watched so many people that he loves die or get hurt, I think he was trying to tell you that he can’t be with you if you are going to go out every single day and put yourself in danger for the rest of your life.”

“But I won’t know if I want to do that job forever until I do it for a while,” Lilly pointed out.

“You do know though,” Hermione said, “If I asked you whether you were okay with you and Neville both having dangerous jobs when you have kids, you would have an answer. Wouldn’t you?”

“No, because I’m not like the rest of you,” Lilly retorted, “I haven’t thought about kids or marriage yet because I’m only 19! I’m not like Sadie, I don’t want to get married before my 20th birthday, and I’m not like you and Daphne, I don’t want to be engaged. I want to enjoy being young while I am, I want to travel the world and try new things before I get married and have kids.”

Hermione frowned, “The question is, do you want to do those things with Neville?”

Lilly hesitated for a moment, “I…I don’t know.”

Hermione looked at her in disbelief, “Wow, well…you need to work that out Lil because you’re my friend but Neville…he’s one of the nicest guys I know and frankly, he doesn’t deserve to be screwed around with again. Not after Hannah.”

“Did you seriously just compare me to Hannah?” Lilly asked angrily.

“No, I didn’t,” Hermione said firmly, “I just said, Neville doesn’t deserve to be treated like this. He loves you, he is completely committed to you, and for you to just _not know_ , that’s not fair.”

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do Hermione, but you’re not helping,” Lilly said coolly, “I need to work this out on my own.”

“That’s fine,” Hermione said with an icy tone to her voice, “But if you let Neville go and end up regretting it, I won’t be there for you to come crying to. You’re one of my best friends Lilly, but if this comes down to sides, I think I’ll be on Neville’s.”

“Get out of my house, Hermione.”

“It’s actually _Neville’s_ house!” Hermione exclaimed irritably as she stalked out.

* * *

“For Merlin’s sake, that girl is an ungrateful bitch!” Hermione exclaimed as she stomped through the entrance hall of Potter Manor, “And frankly, right now I don’t think she deserves Neville! He is one of the nicest guys I know, and any girl would be more than lucky to have him. Hannah was too stupid to realise that, and now Lilly has no idea how lucky she is either!” Hermione continued as she thrust open the kitchen door, “I mean Neville’s such a nice guy, so why does he always get screwed over by bitches like – oh, hi Neville.”

Hermione stopped in her tracks and looked at the occupants of the kitchen. Draco was smirking, Harry was chuckling under his breath, and Daphne looked incredibly amused. Neville, on the other hand, was smiling fondly at Hermione.

“Thanks for the ego boost Hermione,” Neville said with a hint of amusement in his voice, “But if I’m such a nice guy, why did you turn me down when I asked you to the Yule Ball?”

“Because Viktor had already asked me,” Hermione said honestly, “And…I kind of had a massive crush on our resident arsehole over there.”

“I love you too, honey,” Draco said with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m guessing it didn’t go too well with Lilly then?”

Hermione scoffed, “She kicked me out! Can you believe the cheek? It’s not even her house!”

“Do you want a glass of wine?” Daphne asked as she motioned towards the open bottle on the table.

“Ugh, yes, please.”

As Daphne poured Hermione a glass of wine, Neville asked, “So what did she have to say for herself?”

“Well if you were worried that you’re more committed to her than she is to you, then you would be right,” Hermione said irritably, “I could have slapped her, but I didn’t because I don’t condone violence.”

“So is it really over then?” Neville asked. He looked completely crestfallen.

“I don’t know that for sure,” Hermione said honestly, “But I think you have to talk to her before she leaves for France. You can’t spend two weeks apart when you aren’t sure where you stand with each other.”

Neville frowned, “Can I talk to you outside, Hermione?”

Hermione nodded, “Sure, can I bring my wine with me?”

Neville smiled slightly, “Yeah, of course, you can.”

“Thank you Daph,” Hermione said as she gratefully accepted the glass of wine and hooked her arm through Neville’s, “Where do you want to go? There’s a magical plant garden out there, and there are some ancient variations of the tentacula, venomous and otherwise.”

Neville smiled at her, “That sounds very…relaxing.”

“I had no idea that those two were so close,” Draco said as he watched them disappear from view.

Harry nodded, “Yeah…that’s kind of my fault.”

“You have got to explain that comment,” Daphne said with a raised eyebrow.

“Well,” Harry said sheepishly, “Ron and I sometimes fell out with Hermione for stupid stuff like this one time when she got my new Firebolt confiscated. She was only doing it because she thought it was cursed, but I didn’t see it that way. When those things happened, it was Nev that she turned to.”

“Turned to?” Draco asked as he narrowed his eyes, “You better not be telling me that those two-”

“Oh no, no way!” Harry cut in, “They are just really good friends, I swear.”

* * *

“So,” Hermione said as she and Neville sat down on a bench in the aforementioned garden, “Why did you want to talk to me alone?”

“I just don’t know what to do,” Neville admitted, “And Harry is my best friend, but when it comes to relationship advice, you’re the better person to ask.”

“I can’t tell you what to do Nev,” Hermione said honestly, “That’s something that you and Lilly need to work out.”

“I just need to know…do you think we can work through this?” Neville asked, “Tell me the truth.”

Hermione bit her lip, “Maybe, but it’s not you that needs to make the effort Nev. I don’t want to tell you what she said because I don’t want to hurt you but-”

“Hermione,” Neville said as he grabbed her hand, “I know you’re just trying to protect me, but I need to know. Not knowing is worse, believe me.”

“Okay, but it’s your funeral.”

“Just tell me,” Neville said.

Hermione sighed, “I told her your thinking, or what I thought you were thinking anyway. I figured you were okay with being an Auror for a while but that you wouldn’t want to do it forever because there would come a time, probably when you had kids when you would want to change your career. I said I thought the problem was that you were scared that she would want to put herself in harm's way forever, unlike you.”

“Well, it seems like you know me better than she does,” Neville said bitterly.

“I know you and Lilly were friends when you were younger, but you’ve been my friend for eight years, Neville,” Hermione said with a shrug, “And although most people call me intelligent, I’m just highly logical and observant.”

Neville smiled at her, “Which means you can read people, I know.”

Hermione nodded, “So I asked Lilly if she was okay with both of you doing dangerous jobs once you had kids and she said she didn’t know because she hadn’t even thought about kids. She said she wasn’t like Sadie who got married at 19 or like me and Daphne who were engaged. She said she didn’t want any of that; she just wanted to travel the world and see new things while she was young.”

“I could handle that,” Neville said, “As long as she wanted to settle down one day.”

Hermione bit her lip.

“What is it? There’s more, isn’t there?”

Hermione nodded, “I asked her if she wanted to do all of those things with you, and she said…she said that she didn’t know.”

Neville let his head fall into his hands, “She said she didn’t know?” he asked, his voice was muffled, but Hermione thought that he was crying.

“I’m so sorry Neville,” Hermione said as she bit down on her lip again, she hated being the bearer of bad news.

“Why is it always me, Hermione?” Neville asked quietly, “What’s wrong with me?”

“Neville,” Hermione sighed as she tightened her grip on his hand, “There is nothing wrong with you. Anyone would be lucky to have you, and I think Lilly will realise that I just hope she realises before it’s too late.”

“I think it might already be too late,” Neville said as he got to his feet and hastily rubbed his eyes, “I’ll sleep on it, but when I go to talk to her tomorrow unless she has a hell of a good excuse, I can’t see anything good coming from it.”

“I’m sorry,” Hermione said again.

Neville shook his head and sighed, “Don’t apologise Hermione. You’ve only been good to me over the years. I’m lucky to have you.”

“I just wish I could knock some sense into Lil,” Hermione admitted.

Neville shrugged, “She either loves me or she doesn’t. There’s nothing anyone can do about that.”

“Neville-”

“I’m going to bed, see you later Hermione,” Neville said, he sounded completely resigned, and it made Hermione miserable.

* * *

Daphne looked up at the portrait before her. It featured a thin woman with black hair and grey eyes. Her hair was drawn up into a bun, and she was surveying Daphne through narrowed eyes.

“Dorea Black?”

“Who is asking?” Dorea asked calmly.

“Daphne Greengrass, soon to be Potter,” Daphne said with a wave of her hand.

“Daphne? What generation are we on now then?”

“What’s the last Greengrass you remember?” Daphne asked curiously.

“Well there was Euphemia of course,” Dorea said matter of factly, “She was married to my son, Fleamont. Lovely woman, very intelligent but too beautiful for her own good.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow, “Euphemia was my great aunt.”

“So you are descended from Mortdecai?” Dorea asked conversationally.

“Mortdecai was my grandfather,” Daphne said matter of factly, “But I did not come here to discuss my family history with you. I came here to talk to you about Anastasia Malfoy.”

Dorea rolled her eyes, “What about her?”

“Harry, the current head of the Potter family, is going to be unlocking her frame,” Daphne informed Dorea, “She does not deserve to be cast away in the kitchen.”

Dorea’s eyes darkened, “That is _exactly_ what she deserves!”

“Dorea, I think you’re being unreasonable-”

“Unreasonable?” Dorea hissed, “How would you feel, had you been in my shoes? I was 18 years old when I was married off to Charlus. Do you think that I wanted to marry an older man, the moment I left school?”

“I expect not, but the Potters were a very respectable-”

“The Potters were not a respectable family in 1914,” Dorea scoffed, “I was married to Charlus because I was the family disappointment. In 1914, the Potters were openly supporting helping the Muggles to win their war. That was when the family began to be shunned and cast out.”

“Right,” Daphne realised, “Yes, that was when things went downhill for the Potter empire, you are quite right.”

“Charlus never loved me,” Dorea said scornfully, “Two years after we were married, I discovered that he was sleeping with the servant girl, a squib _and_ a Malfoy. It was shameful, and I was embarrassed. I spent my entire life being embarrassed by his behaviour, and now you want her to be able to roam free? You want me to sit in my frame and look across the drawing-room to see her and _him_?”

Daphne bit her lip, “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Let me talk to Ana and see if we can come up with a compromise that keeps everyone happy.”

Dorea shook her head in disbelief, “Honestly girl, I thought Greengrass’s had more brains than that. Aren’t you all in Ravenclaw?”

“Traditionally,” Daphne mused, “My father was, and so was my grandfather. My sister and I were both in Slytherin, though.” 

“Slytherin?” Dorea asked, her eyebrow went up once more, “The noble house. Just like the noble house of Black. How are my family these days?”

“Oh, they are doing okay,” Daphne said honestly, “Better than the Malfoy’s, they’ve died out now.”

“Have they?” Dorea asked, “Did Narcissa Black not produce any children with Lucius?”

“She did, they had a son,” Daphne answered, “But a war happened, and the Malfoy’s were decidedly on the wrong side of it. When it all ended, their son changed his name to disassociate himself with the family. He went back to his mother's maiden name.”

“Black,” Dorea smirked, “Is he the last?”

“No, there are others,” Daphne replied, “His mother, Narcissa, she is still alive. As is Andromeda.”

“She was disowned for marrying a muggle-born.”

“He died during the war, and so did their daughter,” Daphne said sadly, “The little boy you see around the house? He’s their son, so I suppose he’s got some Black in him too.”

“What about Narcissa’s son, what was he called?”

“Draco Black,” Daphne said.

“And does he uphold the Black family name or is he a disappointment?”

“Oh, you want to know about Draco Black?” Daphne asked with a grin. She pulled up a chair, summoned Kreacher for tea and said, “Well, I could talk for hours about him. I think we ought to start with this one time when he was turned into a ferret by Barty Crouch Junior…”

* * *

“Draco! Draco! They just floo-ed! Draco!”

“I can hear you!” Draco said irritably from inside his and Hermione’s bedroom.

“The Aurors just floo-ed Draco!” Harry shouted excitedly through the door.

The door opened, and Draco slipped out in a pair of green silk pyjama bottoms, “Who floo-ed?”

“The Aurors,” Harry replied, “I can’t get into the alcove to talk to Nev because he’s put a whole bunch of charms up.”

“You’re about to start Auror training, can’t you disable them?” Draco yawned.

“As a future Auror, yes I could,” Harry replied, “But as his friend, I won’t. I’ll fill him in later if he comes out to stop wallowing.”

“What did they say?”

“It was Sheppard,” Harry said, “And he said that we start on the 2nd of August.”

“That’s a week today,” Draco realised.

Harry nodded, “He also said that the first two weeks of training are known as the isolation period. While they give us our basic training, we have to stay on the base with no contact with the outside world whatsoever. Daphne wasn’t happy when I told her that, but it’s only two weeks then we can commute in from our own homes.”

“Hermione’s going to love that,” Draco muttered, “Did they tell you anything else?”

“Just that we need to be at the centre for 9 am on Monday the 2nd of August,” Harry replied, “And to enjoy our week's downtime because the first two weeks of basic training are tough.”

Draco yawned again, “Thanks for letting me know, can I go back to bed now?”

“Yeah,” Harry said with a wave of his hand, “I’m going to give Nev until this afternoon then if he hasn’t surfaced I’m dragging him out of the annexe for Theo’s thing.”

Draco frowned, “What thing are we talking about?”

“Theo invited us round for drinks in his man cave,” Harry reminded Draco, “Because Sadie and the girls are going for one final night out before Sadie goes to Cairo and Lil goes to France.”

“Do you think Lilly will go?” Draco asked, “After that argument she had with Hermione?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said honestly, “I guess we’ll find out tonight. Anyway, I’m going back to bed too. See you later.”

“See you later,” Draco echoed as he slipped back into his bedroom.

* * *

“How do you feel today, Harry?”

Harry smiled at Charlus, “Tired.”

“Still not sleeping well?”

Harry shook his head and threw some more logs into the fire then sat down in a comfortable armchair. He looked up at the portrait of his great-great-grandfather, which hung above the fireplace.

“Daphne is great, but I don’t feel like I deserve it,” Harry sighed, “She wakes up every time, she hugs me and tells me that it’s not real, that the war is over and that I’m safe. It works, and I go back to sleep, but it’s happening a few times a night and I…I don’t know what I’m going to do when I have to go through the isolation period for Auror training.”

“What’s that then?”

“Oh it’s part of the training process,” Harry said offhandedly, “Two weeks without contact with the outside world. I think I’ll have Neville though, he’s my best friend and my Auror partner, so maybe it won’t be as bad as I think.”

“That’s often the case with the things that we dread,” Charlus said wisely, “They seldom turn out to be as bad as we expect.”

Harry smiled weakly, “That sounds like the kind of thing that Dumbledore would say.”

“He was wise beyond his years, Albus,” Charlus agreed.

“Did you know him?” Harry asked.

“No, no, he was older than me,” Charlus said, “I knew of him, of course. Do you feel ready to talk about the war yet, Harry?”

Harry frowned, “I don’t know. Ana said that you fought in the Great Muggle War. Did she mean World War One?”

Charlus bowed his head, “Indeed.”

“Did you see terrible things?” Harry asked as he stared into the fire.

“Of course I did,” Charlus replied, “I saw bodies burning, hundreds of them after we would attack a German trench. The smell of rotting flesh and the sound of men screaming…those things never leave you, Harry.”

“No,” Harry sighed, “Seeing the bodies of people I loved lined up in the great hall of Hogwarts…I can’t unsee it Charlus. My boggart, my worst fear, is that hall being filled with my family.”

“But that will not happen, Harry,” Charlus said, “You fought the darkness, it is gone now.”

“It’s never truly gone, Charlus,” Harry said, “You must know that as well as I do. You helped the Muggles in the great war, the one they called the war to end all wars but then scarcely 20 years later they went to war again, and it was worse…it was bloodier.”

“And since then, there has not been death on that scale globally,” Charlus said sincerely, “Our world has seen two wars, Harry. Your parents fought the first one, and you won the second one.

“There will always be another dark lord though Charlus.”

“There will be,” Charlus agreed, “And you cannot fight that dark lord with magic, Harry. The way to fight that dark lord is through change. You and your lovely fiance are clearly in love, but a marriage between a Potter and a Greengrass is a match made in heaven. If not for the first wizarding war, Fleamont and Euphemia would have achieved so much more.”

Harry looked up at the portrait, “How so?”

Charlus smiled, “We are an old family, Harry. We have money, connections, status, a seat on the Wizengamot. What we lost for a long time, was respect, and that was my fault. That was because of my views, my willingness to assist the Muggles in their time of need. My elder brother, Henry, who _you_ are named for, he shared that belief. We fought together, and we were shunned for that.”

“Because it wasn’t the pureblood thing to do,” Harry scoffed.

“Precisely,” Charlus said, “The other families said we should sit tight and let the muggle war ravage our world. Britain is our country, a country we share with the muggles. They are not animals, they are human, and they needed our assistance.”

Harry nodded, and Charlus continued, “But I felt that it was the right thing to do, and as a result, our family fell from grace. All that I did in the war, I did because it was the right thing to do and yes, the burning bodies of those Germans haunted me for a long time, but then I saw a soldier come home from war to his pregnant wife. I saw the children rejoicing in the towns that we saved from the Germans, and I knew that despite the cost, it had been the right thing to do.”

Harry was enrapt, hanging onto Charlus’s every word.

“And you, Harry, you have always done the right thing,” Charlus said, “You saved our world, you defeated a dark lord, and in doing so, you gained something that this family had lost a long time ago. The name Potter is respected once more, and that makes me incredibly proud.”

“Proud?” Harry asked.

“I brought disgrace to the family name for falling out of line with pureblood etiquette and politics, but you tore that all down and gained our respect back,” Charlus said with a smile, “And now, you will marry a Greengrass. The union of the two families will be beneficial for us, but also for Greengrass Industries. The Potter family will gain respect once more, and in doing so, you will gain the ability to bring about change.”

Harry watched his ancestor with interest.

“Change does not end a war, but it does prevent it from happening again,” Charlus said wisely, “And you, my boy, you have the ability to bring that change about.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed with a smile, “I do…thanks, Charlus. You really put things in perspective for me.”

“Anytime,” Charlus said sincerely.

* * *

“Theo, can I talk to you?”

Theo nodded and followed Neville to a quiet corner of his man cave, “Are you going to tell me why you haven’t said a word since you got here?”

“Don’t pretend Draco didn’t fill you in,” Neville said irritably, “He probably floo-ed you yesterday.”

“Well…” Theo said sheepishly, “I do know, but it wasn’t Draco who told me. Harry held a family meeting to tell us all that he was an alcoholic. Then he also told us that you and Lilly had broken up. And it’s shit; I’m sorry, Nev.”

Neville shrugged, “It is what it is. I was going to go over and talk to her today, but I wanted to make sure I was calm before I did and I’m not calm at the moment.”

“So when are you going to talk to her?” Theo asked.

“Tomorrow maybe, if I’ve worked through everything in my head,” Neville said with a sigh, “I wanted to ask your advice about something though. You know how Sadie has to do two weeks training in Egypt then she’ll have to go back and forth?”

Theo nodded, “Are you about to ask me how I’m going to handle the distance?”

Neville nodded, “Yeah.”

“Honestly, I know it’s going to be hard,” Theo replied, “I’m going to keep myself busy with Auror training to distract myself. We’ll floo all the time, and we’ll write to each other, but that’s not the secret to making it work.”

“What is?” Neville asked.

“Enjoying every moment of the time that we do have together,” Theo replied, “So that when we’re lonely, and we miss each other, we have those memories to draw on.”

“So you have to have a strong relationship to make long-distance work,” Neville said.

Theo nodded, “Yeah, I guess that’s one way of putting it.”

“I don’t think Lilly and me are strong enough,” Neville said as he began to walk back over to their friends.

“Nev-”

“There’s nothing more to say about it,” Neville said as he clammed up.

Theo shot Harry a look, Harry just shrugged. He had tried to talk to Neville too, but he hadn’t gotten anywhere either.

“You need another drink, Draco?” Theo said as the air went a little awkward.

“I’m not having another one,” Draco said, “Hermione is already getting on at me enough.”

Theo snorted, “Is she still pissed off about what you said after selection?”

“Yeah,” Draco said with a roll of his eyes, “I figured it was all water under the bridge. We had a few days apart, came back to Potter Manor and had some brilliant sex-”

“Thanks for telling me about all the sex you’re having in my house,” Harry said dryly.

“You’re welcome,” Draco smirked, “And I thought that was it, but she’s still being icy.”

Theo snorted, “Course she is, she’s a woman.”

“What did you actually say to her?” Neville asked with an amused look.

“I was talking to her about all of the Auror training tests,” Draco explained offhandedly, “And I told her about the doubts the Aurors had put in my head. They said I wasn’t good enough for her, and I may have suggested that we were kidding ourselves if we thought things would work out. She got really pissed off and told me that I wasn’t allowed to tell her how she felt and that just because a bunch of Aurors said it wouldn’t work out, it didn’t mean it was true.”

“She has a point,” Harry said,

Theo nodded in agreement, “You and Hermione love each other and make each other happy. Nothing is going to change that, I mean look how much you’ve already overcome.”

“Jeez Theo, you sound just like her,” Draco said with a shake of his head.

“Hey when your fiancé and your boyfriend are in agreement, you know you’re in deep shit,” Harry joked.

“Hey, I don’t find this funny,” Draco objected, “I pissed her off so now she’s being cold with me and I’m not going to see her two weeks while I’m stuck in a dorm with you three idiots.”

“Don’t underestimate Hermione Granger then,” Theo said as he shot his friend an amused look, “She loves you, and she doesn’t care about anything else. When you find a girl who loves you like that, you don’t go around saying shit like you said.”

“Holy shit Theo,” Harry said through his laughter, “Look at you, giving everyone relationship advice.”

“I am the one with a wife,” Theo smirked, “A very hot wife who I have enjoyed in every single room of this house over the last few days.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Rub it in then, why don’t you? I’ve had lodgers since school finished, one day I’ll have the house to myself.”

“Don’t worry, as soon as my house is finished; I’ll be out of your hair,” Draco said, “Because then I’ll have a house of my own with lots of rooms to explore.”

“As long as you don’t piss Hermione off again,” Theo joked.

Harry sniggered, “True. You’re becoming quite the agony Aunt Theo.”

“That kind of has a ring to it,” Theo said with a grin.

Draco shook his head in disbelief, “It’s a scary world that we live in when Theodore Nott is the married, responsible one in our friend group…”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	20. It's Not Over

When Neville walked into Longbottom House, he felt sick. He knew that he was going there to break up with someone and potentially lose another friend. It felt like Hannah all over again.

The house was eerily quiet, and as Neville stood in the entrance hall, for a moment, he wondered if Lilly had already left.

“You’re back.”

Neville swallowed and looked up, “I was at Harry’s.”

“Go figure,” Lilly said from the top of the stairs.

“Can you come down Lilly? We need to talk,” Neville said.

Lilly walked down the stairs, “Kitchen?”

Neville nodded and followed her into the kitchen.

“Do you want a cup of tea?” Lilly asked. The air was incredibly awkward.

“I didn’t come here to drink tea Lilly,” Neville said as he looked up at her, “I don’t want to leave you at a loss so you can stay here until you leave for France but after that-”

“You’ll be at Auror training, so why are you kicking me out?” Lilly asked.

“Because I don’t want my ex-girlfriend living in my house,” Neville replied sharply.

“What?”

“Hermione is my friend; she told me what you said,” Neville said firmly, “And I don’t think I want to be with someone who doesn’t know if they want me in their future.”

Lilly’s eyes widened, “Neville, you’re not breaking up with me.”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing Lilly,” Neville said as calmly as he could. Inside he felt sick, and his heart was breaking.

“Neville, wait,” Lilly said as she took a step towards him, “I know I hesitated on that question, but I want to be with you.”

“You’re not sure about that Lilly, but I am,” Neville said, “I wanted to be with you, I wanted to be engaged and married. I wanted kids and all of the things you told Hermione you didn’t want.”

“I said I didn’t want them right now,” Lilly objected, “But I do want all of that Neville.”

Neville swallowed hard and tried to stop the tears in his eyes from spilling. He couldn’t look at her as he said hoarsely, “I just don’t know where we can go from here.”

Lilly shook her head, “No, I’m not going to stand here like a wallflower and let you break up with me! I love you, you idiot! That night during the war when I got the others to break you out of the Dark Tower…I realised that I loved you that night, in a more than friends way, you know? And I had all but given up on you _ever_ loving me back. You were busy shagging Ginny Weasley and how the hell could I compare to that, after all? But I still did everything I could to get you out of there. When everybody else had given up on you, I _never_ did so you do not get to give up on me now, Neville Longbottom.”

Neville looked at her tearfully. Her outburst of emotion had been real, and the tears falling down her face were too.

“Maybe I am struggling with commitment issues, but that doesn’t mean that I love you any less,” Lilly said as she looked him in the eye, “I don’t know what I want right now. I don’t know if I’ll ever want kids after the way I was raised, but I do know that I need you, Neville. If you break up with me, it will hurt me but if you cut me off like you did with Hannah…It will break my heart.”

Neville shook his head and wiped his eyes hastily, “I love you too, I really do. But I don’t want to get five years down the line and be madly in love with you, then find out you don’t want kids. Because I need a family, Lilly, I need a real family because I never had that.”

“I did, and it wasn’t that much to shout about!” Lilly snapped tearfully, “You can’t break up with me because I don’t know what I want yet, I’m only 19 Neville! And I know sometimes you feel older than that, but we aren’t! We’re just teenagers. How can you just come in here to end things with me, like I don’t matter? Does everything we’ve been through mean nothing to you?”

“It means everything!” Neville snapped. When he looked up at her, his eyes were red and bloodshot, “ _You_ mean everything to me Lilly but this was why I didn’t want to get into a relationship with you! Hannah and I’s friendship was ruined by a bad break-up, and I couldn’t bear the same thing happening to you and me.”

“Then let’s make sure we don’t let it,” Lilly said, “You love me, and I love you. We’ll make it work. If you want to spend some time apart while we work things out, that’s fine. But I’m not letting you go Neville Longbottom. I spent eight years waiting for you to fall in love with me. I’m not going to let you go now.”

Neville sighed, “I don’t want to let you go either, Lilly, I really don’t, but I think you’re right. I think we do need some time apart because this has been a whirlwind. In a few weeks, you went from being one of my best friends to being the most important person in my life, and I want so much more from you than you want from me. I want to marry you, and I don’t care that we’re young. I know I want kids one day and I know I want them with you.”

“How do you think I feel?” Lilly asked angrily, “All of our friends are falling in love, getting engaged, having kids and I don’t know if I want that! And I feel like there's something wrong with me. Is there something wrong with me, Neville?”

“I don’t know,” Neville answered with a sigh, “Commitment has never been your strong point, has it? You spent the war shagging Michael Corner, but you weren’t together-”

“Once,” Lilly said coolly, “I slept with Michael _once_ during the war, and I did that because _that_ was his condition for helping get you out of the Dark Tower so don’t you _dare_ tar me with that brush. All I am asking for is a little time, maybe that’s all we need to take a step back and realise what's important.”

Neville sighed, “I’m giving you time, Lilly, plenty of it.”

“I don’t mean indefinitely Nev,” Lilly said. She crossed her arms, “And you’re being difficult on purpose.”

“How would we even make things work?” Neville asked, “Even if time did help us work things out, you would still be living in France for six months. How would we manage that exactly?”

“I don’t know,” Lilly replied, “But we have to try. I’m not prepared to give up our relationship in a heartbeat without trying.”

“What do you suggest then?” Neville asked as he looked away from her.

“A break,” Lilly replied, “You have two weeks of isolation as part of your training, so why don’t we have this talk again when you come out?”

“A break?”

Lilly nodded, “A break from our relationship.”

Neville sighed again, “Fine, but I still need you out of this house after the 31st.”

Lilly nodded tearfully, “I’m sorry, Neville.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry too,” Neville said quietly as he turned to leave, “And I don’t want to see you between now and the 31st.”

“What about the joint birthday party?” Lilly asked.

“I don’t want to see you there,” Neville said firmly, “If you need to say goodbye to Sadie before she goes to Cairo then that’s fine, but don’t do it in front of me. If this is a break then it’s a clean one, do you understand?”

Neville couldn’t see Lilly’s face, but he could tell that she was crying as she said, “I understand.”

Neville felt like he was breaking his own heart as he walked out of Longbottom House, but he couldn’t have another toxic relationship like the one he had with Hannah.

* * *

Sadie had known that Theo was holding back when he told her about the tests they had put him through over the weekend. However, she wasn’t aware of the extent of his suffering until she was woken up abruptly in the early hours of the morning. At first, she thought an alarm was going off outside, but as she woke up, she realised the sounds were coming from Theo.

“No! No! Mum, no!” Theo was shouting, his shouts became screams and Sadie couldn’t make out much more than the words ‘no’ and ‘Mum’. She wanted to grab Theo and shake him hard to wake him up, but she knew that it could be dangerous to wake someone up abruptly in the middle of a bad nightmare.

He was throwing himself around the bed so violently that it scared Sadie.

“No! Leave her alone!” Theo shouted as he thrashed as if he was trying to fight someone, “Not Sadie! No, not Sadie!”

Sadie bit her lip hard; she had to wake him up from whatever hell was going on inside his head so she placed a hand on his arm and gripped him hard, “Theo, it’s okay,” she said as softly as she could, “I’m here, you just need to wake up.”

“No, no, no,” Theo mumbled over and over again.

“I’m fine, Theo, just wake up,” Sadie said in the most soothing voice she could manage.

She must have reached his subconscious because his eyes popped open. He looked terrified, and his entire body was shaking, he was also soaked to the skin with sweat.

“Sadie,” Theo gasped, he grabbed her and pulled her in close.

Sadie shut her eyes tightly and hugged him, “Theo, what’s going on?”

Theo’s breathing was still very heavy, “I didn’t tell you everything, I’m sorry,” he said, his voice was thick with emotion.

When Sadie drew back, she was surprised to see tears running down his cheeks, “It was hell Sadie, it was hell.”

“Your nightmare?” Sadie asked. She felt herself getting close to tears. She hated to see Theo like this.

He shook his head, “No, the mental tests they did,” he said, “Every time I shut my eyes I see it…I see it all.”

“Shh,” Sadie shushed him, “Talk to me about it, Theo, maybe talking about it will help.”

Theo’s breathing began to slow down, “They threatened you when they tortured me. They crushed and broke my bones then they used the cruciatus curse on me, and the pain was…it was so bad, but I was just about holding it together then they threatened you.”

“It wasn’t real baby,” Sadie said softly.

“But it could be,” Theo said as he turned his wide, terrified eyes on her, “It could happen, and I can’t let it. I can’t let anyone hurt you.”

“Nobody will,” Sadie said, she grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly, “Not when I have my wonderful Auror husband looking out for me.”

Theo frowned and looked down.

“There’s more, isn’t there?” Sadie asked gently, “What else did they do to you?”

Theo swallowed hard and shut his eyes, “When they interviewed me, they asked about my father and…my mother. They said that they needed to know that I wasn’t cruel like my father, they said-”

His voice trailed off because he couldn’t keep it together. He shut his eyes tightly, and Sadie saw more tears fall, “What did they say?”

“They said that they needed to make sure that I wouldn’t lose my temper if you left me for someone else,” Theo said quietly, “They thought I would do to you what my father did to my mother.”

Sadie swallowed, “Theo, that is disgusting. It was completely out of order of them to say something like that to you!”

“I know,” Theo said tearfully, “But every time I try to sleep I see my mother trying to claw her way out of that basement then I see myself…I see myself locking you in with her.”

“Theo,” Sadie said firmly, “Snap out of it, you are nothing like your father! Your father was a sick, twisted, cold man, but you are sweet, caring and brave. Those Aurors shouldn’t have said what they did to you, don’t let them get inside your head.”

Theo nodded and wiped his eyes on the edge of the t-shirt he had worn to bed, “I’m sorry, I should have told you straight away.”

Sadie shook her head, “Don’t be sorry. I understand why you couldn’t talk to me about it.”

“That man terrified me, Sadie,” Theo admitted quietly, “That basement made me…I think it screwed me up, the way he treated me. Small spaces freak me out, being locked in somewhere terrifies me. When they put us in that room with the Death Eater then locked the door…”

“You were straight back to your childhood,” Sadie whispered.

Theo nodded and looked up at her through his bloodshot eyes, “I was a terrified kid again, beaten by my father then locked in the basement where he had murdered my mother.”

“Your father was sick Theo, one of the sickest of Voldemort’s followers,” Sadie said, “But you aren’t your father, just like Draco isn’t his father. Every time you have the nightmares or you find yourself feeling scared, just tell yourself that.”

“I am not my father,” Theo said firmly as he wiped his eyes again.

Sadie nodded and looked at him with a fire in her eyes, “Exactly, and if those Aurors try anything like that again, I will give them a piece of my mind.”

Theo looked up and smiled weakly at her, “I always knew you should have been a Hufflepuff.”

Sadie shot him an amused look, “If it wasn’t for the state you were in, I would have hit you for that comment.”

Theo chuckled quietly, “Thanks Sade and…don't tell any of the guys about this. Okay?”

Sadie smiled slightly, “Don’t worry baby. I wouldn’t dream of ruining your reputation.”

“Knew I kept you around for a reason,” Theo joked in an effort to make the air feel less awkward.

Sadie pulled him back down, “Come on, try and get some more sleep.”

* * *

“…then Theo got his pinky bitten off by the venomous tentacula…”

Harry snorted and walked into the drawing-room, expecting to find his fiancé conversing with an actual human. Instead, he found her cackling with the portrait of Dorea Black.

“Theo? The Nott boy? I would have thought a son of Almina would have more sense than that,” Dorea said.

“I know, right? He’s half Crouch like me,” Daphne chuckled, “He did get some brains mind you; he’s very intelligent.”

“No common sense whatsoever though,” Harry said from the doorway.

Daphne turned around and smiled at him, “Hey, babe. I was just telling Dorea about eighth year. We’re well into the epic love story of Draco Malfoy-Black and Hermione Granger, actually Nott.”

Harry chuckled, “I see that. I was just popping in to tell you that I’m heading over to Theo’s.”

“Are they going to be drinking again?” Daphne asked with a frown, “That was stupid of them to drink in front of you last time.”

“It was fine, I just drank water,” Harry promised, “Neville would have kicked me in the nuts if it’d touched anything, you know that.”

“I know, but it’s not nice to dangle it under your nose like that,” Daphne said pointedly.

“I’m not going to ask everyone else to stop drinking just because I have a little problem,” Harry said with a smile, “But I’m not going over to meet up with the guys anyway. I’m just helping Theo put a half-sized Quidditch pitch into the back-garden now that they’ve re-sized it.”

“Fair enough,” Daphne got to her feet and kissed him, “See you later then.”

“See you,” He murmured, kissing her again for good measure before leaving the house. He floo-ed into Sadie and Theo’s kitchen and called, “I’m here, Theo!”

“I’m outside!” A muffled yell from upstairs floated down.

Harry chuckled and jogged up the stairs. He met Theo in the back-garden, “Is this your idea of gardening?”

“I tried to cut the grass but I just kind of killed it,” Theo admitted sheepishly.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed as he looked at the mauled lawn, “You did. Couldn’t Sadie have done a better job?”

“I could have done, but he insisted that the grass was a mans job,” Sadie’s voice said.

Harry barked out a laugh as he turned to look at Sadie, she was sitting on a sun lounger sipping a cocktail quite happily.

“Hate to say it mate, but you landed yourself in that one,” Harry grinned.

Theo rolled his eyes, “You’re meant to be on my side, mate.”

“If you wanted sympathy you should have asked Draco for help.”

“I would have, but him and Hermione are meeting their new house-elf,” Theo said irritably, “And Neville is ignoring everyone right now, so I asked you.”

“So I’m basically your last resort friend then, yeah?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Theo agreed with a grin, “Sorry, mate.”

“For that, you can finish the grass by yourself,” Harry said as he conjured up another sun lounger and sat down next to Sadie.

“Fuck you boy wonder!” Theo muttered irritably as he went back to cutting the grass.

Harry shot Sadie an amused look, “Out of interest, does talking to portraits make you crazy?”

“It depends on how often you talk to them and what you talk about,” Sadie answered, “Mocktail? They don’t have any alcohol in them, I mean it _is_ 10 am.”

Harry laughed and accepted the glass, “Cheers.”

“Why are you talking to portraits?” Sadie asked with a chuckle.

“Oh, I’m not, but Daphne is,” Harry retorted.

“Oh, that sounds about right,” Sadie said, “She used to talk to the portraits in Greengrass House all of the time. A lot of them were damaged in the fire mind you, but they saved a few and restored them.”

“Why does she talk to the portraits?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

“She likes history,” Sadie shrugged, “She likes to know their stories. She loved Euphemia, her great Aunt. She used to talk to her all the time; she said she had the best stories of her epic romance to Fleamont.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at Sadie, “Did she?”

“Oh shit, don’t tell her I told you that,” Sadie muttered, “She’d kill me.”

“So she’s had a crush on me for a bit longer than she pretends then?” Harry grinned.

“A little bit longer,” Sadie admitted, she smiled slyly, “Do not tell her.”

“My lips are sealed,” Harry laughed, “I guess I can understand why she likes talking to them though. I mean, my therapy is talking to Charlus about my war trauma. He fought in world war one, and he’s an interesting guy. Still, I don’t drink tea with him like Daphne does with Dorea Black.”

“Dorea Black?” Sadie snorted, “That makes sense. Those two would have gotten on great if they had lived at the same time.”

“How come?” Harry asked.

“They are just quite similar people,” Sadie replied, “What do they talk about?”

“Family history mostly,” Harry answered, “She tells Dorea all about the Black family and what has happened to them since she died.”

“What are you saying about Dorea Black? And Sweet Salazar, he has mauled your garden.”

“I did tell him to wait for you,” Sadie said as she looked up at Draco, “But he was adamant that he could do it himself. You should have heard him, _No Sadie, I don’t need you to cut the grass for me, it’s a mans job and no, I don’t need Draco to do it for me either. I am as manly a man as him, and I can tackle this garden_.”

“I think the garden has tackled him,” Hermione sniggered.

Harry snorted, “How’s the new house-elf?”

“Lovely,” Hermione said with a smile, “She’s called Flopsy, and she’s so cute. She’s really young, but the last family cast her out because they didn’t need another elf. She’s a good cook, and she’s going to light the fires in the morning and put them out at night, but we’ll do most of the cleaning ourselves.”

Harry shot Draco an amazed look.

“I know,” Draco mouthed, and Harry had to hide his amused grin.

“She is very liberal too,” Hermione said eagerly, “Because she’s so young, you see? So she’s going to wear clothes.”

“Hermione’s going to knit them for her,” Draco added. He was hiding a fond smile at these words.

“ _And_ she will get two weeks leave a year,” Hermione chirped, “She wouldn’t agree to take any more than that. We’re going to build her a proper little bedroom too, not just a cupboard.”

“Sounds like she’s your perfect match,” Sadie said, smiling at Harry from behind her cocktail glass.

“Yeah,” Hermione admitted sadly, “Lilly was totally right about everything. We are helping them more by giving them a home than by denying them work. I need to apologise to her for what I said. I just got so angry on Neville’s behalf.”

“You’d have to get past the front door first,” Sadie remarked, “And nobody else has managed yet.”

“I could get in, but I’m respecting her privacy and not being a dick,” Harry admitted.

“Yeah, and if I did get in, she’d curse me the minute I was in the entrance hall,” Draco added.

“Me too right now,” Hermione said.

Draco conjured up a couple more chairs, and he and Hermione joined Harry and Sadie on the porch.

“Are you drinking?” Hermione asked suspiciously.

“It’s a mocktail,” Sadie said, “Do you honestly think I would give him an alcoholic drink at 10 am?”

“No,” Hermione admitted sheepishly, “I also don’t think you would drink at 10 am, sorry, Sadie.”

“Here,” Sadie said, clicking her fingers and bringing a couple more up from the kitchen, “I just felt like a refreshing drink while I watch the entertainment on display.”

At that point, the old push mower that Theo was using got a pebble caught in it. This ricocheted around then hit him in the face, “Ow! Fucking piece of metal shit! Stop being a dick you stupid lawn! I’ll set you on fire and see how you like that, you prick!”

“And I thought Daphne was insane for talking to portraits,” Harry sniggered.

“Daphne’s talking to the portrait of Dorea Black? My ancestor?” Draco asked in surprise, “Has she talked about me?”

“Oh yeah, loads,” Harry shot Draco a grin, “The word ferret came up more than once, and I’m pretty sure Dorea called you a waste of space.”

“I’m going to kill Daphne,” Draco muttered with a roll of his eyes.

“No, you won’t,” Hermione said. She conjured a pair of sunglasses and put them on, “You love Daphne.”

“She’s a pain in the arse,” Draco said irritably, “Although talking about portraits, do you reckon we should put any from the manor up when we move in next door?”

“Any portraits of your evil ancestors?” Hermione asked, peering at him over her glasses, “How about, no?”

“They weren’t all evil,” Draco objected, “My Grandmother was a Potter, and she saved your mother’s life. Without my Grandmother, you wouldn’t exist.”

“He makes a good point,” Harry mused, “Elladora was the one who erased your mother's memory and set her up in the muggle world.”

“I suppose,” Hermione conceded.

“My grandparents were nice,” Draco said thoughtfully, “And there’s a huge portrait of them in my vault at Gringotts. It would hang perfectly where that portrait of Walburga Black used to be.”

“Draco,” Hermione said, shooting him an amused look, “We just got a house-elf. Can you let that one sink in before you try and convince me to have portraits of all the late and great Malfoys around my house?”

Draco rolled his eyes and turned away from his fiancé, “At least you don’t have to put up with this shit, Harry.”

“No, my fiancé just makes friends with all of my ancestors,” Harry snorted, “Hey Theo! You missed a bit!”

“Yeah, a pretty big bit!” Draco yelled.

“Big patch in the middle there, Nott!”

“Fuck you, princess, you’re a Nott too!” Theo fumed as he threw the lawnmower away, “I’m done with this fucking metal demon. Reducto!”

“Protego,” Sadie muttered lazily, throwing a shield charm over them all as shards of metal rained down.

Harry shook his head in amusement as Theo set fire to the grass in his temper. Sadie took her sunglasses off and looked at Draco, “Draco, please could you remove my husband from the garden so that Harry can fix his mess?”

“Of course, Sadie,” Draco said through his laughter. He got to his feet and crossed the garden, putting his arm around Theo and nodding supportively while patting his back as he led him into the summerhouse that was half-built at the other end of the garden.

“Harry, please could restore my grass and erect my Quidditch pitch?” Sadie asked politely.

“Course, Sade,” Harry chuckled. He got to his feet and got to work.

Sadie shook her head and turned to look at Hermione, “Remember, when you asked why I had been in Slytherin instead of Ravenclaw?”

Hermione chuckled, “Yes?”

“This is why,” Sadie smirked, putting her sunglasses back on, “They all think I’m the quiet, sweet, innocent one, so I have them all hoodwinked.”

Hermione laughed out loud and reached across the lounger to grab Sadie’s hand, “You’re brilliant, Sadie.”

Sadie grinned, “I know.”

* * *

“Nev!” Harry said with relief when he walked into the annexe and saw his friend lying on the sofa, “Where were you all night? I was worried sick!”

“I was drinking my sorrows away,” Neville said dryly.

“Drinking your sorrows away?” Harry asked in disbelief, “After what you just saved me from?”

“I’m hardly an alcoholic, Harry,” Neville snorted, “I just went on a bender because I went to break up with Lilly, and she talked me out of it.”

“Okay firstly, that was what I told myself to begin with,” Harry said firmly, “That I wasn’t an alcoholic. I just liked a drink to forget my sorrows, to begin with, and then I was an alcoholic, so don’t be a fucking dick, Neville.”

Neville sighed.

“And secondly, she talked you out of breaking up with her?”

“Yeah,” Neville said irritably, “How the fuck did she do that?”

“Uh…because she’s Lilly?” Harry shot back, “The most stubborn person that we know and also because deep down, I don’t think you actually want to break up with her. You were just being an impulsive Gryffindor. Does this mean you’re back together?”

“No,” Neville snorted, “We’re on a break until after our isolation period ends.”

“A break?” Harry asked with a frown, “Like when you can both see other people? That kind of break?”

“I guess,” Neville shrugged, “I didn’t really stay around for long enough to get a definition.”

“Well maybe it’s better this way,” Harry said diplomatically, “You and Lilly have something real, throwing it away after one argument would be careless. Maybe some time will help you both realise what you want.”

“I know what I want, Harry,” Neville said sharply, “It’s Lilly who needs to figure things out.”

Harry sighed, “That’s what I mean Nev, maybe some time will make her realise just what she’s missing.”

Neville rolled his eyes, “What is it with all of you saying that? It’s not like I’m some great catch, I’m Neville Longbottom, the idiot who got hung on a chandelier by a bunch of pixies, the stupid boy who can’t get up the grand staircase without falling through the invisible step. So what? I killed one snake; it doesn’t make me a hero.”

“It does, actually,” Harry said sincerely, “Because if you hadn’t killed that snake when I went into that final duel with Voldemort, he would have won. I don’t know how many lives you saved when you killed that snake, but I know it’s a lot. As for the whole being the guy who got caught by the pixies and puts his foot in the invisible step thing, that’s the guy Lilly loves. It isn’t about stupid things like that in the past Nev. It’s about the fact you are one of the most genuine guys I know. It’s about the fact you wear your heart on your sleeve, and when you fall in love, you fall hard. That’s what makes you a catch, not the fact you killed a snake once.”

Neville looked up at Harry in surprise, “Are you telling me you love me?”

Harry chuckled, “I’ve been reading some of Daph’s romance books, okay? And…well, you and I are alike. I know what it’s like to fall harder and faster than the other person, and I know what it’s like to wear your heart on your sleeve.”

Neville frowned, “You fell in love with Daphne before she fell in love with you,” he said.

Harry nodded, “Yeah, don’t you remember how close I was to calling it off because Daphne had commitment issues? Remember the whole Gabrielle drama back in school? I could have settled, Gabrielle is beautiful, she’s kind and we would have been happy together but she’s not Daphne. The kind of love I have for Daphne is wild and crazy, its unpredictable and it’s the kind of love you only feel once,” Harry said softly.

“That’s how I feel about Lilly,” Neville said tearfully.

“It’s going to be okay, Nev,” Harry assured his friend, “Daphne got over that and then…well things changed. She went from being terrified of relationships to saying yes when I proposed to her, and now we’re talking about adopting Teddy.”

“What are you saying, Harry?” Neville asked as he looked up at his friend again.

“I’m saying that when two people are in a relationship, they aren’t always ready for the next step at the same time,” Harry said honestly, “By all means, do this whole break thing and see if some space helps, but you might just have to accept that Lilly does want all the same things that you want but that she isn’t quite ready for them yet.”

Neville groaned and let his head fall into his hands, “I was a dick to her yesterday. I banned her from our joint party…I even said she couldn’t say goodbye to Sadie at her goodbye dinner. I said she had to do it when I wasn’t there.”

“Nev, you share all of the same friends,” Harry pointed out, “And that party is 50% mine, you had no right to ban her from it.”

“I know.”

“I’m going to re-invite her,” Harry said, “And that’s not me taking sides, I just…I like Lil, and I understand how lonely she must be right now. I’ve had times when all of my friends have abandoned me, and it’s not nice.”

“It’s fine Harry,” Neville said with a nod, “I think we do need to give ourselves this break that she was talking about, but I don’t have the right to keep her from her friends so talk to her, please.”

Harry nodded and headed towards the door, “And Nev?”

“Yeah?”

“Next time you need to talk, just talk to me,” Harry said quietly, “Remember what you told me, yeah? When you’re depressed or angry, I don’t want you to think you need to rely on a bottle. I want you to rely on me, your Auror partner and more importantly, your best friend.”

Neville smiled weakly, “Yeah, I’m sorry.”

Harry nodded, “I know,” he said, smiling slightly at Neville before leaving the annexe.

* * *

“It’s all my fault.”

Daphne frowned, “What?”

“Neville and Lilly going on a break,” Hermione explained, “It’s all my fault.”

“Why?” Daphne asked with narrowed eyes, “Did you tell him to break up with her?”

“Not in so many words,” Hermione replied honestly, “But he asked for my advice when we talked out in the garden, and I think what I said made him break up with her.”

“What did you say?” Daphne asked as she stopped preparing the vegetables.

“I told him what Lilly said, about not knowing whether she had a future with Neville,” Hermione admitted.

“Hermione,” Daphne groaned.

“What?” Hermione said defensively, “He had a right to know! Neville is my friend, and I don’t want him to get hurt like he did by Hannah.”

“Lilly is supposed to be your friend too,” Daphne reminded her, “And she probably told you that in confidence.”

“I was just trying to help,” Hermione said a little tearfully.

“The best way to help when couples argue is not to get involved,” Daphne advised her, “Because now Lilly is probably angry at you which she has a right to be, by the way, I would be angry too.”

“Should I apologise?”

“This is Lilly we’re talking about,” Daphne reminded her, “Do you really think she would accept an apology at the moment?”

“What do I do then?” Hermione asked as she bit her lip hard.

“Owl her,” Daphne replied, “At least that way she can’t curse you. After that, wait for her to approach you. Once she’s calmed down she’ll talk to you, she’s emotional, but she’s also logical. I think that’s part of the problem with you two; you’re too similar.”

You and I argue, and we’re not too similar,” Hermione pointed out.

“Friends argue, Hermione,” Daphne said with a slight smile, “We argue because we love each other. If we didn’t argue, then it would mean that we didn’t care. Lilly will forgive you, but you have to give her time.”

Hermione nodded and wiped her eyes, “And don’t meddle in any relationships, ever again.”

Daphne gave her a rueful smile, “Something like that; come here.”

Hermione wasn’t proud; she knew when she needed a hug and right now was one of those times. She stepped forward and hugged Daphne tightly, “I feel terrible.”

“I know,” Daphne said as she patted her on the back, “But it’s not irreparable, okay? We will fix things.”

“She didn’t come out with us on Monday,” Hermione said as she pulled back, “But that was before Neville had spoken to her.”

“She’s hurting, and when people hurt, they hide away,” Daphne said honestly, “But she will come out eventually, and when she does, we just need to make sure that we do whatever we can to help her.”

“Without getting too involved,” Hermione added.

Daphne smiled, “Exactly. Now, are you going to help me finish this birthday cake or not?”

* * *

“Harry! What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m sneaking Neville’s birthday present in,” Harry said in a terrible stage whisper.

“We’ve already bought him a birthday present,” Daphne said, crossing her arms as she stood before him in the entrance hall.

“You look so hot right now,” Harry whispered.

Daphne raised an eyebrow. She was wearing a simple black dress and high heels, her hair was drawn up into a messy bun, and she had her usual make-up on, complete with red lipstick.

“She reminds me of Euphemia when she does that.”

“Right, and my grandfather perving on my fiancé just ruined the moment,” Harry said as he shot an amused look up the staircase towards the portrait, “Thanks for killing the mood, Fleamont.”

“Call me Monty, Harry.”

Daphne smiled in amusement, “What have you bought him? And why is it so huge?”

“I felt like I needed to get him a good present as a thank you for everything he did for me,” Harry replied, “I don’t know what would have happened if Neville hadn’t gotten through to me about my little firewhiskey problem when he did.”

“You still haven’t told me what the present is,” Daphne said.

“That’s because it’s a surprise,” Harry murmured, “Just help me hide it somewhere.”

“I am a human being, not a thing you know!”

Daphne’s eyes widened, “Harry, did the present just talk?”

“Yeah,” Harry said sheepishly, “The present talked.”

“This is very undignified!”

“Shh!” Harry said, “Come on, Daphne, we have to hide it!”

“Her, I am a woman!”

“We need to hide her,” Harry said with a roll of his eyes.

“There’s a perfect place in the attic, Harry.”

“Thanks, Monty!”

“And might I say, Daphne, you are looking splendid today-”

“Stop being a creep, Monty!”

“My apologies.”

From further down the hall, Euphemia said, “You could always visit _me_ in my portrait more often rather than ogling my descendants, Fleamont.”

“Sorry, dear.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	21. Breaking Your Own Hearts

When Harry knocked on the door of Longbottom House, there was no answer. When he knocked a second time, he didn’t even hear any movement coming from inside the house, so he was sure that Lilly was ignoring him.

He sighed and raised his hand to knock a third time, but before he could, the door swung open. Harry had expected to see Lilly but in her place was her house-elf.

“Oh hi,” Harry said brightly, “Would I be able to talk to Lilly?”

“Mistress Lilly is in her bedroom mister Harry,” The elf said, “I is worried about her, but she tells me no guests.”

“I’ll say I broke in then,” Harry promised the elf, “I’m training to be an Auror, it could easily be the truth. Where’s her bedroom?”

“Upstairs, first door,” The elf replied, “Please don’t tell her I lets you in mister Harry.”

“I promise, I won’t,” Harry said as he jogged up the stairs and followed the elves directions. He knocked on the door first, he didn’t want to walk in on her getting changed or something.

“I told you Tokey; I’m not hungry!”

“I’m not Tokey, and I don’t have any food,” Harry said, “Are you decent?”

“Harry, how the hell did you get in here?”

“I’m training to be an Auror, I know how to pick a lock,” Harry said as he opened the door and peeked in, “Oh thank Merlin, you’re not naked.”

Lilly glared at him, “What do you want?”

“I just came to apologise for Neville being a dick,” Harry said honestly, “He had no right to uninvite you to our party because it’s 50% mine and I 100% want you there. He also had no right to ban you from Sadie’s leaving dinner because it is also _your_ leaving dinner.”

Lilly narrowed her eyes at him, “Why should I believe you? Neville is your best friend and your Auror partner. You must be on his side.”

“I hate sides,” Harry said matter of factly as he stepped into the bedroom and flung the curtains open, “And frankly, you look as shit as he does. Minus, the effects of alcohol poisoning.”

“He’s hungover?”

“I think he might still be drunk actually,” Harry said, he had to try not to laugh as Lilly pulled the covers up to shield herself from the bright light streaming in through the window.

“Some friend you are,” Lilly grumbled, “Aren’t friends supposed to be supportive? They don’t just come storming into their friends’ bedroom telling them that they look like shit.”

“I am supportively telling you that you look like shit to get you out of bed,” Harry said matter of factly, “You need a shower because you also smell. There’s no way you’re going to your leaving dinner tonight stinking and looking like shit.”

“You’re right because I’m not going,” Lilly said irritably, “Why would I want to sit in the same room as the guy who just tried to break up with me? I had to beg him to let us have a break so we could see how we felt at the end of it.”

“Look, I don’t do sides, okay?” Harry said, “But you were as much to blame as he was. I think this whole break thing is a good idea, and I hope it will give you both some perspective. But break or not, you can’t avoid all of your friends for the next two weeks so get your arse into the bathroom and get your life together.”

“Or what?” Lilly asked as she pulled the cover down and glared at him.

“Or I will come here tonight and drag you to Sadie and Theo’s place myself,” Harry said, “You don’t have to talk to Neville, you don’t even have to look at him if you don’t want to, but you do have to come to your own leaving dinner.”

“Fine,” Lilly said irritably, “But I’m not coming to the party.”

“Yes, you are,” Harry said as he walked towards the door, “But we’ll have that argument another day.”

* * *

“Is Lilly coming?” Sadie asked as she looked around the kitchen of her home.

“She’s coming,” Harry assured her, “I told her if she wasn’t here by 6.30 pm. I would go to Longbottom House and drag her here myself.”

“It’s 6.28 pm,” Daphne pointed out.

“Yeah but this is Lilly we’re talking about,” Susan said with an amused smile, “She won’t let Harry humiliate her by dragging her here. She’ll be here.”

“She will probably show up at 6.30 pm on the dot, just to piss you off,” Hermione added.

“What did you two fight about anyway?” Susan asked.

Neville sighed, “It’s a long story.”

“Which means he doesn’t want to talk about it tonight,” Harry said pointedly, “Tonight is about saying goodbye to Sadie and Lil for a couple of weeks, not about Neville and Lilly’s relationship.”

“I hear you, loud and clear,” Susan said as she shot an amused look at Neville, “Would you look at that Nev, the chosen one becomes your Auror partner and your bodyguard at the same time.”

Neville chuckled, “Yeah, it’s kind of annoying actually.”

“Hey, it’s a sought-after service,” Harry joked, “You could at least be grateful.”

Neville shook his head in amusement, but Harry was just glad to see him smiling. The clock ticked to 6.30 pm and right on time, the floo whirred.

“Told ya,” Susan smirked.

Harry could have rolled his eyes as Lilly stepped into the kitchen. She was dressed in jeans and a blouse, like most of the other girls. The theme had been smart-casual, so Daphne had shown up in a blouse adorned with diamante’s, naturally.

“Hey, Lil,” Harry said with a smile, “You look great, and you smell amazing.”

Daphne frowned at Harry’s choice of words, not to mention the fact that Lilly was glaring at him.

“Thanks, Harry,” She said stiffly.

Sadie looked between Lilly and Neville nervously; they refused to meet each other’s eyes. She was afraid that the entire evening would be awkward, so she said, “Okay guys! Do you want to take your seats? Harry and Daphne over there, Draco and Hermione across from them, Suse and Percy just here and Theo and I are across from you. Nev, you’re the head of the table up here and Lil, that’s you down there.”

Harry could have shaken his head at the obvious separation of Neville and Lilly. He knew it was for the best, but everyone else was sitting as a couple, and Sadie had put the two of them as far apart as she possibly could. Neither of them argued against it as they sat down, but Daphne did mutter to Harry, “Why did you tell her she smelled nice?”

“Because when I went to see her this afternoon, I said she looked like shit and needed a shower because she smelled,” Harry whispered back.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Arsehole.”

“What? I needed to get her out of bed somehow,” Harry murmured.

“So you insulted her? Honestly, no wonder you and Draco are such good friends,” Daphne said with a shake of her head.

Harry couldn’t say any more to defend himself, not that he thought it would help anyway, because as soon as everyone was sitting, Theo stood to make an announcement.

“I just wanted to thank all you guys for coming,” He said, “This new job is a big deal for Sadie, and although it’s going to suck that she’ll be gone for a few weeks, I know it’s going to be worth it for her.”

Sadie smiled at that, but those who knew Theo best could see the pain and concern in his eyes. He hadn’t disclosed the full extent of his fears to Sadie, and they knew that he never would because he didn’t want to say anything that would stop her from going.

“And then there’s Lilly,” Theo added, “Who has to go spend six months in France. Merlin knows how she’s going to cope amongst all those frogs, but when she comes back, she’ll be ready to heal us Aurors up.”

Lilly smiled slightly, “The French aren’t that bad Theo.”

Theo made a face, “Each to their own, I suppose. Anyway, this might be the last meal we all have together for quite a while so let’s just enjoy it!”

He clinked his spoon against his glass, and all of the dishes magically uncovered themselves, “Tuck in!”

Everyone did so, and as they ate, they talked to those sitting nearby them at the table.

“Do you think I should try to apologise to Lilly?” Hermione asked Susan in an undertone.

Susan frowned, “What do you have to apologise for?”

“It’s sort of my fault they broke up,” Hermione admitted sheepishly, “I gave him some misguided advice.”

“Don’t be so harsh on yourself,” Susan said gently, “That doesn’t make it your fault. Trust me; it really was my fault that Neville and Hannah broke up.”

“That was for the best though,” Hermione said as she bit her lip, “Hannah wasn’t right for Neville, and unfortunately it took a lot of suffering for him to be able to see that but Lilly…she’s perfect for him. Surely you can see that?”

Susan nodded as she glanced over at Lilly, the dark-haired girl was pushing her food around her plate and refusing to look up at anyone, “Yeah, I can. She keeps him grounded, stops him from starting to think he’s Neville the snake killing hero, you know? She indulges him when he gets all nerdy and wants to talk Herbology; she even offered to help him plant his magical garden at Longbottom House. She introduces him to new things; she challenges him. She is perfect for him.”

“Too good to lose,” Hermione said, “And with them being on a break or whatever it is, I think things might go sour.”

“Or they will totally go the other way,” Susan pointed out, “It could make them both realise how stupid they’re being and how much they love each other. At the end of the day Hermione, it could go either way, but it’s up to them which way they let it go.”

Hermione nodded, “I know. I’ll stay out of it; I learned my lesson after the last time I tried to meddle.”

“They will work it out on their own, one way or another,” Susan said knowingly, “But nobody can help them with that, as much as we all want to.”

* * *

At the other end of the table, after seeing how miserable her friend was, Sadie struck up a conversation, “Are you looking forward to going to France, Lil?”

“I’m nervous,” Lilly admitted, “I know it’s going to be hard, but I think when they throw us into training, I’ll be shocked by how hard it is.”

“But it will be amazing to live in another country for a few months,” Sadie said, “I can’t wait to observe another culture, one so different to what I know. I have no idea what wizarding Egypt is like, but I can’t wait to find out.”

Lilly smiled, “I’m excited to see France. I’ve never even been abroad before so for my first time leaving Britain to be for six months, its quite a big change.”

Sadie chuckled, “I bet you will take to it well, though. Where are you staying?”

“In dorms at the training centre,” Lilly replied, “It’s on the outskirts of Amiens. I think I might try to find out a little about the military history when I’m there. My Great Grandfather fought in World War One, and he was stationed in France, he was a muggle, obviously.”

“That’s interesting,” Theo said from Sadie’s other side, “My Grandfather was in the wizarding guards, he was stationed in Belgium in World War One.”

“There was a wizarding contingent in World War One?” Lilly asked in surprise.

“And in World War Two,” Percy piped up from Lilly’s other side, “The wizarding guards fought on horseback didn’t they? They were similar to the force that muggles call the cavalry, only with wands.”

Theo nodded, “That’s right, I think some of them rode Thestrals too. Then there were the dragon riders; they destroyed more cities than the muggle bombs did in world war two.”

“Charlus Potter was a dragon rider in World War One,” Sadie said, “They carried out aerial attacks on the German trenches.”

“Did the muggles know?” Lilly asked.

“Only those with the highest security clearance,” Percy replied.

“That’s interesting,” Lilly mused, “I wonder why we never learned about that in History of Magic.”

“Oh that’s because it’s still in living memory,” Sadie said, “Wizards live longer than muggles so we can’t study things in the near past. Out of respect to those who fought and died, we have to wait until they are out of living memory.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Lilly mused.

“I might see if I can find out anything about my Great Grandfather when I come to visit you in France,” Susan said, “He fought out there too.”

“Are you going to come and visit? That would be great,” Lilly said.

“Of course I’ll visit,” Susan said, “We’re not just going to leave you on your own in France for six months!”

“How are you two going to work things out, with visits?” Harry asked Theo and Sadie curiously.

“Well for the first two weeks that Sadie is away, I’ll be locked in the Auror training base,” Theo said, “But after that, I guess we’ll just take it in turns when she’s away. One weekend I’ll go to Egypt, and another weekend, she’ll come here.”

“I promised Theo I wouldn’t do any of the cool things like the pyramids until he’s there to do them with me,” Sadie said with a smile.

Daphne chuckled, “Yeah, you’ll love all of the mutated corpses, Theo. You’ll have to tell me if you like it out there Sade, there’s a chance I could get posted to Egypt for a few months as a curse breaker.”

“Not straight away though,” Harry said with a frown.

“No, I would have to be fully qualified first,” Daphne said, “And I would have to discuss it with you before I even considered it, of course.”

Harry smiled slightly, “I would probably let you go unless Ted needed you around 24/7 for some reason. You’re not running off to Egypt to get out of potty training.”

“Won’t Andromeda be doing that anyway?” Susan asked with a chuckle, “She is his grandma after all.”

“Yeah,” Harry said with a slight smile, “We meant to tell you guys about that. Daphne and I are seriously talking about adopting Ted, we don’t know when we’re going to do it, but we are definitely going to do it.”

“Wow,” Susan said as her eyes widened, “That’s big.”

“But not surprising,” Percy said thoughtfully.

“You already love Teddy like he’s your own,” Hermione said with a smile.

Sadie nodded, “That’s great; you will be a proper little family.”

“Don’t get too excited just yet,” Daphne said to her oldest friend with a smile, “Like Harry said, we don’t know when it’s happening yet.”

The group all congratulated Harry and Daphne once more then the small-talk moved away from Egypt and France and babies for a while. They talked about Quidditch and Auror training as they finished their meal. Once everyone was full to the bursting, they all headed upstairs into the drawing-room where Theo got everyone drinks, minus Harry, who was staying off all alcohol for the time being.

They split up into little groups naturally because of the way the room was laid out, and Lilly took this as her chance to catch Sadie alone.

“Sadie, can I talk to you? Out of earshot of the others,” Lilly asked quietly.

Sadie could tell that her friend needed to talk, so she nodded, “Of course you can. Come out onto the balcony with me.”

Lilly followed Sadie out onto the balcony, and the blonde girl pulled the door shut behind her. There wasn’t room for any chairs out here so Sadie sat down in the warm evening air and let her feet dangle over the balcony edge through the railings.

Lilly chuckled and followed her lead; she already felt better for the warm breeze and the fresh air.

“Is this about you and Nev?” Sadie asked knowingly.

Lilly sighed, “I thought you might be the best person to talk to since you and Theo…”

“Since he was a womanising bastard and nobody understands why I married him?” Sadie guessed.

“No, Sadie,” Lilly said sharply, “That wasn’t what I was going to say at all.”

“You were thinking it,” Sadie said with a shrug, “Everybody does, but the thing is, that whole macho man thing is just a façade. Underneath that the Theo I love is…he’s worth his reputation.”

“But,” Lilly said as she bit her lip, “Didn’t you worry that he would struggle with commitment? Because of his…past discretions.”

Sadie raised an eyebrow at Lilly, “Why don’t you just tell me what this is about Lil. I find it hard to believe that Nev has commitment issues.”

“He doesn’t,” Lilly admitted, “I do.”

Sadie smiled slightly, “Well, maybe you should talk to Theo if you think he’s the one with the commitment issues.”

Lilly frowned, “What do you mean if I _think_?”

“I mean, yes somebody had commitment issues,” Sadie said honestly, “Somebody called off our engagement over an argument once. Somebody tried to run away the night before our wedding, but it wasn’t Theo.”

“Really?” Lilly asked in surprise, “How did I not know that? I mean I know that you gave him the ring back when that list came out during the prank war, but how did I not know that you nearly got cold feet?”

“Because the only person who does is Daph,” Sadie said honestly, “Somebody had to track me down and tell me that I was being an idiot.”

“But if you love Theo, then why did you do it?” Lilly asked.

“Because I got scared,” Sadie admitted, “Theo has a reputation, and most of the time it doesn’t bother me. But the night before our wedding, I realised that most of the world thought I was the fool marrying Theodore Nott. Daphne found me and told me that it didn’t matter what the rest of the world thought; it mattered what I thought.”

Lilly nodded slowly and looked out over London. The street below was busy with muggles who were going about their daily business.

“But you got over your fears because you did marry Theo,” Lilly said after a moment of contemplation.

“I realised that Daphne was right,” Sadie said, “I was being stupid, it didn’t matter what anyone else thought. How I felt was what mattered, and I knew that I loved Theo. I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I could see our future.”

“What if I can’t?” Lilly asked as she turned to Sadie. She wasn’t crying, but it was clear that she was trying to hold back tears, “I know Neville is perfect, and I love him, I really do. But when I close my eyes, I can’t picture a wedding or kids running around. All that’s there is just…nothing.”

Sadie bit her lip, “Well…don’t take this the wrong way Lil but, I know Ravenclaws are really smart, but you guys are highly logical, aren’t you?”

Lilly frowned, “Logical and observant, yes.”

“But being smart and having an imagination, they aren’t necessarily the same thing,” Sadie said.

“Wait…what are you saying, Sadie?” Lilly asked.

“I’m saying, just because you can’t imagine those things, it doesn’t mean that you don’t want them,” Sadie said honestly, “What would you say if he were to propose to you?”

“At the moment, I think I would just cry and run away,” Lilly admitted, “I’m so confused Sadie. It seems like all of you guys want to get married, have kids or adopt them or whatever, but right now I want a career. I want to get through my training, and I want to become the best trauma healer that I can be. Beyond that, I don’t know what I want.”

“Which is why you and Neville are having a break,” Sadie realised, “To work out what you want.”

“To work out if I can be what he wants,” Lilly said quietly, “I don’t want to be like Hannah. I don’t want to lead him on, and I don’t want to hurt him.”

Sadie nodded, “I understand that, and I think what you are doing is very sensible. It must be hard, though.”

“It is,” Lilly sighed, “Because, although I don’t know what I want in the future, right now I know that I want Neville and…I miss him.”

Sadie reached over and grabbed her friend's hand, “It’s going to get better Lil, and I bet those two weeks will fly by. You’re both going to be so busy.”

“Yeah,” Lilly said as she looked down at her hands, “I hope so…but the party is definitely not going to fly by.”

“Just try to avoid each other if you think it will cause a fight,” Sadie said, “And if you need someone to talk to or drink with or dance with, I’ll be there.”

“Thanks, Sadie,” Lilly said as she managed a small, but genuine smile.

* * *

The night before his and Neville’s joint party, Harry woke up from a particularly bad nightmare.

“It’s okay, Harry,” Daphne said, gripping his wrists and forcing him to look into her eyes, “It wasn’t real. You aren’t in the graveyard, you’re at home, with me.”

Harry gasped sharply, “Daphne.”

Daphne drew him in for a hug, “It’s okay,” she murmured.

Harry began to relax in her arms, and Daphne held him tightly, “That’s the third one tonight, babe.”

“What time is it?” Harry asked, pulling away from her to wipe the sweat from his brow.

“4 am,” Daphne said, trying and failing to suppress a yawn.

“You should go to one of the guest rooms,” Harry said, “You need sleep for the party.”

“So do you,” Daphne said, she kissed him lightly, “I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”

“I don’t want to go back to sleep,” Harry sighed, “When I wake up from the really bad ones…I just…I’m-”

“Scared to go back to sleep?” Daphne asked knowingly.

Harry nodded, “Yeah,” he sighed as he pushed himself to his feet.

“I know that feeling,” Daphne said quietly.

Harry filled an empty glass of water up by the bed with aguamenti and took a grateful sip, “Because of the war?”

“Because of the nightmare curse,” Daphne said with a nod, “It was hell, Harry. So I know what you’re going through when you fall asleep.”

“What did you see? When you were trapped there?” Harry asked.

Daphne frowned and looked down, “My worst fear at the time which was becoming a trophy wife or…marrying into a family like the Malfoys and going dark.”

Harry’s eyes softened, “Daphne, baby, you could never go dark.”

Daphne sighed and tore her eyes away from his, “All the same. In my nightmare world, I was a psychotic murderer like Bellatrix Lestrange, and I was sleeping with Draco and Theo, who had a real Rabastan/Rodolphus relationship.”

“Holy shit, I can see why it was a nightmare,” Harry said, “Although the part about Draco and Theo sounds legit.”

The feeble joke made Daphne laugh all the same, “When Tracey got me out of that nightmare world, I was scared to go back to sleep. I spent most of the war with Sadie sleeping in my bed anyway, the little coward that she is.”

Harry laughed, “That sounds about right. Didn’t Blaise ever sleep with you if you guys were together?”

“We weren’t together,” Daphne said with a shrug, “And we didn’t have sex in beds. It wasn’t that kind of relationship.”

“I get it,” Harry said with a nod.

“Anyway,” Daphne said, she cleared her throat, “I spent the rest of the war going to sleep with Sadie or Tracey because I was terrified to close my eyes and end up trapped in that nightmare world again, and then I spent the summer after the war sleeping with Draco in my bed. Since it happened, I’ve only slept on my own for a couple of months, and I never sleep as well as I do when I’m with someone else.”

Harry gripped her hand tightly.

“So I’m a little scared, and I know it’s an illogical fear,” Daphne frowned, “But sometimes I worry that it will happen again. That one night I’ll fall asleep and end up back there. It’s why I’m a bit worried about you going away for two weeks.”

“Talk to Hermione,” Harry said softly, “She struggles to sleep alone too. There was a reason she and I shared bed throughout the war, and then she spent more time in Ginny’s bed than her own over the summer. You two could spend the isolation period together.”

Daphne smiled a little, “I’ll talk to her,” she promised, “But Harry…now that Tracey’s gone, I’m worried that if I ever did end up back in that nightmare world, I’d never get out.”

“No,” Harry said, grabbing his fiancé and pulling her in close, “You’d never end up trapped there because you have me now and you have no idea what I would do for you. I would go back in time, cross dimensions and I would always choose you. In a hundred lifetimes or a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I would find you, and I would choose _you_. Do you understand?”

Daphne didn’t reply with words; she just kissed him hard. Harry smiled against her lips and pulled her back onto the bed with him, “I can think of a way to pass some time without sleeping.”

“Funny that,” Daphne said, moving to straddle him.

Harry groaned and automatically moved against her.

She smirked at him, “I was just thinking _exactly_ the same thing.”

“If this is an early birthday present, I can’t wait for the real thing,” Harry teased with a grin as she captured his lips in a kiss.

Harry moved his hands up Daphne's smooth legs and along her thighs, sliding them underneath her silk nightdress, cupping her arse as he did.

Daphne moaned into his mouth as he did and couldn’t help herself rolling her hips slightly against him. He pulled his mouth away from her slightly as he groaned and flipped them over so that Daphne was on her back with her legs clasped around him.

Harry stopped moving for a moment and looked Daphne straight in the eye,” I love you so much Daph, and I’ll be thrilled to spend the rest of my life showing you.”

He then grabbed his wand off the bedside table and used it to vanish their clothing and cast the protective charm before putting it back. Daphne threaded her hands in his hair as Harry started to kiss her neck before slowly kissing his way down her collar bone. He continued down her body until he reached her left nipple, making her writhe slightly and let out a gasp as he teased it. Harry chuckled lowly and moved onto her other nipple, giving it the same treatment and making Daphne writhe and moan even louder.

Harry then moved his head back up and kissed his fiancé gently as he entered her with a slow thrust, Daphne groaned in satisfaction as he did so. Harry captured her lips in a slow kiss as he began to thrust, setting a far more sedate pace than was usual for them. Sex was usually fast and frantic during snatched moments in their increasingly hectic lives, but this wasn’t. It was slow and sensual, and all about Harry showing Daphne how much he loved her and how important she was to him.

They lasted a little while longer before both climaxing together and then drifting into an undisturbed sleep while wrapped in the others embrace.

* * *

“I’m not going.”

“Yes, you are,” Harry said.

“I’m not!” Lilly said as she crossed her arms, stubbornly, “And I don’t know why you’ve brought Susan as a back-up.”

“I’m here because I’m also going it alone to this party,” Susan said, “Perce has to go away for work. I figured we could get ready and go to the party together.”

“So I don’t look pathetic walking in by myself while my…while Neville lives it up?” Lilly asked hotly.

“Neville is not living it up,” Harry told her impatiently, “Neville is moping around looking like shit, alright? So don’t try and twist this into something that it’s not. Regardless of what is going on between you two, all of your friends will be at this party.”

“There’s no way we’re going to let you sit around and mope,” Susan added, “You’re coming, even if I have to drag you.”

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Ugh! Why can’t you lot just let me mope in peace!” she exclaimed as she dove under her covers.

Harry shot Susan an exasperated look, “I’ll leave her in your hands. I need to get back to Potter Manor to finish setting things up for the party.”

Susan nodded, “Don’t worry, I’ll get her there,” she promised.

* * *

“This looks great!”

“Didn’t I tell you that I was good at throwing a party?” Draco asked with a smirk.

“Hey, who manipulated the weather environment spell to give us a heatwave?” Hermione objected.

Harry sniggered at that, “Thanks Hermione, that’s the most important thing. We can’t have a barbeque without a bit of sun, can we?”

Draco rolled his eyes, “So I set the whole garden up, but she gets the high praise because she brought the sun out?”

“Yep,” Daphne said from where she was lying on a sun lounger.

Harry grinned, “What did you do to help, Daph?”

“Oh, I made sure everything was where you wanted it,” Daphne said as she looked at him over the top of her glasses.

“From the comfort of her sun lounger,” Draco muttered.

Harry shook his head and chuckled in amusement, “Come on, you weren’t expecting anything more from her, were you?”

“No,” Draco said as he shot his friend an amused look, “I know what she’s like.”

“High maintenance,” Harry mumbled with a smile, “Hard work.”

“I can hear you,” Daphne pointed out, “And you were not complaining about me being hard work last night.”

Harry grinned, “No, I wasn’t, and if you're trying to embarrass me, it won’t work. Draco and I compare notes.”

Daphne snorted, “Classy.”

Harry laughed and looked around the garden. It really did look fantastic, Draco had set up tables and chairs on the patio area to make it look like an outdoor restaurant. He had also covered the whole area with a huge gazebo.

“So do I need to do anything?” Harry asked.

Draco shook his head, “All the charms are set up on the Quidditch pitch, I just need to light it up for the game.”

“And I’ve set out all of the jars,” Hermione said, “I’ll fill them all with magical fires just before the party starts tonight.”

“Thanks, guys,” Harry said with a genuine smile.

“You shouldn’t have to set up your own birthday party, Harry,” Hermione said with a smile, “We didn’t mind.”

“Speaking of birthdays, where is Neville?” Harry asked.

“We haven’t seen him all morning,” Hermione admitted, “How is Lilly?”

“As miserable as Neville is,” Harry said honestly, “I’ve managed to convince her to come to the party tonight, but I doubt we’ll see her this afternoon.”

“Theo floo-ed,” Draco said, “He and Sadie are heading over after lunch.”

“When they get here tell them to keep the public displays of affection to a minimum,” Harry said as he glanced over at the annexe, all of the curtains were drawn shut, “It’s going to be hard enough for Nev and Lil.”

Draco nodded, “Sure, I’ll tell them.”

“Are you going to go and talk to him?” Hermione asked with a frown, “I’m worried.”

“So am I,” Harry said honestly, “I’ll see you guys later. Oh, Daph, I know you want to sun yourself until you turn into a prune babe, but I need you to go to the kitchen. The elves need to know what kind of finger food to serve at the party.”

“Alright,” Daphne said as she made a show of how difficult it was to get up from her sun lounger.

Harry grinned at her as he began to walk towards the annexe, “Yeah, I know, it’s a hard life.”

Daphne shot him a grin in response as she disappeared into the house.

* * *

“Neville, if you don’t unlock the door I’m breaking in.”

“It’s not locked,” Neville drawled, “I’ve just been ignoring everyone all morning.”

Harry rolled his eyes and pushed the door open. When he stepped in, he found Neville lying on the sofa again, “There’s a bedroom upstairs in here, mate.”

“The sofa is comfy,” Neville shrugged.

“Happy birthday,” Harry said as he shut the door behind him and observed his friend.

“Well, half right,” Neville said, “It is my birthday.”

Harry sighed, “We’re having a party tonight, Nev, you could at least pretend to be happy that it’s your birthday.”

“I’m not going.”

“You can’t not go,” Harry said in exasperation, “It’s our birthday party; you kind of need to be there.”

“So I can spend a night trying to avoid Lilly again?” Neville asked irritably, “It was bad enough at the leaving dinner!”

“This is different,” Harry said honestly, “This is a big party, not a small gathering. It will be much easier to avoid her.”

“Oh because that makes it so much better,” Neville muttered sarcastically.

“Look, Neville, I know you miss her and I know this sucks, alright?” Harry said, “But you can’t spend the next two weeks moping around the place.”

Neville rubbed his eyes, “I’ll be fine; you don’t have to keep checking in on me.”

“I do actually because you and Lilly both love each other so much that neither of you are coping with being apart very well,” Harry admitted, “I’ve already spent half an hour at Longbottom House trying to force her to come to the party tonight, don’t make me force you too.”

“Fine,” Neville sighed, “But as for the whole faking happiness thing, I don’t know if I can manage that.”

“Baby steps, I guess,” Harry said as he headed for the door, “You should check out the garden, by the way, it looks great.”

Neville just waved an uninterested hand at this comment.

* * *

Neville had been dreading the evening for the entire day. For the most part, he had locked himself up in the annexe but eventually he had been forced to get dressed and head outside for his and Harry’s party.

The first thing he did was grab a drink and the second thing he planned to do was hide away in a quiet corner of the garden, but before he could, Harry grabbed him and dragged him into the drawing-room

“Harry, I’m not in the mood for surprises,” Neville complained.

“I don’t care; I worked too hard on this,” Harry said stubbornly, “I got you an extra special birthday present this year as a thank you for saving my life.”

“I didn’t save your life-”

“You made me realise that I was being a selfish bastard,” Harry said calmly, “You got through to me before it was too late, okay? So shut up, stop saying you didn’t do anything and accept this present I’ve been working on all bloody week for you.”

“Fine,” Neville muttered, “What is it?”

“I spoke to Minerva,” Harry began, “She gave me all the memories I needed to imbue it properly so it’s as close a likeness as I can get, but when you add your own memories, it will be perfect. I thought you would like to hang it in Longbottom House since all of the portraits were water damaged.”

Neville’s eyes widened as Harry spoke and realisation dawned. Harry yanked the dust cover away, and Neville stared at a portrait of his grandmother in disbelief.

“It’s perfect,” Neville murmured as he stared, “It’s just like her…” he smiled, there was even a vulture hat on the dresser behind her in the portrait.

Augusta smiled at him, “Chin up, lad.”

“Sorry, Gran,” Neville said with a sad smile, “It’s been a tough few days, and this is just…to much.”

Harry put his arm around Neville, “You deserved a good birthday present, Nev.”

“And you need to get that Lillian Moon told,” Augusta said sternly, “She’s acting like a real little lady.”

Neville shot Harry a watery grin, “Have you been gossiping with my gran?”

“No, she worked out that while I was storing her here, she could move around the portraits in Potter Manor,” Harry said with a roll of his eyes, “And Adeline Potter is a real gossip!”

“I am not!”

Harry shot the portrait woman a grin. The dark-haired, green-eyed beauty was sitting on a tree swing. She was swinging aimlessly in her portrait. She was a lovely young woman in her early 20’s in her painting.

“We were just catching up,” Augusta said, “Adeline was my sister-in-law.”

“Sister-in-law?” Neville asked in surprise.

“Yeah,” Harry said with a wave of his hand, “Your grandfather, Edward, had two siblings. His younger sister Gertrude and Harfang II.”

“I know, but I didn’t realise either of them were married to a Potter,” Neville said in surprise, “How come you never told me that Gran?”

“Meh,” Augusta said, “It never came up.”

Harry laughed, “Harfang II had a different Mother from your Grandad and his sister. His mother was Callidora Black who died in childbirth. So Harfang I married Ada Abbott and had your grandad and your great-aunt.”

“Abbott?” Neville’s eyes widened, “Gran! You never told me I was related to Hannah!”

“Hannah?” Augusta asked.

“The girl I dated before Lilly,” Neville said in disbelief, “Hannah Abbott?”

“Oh, that’s a whole different line,” Augusta scoffed, “You’re hardly related. Not like this one though, eh? Marrying his second cousin. Typical Potter, they always loved to keep it in the family.”

“I regret commissioning you,” Harry snorted.

Neville just let out a hearty laugh and said, “It’s great to have you back, Gran.”

“I’m glad someone thinks so,” Harry joked.

Neville drew Harry in for a hug and murmured, “Thank you, Harry. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“I think I do,” Harry said, pulling back from the hug and placing his hand on Neville’s cheek, “I cling to the family I can too, you know?”

“Oh for the love of the founders!”

“What?” Harry and Neville asked, turning to the portrait of Augusta.

“You two!” Augusta exclaimed, “It’s like watching Abraxas Malfoy and Thaddeus Nott all over again!”

Harry and Neville caught each other's eye.

“Oh…fuck.”

“Well…shit.”

“Language!”

“Sorry, Gran.”

* * *

The portrait had really boosted Neville’s mood. He was standing with Ron; they were talking about when Ginny and Katie were both due. They were both having a drink, and Neville was laughing at some of the more crazy baby names that Ron had suggested to Katie.

Then Lilly walked into the garden, and Neville sighed. She looked absolutely stunning, and his heart ached. He could see her scanning the crowd for him, so he purposefully tore his eyes away for her and walked over to Harry.

Neville put on his best fake smile and said, “Good work with the set-up Harry.”

Harry smiled at his friend, “Thanks, but it wasn’t me.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “It was me, but Hermione got all of the credit because she made it hot.”

Neville chuckled, “I don’t suppose my illustrious ex has arrived yet?”

“Yeah, her and Susan just got here,” Harry said with a slight frown, “And if you’re on a break, she’s not your ex.”

Neville shrugged, “She might as well be. A break means that we can see other people so I might as well have fun tonight, right?”

Harry and Draco shared a glance, “Uh…” Harry said.

“I wouldn’t,” Draco added, “When girls say a break, I don’t think that’s quite what they mean.”

Neville scoffed, “Well, what other point is there to it? Theo, you must be with me on this one.”

“If you had actually broken up then yeah, I would condone this very me-like destructiveness,” Theo said, “But let me put it this way if Sadie and I were on a break and I tried anything with another girl then she would hurt me, very badly.”

Neville rolled his eyes, “Well if that is how Lilly feels then I guess it’s her fault. She was the one who wanted a break, so like I told her, if that’s what she wants, it’s going to be a clean one.”

Before his friends could say anymore, he grabbed another drink and disappeared into the crowd.

“Alright, Mr ‘ _we shouldn’t interfere too much’_ ,” Draco said as he looked pointedly at Harry, “Do we interfere now?”

“If we want to save Neville from a nasty fate that probably involves castration, I would say we interfere now,” Theo said.

“Yeah,” Harry sighed, “He’s being self-destructive, and she’s being an idiot. It’s time to interfere.”

“I’m starting to doubt that you will ever have a plain sailing birthday party,” Hermione said with a smile as she and Daphne walked over to them.

Harry rolled his eyes, “Well there are no Death Eaters at this one, so I guess it’s an improvement on my 17th. Are you going to help with operation, _‘save Neville and Lilly’s relationship’_?”

“Of course I am,” Hermione said, “I feel responsible for the mess the two of them are in at the moment anyway. I’ll do anything I can to help.”

“I’ll help,” Daphne said as she sipped a large bright pink cocktail, “I might be slightly tipsy, but I’ll help.”

Harry chuckled, “Come on then, let’s get our heads together. How are we going to do this?”

* * *

Lilly wanted to spend the party getting drunk and avoiding Neville, but as it transpired, things took a slightly different turn. Lilly was a few drinks in at the makeshift free bar when an old school friend approached her.

“What’s up, Lil? Not the life of the party like you normally are!”

Lilly looked up and smiled, “Oh, hey Mikey.”

Michael Corner smiled down at her, “Why are you drinking your sorrows away?”

“Neville and I are…” Lilly frowned, “We’re on a break so being at his joint birthday party isn’t really that fun.”

“Ah,” Michael said with a nod, “I get it. Do you know what’s weird for me? My ex is here too, but she’s married to Blaise Zabini now, and pregnant with his kid.”

Lilly chuckled, “Yeah, that probably beats me on the weird factor.”

Michael laughed and held out his hand, “Why don’t you dance with me?”

Lilly glanced around but couldn’t see Neville, “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…”

“Come on, Lil, it’s more fun than drinking alone,” Michael said with a warm smile, “And it might even piss Neville off too.”

Lilly smiled slightly at that, “That’s vindictive.”

“The Lillian Moon I knew had a Slytherin side to her,” Michael said as he raised an eyebrow, “Has she changed?”

Lilly was about to say yes, she had changed, but then she spotted Neville. He was talking to a blonde girl that she didn’t know, the girl was laughing, and it looked very much like he was flirting with her. She swallowed hard as jealousy roared in her chest, then she looked up at Michael once more, “No, she hasn’t.”

Michael grinned, “Then let’s dance.”

* * *

“Why is Lilly dancing with Michael Corner?” Hermione asked as she facepalmed.

“Because Michael Corner and Lilly sort of have a history,” A new voice said.

Hermione spun around, “Oh, hey, Gin.”

Ginny smiled, “Hey, you so need to catch me up on whatever is going on with Nev and Lilly, cause right now, it looks like she’s dancing with her ex and Neville is dancing with Em from my year.”

“Yeah,” Harry said sheepishly, “She’s in Auror training with us. As for what is going on with those two, they are on a break.”

“Why?” Ginny asked with a frown, “What happened?”

“Lilly has commitment fears, and Neville wants marriage and kids. You can work the rest out,” Draco said with a wave of his hand.

“So their what, seeing other people?” Ginny asked in disbelief.

“Neville interpreted ‘on a break’ that way,” Harry said with a nod.

“And so did Lilly, if that’s her ex,” Theo pointed out.

“Yeah, Michael and Lilly dated in sixth year,” Ginny said, “And they were sort of on and off during the war.”

“You mean she fucked him during the war?” Daphne asked bluntly.

“While I was sleeping with Neville, yeah,” Ginny replied sheepishly, “And I’m not actually bitter about it or anything, but Michael broke up with me for Lilly.”

“Lilly doesn’t seem like the type to date someone else’s boyfriend,” Hermione frowned.

“You didn’t seem like the type to have a reckless romance with a former Death Eater to be fair, Princess,” Theo said.

Hermione whacked him over the head, “Call me, Princess one more time, I dare you.”

Theo took a step back, “Nope, I’m good.”

Ginny shook her head in amusement, “You’re going to be an Auror, but you’re still scared of Hermione?”

“She’s scarier than half the Death Eaters I’ve met,” Theo said in a staged whisper.

Draco smirked, “Keep going, and she will hurt you.”

Hermione just nodded as Sadie joined the group, “What’s going on?”

“We’re trying to save Neville and Lilly’s relationship,” Theo informed his wife.

“And catching Gin up on what’s going on,” Harry added.

“Why is she dancing with Michael Corner?” Sadie asked with a frown.

“Because as we just discovered from the oracle of Hogwarts gossip that Michael Corner dated Lil in sixth year. He broke up with Gin for her, what a douche right?” Harry said.

Daphne shook her head, “You sound so gay.”

Harry rolled his eyes, and Ginny said, “Yeah, but like I was saying, it wasn’t like that. He was already friends with Lilly, and they started to have feelings for each other, so he broke up with me before anything could happen between them.”

“How long were they together for?” Draco asked curiously.

“About six months,” Ginny replied, “Longer if you include the on-off stuff during the war.”

“Shit,” Daphne sighed, “If we don’t intervene soon, they’ll hook up.”

“How do you know that?” Hermione and Ginny asked in unison.

“Because generally speaking,” Daphne explained, “If someone is upset after a break-up, they are far more likely to sleep with an ex if they dated that ex for over six months.”

“You’ll be safe then,” Harry joked, “I never managed a relationship that long before I met you.”

“I guess you’ll have to watch out for Viktor,” Hermione told Draco with a smirk.

“You didn’t date for over six months!” Harry exclaimed.

“Yes, we did,” Hermione said sheepishly, “We started dating around Halloween and broke things off at the end of the year.”

“Hermione, are you telling me you secretly dated Krum for a whole school year and didn’t tell me about it?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“Well I couldn’t tell Ron, could I? And if I had told you then you would have told Ron because you two were joined at the hip back then,” Hermione said irritably.

“She has a point,” Theo said.

Draco nodded, “You were rather fond of each other.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “I hope nothing happened…you know…sexually? He was 17, and you were 14, it’s wrong!”

“15, her birthday is in September,” Draco said, “And I agree that it’s wrong but how could you not have noticed? All year she blushed every time the brute smiled at her and then there were all those times she sneaked in from the grounds at night or the fact she spent far longer than normal in the library even by _her_ standards.”

Hermione looked up in surprise, “You noticed all of that?”

“I didn’t notice any of that,” Harry muttered under his breath.

“Well I highly doubt that you were insanely jealous all year because you were falling in love with her,” Draco said matter of factly.

“That would be true,” Harry said, he smiled slightly as Hermione blushed deeply and Draco placed his arm around her shoulder.

“Oh hell no,” Daphne barked, “Do you see that? I am going to _kill_ her!”

As Daphne stalked away, the others looked around in confusion. They followed her line of sight and saw what had outraged her, Neville had moved on from Emily and was dancing with Hannah. The two of them were dancing very closely together, and it looked like Hannah was going to try and kiss him.

* * *

“Hey, stranger.”

Neville glanced over, “Oh, hey Han.”

“Where’s your other half?” Hannah asked.

“She’s…she’s sort of not my other half,” Neville said with a shrug, “We’re on a break.”

Hannah’s eyes lit up, “Oh, so you’re seeing other people, then?”

“I guess,” Neville replied, “But to be honest, I’m just trying to have fun and forget about her tonight.”

“I can get on board with that,” Hannah said with a smile, “Do you want to dance?”

Neville nearly said no, but then he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He saw Lilly dancing with Michael Corner who he knew was her ex. He saw Michael throw her back and he saw her laughing. When he pulled her back up, he held her close to him, and at that point, Lilly looked straight at Neville.

It made his blood boil, “Sure,” he said as he grabbed Hannah and pulled her close as the fast number turned into a slow one. They didn’t talk as they danced, but it did bring back memories and feelings for both of them after all this was someone who Neville had really cared about for quite a long time. He was reminded of how much fun they had at the Halloween Ball which seemed so long ago now.

“I’ve missed this a little,” Hannah said as she looked up at Neville.

Neville, in his drunken state, decided that it would be a good idea to nod and say, “So have I.”

Of course, it was a terrible idea because it gave Hannah the encouragement that she had wanted. She pressed herself up onto her tiptoes and captured his lips in a kiss.

* * *

Lilly felt sick when she glanced around and saw Neville kissing Hannah. She knew she could leave here with Michael if she wanted and get revenge, but unlike him, she wasn’t willing to stoop that low.

She stopped dancing and tore her eyes away from them as they filled with tears.

Michael followed her line of sight and sighed when he saw what had upset her, “What a dick. Come on, let’s get a drink and get away from those two.”

“No,” Lilly said as she wiped her eyes, “I just want to go, I never wanted to come to this stupid party anyway.”

“Just let me apparate you home, Lil?” Michael asked, “Or let me find someone who can. You’ve had a few drinks, and you’re upset.”

Lilly nodded tearfully as Michael put an arm around her, “Yeah? Is that okay?”

“That’s okay,” Lilly said through her tears.

“Come on then,” Michael said gently as he guided her towards the door.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	22. The Birthday Boys

The moment Neville realised what Hannah was doing, he pulled away and frowned at her. In that split-second, he didn’t know what to say, but as it turned out, somebody said it for him anyway.

“You bitch!” Daphne exclaimed as she reached them, she slapped Hannah hard across the face, “What the hell is wrong with you? Did you decide you didn’t do a good enough job of fucking him over the first time? Did you have to come back and give it another try?”

Hannah glared at her and reached for her wand, “Did you just slap me?”

“Yes I did, and don’t even try it, honey, I’m marrying an Auror,” Daphne said. With a flick of her hand, Hannah’s wand had been yanked away from her.

“Give me that back!” Hannah said as Daphne caught the wand.

“I’ll give it back to you as I escort you from the premises,” Daphne said darkly, “And you will not be invited back to this house again.”

Hannah scoffed, “It isn’t your house.”

“Oh, I think you will find that it is,” Daphne said as she grabbed Hannah’s arm and pulled her towards the house, “I have the strength to shove you through the fireplace and the authority to block your floo signature so that you can’t bother Neville here again.”

Hannah groaned, “I just wanted him back!”

“You gave up that luxury a long time ago when you were more interested in his fame than in _him_ ,” Daphne said firmly as she marched Hannah through the house into the kitchen, “So don’t you dare come here and try to ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to Neville.”

“They’re on a break!”

“Yeah, and things that are broken can easily be fixed. Have you heard of reparo?” Daphne said, “Bye Hannah, have a nice trip,” she said as she pushed the blonde girl into the fireplace and muttered an incantation that banished her from the house.

When she was finished, she dusted her hands off and turned around. She was planning on heading back to the garden, but she was surprised to see Neville standing behind her.

“Thank you Daph,” He said with genuine emotion.

Daphne shrugged, “Someone had to slap that bitch, literally.”

“I just…I didn’t realise that you were so loyal,” Neville admitted.

“People need to earn my loyalty, and it’s not easy to come by,” Daphne said honestly, “But you are my fiancé’s Auror partner, best friend and future best man, so I have to look out for you.”

Neville smiled slightly, “I appreciate that, but if you don’t think the others will mind, I think I’m just going to head to bed before I can do anything else destructive.”

Daphne nodded, “I think that would be a very sensible idea.”

Neville stepped forward and hugged her, which took Daphne by surprise. She rather awkwardly patted him on the back as he squeezed her tightly.

“I do mean it, thank you for what you did out there,” Neville said as he pulled back from the hug.

Daphne could only nod in surprise as Neville disappeared from the kitchen. She left shortly after him to inform the others of what had just transpired between Neville and Hannah. When she reached them by the bar, they were all whispering in panicked tones.

“What did I miss while I was kicking Hannah out of our house forevermore?” Daphne asked with a frown.

“Lilly, leaving with Michael Corner,” Hermione replied.

“Seriously? And nobody stopped her?” Daphne asked irritably, “I did my part. Why didn’t anyone stop her?”

“Because,” Sadie cut in, “We didn’t see them until they were virtually gone.”

“Great,” Daphne sighed, “She’s going to throw away the best thing to ever happen to her. Seriously, what is wrong with those two?”

“They’ll work it out, or they won’t,” Theo said with a shrug, “But it’s up to them to work out, not us.”

Harry looked at Theo in surprise, “That is actually very wise.”

“And it makes complete sense,” Draco added.

Theo smirked, “What did I tell you? I’m all grown up now. Look at me; I’m the married, responsible one.”

“Oh dear Merlin,” Hermione said with a shake of her head, “What is the world coming to?”

* * *

When Neville woke up on the 31st of July, he felt terrible. It wasn’t just because he had a hangover either; he knew he had treated Lilly terribly.

He took a sober-up potion to kill his headache and looked at the pile of presents at the end of his bed; he hadn’t opened them on his birthday because he hadn’t felt in a celebratory mood, but he supposed it would be polite to open them at some point.

As it was Harry’s birthday, Neville decided that he would prefer to open his presents with some company, so he levitated them into the kitchen where Harry and Daphne were arguing over breakfast.

“But it’s my birthday, so you are obligated to make me breakfast.”

“But I don’t _do_ good breakfast. This is why we have multiple house-elves. I mean we got Ceecee because of Kreacher's rules about cooking-”

“Can’t you just make me breakfast this once? Just one day a year, breakfast and a cup of tea, that’s all I ask.”

“Unless you want toast and butter, I am not making you breakfast,” Daphne said as she placed a mug in front of him, “But there’s your cup of tea.”

Harry shook his head, “I’ll remember this the next time you ask for pancakes in the morning. I’ll just tell you that we have a house-elf to make them for you.”

“But you make the best pancakes!” Daphne objected.

“Well then I’m sorry you won’t be getting to try them again,” Harry said.

“Well, in that case, I won’t be doing that thing you really enjoyed last night, ever again,” Daphne remarked.

“Daphne!” Harry objected. Then he spotted Neville slipping into the kitchen, “Oh, morning Nev.”

“Morning, Harry,” Neville said with a small smile, “And happy birthday.”

“Happy belated birthday to you,” Harry said, “Didn’t you open your presents yesterday?”

“Nah, I wasn’t really in the mood,” Neville said as he set them down on the table, “The only one I opened was the portrait of my gran.”

“Told you he’d loved it,” Harry murmured to Daphne.

“I knew he would; I just wasn’t a fan of keeping it in our attic for two days,” Daphne said, shooting Neville an amused look, “You should open your presents, Nev.”

Harry nodded, “And you should open yours first since your birthday is technically over. Open the big one first, that’s from Daph and me.”

“But you got me the portrait,” Neville said with a frown.

“We’d already gotten you a gift when Harry decided a grand gesture was required to thank you from pulling him from the brink of destruction,” Daphne said, smiling fondly at her fiancé.

Neville chuckled and opened the present, “A pop-up greenhouse?”

“It looks like a joke, but it isn’t,” Harry assured him, “There are seeds for over 20 different species of magical plants in there. I figured it would be a good way to get your magical plant garden started at Longbottom House.”

Neville smiled, “That’s really thoughtful, thanks, guys.”

“I just wrote the card,” Daphne mumbled.

“Ignore her, she’s playing it cool around you because you hugged her yesterday and she doesn’t know how to deal with affection,” Harry said as he grinned at his friend.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “I really did just write the card.”

Neville chuckled at that and opened the next present which was a t-shirt from Susan that said, _“Don’t mess with me because_ …” then on the back it said, _“I’m an Auror.”_

He also had a book about creating your own magical plant paradise from Draco and Hermione and a collection of rare potions ingredients from Sadie and Theo.

The last present in the pile was so small that Neville had almost missed it and he realised with a lurch that it was probably from Lilly. He opened it cautiously, half expecting it to be cursed but what was inside surprised him.

It was a pocket watch, and as Neville opened the box, a piece of parchment fell out. He ignored this and frowned as he examined the watch.

“What is it, Nev?”

“It’s a pocket watch,” Neville said, “I think…it looks like my Fathers, but his was damaged badly when the Lestrange’s attacked.”

Neville turned the pocket watch over and frowned; the initials “ _F.L.”_ were engraved on the back. The watch opened from both the back and the front, so Neville opened the front first.

On one side was the watches face and on the other was a picture of Neville and Lilly from Theo and Sadie’s wedding. Neville swallowed the lump that rose in his throat at the sight and opened the back of the watch. On one side he could see the mechanics of the watch and on the other was a picture of Frank and Alice on their wedding day.

“Shit,” Neville muttered as he picked up the parchment and unfolded it.

“What is it?” Harry asked.

“I think I might have made a huge mistake,” Neville said as his eyes scanned the note.

_“Neville,_

_I know we’re on a break, but I couldn’t not give you this. I know wizards are supposed to get their Father’s watches on their 17 th birthday, so I’m sorry that this is a couple of years late._

_I know you don’t like to take me to see your parents and I hope you won’t be angry by what I’m about to tell you. I go to see them once a week, and I tell them all about us and what you are up to. I think they are really proud that you got into Auror training._

_I found your Dads watch in the pocket of an old robe and I thought you would want it, so I started restoring it for you. I hope you like it._

_Love,_

_Lilly.”_

“I have made a huge mistake,” Neville said as he got to his feet, “I need to talk to Lilly.”

“Nev, wait,” Harry said quickly.

Neville stopped and turned around, “What?”

“Lilly…she left the party with Michael Corner last night,” Daphne said, “The others tried to stop her, but they weren’t quick enough.”

“She left with Michael Corner?” Neville asked, his initial reaction to that was outrage, “Michael bloody Corner? Michael, I wear a leather jacket and ride a motorbike, so every girl wants me, Corner?”

Harry raised an eyebrow at his best friend, “Nev, you have a flying motorbike, and you killed a snake with a fricking sword. That takes some upper body strength, trust me, girls want you too.”

“I don’t,” Daphne commented.

“Yeah well I’m actually quite glad about that,” Harry said as he shot her an amused look.

“I can’t believe she slept with her ex!” Neville said irritably as he ignored Harry and Daphne.

“Neville, you were the one who was all for sleeping with someone else last night,” Harry reminded him, “And if it wasn’t for Daphne then you probably would have slept with your ex too so…”

“No, he had already pulled away when I slapped her,” Daphne said matter of factly, “He wasn’t going to sleep with her.”

Neville nodded, “I need to talk to her, but if she slept with her ex in _my_ house, I don’t think I could ever forgive her.”

“Well,” Daphne said as she bit her lip, “Good luck with that.”

* * *

When Neville stepped into Longbottom House, his first thoughts were that it was very quiet. It was still fairly early so he figured that Lilly might still be asleep, he just hoped she wasn’t asleep with Michael Corner.

As he walked up the stairs towards _their_ bedroom, he started to feel sick. He didn’t think he could handle seeing her with another guy in there.

When he reached the bedroom door, he knocked and called out Lilly’s name, but there was no response, so he opened the door slowly and cautiously. He frowned when he realised that the bed hadn’t been slept in, he supposed she could have gone back to Michael’s place though.

He made his way downstairs and began to conclude that the house was empty because it was so quiet. Before he assumed anything though, he went to the kitchen to ask Tokey if she had seen Lilly the night before.

When he got there, he noticed a scroll of parchment on the kitchen counter, and his stomach turned. He began to imagine the worst scenario as he grabbed the scroll and unrolled it frantically. His eyes scanned Lilly’s familiar writing as quickly as they could;

_“Neville,_

_I’ve come to the conclusion that leaving for France early is the best idea for both of us. I don’t want to live in a house surrounded by good memories anymore because it’s too painful and you deserve your own place back, not the annexe at Harry and Daphne’s._

_I’m trying not to be bitter, and I hope you and Hannah are happy together since you seem to be willing to give her a second chance. I always wondered if I was only filling in the gap she had left in your heart anyway. I realised last night that I couldn’t do this whole ‘break’ thing, Michael took me home because I was upset and I had been drinking, he kissed me, and I just felt sick because all I wanted was you. Of course, by that point, it was too late to tell you that, but I guess that’s my own fault._

_I hope we can try to keep things civil for the sake of everyone else in our friend group. Good luck with Auror training, I know you are going to be great at it, and I’m happy that Harry has your back._

_All my love, despite the last few days,_

_Lilly.”_

Neville wasn’t ashamed of the fact he was crying by the time he got to the end of the letter, part of it was relief because she had just left for France, she hadn’t done anything stupid. Another part of it was because Lilly had just broken up with him and she had done it in a bloody letter.

He wiped his eyes and shoved the letter into his pocket. Neville didn’t even bother trying to gather himself before throwing floo powder into the fireplace and heading back to Potter Manor.

When he stepped back into the kitchen, he was glad that nobody else was there apart from Harry and Daphne.

Harry saw Neville’s red eyes and tearstained face and sighed, “I’m sorry mate.”

“She didn’t sleep with Michael,” Neville said quietly, “But she left me.”

“What? Why?” Harry asked sharply.

“She saw me with Hannah and thought that we were going to get back together,” Neville said, “So she left for France, and she broke up with me in this shitty goodbye letter.”

“So what are you going to do about it?” Daphne asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you are Neville Longbottom, you stood up to Lord Voldemort himself. You had a burning hat on top of your head, and you didn’t even cry out in pain,” Daphne said, “You beheaded a snake with the bloody sword of Gryffindor. Are you just going to roll over and cry like a baby, or are you going to do something about this?”

“You’re right!” Neville said as a determined glint appeared in his eyes, “I’m not going to roll over and do nothing! I’m going to go to France, and I’m going to get her back!”

“Great idea!” Harry piped up, “Where in France is she, exactly?”

“Uh…” Neville floundered, “The Centre for Trauma Healing in…Amiens.”

“Where is this centre exactly? Amiens is a big city,” Daphne pointed out.

“I…uh…well, I don’t know,” Neville admitted, “But I’ll find out, even if it takes me all weekend!”

“That’s the spirit!” Daphne said eagerly, “Go find the love of your life, Neville!”

“I will!” Neville said, “Thanks, Daphne.”

Daphne just smiled at him as he left the kitchen to gather up some of his things from the annexe. Once he was gone, Harry looked at her with a smile, “Did you just encourage Neville to go find Lilly in France because you happen to know that Draco and Hermione are going away for the weekend?”

“I did it because those two love each other and it was the right thing to do,” Daphne said.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, “Uh-huh?”

“And maybe a little bit because I want to make the most of this weekend since we won’t see each other for two weeks,” Daphne admitted with a smirk.

“Merlin, that’s hot,” Harry muttered under his breath, he pulled her to him and kissed her hard. She pushed herself up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Harry had just grabbed her arse to pull her closer when he heard footsteps in the entrance hall.

Daphne rolled her eyes as they split apart, “Those two have the worst timing,” she mumbled as Draco and Hermione stepped into the kitchen in their pyjamas.

“Happy Birthday Harry!”

Harry put on a smile for his friends, “Thanks, guys.”

“Is Nev up yet?” Hermione asked as she looked at the pile of presents on the table.

“He was,” Daphne replied, “He opened his presents and got something from Lilly that made him cry, so he went to Longbottom House to talk to her then came back with a note that she had written him. She basically broke up with him and fled for France.”

“So he’s gone to France,” Harry said, “To win her back.”

“Well,” Draco said with a raised eyebrow, “That took a surprising turn.”

“You haven’t opened your presents yet,” Hermione pointed out as she poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot on the table.

“I was waiting for you guys,” Harry admitted, “I thought it would be polite.”

“Well, we’re here now, so go on, open them,” Hermione said.

Harry smiled and began to tear into his presents. There was a box of homemade fudge from Molly and a hand-carved wooden figurine of a snitch from Hagrid. Susan had got him a big box of Honeydukes treats and Ron had given him a Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes selection box.

“Cheap,” Daphne muttered, “I bet he didn’t even have to pay for that.”

“Well he is having a kid so if he’s trying to save money, I don’t really mind that,” Harry said honestly, “It’s the thought that counts, I only got him a box of Bertie Botts for his birthday.”

“He’s become one of _those_ friends then,” Draco observed.

“What does that mean?” Harry asked with a frown.

“The ones you stay in touch with because you used to be really close with them,” Hermione said quietly, “You exchange crappy birthday gifts and Christmas cards and meet up once a year but you’re never as close as you used to be.”

“Way to kill the mood on my birthday guys,” Harry said with a sigh as he opened the next present which according to the label was from, _“Ginny and Blaise (I had no say in this, B.Z)x.”_

Harry chuckled at the label before inspecting the present. It was actually pretty thoughtful.

“Is that a sneakoscope?”

Harry nodded, “Yeah, on the note she wrote, “ _So you never let an untrustworthy person get the better of you, fat chance you being Harry Potter and all,”_ she has a point.”

Draco snorted, “Those things don’t actually work, you know that right?”

“I would have agreed with you once upon a time,” Harry said honestly, “But Ron got me one when he came back from Egypt, and I thought it was junk because it went haywire for no reason all year. Then I found out that Ron’s rat was a scheming Death Eater who was responsible for my parents' deaths, so I guess it was actually pretty accurate.”

“Fair enough,” Draco said with a nod, “I take back what I said about it being useless.”

At his very words, the contraption began to whistle and spin. Draco smirked, “On second thought, maybe I was right.”

“Nope,” Hermione said as she smirked at Daphne over Draco’s shoulder, “Daphne is nicking bacon off of Harry’s pancakes.”

Harry snorted and turned to look at his fiancé, “First you refuse to make me them, and then you steal my bacon?”

Daphne grinned, “Just testing your new sneakoscope honey,” she said in the sweetest voice that she could muster.

Harry laughed and turned back to his pile of presents; he had a lot this year. The next gift was marked as from “ _Neville and Lilly”_ which made Harry sigh. He really hoped the two of them would be able to resolve their issues.

“Ooh, what’s that?” Hermione asked as she tried to get a better look at the gift.

Harry smiled, “It’s a painting of an old stone cottage with a key attached.”

“Do you know what that means?” Daphne asked as she appeared behind him.

Harry nodded, “I kept talking about how much we loved our holiday in Devon with Teddy, and Neville mentioned that the Longbottoms owned some property down there. I think this is the key to that cottage.”

“He gave you a holiday cottage for your birthday?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

Draco tutted, “And he keeps saying he’s not a real pureblood.”

Harry chuckled, “I guess I’m lucky to have him as a best friend.”

“You did give him a flying motorbike I suppose and a portrait of his grandmother,” Daphne mused, “A holiday cottage is a pretty good return gift. We should take Teddy one weekend after your initial training, you know unwind a little?”

“That’s a great idea,” Harry said with a smile as he turned the portrait over and found a note on the back.

_“Harry,_

_I know it seems pretentious, giving you a cottage for your birthday and all, but I didn’t buy it, so I guess that makes it a bit less so. Anyway, I remembered you talking about how much you loved having Teddy to yourselves in Devon and how much you enjoyed yourself so I thought you would appreciate this._

_It had been sitting empty for a while, so it needed a bit of work, but it’s good to go now. Lil decorated it, be warned there is a lot of silver and green. She thought it was only fair since you’ve moved Daph into your shrine to Godric Gryffindor!_

_I hope you enjoy it!_

_Love,_

_Neville and Lilly.”_

“Finally, a little Slytherin haven,” Daphne smirked, “I think I probably owe Lilly an apology.”

“I think you probably do too,” Harry admitted, “I really hope those two can sort things out.”

“We all do Harry,” Hermione said, “But try not to let it get you down today, it’s your birthday after all. Open your next present.”

Harry had learned a long time ago that it was best not to question Hermione, so he ignored Draco’s amused look and opened his next present, which was from Sadie and Theo. They had given him a broom cleaning kit, the most up to date copy of Quidditch Through the Ages and tickets to Puddlemere’s next game. He made a mental note to thank them both when he next saw them although he expected from the nature of the gifts that it had been Theo’s idea.

The next gift was from Hermione and Draco. Harry smiled as he opened the parcels, it was evident that Hermione had picked one and Draco had picked the other. There was a book all about the best defensive techniques which contained a section on rare and inventive spells. He looked up, “Cool, thank you, Hermione.”

“I thought it might come in handy,” Hermione said with a bright smile.

The second parcel was Draco’s gift; it was a very nice dragon hide wand holster, “Woah, thanks Draco!”

Draco shrugged, “I figured you should have a good one, what with your tendency to keep your wand in your pocket.”

“Protecting your future godkids are you?” Daphne joked.

Draco snorted, “Something like that,” he said as Harry laughed.

“Open mine now,” Daphne said as she slid the final parcel across to him.

Inside the package were three gifts, the first was a photo album that said, _“Our story…so far”_ on the front cover.

“I can safely open this in public, right?” Harry joked.

Draco raised an eyebrow at him, “What photographs have you been taking that aren’t suitable for our eyes?”

“That, is none of your business,” Daphne said as she shot her friend a smirk, “And yes, you can safely open it.”

Harry chuckled and opened the album, all of the pictures were wizarding, and in most cases, Harry didn’t even know that they had been taken. The first photograph was of himself and Daphne dressed as vampires for the Halloween ball; they were holding the trophy they had won for being the best-dressed couple.

“When we won best-dressed couple before we were even together,” Harry said with a smile as he read the caption.

“That was the start of it,” Hermione said as she smiled at her two friends.

“The night that the ice queen began to thaw,” Draco smirked, “Merlin, I’m good. I should write poetry.”

“Yeah, don’t quit your day job Draco,” Hermione said with a grin.

Harry chuckled at his friends and flipped the page. The next picture was of the whole group on Bonfire Night. They were in the grounds of Hogwarts, and the bonfire was crackling away behind them, Harry could almost hear it as the picture brought the memory back. At the centre of the photograph were himself and Daphne, and Draco and Hermione. Sadie and Theo were there too, and Neville was with Hannah. Susan and Lilly stood huddled together, Ginny and Blaise were there too, but Ron was missing, so he must have taken the picture. Harry had to swallow the lump that rose in his throat when he saw two people who had missed so much since then, Dean and Tracey.

“Yeah,” Daphne said with a sigh, “I found that one hard to look at too.”

Harry nodded and read the caption, _“The night the hero boy asked me out. Did he just ask me? No, he spelled it across the sky in fireworks, bloody Gryffindor.”_

“I want a quill,” Harry said as he shot Daphne an amused look.

Daphne handed him one a little cautiously, “Why?”

“Because I don’t like your biased commentary,” Harry said as he scrawled underneath, “ _You still said yes.”_

“Touché,” Daphne said with a slight smile.

Harry turned the page again and saw a photograph of himself and Daphne standing in front of his motorbike with their leathers and helmets on. They were outside Hagrid’s hut so it must have been taken not long after Sirius’s old bike fell into his possession.

On the next page was a photograph of himself and Daphne in the eighth year common room. They were both wearing Christmas jumpers, and Harry was grabbing Daphne from behind and spinning her around as he pulled her off of a stool. He smiled at the memory; she had been decorating the tree in their common room.

“Who took this?” He asked as he stared at the picture.

“Dean,” Daphne said quietly, “I found his camera and a bunch of film in Tracey’s old trunk when we were leaving Hogwarts. I developed them, and there were loads of pictures I didn’t know he had taken. That’s where a lot of these came from.”

That made Harry kind of sad, but he loved the personal nature of Daphne’s gift to him. He silently thanked Dean and turned the page to see a photograph of himself and Daphne dancing together at the Yule Ball. He had thought she looked stunning at the time and looking back on the photograph didn’t change his opinion.

The next photograph was of everyone who had stayed at Potter Manor on Christmas Day. The photograph had been taken on Christmas morning, but Harry had no idea how because everyone who had been there was in the picture.

The photograph after that made Harry smile. It had been taken on New Year's Eve at Potter Manor, and the only people in it were himself and Daphne. She was laughing, and Harry was smiling at her. Everything that he felt about her could be summed up by that look in that photograph, and it made his stomach do strange things. The caption read, _“New Years Eve 1998. Can’t wait to ring in the millennium in just as much style.”_

Harry smiled because that old promise still meant so much to him. He tried not to let his feelings show because he didn’t want to embarrass himself, but he could see that Daphne knew how much this gift meant to him.

“We’ll leave you two in peace for the rest of the morning,” Hermione said as she nudged Draco.

Harry resisted the urge to laugh, Hermione had been able to tell exactly what he was thinking, like always. Draco looked a little confused as Hermione half-dragged him out of the kitchen, frowning all of the while.

Harry shook his head, “Guess it was obvious how much this is affecting me then.”

“Only to Hermione,” Daphne said softly, “And me, I’m glad if I’m honest. I put a lot of work into this gift.”

“It really is perfect,” Harry promised. He flipped the page before he could get any more emotional, and the next photograph made him smile broadly. It was of himself, Daphne and Teddy during family planning week. The caption read, _“The week we learned we could be pretty good parents to this little ray of sunshine.”_

Harry looked up at her and smiled, “We will be good parents, won’t we?”

Daphne frowned, “Why would you doubt that?”

Harry sighed, “We’re young, and I…I’m a Trainee Auror. It’s a dangerous career, and I just don’t know if it’s a stable family to bring a child into. I don’t want Teddy to end up like…”

“Like you,” Daphne said softly.

Harry nodded but refused to look up at her; he didn’t want her to see the pain in his eyes.

Daphne took his hand and spoke softly, “Harry, he won’t be like you for quite a few reasons. The first one being that the war is over and the second one being that you are a wonderful Godfather. I’m not saying Sirius wasn’t, but he acted impulsively which is why he ended up in Azkaban, all you want is a good life for Teddy, I think we both know that you will always put him first.”

“Does that bother you?” Harry asked as he frowned up at her.

Daphne smiled slightly and shook her head, “No, that’s the way it should be. A father should always put his children first.”

“I’m not his father, Daph,” Harry reminded her.

“You’re as good as, and you know it,” Daphne said firmly, “And if anything happened to you, Teddy would have so many people around who love him. He will _always_ have me. Then there’s Draco and Hermione, Neville and Lilly; you name it.”

Harry swallowed and nodded, “So he’ll be okay, whatever happens.”

“He’ll be okay,” Daphne promised, “We all will be.”

“Thanks, Daphne,” Harry said as he smiled genuinely at her.

Daphne smiled back and nudged his shoulder, “Are you going to finish looking through that? You haven’t even seen the best pictures yet.”

Harry chuckled and tried to hide the tears in his eyes as he flipped the page. The next photograph also featured Teddy; it had been taken on their Easter holiday. It warmed Harry’s heart to look at the picture of the little boy toddling along in the sand with Daphne following him, ready to catch him at a moments notice. The caption simply read, “ _Our Teddy.”_ But somehow it made him even more emotional than the last one had done. He swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat and flipped the page, hoping Daphne wouldn’t notice.

The next photograph had also been taken during the Easter holidays. They were all at the Burrow for Teddy’s first birthday, and in the picture, Teddy was beaming while holding the remnants of his chocolate cake, the rest of it was on Daphne’s face. The photograph made him laugh and the caption even more so, “ _Plain sponge cake next year…”_

The photograph after that was one that sparked very fond memories. He and Daphne were in the eighth year common room, and they were embracing each other while everyone around them jumped up and down or cheered. It had been the moment that Harry had proposed to her, on the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. The caption made him chuckle, “ _The day I agreed to be tied down to the chosen boy for the rest of my life.”_

The following photograph was of Harry and Daphne dancing together at the prom. Daphne looked as stunning as ever, but more to the point, they both looked so happy. Harry flipped the page and smiled at the next photograph too. It had been taken shortly after their graduation; he had his arm around Daphne, Draco had his arm around Hermione, Theo was hugging Sadie, Neville and Lilly were beaming out of the photograph. Susan peered out from the back of the picture, it had been their last ever day at Hogwarts.

The final photograph, for the moment, was from Sadie and Theo’s wedding. Daphne looked stunning in her bridesmaid attire, and Harry scrubbed up okay if he said so himself. They were standing on either side of the bride and groom grinning at each other. Every emotion in that photograph was so strong; it almost made Harry feel emotional again. The caption read, “ _The next wedding will be ours…”_

Harry started suddenly at that and looked up, “What?”

Daphne smirked at him, “You know how last New Year I said I would be standing right next to you to bring in the millennium in style?”

Harry nodded slowly at her, “Yeah, I think about that all of the time.”

“So do I,” Daphne said with a smile, “So it’s going to be our wedding day.”

“Sorry, but at the risk of sounding like the clueless git that everyone thinks I am, _what_?”

Daphne’s smile turned into a grin, “Let’s get married on New Year's Eve.”

“This New Years Eve?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong? You’re not getting cold feet already are you?”

Harry stared at her in disbelief, “Daphne, that’s less than six months away!”

“And? Have you met me? I can totally plan a wedding in five months, a brilliant one at that too,” Daphne said, only a little smugly.

“Are you serious? Or is this just one of your whims?” Harry asked as he studied her.

Daphne shook her head, “No, I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I want to do it. I know Draco and Hermione want the whole long engagement thing, but I don’t. I want to get married before we adopt Teddy, and frankly, neither of us are as career-minded as those two are anyway. On top of that, New Years just makes sense because of the significance it has for us-”

“Yes,” Harry said as he grinned at her.

Daphne looked up, “Yes?”

“Let’s do it,” Harry said, “Let’s be impulsive and stupid while we’re young. Let’s get married on New Year's Eve and if we end up regretting it in a few years, we’ll become swingers.”

Daphne laughed heartily at that and leaned across to kiss him, “It’s a deal.”

“Merlin,” Harry murmured as he kissed her back, “You never fail to surprise me, do you know that?”

Daphne smirked at him, “Yeah, I do.”

“I have one more request though,” Harry said as he pulled back from the kiss, “Let’s keep it a secret.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Keep our wedding a secret?”

Harry nodded, “Let’s throw a big New Years party and invite all of our family and friends. Then when they arrive, they’ll realise it’s actually a surprise wedding.”

“How very sneaky and Slytherin of you,” Daphne said with a slow grin, “I love it.”

Harry laughed and leaned in to kiss her, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	23. Long Teenage Goodbyes

Neville was in a mad rush, so he decided to bypass the International Apparition Centre. Technically, you weren’t supposed to apparate overseas without going through the centre because there was a higher chance of splinching yourself if you were travelling over vast stretches of water. This was because currents and wind could cause some complications. Still, the queues could be ridiculously long, and Neville knew that he was a powerful enough wizard, so he apparated to Dover then to Calais so that it was just one short leap. Once he was in France, he apparated to the outskirts of Amiens and then stopped because he realised that he had no idea where the Centre for Trauma Healing was.

Neville knew that there limited ways of finding out where it was, the Centre was unplottable so that it couldn’t be stumbled upon by Muggles. As a wizard, once he got near it, he would be able to feel the magic of the wards, and he suspected he would be able to see it as well. The trouble was working out where the hell it was in this huge city. His first thought was that Theo would be able to work it out so in the quiet little back alley that he was occupying he conjured up a Patronus and said, “Theo, I need your logical brain. Where would I find the Centre for Trauma Healing, statistically speaking?”

His Patronus darted off, and Neville leaned against the wall as he waited for a reply. He supposed he should walk into the town centre and have a drink or something to try and relax, but he knew he would just sit there and look at it. Besides, he didn’t like the French much anyway; he was with Theo on that one.

Neville knew he was asking for a lot so he wasn’t expecting a reply for at least half an hour. When Theo’s Patronus bounded at him ten minutes later, he was surprised, to say the least. He was even more amazed when he heard the reply.

“First of all, can I just say you are such a Gryffindor. You ran off to freaking France to get your girlfriend back, and you don’t even know where she is! Secondly, I am honoured that you asked for my help, sorry that it took me so long to reply, it took me five minutes to find a bloody map of Amiens, after that it was easy. So this centre, it has to be on the outskirts because Amiens is an old town, there isn’t any easy way to disguise a giant hospital in the middle of somewhere like that. The centre is fairly new, but wherever it is, it will be designed to blend in with its surroundings, you’ll probably feel intense magical wards because of that. Anyway, outskirts of Amiens, not the North West or South East though because the River Somme is kind of in the way. There’s a pretty big muggle road network to the South, so I think we’re probably looking at somewhere just North of Amiens. My best bet is a commune called Coisy which is about 5 miles North of Amiens as the crow flies. It seems to have been around since about the 12th century; it’s small and remote, so it fits the criteria well. On top of that, one of the fat friar's associates set up a priory there in the 12th century which served as a temporary hospital during both of the muggle wars. I suspect the Centre is new but it will near the priory.”

“Theo…if you are right about this…” Neville sent back on the now open Patronus channel.

“I’m a genius, and I’m the best friend ever, yeah I know,” Theo said, “Go be the hero and get the girl so I can go back to bed with my wife please.”

“Thanks, Theo,” Neville chuckled as he ended the charm. The Patronus disappeared, and he wasted no time in apparating to this French commune that Theo had told him about. It was early in the morning, and this tiny little place seemed completely quiet and abandoned, it was slightly eerie. Neville kept his eyes peeled because of that as he strolled along, looking for the priory that Theo had mentioned.

After what felt like a lot of walking, he eventually stumbled across something. A high, ancient-looking wall which he suspected had once housed the Benedictine Priory. As he walked around this wall, he began to feel the magic emanating from it; he knew that this was the place before he reached the large, iron-wrought gate. When he peered through it, he could only see a ruin, but he suspected that this was some sort of security charm.

Neville took a breath and walked up to the gate. He didn’t touch it because he had a feeling that it was cursed, once he was as close as he could get to the gate, he heard a voice in his ear.

“Who are you, and what is your business here?”

“British Trainee Auror Neville Longbottom,” Neville said, sounding calmer than he felt, “I’m here to see Trainee Trauma Healer Lillian Moon.”

There was a pause and then, “You are permitted to enter providing that you surrender your wand upon entering the premises.”

“I understand, that won’t be a problem,” Neville said.

There was another pause then the large gates swung open. The moment Neville stepped over the threshold, the security charms fell away, and he realised that Theo had been wrong about one thing. The hospital was the old priory, it had been modernised by the looks of it, but this was without a shadow of a doubt, the 12th-century priory. He felt fairly impressed by the scale and beauty of it as he walked down a short gravel path into the main door.

“Your wand, Mr Longbottom?”

Neville took his wand from his holster and handed it over to the French security wizard on duty; he checked it and nodded, “All is in order.”

Neville smiled gratefully, “I assume she will be in the dorms?”

The security wizard nodded, “The dorms and the shared common room are the only areas the trainees are permitted to access before their initial training begins.”

“Thank you,” Neville said as he followed signs for the dorms and climbed the stairs of a high tower, taking two or three at a time when he could. When he reached the top he was in a corridor with about ten rooms leading off of it; he had a mild panic because he wasn’t sure how he would tell which one was hers, but then he saw that each door had a plate with a name embossed on it. He walked up the corridor and felt his heart begin to pound when he saw the one that read, “Lillian Moon.”

He took a deep breath and knocked, he was going to try being polite first, but if that didn’t work, he would break the door down. After what felt like the longest pause ever, Lilly called, “Yes?”

Neville opened the door and stepped into the small, cosy dorm room. Lilly’s eyes widened when she saw him, “Neville?” she asked in disbelief.

Neville looked sheepish as he shut the door behind him, “I’m an idiot Lilly. I’m a bloody idiot, and I don’t deserve you. How stupid was I to force you away for something so stupid? What kind of a boyfriend am I if I react like that to our first fight?”

Lilly looked at him with a frown, “If this is because of what I gave you for your birthday-”

“It’s exactly because of that!” Neville exclaimed, “You restored my Dads watch, you visit my parents in the hospital. You are one of the most caring people I know, I know you love me, and maybe I’m just asking too much right now. We aren’t even 20 yet so do you know what, you don’t need to think about marriage or kids yet. All I need to know is that you want me, we can work the rest of it out later.”

Lilly smiled tearfully at him, “Of course I want you, you idiot! All I’ve wanted since I was 12 years old was my goofy best friend with his quirky plants and his tendency to fall through the invisible step. I’m not ready for marriage yet, and I’m not ready to commit to saying that I want 2 ½ kids and the perfect suburban life, but the one thing I can say with certainty is that I want you and I’ve missed you, Neville, so much.”

Neville stepped towards her, grabbed her and pulled her in for a hug. Lilly had other intentions and instead lifted her head and crashed her lips against his. They weren’t the passionate sex kind of couple usually, normally they had their own pace, and they had fun, but that whole heated sex thing was more of a Slytherin-Gryffindor combination as they so often joked.

That morning, however, with all of the heightened emotions, things were different. Lilly kissed him hard and harshly, and Neville responded in the same way, holding onto her tightly as if he were afraid that she would slip away if he let her go again.

“I’ve missed you too,” He murmured as his lips moved to her neck and his hands pulled her t-shirt off, “And I will never try to stop you from doing what you want to do again.”

Lilly shoved his shirt off and whispered, “I’ll never accuse you of loving being an Auror more than me again.”

With that, Neville picked up his tiny girlfriend, supporting her with his hands under her arse, all the while kissing her like she could disappear at any moment. In return, Lilly wrapped her legs around his waist and proceeded to start kissing his neck. She soon felt exactly how excited Neville was becoming and whispered in his ear, “Missed me Nev?”, while rubbing him through his jeans.

He moaned at this and breathily replied, “Really Lil, you don’t have to joke. Of course, I’ve missed you. Its been hell not being with you and I just feel like we wasted so much time”.

At this, Lilly smirked. She wriggled out of his grasp, and pushed him onto her tiny bed, quickly climbing on top of him and kissing her way up his chest to his ear once more. She then whispered, “In that case, I guess we should stop wasting time.”

She then grasped her wand and used it to vanish away the remnants of their clothing and cast the protection spell. Lilly then lifted her hips and slid onto Neville, moaning loudly as she did.

Neville groaned and pulled her into a heated kiss as she began to ride him hard and fast. He then briefly pulled away, “ Lil shhh, all your course mates will hear.”

At this, Lilly sat up straight, grabbing Neville's hands and putting them on her breasts, “Fuck them, Nev, I have a super hot boyfriend who came to France to win me back. I fully intend to thank him, and if they have to listen then, that’s their problem.”

At this, Neville sat up kissing her nipple and then stood up with Lilly still in situ. He pressed her up against a nearby wall and began to fuck her as hard as he could, making her almost scream in response.

After a couple of minutes, he slowed slightly and kissed her hard as he thrust into her, and when he broke for air, he murmured, “I love you.”

“I know,” Lilly gasped, gripping him tightly, “And I’m committed to this, Nev.”

“I know,” Neville said, echoing her earlier words and capturing her lips in a kiss once more.

* * *

“I don’t want to leave.”

“I don’t want you to leave,” Theo said with a sad smile, “But it’s a chance to do this amazing course, and a chance to see a fascinating country.”

“I know,” Sadie said tearfully, “But the next two weeks are going to be so hard.”

“At least it’s only two weeks love,” Theo said as he pulled her close, “It could be worse. I bet you’re going to love Egypt, all of the exotic curses and the pyramids, not to mention the Sphinx. Think of all the wizarding history you’ll get to see.”

“It’s not the same without you though,” Sadie said quietly, “I know I joke but I think my favourite part of our honeymoon was you trying your best to get arrested. What kind of entertainment am I going to have in Egypt?”

Theo chuckled, “I’ll be able to entertain you after the next two weeks are up. Trust me, you’ll have fun, and it will fly by then before you know it, we’ll be together again.”

Sadie nodded and pulled back from the hug; she pushed herself onto her tiptoes to kiss him as she murmured, “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby,” Theo murmured back against her lips, “And I’m gonna miss you, but you have to follow your dreams.”

Sadie smiled at him through the tears in her eyes, “You’re the sweetest guy I’ve ever known Theodore Nott.”

Theo grinned at her, “It makes you want me, right?”

The comment would usually have made her roll her eyes or have caused her to hit him, but this time she just laughed weakly and said, “Yeah, it does.”

* * *

“That was different.”

“Different is good,” Lilly said, shooting Neville a grin as they lay in the tiny bed in her dorm room.

“Different was definitely good just now,” Neville agreed, kissing her lazily.

“Hmm,” Lilly broke away from him, “I love you.”

“You said that once or twice,” Neville teased.

“Shut up,” She punched him in the arm, “I do have something kind of serious to say to you, though.”

Neville looked over at her, “Okay?”

“Unless I screw this up again, I’m going to marry you one day,” Lilly said determinedly.

Neville grinned and pulled her closer to him, “Well, you better not mess this up then.”

She laughed and moved to straddle him, “Want to try something else a bit different before you spend two weeks surrounded by sweaty guys?”

Neville’s eyes flashed playfully, “Do you even have to ask?”

* * *

Sadie felt miserable as she waited in line at the International Apparition Centre. She knew she should be excited about this new experience, but she just wished Theo was there to tell jokes and keep her mind occupied. She trudged through the line, eventually reached the front and was able to apparate to Egypt in a few short bursts. When she got to the Egyptian International Apparition Centre, she already began to have some doubts about her decision. Her first thought was that the wizarding Ministry must have _so_ much money because there was gold leaf on everything, the Apparition Centre in England was drab and boring, but this place looked like a palace.

Sadie was aware that she must have looked like a total tourist as she walked with her mouth wide open, taking in everything around her. She got her wand, and her luggage checked, then she was cleared to leave the centre. She had coordinates so she could apparate to the Centre for Alchemical Studies and she planned to apparate there straight from the Apparition Centre.

Sadie stepped outside and stopped in her tracks at what she saw. In contrast to the gold-adorned Apparition Centre, what was outside was disgusting. She seemed to be in some narrow street, somewhere in Cairo. All around were beggars who looked emaciated; she even saw a couple of young children cowering in doorways, the difference made her feel sick.

One of the beggars began to approach her so Sadie panicked and walked down the street as fast as her feet would take her. It took her about ten minutes to find a quiet enough alley, but as soon as she did, she spun on her heel and apparated to the Centre for Alchemical Studies.

When she arrived outside the gate, she took a deep breath and composed herself. The centre seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, but it looked as rich as the Apparition Centre had. In front of her was a large golden gate, set in a marble archway. She had been sent instructions telling her to gain entry to the centre, so she raised her wand and spoke clearly, “My name is Sadie Nott. I am here for my induction on the course, Alchemical Studies.”

There was a pause and then, “We have no one enrolled under that name.”

“Oh,” Sadie realised with a jolt, “I’m sorry, I’ll be enrolled as Sadie Cauldwell. I only got married last month.”

There was another pause and then, “Access granted. Please wait in the main foyer, Miss. Cauldwell.”

Sadie nodded and took another deep breath as the golden gates swung open. She stepped through them, and the Centre came into view. It was possibly the grandest building that she had ever seen in her life, it was huge, and it seemed to be made from alabaster, an ancient building material that she knew was fairly exclusive to this part of the world. It had four large domes; each one adorned with gold leaf. On each side of the building were two covered walkways, she couldn’t tell how many pillars held those walkways up, but each pillar was also adorned with gold leaf. Straight ahead was the main door into the building which looked to be made from pure gold, she expected that it was merely a gold coating; however, gold was far too soft a material to fashion a door from.

Sadie resisted the urge to shake her head as she walked past about four huge, golden water fountains. This place had money, too much money, in her opinion. It made her feel apprehensive about the kind of people who would study here.

She reached the main door and pushed it open. From what she had seen on the outside, she had been expecting an overly grand foyer, so she wasn’t surprised when she stepped in. Sadie wanted to scoff, it was over the top, it was garish, and she couldn’t help but think how bloody rude it was.

“Ah, Miss Cauldwell,” A voice said.

Sadie jumped and turned to the voice. It had come from an Egyptian woman who was standing just in front of the front desk. She smiled at Sadie, but Sadie got a distinct impression that it was a false smile.

“The induction begins tomorrow, but your fellow students are getting acquainted in the common room, I am Professor Aziz,” She said, “Would you allow me to show you to your new living quarters?”

Sadie simply nodded, her throat had suddenly gone dry, and she felt incredibly nervous. Professor Aziz turned around and began to walk down a corridor, so Sadie rushed after her. As they made their way through the building, Sadie saw more and more unnecessary gold; she did think that it was ridiculous. She was led up a grand staircase, along another corridor and then up yet another staircase before they reached the living quarters.

“This will be your shared dorm room,” Professor Aziz said as she opened the first door that they came to, “You will be sharing with our other female students, there are 4 of you this year.”

Sadie nodded and looked around the room. There were four double poster beds; even they were adorned with gold leaf. The sheets seemed to be made of silk; it was luxurious; it was worse than Malfoy Manor.

“The other students are getting acquainted in the common room at the end of the hall,” Professor Aziz said politely, “I can see you are very overwhelmed by the grandeur here, it happens more often than you would think. Once you have had time to settle, I would advise that you spend some time talking to them before the induction tomorrow. There will be several tasks that require you to work in a team.”

“I will,” Sadie promised, “Thank you.”

Professor Aziz bowed her head and stepped out of the dorm room. Sadie located her bed, the only one without a trunk on top of it, and quickly unpacked into the mahogany chest of drawers provided. When she reached the bottom of her trunk, she felt a lump rise in her throat as she pulled the final two objects from it. They were two framed photographs, one was of herself and Theo on their wedding day and the second was of herself, Daphne, Hermione and Lilly at their graduation. She placed them both on the bedside table and steadied her nerves as she left the dorm room.

The door to the common room was at the end of the hall, and it was ajar. As Sadie approached, she could hear people talking animatedly in several different accents; she wasn’t sure why she was so nervous. Then she realised that this was the first time she had done something without Daphne, Tracey or Theo.

She took a breath and stepped into the common room. Before she even noticed any of the people in it, she stopped and stared at the room itself. The common room was clearly in one of the domes that she had seen from outside the building. It was a large circular room with several windows in the upper dome. Every single wall was lined with books in a bookcase that ran around the entire room. In the centre of the room, there was something that looked like a furnace but which was, in fact, four fireplaces; there was even a pot of floo powder above it. The room was filled with comfortable armchairs and sofas, and there were a few tables for studying too, they were made of mahogany too, _of course, they are_ , Sadie thought to herself.

“Hello there! You must be Miss. Cauldwell!” A chipper, female voice said.

Sadie tore her eyes away from the wall of books and looked at the group of people gathered in the room. The person who had spoken to her was a brunette with a ribbon in her hair; she was smiling very falsely at Sadie.

“Uh, Mrs Nott technically,” Sadie corrected her, “I was Miss Cauldwell when I enrolled, but I got married last month. It’s probably easier if you just call me Sadie.”

“You’re married?” The brunette asked in disbelief, “Good heavens! What age are you?”

“Priscilla!” A male voice said. Sadie looked towards it; it belonged to a tanned young man with an accent.

The brunette rolled her eyes, “Sorry, that was rude. You just seem rather young to be married, that’s all.”

“I’m 19,” Sadie said, “I had to re-do my last year because my school was overtaken by a dark lord and then almost destroyed in a battle. I also nearly lost Theo, that’s my husband by the way, in that war so yes, I married him as soon as I finished school. Did any of you experience the war I’m talking about?”

Every other person in the room shook their heads and Priscilla; the brunette looked pretty miffed.

Sadie nodded, “Okay, so what are your names?”

“I’m Ashwin; we were just going to do a getting to know each other exercise actually,” The tanned boy said, “We were waiting for you.”

Sadie took a seat in one of the armchairs a little gingerly, she felt a bit silly for going off in a rant, but she didn’t like it when people judged her, especially when it was people who didn’t know her.

“So I’ll start,” Ashwin said, “I’m Ashwin, but you guys can call me Ash, I was born in India, but I grew up in Cairo because my father is pretty high up in the Egyptian Wizengamot. So I’m your local guy if you want to go sightseeing.”

The next person to speak was Priscilla, “I’m Priscilla, I’m from Kent in England. My daddy is the magical advisor for the Muggle royal family, so naturally, he didn’t want me to go to a substandard school like Hogwarts. So, I went to Beauxbatons for a little while then Mama homeschooled me.”

Sadie hated the girl more with every word that came out of her mouth.

“I’m Arielle,” A pretty girl with strawberry blonde hair said, “I was born in Calais, and I grew up in Paris. My family moved there just before I started at Beauxbatons because my father’s company took off. He runs a broomstick company you see?”

Sadie resisted the urge to roll her eyes at this, did everyone here have famous parents?

“I’m Humphrey,” A tall, muscular boy with a square jaw said, “I’m from Hamburg in Germany. I live there with my parents and my little brother. My father is Head of the Wizarding Protestant Order there. We live in a cathedral which is pretty cool.”

“I’m Liang,” A thin Asian boy said in a thick accent, “I’m from Beijing in China. My father is a businessman too. He owns the biggest shipping company in Asia. We ship magical goods all over the world.”

Sadie bit back a comment about how they weren’t the biggest shipping company in the world because she knew who owned that, Daphne’s family.

“I’m Ruben, I’m from Rio in Brazil,” Another tanned boy said, “I’ve been living in Dubai for the past few years. We moved out there because my brother is a Quidditch player and that’s the best place in the world to play. We could only afford to move out there because my mother made lots of money when she discovered the wolfsbane potion.”

Sadie was struggling to bite her tongue now. She could spew a lot of crap about how famous her family were too, but she was starting to think that she didn’t want to because if she did, it meant she was exactly like these people.

“I’m Myla,” A beautiful redhead with a genuine smile said, “I’m from Texas in the United States. My dad works for the president, and my momma is the undersecretary to the Minister for Magic at MACUSA. I love it over there, but everyone knows my family, so I just wanted a change of scenery away from it all.”

The last person, apart from Sadie, to speak smiled broadly at them all, “I’m Bruce, I’m from Queensland in Australia. My dads a famous alchemist, he trained under Nicholas Flamel, and my mum works in the Australian Ministry, she used to head the Wizengamot, but she’s working towards Minister for Magic now.”

Sadie realised that all eyes were now on her, so she decided to tell the truth, “I’m Sadie, I’m from England. My parents are all about new wealth; my dad invented some stuff which means we have money. Or at least we did, then the dark wizard I was telling you about came back from the dead which really put a crimp in our style because he kept trying to recruit my dad to join his little cult. Anyway, the war started, the dark wizards took over my school, and my dad eventually joined them because I was imprisoned and tortured at that school. So now he’s spending ten years in Azkaban thanks to our _fantastic_ justice system.”

She enjoyed the fact that every person in the room gaped at her silently, she found it immensely difficult to hide her smirk.

“That’s…” Priscilla began to say.

“Tragic,” Ashwin cut in, “You are, of course perfectly right, your justice system is skewed.”

Sadie just shrugged, “It’s corrupt, but I guess that’s what happens when a dark wizard manages to infiltrate it.”

Priscilla rolled her eyes at this and Myla piped up, “Oh! If you’re 19 and you fought in the war, then you must know Harry Potter!”

Sadie smirked to herself, “Yeah, I know Harry. He’s engaged to my best friend.”

Myla’s eyes widened, “Really?”

Sadie nodded, “He’s also in Auror training with my husband. We’re all pretty close, to be honest.”

“That is…amazing!” Myla said excitedly.

“What did your Father invent?” Arielle asked, “Cauldwell…it sounds familiar.”

“A few things but the sneakoscope most famously,” Sadie replied, “That was why the Death Eaters wanted him, an inventor is always useful when you’re looking to engineer new weapons and spells in a war.”

“The sneakoscope? Wicked!” Bruce said.

Priscilla rolled her eyes, “Did I mention that I’ve met all of the royal family? They are very lovely too, you know, not at all arrogant.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that Priscilla,” Ruben said offhandedly, “Hey Sadie, what’s Harry Potter like?”

Sadie felt rather smug when she saw the look of complete indignation on Priscilla’s face; maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad here after all.

* * *

“A-ha, the prodigal son returns!”

Neville grinned, “I came here to thank you because you are indeed, a genius.”

Theo grinned back at his friend, “I know. Guess you found the centre then?”

“Yep, in Coisy as predicted,” Neville said as he threw himself into a chair in the Nott’s kitchen, “You did get one thing wrong though. The centre wasn’t near the old priory; the centre _is_ the old priory.”

“Ah well, I can’t be perfect 100% of the time, but I’ll settle for 99%,” Theo said with a shrug, “Did you two work things out?”

“Yeah,” Neville said with a content sigh, “I think we might be okay after all.”

“See, I told you that it would all work out in the end,” Theo said, “And I’m guessing from your chilled out stature that you fucked her senseless, or she shagged your brains out.”

Neville snorted, “We don’t do this. We don’t compare notes like you and Draco do.”

“Oh, we haven’t yet,” Theo smirked, “But no time like the present right? Did you shag her?”

“Yes,” Neville grinned.

“Was it awesome?”

“It was fucking amazing,” Neville admitted, “We don’t do the whole passionate, shoving each other up against walls sex thing, you know? Harry and Daphne have a fight and the next thing you know he’s shagging her brains out in the kitchen. Lilly and I are usually the normal, have sex in a bed sort.”

Theo snorted, “Which means you weren’t today?”

“No, we did the whole passionate sex up against a wall thing,” Neville admitted, “And I’ve got to admit, I see the appeal.”

“What? Are you seriously telling me that’s the first time you’ve shagged someone up against a wall?” Theo laughed, “How vanilla are you?”

“No, it’s the first time I’ve shagged Lilly up against a wall,” Neville said in amusement, “The last time was in the Hogs Head with Ginny, and there was this creepy, pervy Irish guy hanging about. Did you guys ever run into him, the Irishman?”

“Can’t say we did, and that sounds like some weird sex,” Theo snorted, “Even by my standards. I mean I do get the appeal of hot, up against the wall sex. It’s hot to do something risqué every so often,” Theo agreed, “But the normal, having sex in a bed thing is what holds a relationship together.”

Neville raised an eyebrow, “Have you taken a potion to make yourself wiser? I swear you’re turning into Dumbledore.”

Theo snorted, “No. Here are some words of wisdom for you…do you want a drink?”

“It’s not even noon,” Neville pointed out.

Theo shrugged, “I’m lonely.”

“Firstly, that’s how Harry became an alcoholic,” Neville pointed out.

“Good point,” Theo realised, “How is he doing, by the way?”

“Fine, he’s not craving a drink all the time or anything,” Neville answered, “He just doesn’t sleep as well without it, so he’s a bit more snappy and tired than usual. Anyway, secondly, I’m sorry for being a shit friend. Here I am talking about the amazing sex I just had, and Sadie just left, didn’t she?”

“Yep, off to the next great adventure, without me,” Theo said.

“That sounded very bitter for someone who isn’t supposed to be bitter about that,” Neville said with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m not bitter I’m just…I’m worried, okay? I’m worried that she finds someone more likeminded on her course, do you know what I mean?” Theo mused.

“Someone more likeminded,” Neville said with an amused smile, “Someone who is intelligent?”

“Yes,” Theo said.

“Someone who is into the same things she’s into, that kind of thing?”

“Exactly!” Theo said, “Someone who likes apothecarial magic as much as she does, ugh what if she leaves me for a Herbologist? She snogged you! Maybe you’re her type; you were her first kiss.”

“I’m not her type,” Neville snorted, “I kissed her a couple of times that summer, but she spent most of it talking about you.”

“Did she?”

“Yeah,” Neville laughed, “And you might not be that up to speed with your plants, Theo, but you and Sadie are pretty likeminded. You’re both intelligent and witty; you both love reading. You experiment with new potions in your spare time for fun, and you love going to Quidditch games together. You both like art; you love to explore and see new things. She’s not going to find anything better than that. You’re safe.”

Theo smiled slightly, “I guess you’re right. We _are_ pretty likeminded.”

Neville patted him on the back, “See? No need to drink alone.”

“But I’m not alone anymore Nev, you’re here,” Theo pointed out, “Which technically means I can have a drink.”

“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should,” Neville said as he grabbed Theo and steered him towards the fireplace, “We’re going to Potter Manor, Harry and Draco want a warm-up before we start training tomorrow.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	24. New Beginnings

“Are you going to admit that you’re nervous yet?” Harry asked Daphne with a raised eyebrow.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Nervous? This is me we’re talking about, I don’t get nervous.”

“Usually you don’t,” Harry agreed, “But this is a big deal for you. You want to prove yourself; it’s okay to be nervous.”

Daphne looked at him with her piercing blue eyes for a moment, “I might be a little nervous.”

Harry smiled slightly, “You’ll be fine; it’s just an induction. You’ll probably spend the whole day reading health and safety shit while being bored out of your skull.”

Daphne laughed, “I know, it’s just…I don’t know what’s going to happen today and I don’t like not knowing what to expect. I’ll be fine once the first day is out of the way.”

“I know you will,” Harry promised as he leant in to kiss her, “And just think about it this way, once you’ve managed to get through today, I get to whisk you away to our holiday cottage for our last night together.”

Daphne rolled her eyes and threw her jacket on, “For two weeks, you make it seem like you’re never coming back.”

“Hey, two weeks away from you feels like forever,” Harry said honestly as he kissed her again, “Good luck.”

Daphne smiled at him, “Thanks. I’ll see you tonight.”

“See you tonight,” Harry agreed, he smiled fondly at her as he watched her go.

* * *

“Why are you freaking out? You do realise that you’ll get a tour of the DMLE then you’ll spend the day doing a shitload of introductory paperwork, right?”

“I’m not freaking out,” Hermione said in a rather high-pitched tone, “I just have nothing to wear!”

“Hermione, you have half a walk-in wardrobe full of clothes,” Draco said, he was glad that he wasn’t in said wardrobe with her because then she would be able to see his amused grin, “You have plenty to wear.”

“Nothing appropriate!” Hermione said in a strained voice.

Draco bit back a smile as he got out of bed and stepped into the wardrobe, “Look, love, I know you’re freaking out, don’t try and hide it from me.”

Hermione turned to look at him and bit her lip, “I don’t know what to wear Draco.”

“Black robes to keep things professional,” Draco said as he pulled a set out, “And a colourful blouse, to showcase your individuality,” he grabbed a deep red blouse, “And it ought to be red because you _are_ the Gryffindor princess, after all.”

Hermione smiled weakly at him, “I don’t know what I would do without you sometimes.”

“You wouldn’t dress anywhere near as well as you do at the moment, that’s for sure,” Draco said with a slight smirk.

Hermione rolled her eyes and began to button up her blouse, “Between Daphne dragging me along on shopping trips, and you dressing me, that’s probably true.”

“You’re going to be fine today, I don’t know why you’re worrying so much,” Draco said gently.

“Maybe because I’m about to start my job in a Ministry that is renown for how corrupt it is,” Hermione said a little irritably, “Or maybe its because the department I’m going to be working in is the justice department of that Ministry, which got called the most corrupt justice department in Europe just last week in the Daily Prophet!”

“Hermione,” Draco said sharply so that he could get her attention, “That’s why you wanted this job, remember? It’s corrupt as hell, but you’re going to change that, you’re going to make things right.”

Hermione blew out a shaky breath, “I know Draco, why do you think I’m so nervous? I’ve put so much pressure on myself…”

“Look, Hermione,” Draco said gently, “For the first year you are technically on an introductory course, alright? That means they can get rid of you if you don’t ‘fit’ and that you can leave or switch departments if you end up hating it.”

“I know what introductory means,” Hermione snapped, then she sighed, “Sorry, that was bitchy.”

Draco had to fight to keep a smile from his face, “Yes, it was, but you get bitchy when you’re stressed. The point that I’m trying to make is that you shouldn’t be making any big waves at the moment anyway. Get your feet in the door, ace your introductory course and then start kicking ass.”

“Arse, we’re not American.”

“There’s the know-it-all that I love,” Draco said fondly.

Hermione chuckled, “Thanks Draco, you’re right. The last thing I need right now is more pressure.”

Draco nodded as he leant in to kiss her, “You are going to be amazing, and I can’t wait to hear all about it over dinner tonight.”

“I love you,” Hermione murmured as she kissed him chastely.

“I love you too.”

* * *

Daphne felt more nervous than ever as she walked towards Tower Bridge. There were very few places in London that you could safely apparate to because the whole city was so busy. This meant that she had been walking towards it for what felt like forever, and eventually, she reached the bridge.

The bridge was busy with tourists already, but Daphne knew how to get to the secret wizarding entrance anyway, she had been given instructions via owl. She disillusioned herself then used a bubblehead charm and waded into the water. She had to completely submerge herself for a few seconds while she looked for the archway into the lower level of the bridge’s first tower. She stepped through the entrance and all of a sudden; the water was gone.

Daphne took the bubblehead charm off, drew in a long breath and cast a drying charm on herself. She looked around, so far nothing about her surroundings were particularly remarkable. She was in a stairwell with nothing but a spiral staircase. She had no instructions from this point onwards, so she followed the stairway up for what felt like a very long time.

At the top of the staircase, there was a single door, so Daphne stepped through it into a small square room where a few people were already gathered.

“Name please?” A cheerful voice asked.

Daphne turned to the voice and smiled, “Come on, Bill, you know me.”

Bill Weasley grinned at her, “Got to be professional, Daphne. Name?”

“Daphne,” She chuckled.

“Surname?” Bill joked.

“Greengrass, you pain in the arse,” Daphne muttered with an amused smile as she stepped into the room properly and shut the door behind her, she lowered her voice so that the others wouldn’t hear and whispered, “You know the one who is marrying your adopted little brother?”

Bill shot her an amused look and said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Morning Daphne, we’re just waiting on one more person then we’re going to get this show on the road. Take a seat.”

Daphne sat down at the front of the little room; it was set up like a classroom. There were about ten tables, each of which had an individual chair. Only four of the tables had been occupied when she walked in, so she supposed this was a pretty exclusive programme.

“So why Tower Bridge?” She asked Bill curiously.

“Because there are no goblins to bother us,” Bill replied with a smile, “And because it’s nice and quiet. The muggles have no idea that there are three towers, the other two are swarming with tourists, but this one is just how we like it.”

“Cold, draughty and lit by gas lamps you mean?” Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow, “Muggles might be oblivious to magic, but they do have heating, electricity and lifts.”

Bill shot her an amused look, “Less cheek, I’m your boss now.”

Daphne smirked at that, “Yes sir,” she said sarcastically.

Before Bill could say anything else, the door opened, and the final person walked in. Daphne hadn’t really looked around at the others, she had been too focused on winding Bill up, but she had noticed that so far, she was the only girl. However, this last person was another girl.

“Name please?” Bill asked her cheerfully.

“Natasha Kowolski,” The girl replied in a Russian accent.

“Perfect, take a seat Natasha, and we’ll get started,” Bill said.

Natasha sat down in the last remaining seat at the front of the room next to Daphne. Bill got to his feet and stood at the front of the ‘classroom’.

“All right guys, you six are this year's Trainee Cursebreakers,” Bill said, “And over the next year, we are going to be putting you through your paces. I reckon two or three of you will end up qualifying. We normally lose one within the first week and another after the first field excursion. Sometimes we lose a few towards the end of the year when final exams loom too.”

There was an intake of breath from behind Daphne.

“That’s right, there will be exams,” Bill said as he looked over Daphne’s shoulder, “This is no walk in the park. If you want to be a curse breaker, then you are going to have to work your arse off over the next year. Now, the purpose of today is to get all of the paperwork out of the way and brief you on how the next year is going to pan out, roughly. Any questions?”

Nobody said anything, so Bill continued, “So a rough outline of the next year then. To begin with, we’re going to put you in the cursed room. It is literally a room full of cursed objects, does anyone know why we might have such a thing?”

“Because when a family dies without an heir, the bank has to do something with their stuff,” Daphne piped up, “They sell whatever they can and split the profit between local charities and the upkeep of the bank but the stuff that is cursed gets thrown into a vault until it can be dealt with.”

“Spot on,” Bill said with a nod, “And since all of us important curse breakers have far more important things to do, we don’t have time to break curses on old family heirlooms. So our trainees spend a good while in that vault, to begin with. Once you guys have proven yourself on everyday curses, we assign you a mentor, and you get to observe them on real curse-breaking missions. If your mentor thinks you’re good enough, they will let you help in the actual breaking of those curses, but you will not work unsupervised until you have been given your curse breaker qualification at the end of your training year. Does everyone understand that?”

There were nods all around, so Bill continued, “Perfect. In that case, I want to do a little exercise to introduce you all to each other. You will be working together, at least to begin with, in the cursed vault, so it’s not a bad idea for you to know each other a little better. Let’s start by going around the group and finding out what your names are and where you’re all from. Daphne, do you want to start us off?”

Daphne nodded, she spun around in her chair so she could see everyone else in the room, “I’m Daphne Greengrass, and I’m homegrown here in England.”

The next person to speak was the only other girl, she had pale skin, dark brown hair and grey eyes “I’m Natasha Kowolski, and I’m from Moscow in Russia.”

“I’m Franklin Lowe,” A fairly tall, well structured blonde boy said, “And I’m from Chicago in the United States.”

“I am Husani Farrah,” A dark-skinned boy with dark brown hair said in a thick accent, “And I am from Luxor in Egypt.”

“I’m Solomon Sarkey,” A brown boy with jet black hair said, “And I’m from Ankara in Turkey.”

“I’m Viggo Scheving,” A thin, blonde boy said, “And I’m from Reykjavik in Iceland.”

“Alright, so we’ve got a great range of nationalities here this year,” Bill said, “And everyone speaks brilliant English which means communication won’t be a problem. I want to do a couple of tasks to help break the ice between you guys. We’ll start with the easiest one. I want you all to tell me two truths and a lie, if none of your new trainees guess the lie, then you get a chocolate frog.”

Daphne wanted to roll her eyes; she hated getting to know each other games; she thought that they were stupid.

“Natasha, why don’t you start us off? Tell us two truths and a lie. Everyone else, write down which one you think is the lie on the parchment that I’ve provided you with.”

Daphne looked down and frowned; she hadn’t even realised that there was parchment, a quill and an inkpot on the desk until now.

Natasha frowned for a moment before eventually saying, “My boyfriend is a state Prince, my father was an assassin, I went to school at a former palace which is now a private school.”

Daphne frowned and jotted down, _“Assassin Father,”_ as the lie. Mind you; the girl was Russian, so she wasn’t entirely convinced about that.

“Viggo?”

“I went hillwalking on an active volcano, I’ve stroked a polar bear, and my favourite hobby is surfing,” Viggo said.

Daphne smirked and jotted down, “ _Polar bears aren’t native to Iceland.”_

“Great, Solomon?”

“I’m descended from the Sultans of Constantinople, I have eight brothers, and I have seen the pyramids,” Solomon said.

Daphne scribbled down, “ _Sultans of Constantinople.”_

“Husani?”

“I have swum in the Nile, my Father is Kenyan, my middle name is Henry,” Husani said.

“ _Henry,”_ Daphne jotted down.

“Franklin, what about you?”

“I could have gone to Harvard, my Great Grandfather went over Niagara Falls in a barrel, and I have disillusioned myself and flown off of the top of the Empire State Building on my broom,” Franklin replied.

Daphne snorted in amusement, she swithered between Niagara Falls and the Empire State building then wrote down, “ _Niagara Falls.”_

“Alright, Daphne, you’re up,” Bill said as he shot her an amused smile.

Daphne smirked to herself and said, “My favourite colour is purple, I can play the piano, and I’m engaged to Harry Potter.”

Bill had to turn away to hide his grin as two of the boys scoffed, and Natasha laughed out loud. Daphne shot Bill a grin while everyone else jotted their thoughts down.

“Alright then, Natasha. What was the lie?”

“That my school was a former palace,” Natasha replied, “It was a cathedral.”

“Hold up; your father was an assassin?” Franklin asked in disbelief.

Natasha shrugged, “Not all of the time, just during the cold war.”

“The war you fought against us, you mean?” Franklin asked incredulously.

“Woah, shut the front door,” Daphne said before Bill could intervene, “We literally just killed a dark wizard. Your muggle war problems are way in the past.”

Natasha nodded, “Fair point.”

Franklin didn’t look convinced, but he said no more as he glared at Natasha. To diffuse the situation, Bill changed the subject, “So no chocolate frogs there, they will appear on your desk if you were right. Let’s move on, Viggo?”

“My lie was that I stroked a polar bear,” Viggo began.

A chocolate frog immediately appeared on Daphne’s desk, she smirked and said, “Polar bears aren’t native to Iceland.”

“True but don’t be too smug,” Bill warned her, “Because they are occasionally seen there, they swim over from Greenland.”

Daphne resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that as Bill moved on, “Solomon?”

“My lie was that I have eight brothers,” Solomon said, “I really am descended from the Sultans of Constantinople, but I only have seven brothers, thankfully.”

“I feel your pain,” Bill said with an amused smile, “I’m one of seven.”

Solomon chuckled at this and Bill said, “Husani?”

Husani smiled, “My lie was that my Father is Kenyan. My Grandfather was Kenyan, but my father was born in England, which is why my middle name is Henry.”

“Very interesting,” Bill said with a smile, “Franklin, what was your lie?”

“My lie was that I could have gone to Harvard,” Franklin said, “I have no Muggle qualifications, but my Great Grandfather did nearly kill himself several times by going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, and some say I am a bit of a daredevil too.”

“I would agree with them if you’re flying off of skyscrapers,” Bill chuckled, “Daphne, I know what your lie is but I don’t think that any of the others do.”

Daphne grinned.

“It’s that she’s with Harry Potter, obviously,” Natasha said.

“No,” Bill chuckled, “It’s that her favourite colour is purple.”

“Exactly, it’s actually green,” Daphne smirked.

“No way!” Franklin gaped, “You can’t be serious!”

Daphne smirked, “I’m serious, we’ve been together for nearly a year.”

“I can verify that,” Bill said with an amused smile, “Harry Potter is my youngest brothers best friend, and he is most definitely dating Daphne.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow at Daphne, “Interesting.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow back at her, “Is it?”

Natasha just nodded.

“So now that we all know each other a little better,” Bill said with a smile, “Let’s get on with the really fun part, health and safety paperwork!”

* * *

Despite Draco’s pep talk, Hermione still felt nervous as she stood in the atrium of the Ministry having her wand checked by the security wizard. It seemed to take a lot longer than it should have done, but once it was done, she was free to enter an elevator and make her way to the DMLE. She could hear her heart pounding as she stepped into the busy elevator and kept her gaze downwards to avoid anyone noticing her and talking to her.

When the elevator reached her floor, she dashed out and walked briskly along the corridor until she entered the DMLE. Once she was there, she stopped at the front desk and smiled nervously at the welcome witch, “Hi, I’m here for my induction on the DMLE Development course. My name is Hermione Granger.”

The welcome witch didn’t even look up from the magazine of Witch Weekly that she was flicking through, “Yeah, Miss Clearwater is waiting for you in her office. First door on your left.”

Hermione felt a little relieved when she heard that name because she presumed that Miss Clearwater was Penelope Clearwater. Hermione didn’t know her incredibly well, but she did know her at least. She walked down the hall and stopped outside the door that said,

_“Assistant Head_

_Penelope Clearwater.”_

She took a breath and knocked.

“Come in,” A kind voice called.

Hermione opened the door and stepped into the spacious office. Penelope Clearwater smiled up from her desk; she was a beautiful woman with long, slightly curled brown hair and eyes that Hermione had always found very kind.

“Good morning Hermione, take a seat.”

Hermione sat down across from Penelope and immediately felt at ease when she said, “There’s no need to look so anxious. I think you are going to fit in just fine here. You are also the only person on our development course this year so we can all devote plenty of time and resources to you. Not that you will need it, you were brilliant even when I knew you.”

Hermione smiled slightly shyly, “Thank you, Penelope. I always found you to be knowledgeable and practical too.”

Penelope chuckled, “That’s one way of putting it. Percy liked to call me focused; I always felt that it was an insult.”

Hermione couldn’t help herself, although she was trying to act professional, she laughed at that and said, “Coming from Percy?”

“I know, right?” Penelope said through her laughter, “Anyway, I really must be professional and give you the outline of your course. As you know, it lasts for a year, and in that year, you will get to spend a little time in every area of the department. You will be observing for the most part, but if the people you are working with are satisfied with your work, they may allow you to partake in certain tasks. There will also be a lot of paperwork. I am afraid; it always tends to fall to the trainees.”

“I expected that,” Hermione said honestly.

Penelope continued, “Over the year, we will assess you to see what areas we find you work best in, but you will also have a say in what you specialise in. At the end of the year, we will have a meeting, and we’ll work out what you are going to specialise in as a fully-fledged Ministry employee.”

Hermione nodded as Penelope explained this.

“Are you aware of how many subdivisions there are in the DMLE?” Penelope asked.

“I know of the Auror office, the Improper Use of Magic Office and the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office,” Hermione replied.

Penelope smiled, “That was all that I was aware of before I started, but we do so much more here. Would you like the tour?”

Hermione got to her feet eagerly, “Oh, yes, please.”

Penelope led Hermione out of the office and down the corridor into an area full of cubicles, “This is the Auror office. The Aurors do a lot more than they used to, budget cuts, unfortunately. We used to have an Investigation Department, but now we pair all of our Aurors up, and they head up their own investigations. We also combined the Witch Watchers with the Aurors; both are in effect highly skilled detectives. There was a time when Aurors just dealt with dark wizards and dark magic, but now they deal with all serious crimes like murder, manslaughter, fraud, you name it..”

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, “So, like you said, the equivalent of a muggle detective.”

“Exactly,” Penelope said, “During your stint in the Auror office you won’t be working as an Auror of course. You will be helping Rachel co-ordinate the Aurors. These men and women are brilliant at catching bad guys, but without Rachel to tell them who is working on what case and who is on night duty from one week to the next, they would be useless.”

Hermione laughed and nodded, “I could get on board with that.”

“At the back of this lot of cubicles is another set,” Penelope added, “That’s the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol. They are the equivalent of your Muggle police; they do the stuff that’s too boring for the Aurors. You know, drunk Quidditch players causing aggro, crowd control at events like Quidditch games or press conferences, that sort of thing. While you’re working with these guys you will spend a lot of time in the field; it’s not for everyone, a lot of people hate their stint here and can’t wait to get back to the paperwork.”

“I’m sure I could handle it, I grew up with Harry Potter,” Hermione said with an amused smile.

Penelope chuckled and led her through the maze of cubicles to a small bullpen at the back, “These guys are Hit Wizards. A lot of people think they are assassins because of the name, but their job is to deal with the most dangerous criminals around. They sometimes work in conjunction with the Aurors but most of the time we loan them out to the Muggle police force so that they can catch serial killers or child molesters, the worst scum around basically.”

Hermione nodded, “What will I be doing while I’m in this department?”

“You will be communicating with the Muggle police. Every police department in the UK has a hotline that takes them to us; you answer the calls, decide what is important enough for our Hit Wizards to take on. Then you select a Hit Wizard, give them a cover story and send them off into deep cover to help the muggles catch their bad guy,” Penelope explained.

“Alright,” Hermione said, she already had a feeling that she would find it difficult to select only the most serious of cases.

“Let’s go back this way, and I’ll show you the rest,” Penelope said, she led the way back through the cubicles into the main corridor. Hermione followed her along it until she paused outside a door.

“That’s the Improper Use of Magic Office in there,” Penelope explained, “They are the people who send you letters when you use magic in the school holidays. They also investigate underage magic and incidents of improper use of magic, so there is a lot of paperwork but also a bit of fieldwork too.”

Hermione nodded and glanced to the door to her right.

“Ah, that is Wizengamot Administration Services,” Penelope said, “Some people love it, most people hate it. Essentially, all of the paperwork for the Wizengamot, so that will involve a lot of sitting around in courtrooms taking notes, sending out court notices, it’s completely paperwork, I hated it.”

“I think I might too,” Hermione admitted.

“This one here,” Penelope said as they walked down the corridor slightly, “Is the Administrative Registration Department, it got a bad rep for the things it did during the war, chiefly because of the Muggle Registration Act, but it’s a good department to work in. I spent a good two years there, what we do here is register every birth, death and marriage in the wizarding world. People have to come in to register births and deaths and to give notice that they are due to marry, so it’s a good job for a people person, you hear interesting stories.”

“It does sound good,” Hermione said, “I do enjoy talking to people and hearing their stories.”

“I honestly loved it,” Penelope said as they walked further down the corridor again, “But like I said, the war gave it an awful reputation.”

“The war gave the whole department and the whole Ministry an awful reputation,” Hermione pointed out.

Penelope stiffened up a little at that, “Yes, well, unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about that. This is the Department of Intoxicating Substances. What they do is fairly self-explanatory, they make regulations about the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and they also monitor the importation and exportation of potions ingredients that can be used as drugs. There is sometimes a tiny bit of fieldwork, but it is 99.9% paperwork.”

Hermione nodded and followed Penelope further along the corridor to a point where the light didn’t seem to work correctly, as it flickered she could just make out a doorway to a tiny, cramped office, “And this is the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. I will be honest with you; it is something of a joke; people will tell you that they will send you here if you make mistakes.”

“You realise that one of my best friends is Ron Weasley, don’t you?” Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow, “Regardless of what we both think about Percy, his Dad, who runs this department, took me in every summer and treated me like one of his own children.”

Penelope’s cheeks flushed slightly, “Of course, how silly that something like that should slip my mind. My apologies.”

Hermione didn’t say anything to that, so Penelope cleared her throat and said, “In that case, you know what the work here entails. Now, we structure the year so that you spend more time in certain departments. You will begin by spending two months in the Auror Office, followed by a month with the Hit Wizards. Then you will spend two months with the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol and two months with the Improper Use of Magic Office. After that you will spend one month in Wizengamot Administration Services then two months in the Administrative Registration Department and then one month in the Department of Intoxicating Substances. Finally, you will spend your last month in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. Do you have any questions?”

Hermione shook her head.

Penelope smiled, but it didn’t seem as genuine as before, “Perfect. In that case, we will have tea in my office and start working our way through the paperwork.”

* * *

When Daphne stepped inside her and Harry’s little holiday cottage, she smiled. She could smell something amazing cooking, and she could hear Harry whistling in the kitchen. She kicked off her shoes, hung up her cloak and walked along the hall.

“Ah, look whose home! Was it as bad as you thought?”

“There were getting to know you games and four hours of paperwork,” Daphne said as she leant in the doorway.

Harry laughed, “Right up your street then,” he joked as he handed her a glass of wine.

“I could get used to this,” Daphne said as she sat down on the kitchen table, “Coming home to home-cooked meals and wine.”

Harry snorted, “Don’t get used to it, once I start Auror training, I’m not going to have as much time on my hands.”

“Yeah,” Daphne said quietly. Harry knew that she would never say it, but he could tell that she was upset that he would be leaving tomorrow.

“But tonight is not about that,” Harry said before she could get down about it, “Tell me about your first day.”

“Well,” Daphne said as she sipped her wine, “The fact that Bill is my boss is just weird. He made us do getting to know each other games to break the ice so we had to tell two truths and a lie and the other people had to guess which the lie was.”

“Sounds like Bill,” Harry said with a smile, “Did anyone guess yours?”

Daphne grinned, “No, I said that my favourite colour is purple, I play the piano, and my fiancé is Harry Potter. They all thought that the last one was the lie.”

Harry grinned back at her, “Your favourite colour is green or silver, depending on the event and your outfit.”

Daphne smiled slightly, “Very good. Nobody believed that you really were my fiancé, Bill had to back me up.”

“That’s because I like to keep you all to myself,” Harry said as he shot her a grin, “Although I don’t know how people can’t know, do they read the Prophet?”

“Probably not, I was the only Brit there,” Daphne said thoughtfully, “There’s only one other girl, she’s Russian, and her Dad was an assassin in the Cold War, she’s intense.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, “She sounds it. What about the other people? Any attractive men that I need to worry about?”

Daphne snorted, “No, well…one of them is alright looking, and he’s Scandinavian, but he’s into nature and hiking.”

Harry chuckled, “So no threats then?”

“Definitely not,” Daphne said with a smile, “There’s a guy from Egypt, an American who I can just tell is going to irritate me and a Turkish guy who thinks he’s the best thing since sliced bread.”

Harry sniggered, “Quite some collection of people then.”

“Hmm,” Daphne hummed thoughtfully, “How about you? Are any of your fellow Trainee Aurors hot enough to tempt you?”

“Away from you?” Harry asked incredulously, “Daph, it would take a full-on Veela with an Imperius Curse to do that.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Are you trying to charm me?”

“Maybe,” Harry said with a soft smile, “I am leaving for two weeks tomorrow after all…”

“And we do have this little cottage all to ourselves…” Daphne added as she stood up and walked over to the sink, shooting him a suggestive look over her shoulder.

Harry knew that look well, he turned the gas off on the stove and walked over to her, “I was planning on having dinner first, but I think you have other plans.”

Daphne smirked at him, “Like you said, you will be gone for two weeks. Shouldn’t we take advantage of every minute we have now?”

Harry walked forward and put his arms around her from behind “Yeah, I think we should.”

“Me too,” Daphne murmured as she felt him run his hands from her shoulders over her chest while moulding his hips against her backside.

Daphne turned around at this and pulled Harry down into a heated kiss, their tongues entwining as she did. In response, Harry closed the gap between them and, putting his hands on her arse, he picked her up with ease and sat her on the kitchen worktop. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled his t-shirt off.

Harry moved his mouth to her neck, “You’re not even going to let me take you to the bedroom?”

Daphne moaned and then smirked, “Harry, there are no portraits in this house like there are in ours. I plan on fucking you in every room before you leave for isolation tomorrow, _starting_ right here.”

“You are too fucking hot,” Harry murmured, capturing her lips once more.

Daphne moaned slightly once more and then breaking the kiss, started to kiss as many of Harry’s scars as she could reach. Harry’s breath caught slightly, “Daph, stop being such a tease”.

She smirked in return, taking a brief pause from her ministrations, “But why? We have all the time in the world and no one to interrupt”.

With this comment, she slid off the worktop and got to her knees in front of Harry while pulling down his trousers. As Harry was about to say something in return, she took him into her mouth and unsurprisingly the words left him and were replaced with a guttural groan.

However enjoyable as it was, Harry was eager to fuck his fiancée, so he pulled her to her feet, ripped open her blouse and in one movement vanished her bra and cast the protection charm. Daphne was then spun around with a gasp, and bent over the kitchen table as Harry hiked up her skirt, pushed her green silk panties to one side and slid inside her.

She couldn’t help but moan loudly as Harry’s hands, rough and callused from years of Quidditch grasped her breasts as he pounded into her and took out his frustration at not being able to do this in their own house because of all of their damn lodgers.

Harry didn’t last long after her excellent blowjob earlier and moaned her name as he released inside her a few short minutes later.

As Harry caught his breath, Daphne looked at him over her shoulder. She was short of breath herself, but that didn’t stop her from smirking as she wriggled out from underneath him. She looked at him with pink cheeks and fixed her hair, “That was one hell of a way to christen the kitchen, but where next?”.

* * *

When Hermione stepped out of the fireplace into the kitchen of Potter Manor, she was surprised to find it empty. She knew that Draco had been off today and she had sort of been hoping that he might cook dinner or do something romantic. After all, he was going into isolation tomorrow morning.

She sighed and was about to leave the room when she noticed a scroll of parchment on the table. She unrolled it and skimmed the writing with a frown;

_“Hermione,_

_I have a surprise for you. Meet me at Claremont Square._

_Draco.”_

Hermione grinned and hurried towards the front door so she could apparate to the square. She had a feeling that she knew what his surprise was; after all, Claremont Square was opposite 12 Grimmauld Place.

As soon as Hermione reached the gate, she apparated to the square and smiled when she saw Draco waiting in front of a fountain.

“You said you had a surprise for me?”

Draco smiled and hooked his arm through hers, “I do, how was your first day?”

“It was okay,” Hermione replied as Draco led her towards a small gate out of the park, “My boss is Penelope Clearwater, she was a Ravenclaw a few years above us at school, she dated Percy Weasley.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Draco asked.

“Well, I thought it was a good thing,” Hermione said honestly, “But now I think it might be a bad thing because I’ve managed to piss her off already.”

Draco sniggered, “How did you manage that?”

“She insulted Ron’s Dad!” Hermione said indignantly, “I got the tour of the DMLE, she was telling me about all the subdivisions because over the next year I have to spend a month or two in each one so that they can work out what I’m good at and so that I can work out what I like.”

Draco nodded and opened the little iron-wrought gate for her, “How did that result in her insulting Ron’s Dad or in you pissing her off?”

“Well she started with the crucial things, the Auror Office, the Improper Use of Magic Office, you know?” Hermione said.

Draco nodded, and Hermione continued, “Then at the very end of the tour we got to a part of the corridor that had no lighting, and she points to this office which was basically a bloody broom cupboard. Anyway, it was the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, and she had the nerve to say that it was a joke and that if I made any mistakes, my superiors would joke about sending me there.”

Draco grimaced, “Ah, and Arthur Weasley runs it.”

“Yes, and he loves his job,” Hermione said hotly, “After the war, he could have done anything that he wanted, but he went back to that job because he enjoys it so much. It’s not a joke, what they do is very important, if Muggles were allowed to run around with biting teapots or vomiting toilets then the statute of secrecy wouldn’t stand up for very long, would it?”

Draco shook his head, “No, it wouldn’t. It is an important job, he protects Muggles from wizards cruel practical jokes, and you’re right, it’s important to make sure that these items are confiscated and that the Muggles are obliviated. The last thing we need is another witch hunt on our hands.”

Hermione smiled at him, and Draco frowned, “What?”

“Nothing,” Hermione said with a fond smile, “It’s just…once upon a time, you would be the last person that I would expect to defend Arthur Weasley or the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.”

Draco smiled warmly at her, “Well times change, and so do people. Now, here is your surprise…”

Hermione looked around and realised that they were standing in front of a house, “Welcome home.”

Hermione beamed, and she was fairly sure that she had tears in her eyes, the house had obviously had the Fidelius Charm taken off of it because she could see it. The dark, foreboding exterior was gone too, in favour of a whitewashed look with…

“Are those golden railings?”

“Gold leaf,” Draco said with a wave of his hand, “I thought the Gryffindor in you would like it, the interior is far more neutral though, sorry.”

Hermione shook her head and let her happy tears fall, “No, I don’t care what the interior looks like. I love it, Draco!”

Draco smiled with relief; he opened his mouth to say something else, but then a call distracted them.

“Howdy neighbours!”

Hermione and Draco tore their eyes off of each other to look at the house next door to theirs. Theo was hanging out of the drawing-room window of number 11 waving a cowboy hat.

“Way to ruin the moment Theo,” Hermione called back, a little irritably.

“Sorry Princess,” Theo said, he winked at her, threw the cowboy hat out onto the street and disappeared back inside his house.

“I have to spend two weeks with him,” Draco muttered as he picked up the hat and walked towards the front door, “Two whole weeks of him whining about how much he loves Sadie and how much he misses her and talking about how much Egypt sucks.”

Hermione shot him an amused look, “You love him really.”

Draco just rolled his eyes in response to that and placed his hand on the front door, “Blood wards open it, you and I are the only ones who have direct access, but in the case of an emergency, Harry can get in too.”

“That’s good to know,” Hermione said as they stepped into the foyer. She took off her shoes and hung her cloak up on a lovely, new coat stand; she was so glad that Draco had gotten rid of the troll leg.

“So,” Draco said with a smile, “I have dinner in the oven to keep it warm, but I figured you might want the tour first.”

“I definitely want the tour first,” Hermione said eagerly as she stepped out into the hallway. It was no longer dark and dingy, the walls were a nice, neutral magnolia and the wooden handrail on the stairs had been sanded back and looked brand new. There were brand new brown carpets down too and…

“You installed electricity?” Hermione asked in surprise.

“That was what caused the delay,” Draco admitted, “But I wanted it to be a surprise. It took the electrician forever, and it cost me a bloody fortune, I got a plumber in to give the plumbing an upgrade too.”

Hermione grinned, “So there are electrical lights?”

“And plug sockets in every room,” Draco admitted reluctantly, “The only thing I kept as gas was the oven, I have no idea how to cook on one of those new-fangled electric Muggle ones.”

“That’s fine,” Hermione said with a nod, her eyes were now full of tears and then suddenly she couldn’t help it in anymore. She burst into tears and threw herself at him, “Thank you Draco, thank you so much! You installed electricity, I can have a beautiful house full of magical books and everything, but I can have electricity back again, thank you!”

Draco smiled and pulled her closer, “That’s alright, I know how much you wanted it and…I want you to be happy, even if that means electricity.”

“You’ll love it,” Hermione promised him as she pulled back from the hug and wiped her eyes, “We’ll get a TV, and you will love electricity, trust me.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Draco said with a smile.

Hermione grinned and looked along the hall, “I love the chandelier.”

“I’m glad,” Draco snorted, “It took six of us to get that damn thing up there.”

“Six of you?” Hermione asked in amusement.

“Six of us,” Draco agreed…

_“I can’t get the damn thing up!”_

_“That’s because you tried to force it on, and you broke it,” Harry snorted, “I’ll hang it properly for you.”_

_Draco rolled his eyes, “I didn’t break it.”_

_“It looks pretty broken to me,” Neville admitted._

_Ron nodded, “Yeah, I don’t think that thing should be hanging off like that.”_

_Harry grabbed the ladder in amusement and started to climb it._

_“Woah, watch out, mate,” Ron said as the ladder began to shake. He grabbed one end, and Neville grabbed the other. Theo put a hand on one of the rungs for good measure._

_“Cheers guys,” Harry said as he adjusted the chandelier and hung off the ladder for a second to make sure that it was hanging straight._

_“What are you five idiots doing?” A voice from below said._

_“Putting up a chandelier,” Harry replied._

_“Takes five of you to do that, does it?” Lilly asked with a grin, “This is like the old joke.”_

_“What old joke?” Harry asked, jumping back down to the ground._

_Lilly put a tray of lemonade down on the hall table, “How many Hogwarts students does it take to change a lightbulb? Six.”_

_“Go on,” Neville snorted._

_“One Slytherin to break it,” Lilly said, looking pointedly at Draco._

_“I didn’t mean to break it,” He muttered._

_Lilly grinned, “One Gryffindor to volunteer to fix it.”_

_Harry raised his hand, “Guilty.”_

_“Three Hufflepuffs to hold the ladder,” Lilly said._

_“Oi!” Ron said, “Why are we the Hufflepuffs?”_

_“Cause we’re the idiots who were holding the ladder?” Neville suggested._

_Lilly’s grin turned into a smirk, “And one Ravenclaw to say, why the hell didn’t you just use magic?”_

_Theo smacked himself in the head, “Fuck.”_

_“Nice work though, beautiful chandelier,” Lilly said with an amused grin._

_“Shut up, Lil,” Harry complained good-naturedly._

Hermione was beside herself with laughter at this story, “Well, she’s right.”

“I know,” Draco chuckled, “Now come on, I want to show you the rest of the house.”

He led her into the newly refurbished house. There were some significant changes, the house-elves heads that had lined the staircase were gone, thankfully, and the portrait of Sirius’s psychotic mother had also been removed, but something else hung in its place.

“Draco,” Hermione said in disbelief.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Draco said sheepishly, “But I knew you wouldn’t agree to have the portrait there, _and_ I know you will like them.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her, fiancé, “Will I?”

“Of course you will,” Draco said matter of factly, “Come on.”

He dragged Hermione over to the portrait, which featured his grandparents when they were in their late 40’s. Abraxas was a handsome, stately looking man with short blond hair and grey eyes. Elladora was a beautiful woman with the signature Potter black hair and green eyes.

“Grandfather, Grandmother,” Draco said with a smile, “This is my fiancé, Hermione.”

“What an interesting name,” Elladora said kindly, “And a beautiful young lady.”

“Her parents like Shakespeare,” Draco said offhandedly, “She’s a Nott.”

“Oh no,” Hermione said with a shake of her head, “You do not get to introduce me to your pureblood grandparents as a Nott. I’m a muggle-born, my mother may have been a Nott, but she was a squib, and my father _is_ a muggle.”

Elladora’s eyes widened, “Was your mother, Elizabeth Nott, my dear?”

“She goes by Elizabeth Granger now, but yes,” Hermione replied, “I gather that you were the one who saved her life, so thank you.”

Elladora smiled, “No child should be killed for their blood status.”

Abraxas bowed his head, “I am of the same stance as my wife where that is concerned. I was one of two surviving children from six, and my elder sister was a squib.”

“Was she?” Hermione asked in surprise.

Draco nodded, “There’s a portrait of her in the kitchen of Potter Manor. She became a servant there, and Charlus fell in love with her, she was his mistress.”

“What is it with Malfoys falling in love with Notts and Potters?” Hermione asked, shooting her fiancé an amused look.

“It’s in our blood,” Draco joked.

Hermione frowned, “But wait a minute…isn’t Charlus Potter, your father, Elladora?”

“Yes, he is,” Elladora replied.

“So your father's mistress was your husband's sister?” Hermione asked.

“We’re purebloods darling; nothing is a surprise.”

“You and Theo are cousins, and we’re in a-”

“Don’t call it a four-way,” Hermione warned him, “We are _not_ in a four-way.”

“Yeah but that one time it _was,_ and he’s your cousin,” Draco smirked.

“Don’t remind me, and can we not have this conversation in front of your grandparents?”

“Oh they’ll find out all of our dirty secrets soon enough, they live in our hall now,” Draco said offhandedly, “And they are well-acquainted with the concept. Remember al the rumours about my grandfather and Thaddeus Nott?”

“Yes…” Hermione said slowly as she looked up the portrait.

“Entirely true,” Elladora said with a roll of her eyes.

Abraxas raised an eyebrow at his wife, “You hardly had an innocent relationship with Gertie.”

“That’s Gertrude Longbottom he’s talking about,” Draco whispered, “Thaddeus’s wife.”

“Are you telling me that a Potter, a Malfoy, a Nott and a Longbottom were having a four-way two generations ago?”

Draco grinned, “Harry and Neville are so screwed, right?”

Hermione shook her head in disbelief, “Before all of your family secrets come out, can I see the rest of my house?”

Draco laughed, “Yeah, look I moved the kitchen from the basement to the first floor. It’s just over here where the dining room used to be…”

Across the hall from the kitchen, where there had been a small library, he had made room for a dining room big enough for them and all of their friends.

Draco insisted on showing her the basement last, so Hermione let him lead her upstairs. The drawing-room had been given a makeover, and in a nod to their houses, there were two comfortable armchairs by the fire, one was scarlet red, and the other was emerald green. The tapestry had also been restored, all those who had been burned off were now back on the tapestry and Draco had also added people like Hermione and Harry to it. There was also a small bedroom with an adjoining bathroom on this floor.

The second floor had another small bedroom with an adjoining bathroom, but this wasn’t the primary use of the space. The drawing-room had previously taken up two floors due to its high ceiling, but Draco had created a whole new room by lowering the ceiling. He had floored this room with solid oak floorboards, and it was probably, Hermione’s favourite room in the entire house.

“You made me a library,” Hermione whispered in disbelief. It wasn’t even a small library, it was a huge library, complete with wooden ladders to reach the highest shelves and comfortable armchairs dotted around rather than just tables with uncomfortable wooden chairs. Draco had even put window seats into all three of the high windows that let light stream into the room.

Draco glanced at her nervously, “I hope it’s okay. I took all of the books that weren’t cursed or about dark magic from Malfoy Manor. Then I bought a lot second hand at a bargain rate from Flourish and Blotts. There should be a good range of magical disciplines as well as some histories and the odd wizarding fiction book,” he said, he was jabbering now, “And I added a Muggle literature section too with-”

Hermione cut him off before he could finish, she launched herself at him again, but this time it was to kiss him, not to cry on him. Draco stopped talking abruptly and kissed her back with as much fervour as she was kissing him.

“It’s perfect,” She said as she pulled back from the kiss, “It is so perfect, Draco, thank you.”

Draco smiled and sighed with relief, “Thank Merlin, I was worried you wouldn’t like it.”

“You gave me my own library Draco, how could I not like anything about that?” Hermione asked as she stared around the room, “I could spend all night in here…”

“If you spend all night in here I can’t show you the rest of the house or treat you to the fabulous meal I have prepared you,” Draco said as he grabbed her hand and tried to pull her out of the room, “Or seduce you and keep you in my arms all night until I have to leave tomorrow morning.”

Hermione laughed at that and let him pull her away from the library, “That’s true, I’ll have two weeks to kill when you’re in isolation. I can get acquainted with my library then.”

Draco agreed with her and took upstairs to show her the rest of the house. The third floor was home to another small bedroom and the master bedroom. Draco had kept it neutral again so that Hermione could decorate it however she wished, as long as that didn’t involve red and gold. He had also moved the doorway to the bathroom on that floor so that it was now an ensuite for the master.

The fourth floor hadn’t changed much in terms of layout. The rooms that had once belonged to Sirius and Regulus were now decorated neutrally with a shared bathroom connecting the two. The only change on this floor was in the stairs to the attic, before they had been tucked away behind a door small enough for a house-elf and you had to duck to get up them. Now they were proper stairs with a bannister.

“Why did you change the attic stairs?”

“Because they don’t just lead to the attic anymore,” Draco said with a grin, “Let me show you.”

He walked up the stairs, and Hermione followed him. At the top of the narrow, steep stairs there were two doors, both at elf height.

“That leads to the attic space,” Draco said as he motioned towards the door on their left, “But this leads to the roof terrace.”

He opened the door, ducked and walked through it. Hermione followed him and smiled when she stepped out. It was a small square, only big enough for the two sun loungers that Draco had placed here and maybe a few plants. They had a fantastic view of London from up here, though. But as Hermione leant on the railing and looked around, she saw something that made her frown.

“Draco is that…”

Draco followed her line of sight and looked sheepish when he saw what had caught her attention, “Uh…yeah, I was worried that might bother you.”

Number 12 Grimmauld Place was a narrower house than Number 11, but it had a similar amount of space because it had an extra floor. As such, when Hermione looked down, she saw another small roof terrace and Theo was sunbathing on it, completely naked.

“The fact they live next door doesn’t bother me,” Hermione said as she raised an eyebrow at Draco, “The fact our roof terrace looks out onto their roof terrace doesn’t bother me either unless of course, your best friend is butt bloody naked on it!”

“Yeah,” Draco grimaced, “I can see why that would bother you. THEO! Put it away, mate!”

Theo opened his eyes and looked up at them. He grinned and pulled a towel over himself, “Sorry mate, tan lines, I hate them.”

“See, he’s a cooperative neighbour,” Draco said as he glanced over at Hermione.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, “Uh-huh. Are you going to show me this basement or not?”

Draco was just glad that she wasn’t angrier about Theo’s indecent display. He nodded, and they made their way down several flights of stairs back into the entrance hallway. The stairs to the basement were in the same place that they had always been, but they didn’t seem so creepy now that they were lit with electric lights. At the bottom of the stairs, the door which had once led to the kitchen said in large letters, _“DRACO’S MAN CAVE.”_

“Harry has a lot to answer for,” Hermione said dryly as Draco opened the door and led Hermione inside.

“It does have its uses though,” Draco said, “I mean it has a bar, it could be used for parties.”

The basement had been completely stripped back and converted into what was essentially a huge function room. It was pretty neat, Hermione had to admit, the exposed stone arch foundations gave it a rustic feel. Draco had kitted it out with a bar, tables and comfortable armchairs and sofas. It could all be pushed aside to make room for a dancefloor though.

“What’s that door?” Hermione asked with a frown.

“Oh, it’s not in use,” Draco said with a wave of his hand, “It was just a door that was there, I couldn’t get rid of it.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, “You managed to get rid of a screaming portrait and the decapitated heads of dead house-elves, but you couldn’t get rid of that door?”

Draco shrugged, “Yeah, it’s an old door, you know?”

“Draco,” Hermione said in a warning tone, “What’s that door?”

Draco grimaced and waited for a bollocking as he admitted, “It goes to Theo’s man cave, but it’s got powerful wards and locking charms on it so we can’t just come and go as we please. We’ve got to allow each other access, like a floo system.”

“What is the point?” Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well he’s my best friend, I spent seven years in a dorm with him at Hogwarts, I can’t just go from that to never seeing him,” Draco began to argue.

“No, I mean what's the point in warding the bloody door?” Hermione asked him, “You’re going to be coming and going every five minutes anyway. Just make it a bloody door.”

“Seriously?” Draco asked her.

“If this is going to be a four-way anyway, we might as well get rid of the obstacles,” Hermione said matter of factly.

“So you’re completely okay with having a door in the basement that goes to his basement? Even though he could come barging into our bedroom at 6 am because he thinks he’s dying of dragon pox when he actually just has a spot on his face?”

“He would do that even if we didn’t have a door,” Hermione snorted, “There will have to be some rules but as long as you’re not going to use it to meet up and shag in the middle of the night then yes, I’m okay with it just being a door.”

Draco grinned, “Well would you look at that, I’ve made a pureblood of you. I think you’re more of a Nott than you realise.”

“Okay now, I’m offended,” Hermione said, raising an eyebrow at her fiancé.

“Well, let me make it up to you, are you hungry?”

“Starving,” Hermione admitted, a little grudgingly.

“Good,” Draco said, “I made your favourite, chicken hotpot.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “Is that because you thought I would flip my lid when I realised that you had built a door to Theo’s house?”

“Maybe,” Draco admitted as they made their way towards the kitchen.

“Does Sadie know about the door by the way?”

“No, Theo said he would tell her when she gets back from Egypt,” Draco replied.

Hermione snorted, “Good luck to him when he breaks _that_ news.”

“Yeah, I told him that he was on his own with that one,” Draco said with an amused smile, “Now sit down, relax and let me pour you a glass of wine.”

Hermione smiled at him, “I can get on board with that plan and Draco?”

“Yeah?” Draco said, glancing around at her as he pulled the hotpot out of the oven.

Hermione’s smile couldn’t have been more genuine as she said, “Thank you. This house…it’s perfect.”

Draco grinned at her, “You deserve nothing less, Hermione.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	25. The Isolation Period

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty much every scene starts with the scene location for the next few chapters because the gang are spread far and wide so it makes it a bit easier to follow!

**_Amiens, France._ **

Lilly had never felt as nervous as she did on the first morning of her training course. She hadn’t had a chance to meet her fellow recruits because she had already been in bed when most of them arrived the previous night. She was glad that she had her own dorm room; however, she had been worried that she would have to share for another year.

All Lilly knew about her fellow trainees was that there were seven of them. She had been observing them discreetly as they waited in line to meet the head of the centre. There were five girls, including herself, and three boys. 

“Good morning, trainees!” A harsh female voice barked.

Lilly jumped and looked up. The voice belonged to a tall, slim, rigorous looking woman who was wearing Healers robes adorned with the French flag, “My name is Madame Tyrannique. I am the Head Senior Healer here at the Centre for Trauma Healing, and I will be overseeing your training while you are here.”

Lilly was grateful for the fact that there were a few kinder looking Healers standing behind her.

“If you have any issues, you must come to me, but you will be working with my colleagues here,” Madam Tyrannique said as she gestured behind herself, “There will be two trainees assigned to each Senior Healer. By the end of the year, I fully expect there to be _one_ trainee assigned to each Healer because I do not doubt that some of you will not have the stomach for this job. Yes, we treat broken bones and bad cuts, but you will see brain fluid, you will see bones sticking out of screaming patients, you will see blood gushing from people. Frankly, you have to have an extraordinary mindset to be able to cope with this job.”

Lilly glanced around; there were already a couple of green-ish faces.

“I shall make a prediction right now,” Madam Tyrannique said sternly, “One of you will quit, one of you will change course to study a more conventional sort of healing, and two of you will go home to work in local practices healing minor ailments.”

Lilly wanted to make sure that she wouldn’t be any of those people. She held her head up a little higher as if trying to prove that.

“Now, I do not believe you have met your fellow trainees so if each of you could tell us your name and where you are from, that would be much appreciated.”

Lilly was first in the row, so she smiled and said, “My name is Lillian Moon, but I prefer Lilly. I’m from London in the UK.”

The next person was an unassuming girl with dirty blonde hair and dark brown eyes, “I am Eleonore Valjean and I from Paris in France.”

The next person was a relatively handsome dark-skinned boy, “I’m Ayo Farrah, and I’m from Cairo in Egypt.”

Next to speak was a girl with dark red hair, she was tall and very conventionally good looking. She smiled and spoke with a thick Texan accent, “Hey all. My name is Savannah Adkinson, and I’m from Texas in the United States of America.”

Next was a stocky boy with mousy brown hair, “I’m Michael Smith, and I’m from Vancouver in Canada.”

Next in line was a dark-skinned girl with beautiful dark brown hair. She smiled very genuinely and said, “Hello, my name is Lucille Williams, and I am from Kingston in Jamaica.”

Lilly had a good feeling about Lucille; she seemed like the most genuine of all of the people who had introduced themselves. Next was a beautiful girl with tanned skin and bleached blonde hair, “Hi, I’m Charlotte Thompson and I’m from Wellington in New Zealand.”

The last person to speak was a boy with light blonde hair and very white, shiny teeth. Lilly supposed that a lot of women would find him good looking, but he just seemed a bit too false for her liking. She liked her men a little rougher around the edges; the thought made her smile slightly as she thought about Neville.

“I am Marcel Bissett, and I am from Calais in France,” Marcel said with a huge, very false smile.

Madam Tyrannique nodded and then consulted a list that she had on a clipboard in front of her, “Trainee Moon and Trainee Bissett; you are assigned to Senior Healer Clara Selwyn.”

Lilly had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Of all the people she could have been paired with, it just had to be the French glamour king. She zoned out as all of the others were paired off and only started to pay attention when their Senior Healer walked over to greet them.

“Miss Moon, Mr Bissett,” Clara Selwyn said with a smile as she shook their hands. She was a classically beautiful woman with brown hair so dark it almost looked black, and deep blue eyes. She looked older than them but not quite middle-aged, Lilly guessed that she was in her mid-20’s.

“Nice to meet you,” Lilly said politely.

“Enchante,” Marcel said, “May I kiss your hand?”

“No, you may not,” Clara said swiftly, “And I will not tolerate any of that French nonsense, Mr Bissett. I am as English as they come, none of your fellow countrymen have managed to charm me in my six years in this country, so I doubt that you will succeed.”

Lilly smirked as Marcel nodded and said, “My apologies, ma’am.”

Clara shot him a defiant look and said, “Now shall we get started? I like to start things off with a tour of the facilities.”

“That sounds great,” Lilly said eagerly, she had only seen the dorm room and the cafeteria so far.

“I hope you’re this eager when the real work starts Miss Moon,” Clara said with a pointed look, “Now this is the lecture hall. You will attend three classes a week here, and you will take all of your written assignments here. The remainder of your course will be physical, that consists of observation and also of physical training.”

“Why is there such a large physical aspect of the course?” Marcel asked.

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, “Oh I don’t know Marcel, maybe because we’re going to be working with Aurors in the field where there will be bad guys shooting spells at us. I think that’s why it might be a good idea to be fit enough to run away while holding injured people.”

Clara glanced down to hide her smirk, “I would encourage a friendlier attitude to your colleague Miss Moon. However, you are entirely correct. You may have to treat someone in the middle of a warzone; you need to be prepared for that situation.”

“I understand that there will be a degree of action involved,” Marcel said calmly, “But a warzone? Isn’t that an exaggeration in current times?”

“In current times?” Lilly asked in disbelief, “I literally just saw friends die in a war! I was one of those people treating people in the middle of a warzone while giants stomped around and werewolves tried to eat people, and Death Eaters were everywhere! Do you never look at newspapers?”

“Alright, I should tell you off for your attitude Miss Moon,” Clara said, “But as one of the trauma healers who served in that war, I can’t find it in me to do so. To worsen things, you were merely a school pupil when you witnessed these things.”

Marcel swallowed, “I am very sorry, Miss Moon. I did not mean to be insensitive. It wounds me to upset such a beautiful girl.”

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Yes, and I have a boyfriend who destroyed a Horcrux with a goblin made sword. He’s also Harry Potters right-hand man, and he killed Lord Voldemort, so I’m not interested in silly little French boys, okay?”

Clara bit her lip in amusement; she sensed a tumultuous year ahead, “Come on, guys, let’s continue the tour. Through here we have the mock operating theatre. The Aurors back home have a simulation room, and this is very similar to that, once a week you will work together on an operation. However, the entire thing will be simulated by the rooms awe-inspiring magic. We will be watching and marking you, these marks add up over the year and are very important.”

Lilly nodded and remained silent as they were led up a set of stairs, “These three floors are all wards and operating rooms, each floor has a break room where you can help yourselves to tea and coffee,” Clara told them as she led them through the hospital, “We are an active training hospital after all. Upstairs you have your dorms and a shared common room. In that building over there you have the cafeteria where all meals are provided for you. Below the cafeteria is a swimming pool where you will spend an hour each week. We want to ensure that all of you are strong swimmers in case you ever have to retrieve a patient or a body from the water.”

Lilly nodded and listened as she took it all in, “Outside we have the track which you will be running around every morning at 6.30 am sharp. It’s a good wake up call as much as anything else. There is also a Quidditch pitch further down that path, and the hospital has a team which you can try out for you if you so wish. I think that just about covers it, do you have any other questions?”

“When do we start?” Lilly asked.

Clara chuckled, “Tomorrow morning. Today you have paperwork to fill out and your induction to complete,” she led them through a door at the back of the lecture hall that they had somehow found their way back to. They were in a small classroom full of chatter because all of the other pairs were here with their Healers too.

“First of all, here are your timetables,” Clara said, “Whenever it says, Hospital Placement, that means you will be with me. Everywhere I go, you come too. You will see patients getting admitted as well as check-ups and check-outs. Not to mention different sorts of surgeries.”

“Do we get to do any fieldwork?” Marcel asked.

“Not until you have been here for six months,” Clara replied, “At that point, we’ll send you home to the care of your own countries Auror training department. When you’re there, you will get to go on simulated missions.”

Lilly frowned as she glanced down at the timetable, “Excuse me, Clara, what does Auror Placement mean?”

Clara looked down at her timetable briefly, “Ah yes, you will go back to your home countries on a Wednesday afternoon and work with the Aurors who will be starting fieldwork the same year that you graduate. This is to ensure that you have a working relationship with them before you all start running riot in the real world.”

Lilly grinned brightly at that and Clara frowned, “You seem overly happy about that Miss Moon.”

“My boyfriend is training to be an Auror,” Lilly explained, “And we won’t see each other much with me being in France.”

“Ah,” Clara said, she smiled, and it looked sympathetic, “I understand how hard long-distance relationships are. Hopefully, this Wednesday workshop will make a difference for you.”

“Hopefully,” Lilly said with a smile.

* * *

**_Auror Training Base, London._ **

“Are you going to spend the next two weeks looking like a mopey zoo lion?”

Theo huffed.

“Did you just huff? Seriously?”

“Would you guys leave me alone?” Theo said irritably, “I have to spend two weeks stuck in here while my wife galivants around Egypt seeing cool shit with people who are smarter, better looking and more privileged than me. I’m not exactly thrilled about it, alright?”

“Okay, can I just make a point?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

Theo glared at him in response.

“I find it hard to believe that there are people in this world more privileged than you,” Harry continued, “Apart from Daph maybe, she’s pretty high maintenance.”

Draco snorted, “You’ve never been to wizarding Europe, have you?”

“I’ve never been to Europe, period,” Harry said.

“What?” Draco and Theo echoed.

“Deprived childhood, remember?” Neville chipped in, “Evil Aunt and Uncle wouldn’t take him on family outings, they were hardly going to put him in their suitcase and take him to the Algarve, were they?”

Harry snorted in amusement at that thought, “Thanks for the support there Nev.”

“You have never been to Europe?” Theo asked again, only slower this time.

“Theo, I’ve never left Britain,” Harry said, “I don’t even have a passport.”

“A what?”

“It’s a thing Muggles need,” Draco said with a wave of his hand, “You need to pay money to get this passport thing and if you don’t have one you can’t leave the country.”

Theo scoffed, “That’s the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard. Here you just go to the International Apparition Centre, tell them whether you’re travelling for business or pleasure and get your wand checked. Once they know you’re not a criminal, you’re good to go.”

“Unless you’re trying to smuggle illegal fauna into the country, in which case they search your trunk and detain you,” Draco said, smirking at Neville.

Neville rolled his eyes, “I didn’t know it was illegal, I just wanted to bring my new plant home with me, and I was _six._ ”

“They bound his hands together and read him his rights; he cried like a baby,” Draco joked.

“How do you know this?” Harry asked, looking between his two friends with an amused smile.

“Because Draco had tagged along on his dad’s business trip to Austria and Gran and me were coming back from our holiday in Cyprus,” Neville explained.

“So I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, for the perfect blackmail opportunity,” Draco smirked.

“You want blackmail? We were friends back then, remember? You came over to hug me, and your dad whacked you round the head with his cane,” Neville reminded him.

Harry winced, “Your dad was a right bastard, but it is good to know you had a conscious before Hermione reformed you.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “Very funny.”

“Quit the chatter girls!”

The group of friends fell silent upon hearing that command. They hadn’t heard Auror Sumner enter the lecture hall where they had been killing time for the last half an hour.

“Welcome to the start of Auror training,” Sumner boomed, “I want you all to look around you at the people in this room. When you are all fully qualified Aurors, these people will be your peers and probably even your friends, but right now, they are your competition.”

Harry frowned at that and looked around the room; his three friends looked equally as confused. As did the other two pairs, Blanche Zabini and Ophelia Wood, and, Maxwell Harper and Emily Wilde.

“While you are here, you are competing to be the best. We have a leaderboard, and we keep track of those getting the highest marks in their classes, that’s both written and practical classes. There will be incentives for those that are at the top of the leaderboard, prizes if you like,” Sumner explained, “So it’s in your best interest to work your arses off.”

Harry and Neville shared a determined look, they were the best, and they were also Gryffindors which of course made them more stubborn than most.

“The other reason you’re competing is because not all of you will finish your training,” Sumner said, “By the end of your training period, at least two of you will have fallen by the wayside, one way or another. If we end up with two qualified pairs of Aurors at the end of three years, we consider that a good year. Do you understand how high our standards are now?”

“Yes, sir,” They all echoed.

Sumner nodded, “Good, now as you were all briefed, the next two weeks are known as the isolation period. There’s a reason for that, a very good reason,” he paused to see if anyone questioned this. Still, nobody did, “The reason is that we want you to bond with your new partner so that when we throw ourselves into the first year of training, you are already close enough to that person that you would kill or die for them.”

Harry’s hand shot into the air.

Sumner knew what was coming before he even said, “Yes, Potter?”

“I have killed for Neville, I’ve also died for Neville in a round-about way, I sort of died for all of my friends which included him,” Harry began, “Oh and I’ve known him since I was 11 so we’ve already bonded.”

“We killed a snake together, not to mention Lord Voldemort,” Neville agreed.

Harry nodded, “So can we just go home for the next couple of weeks?”

“Draco and I have bonded too!” Theo cut in, “We’ve known each other since we were babies, and I once shoved a bezoar down his throat because he drank a poisonous potion.”

“Just to clarify, I was three years old at the time,” Draco added, “But he’s right, he’s saved my life, and I did kill a Death Eater to save his arse in the final battle.”

“So I guess we can go home too then?” Theo half said, half asked.

Sumner was trying not to smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest. They could tell that he was finding it difficult to keep his tough-guy act up, “Nobody is exempt from isolation! I don’t care how many snakes or dark lords you’ve killed. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir,” The four boys echoed.

“I have not had to put up with shit like this since I had James Potter and Sirius Black on this base and let me tell you; I will not hesitate to throw their heirs into the same isolation cell that I had to throw those clowns into Merlin knows how many times,” Sumner continued, “Do you idiots understand me?”

“Yes, sir,” They echoed. Although Harry secretly found it quite amusing that they were reminding Sumner of his father and godfather.

“Right!” Sumner barked, “Now that the class clowns have hung up their oversized shoes let me tell you exactly why we call this the isolation period. We don’t just leave you on the base and not let you call your partner, your mum or your granny because we’re cold-hearted bastards. We do something much worse than that; you are going to spend the next two weeks in some of the most isolated places we know with only your Auror partner, your wand and a tent.”

There were groans and gasps, all sounds of horror or dread.

Harry raised his hand, and Sumner narrowed his eyes at him, “Yes, Potter?”

“Camping then?”

Sumner narrowed his eyes even more, “I suppose you could call it camping, but there are no amenities.”

“You do realise, sir, that I spent an entire year camping with no amenities while avoiding all of Lord Voldemort’s minions who were scouring the country for me?” Harry said, “So I feel like I should maybe just get a two-week vacation instead.”

“Potter!” Sumner barked while the others sniggered or chuckled, “I said no cheek and I mean no fucking cheek! You had better think about your attitude during isolation because if it doesn’t change by the time you get back here, I _will_ kick you to the curb, war hero or not. Do you understand me?”

Harry took it seriously this time, “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

Sumner’s cheeks had been getting gradually redder and redder; he currently looked like a tomato, “So listen up! Sheppard is going to come in here and collect you, one pair at a time. Then he’s going to tweak your wands and dump you in the middle of nowhere. Your wands are being tweaked so that you can’t cast a Patronus or try to communicate with anyone in any other way and there will definitely not be any fireplaces where you are going.”

Draco raised his hand.

Sumner looked at him warily, “Yes, Black?”

“What if there are Dementors?”

Sumner rolled his eyes, “There will not be any Dementors Black, we have scouted out where you’re going, and we know what you may or may not face there. If we thought there was the slightest chance you would run into Dementors then we wouldn’t disallow the Patronus charm. Do you think we’re stupid? The last thing we want is for a family like yours to bring a lawsuit against us if you get your stupid arse killed.”

Harry and Neville snorted in amusement at these words.

“Are there any other stupid questions?” Sumner asked irritably.

“Is this a test?” Ophelia Wood asked.

“Technically speaking, no,” Sumner replied honestly, “But if you end up half-dead at the end of two weeks in isolation, then we might have to reconsider your place here.”

Blanche’s hand shot up next.

“Yes, Zabini?”

“So what do we have to do? Just survive for two weeks?” Blanche asked.

“Yes,” Sumner replied, “It will be up to you to work out where you are and how to survive there. Any further questions?”

Everyone shook their heads, so Sumner nodded, “Good. Auror Sheppard will start collecting you shortly, do not leave this hall until he arrives.”

The trainees nodded in agreement as Sumner turned to leave. They all remained silent until the door had clicked shut behind the Senior Auror at which point chatter broke out.

“This is going to be a piece of piss,” Harry said to Neville.

“Is it?” Neville asked, raising an eyebrow at him, “How much do you want to bet that you found it so easy to survive on the run because of Hermione?”

Harry scoffed, “Hey, I never said it was easy, but I can do it without Hermione. Don’t get me wrong, she was great with the whole finding Horcruxes thing, but I did the whole on the run thing myself.”

“Really?” Draco asked with a vaguely amused look on his face, “Who cast the protective enchantments on the campsite then?”

“Uh…that would have been Hermione,” Harry admitted sheepishly.

“Who cooked?” Draco asked.

“Oh come on, you cannot call that shitty mushroom soup she made cooking!” Harry exclaimed, “We lived on baked beans and spam for an entire year.”

“She provided you with moral support,” Theo said, he waggled his eyebrows at Harry, “Bet you couldn’t have gotten through without that.”

“Yeah, I’m happy to fill Hermione’s shoes with the other bits but definitely not with that,” Neville said.

Harry rolled his eyes, “That wasn’t like that, alright? It wasn’t about being on the run, it was about the war and being so close to death every day.”

“Can we not talk about how my fiancé spent the war shagging one of my best friends, please?” Draco grimaced.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Harry said, glaring at Theo, “Let’s just stop talking about it, entirely okay? I have experience of being on the run, Nev and me will manage just fine. You two on the other hand…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Draco asked defensively.

“Well, you two are privileged prats,” Neville said, “How are you going to trade your Manors and nice big houses for a tent without killing each other?”

“We used to go camping when we were kids,” Theo argued.

“You went camping once,” Neville said with an amused look, “And you didn’t even last the whole night. You went home crying because you thought you had seen an omen when it was just a stray dog.”

“I can sympathise on that one,” Harry said, although he was still chuckling, “And I love that you know so many embarrassing stories about those two.”

“I don’t,” Theo said as he glared at the Gryffindor, “Some friend you are Nev.”

Before the group of friends could argue any further, Sheppard stepped into the room and called out, “Black and Nott!”

“Good luck,” Harry said to them as they got to the feet, “We were just kidding, I know you’ll do fine.”

“Thanks, good luck to you too,” Draco said.

Neville nodded, “Yeah, you’ll be great. Good luck and…sorry, Theo.”

Theo smiled and patted Neville on the back, “It’s alright mate, good luck.”

With all good lucks said, the group parted ways. The moment Sheppard had left the hall with Draco and Theo, Harry and Neville looked at each other and said in unison, “They are so fucked.”

They both sniggered, “I mean Draco might be able to make something of it,” Harry continued, “But Theo?”

“If there are any magical creatures there, he will probably get mauled to death, even if it's only a Flobberworm,” Neville said.

“Forget magical creatures, what about Muggle animals?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

“And he has no idea what sorts of plants are poisonous and what sort are okay to eat,” Neville added.

“Are we saying that Theo might die in the next two weeks?” Harry asked.

Neville snorted, “Nah, Draco loves him too much to let that happen; he’ll keep him alive.”

“True,” Harry chuckled.

They continued to make small talk, mostly they were wondering what stupid stuff Theo would end up doing, or they were discussing where they might end up being stuck for the next two weeks. After about 10 minutes Maxwell and Emily were called out of the lecture hall to be whisked away to their isolated location, then Sheppard entered the room again and called, “Potter and Longbottom!”

“Here we go,” Harry said as he and Neville followed Sheppard out of the big hall into a smaller room.

“Wands please boys.”

Harry and Neville handed their wands over while Sheppard tweaked them so that they would be unable to communicate with their other halves. After about five minutes, he handed the wands back. Then he mumbled a spell under his breath and did some fancy wand work; the result was a portal appearing in the wall behind them.

Harry and Neville both stared into the portal in amazement.

“Alright, boys, a couple of things to know before you step on through. If you get into any serious danger, I want you to say, _Rursus ut Turpia_. This portal will appear for about five seconds, and you shoot red sparks through to let us know you’re in trouble. The other thing is this, remember you’re in the real world, not a simulated environment, so if you do anything to endanger anyone else or to break the statute of secrecy there will be consequences. Do you understand that?”

“Yes sir,” Harry and Neville replied in unison.

Sheppard smiled, “Alright then, on you go. Good luck.”

“Thank you, sir,” Harry said as he stepped through the portal with Neville on his heels.

* * *

**_Inverarnan, Scotland._ **

“Where the hell are we?”

Theo squinted up at the sky, “Scotland.”

“What?”

“The north of Scotland…” Theo continued, “Not as far up as Shetland or Orkney but definitely further up than Edinburgh,” he shielded his eyes from the bright sun and frowned, “Somewhere in the Grampians.”

“How on Merlin’s Earth, did you know that?” Draco asked as he stared at his best friend in disbelief.

“Uh did you miss the massive mountains that we are surrounded by, Drakey?” Theo asked in amusement.

Draco rolled his eyes, “No, I saw the mountains smart arse. How the hell did you work out that we were in Scotland based on the position of the sun?”

“Maybe I wasn’t as shit at Muggle studies as everyone thought I was,” Theo said smugly, “Navigating by the sun, the moon and the stars my friend. That’s what Galileo taught me.”

“Uh…Theo, I know I never took Muggle studies, but I’m engaged to a Muggle-born, and I’m pretty sure that’s not what Galileo was all about,” Draco pointed out, “Wasn’t it some guy in a ship who worked out how to do that? Marco Polo or something?”

“Don’t even talk to me about Marco Polo, he was an arsehole,” Theo said, “Galileo is my man, and we are most definitely somewhere on the West Highland Way.”

“What makes you so sure about that?” Draco asked.

“That sign over there,” Theo said, pointing behind Draco’s head, “The one that says, _You are **here** on the West Highland Way.”_

Draco spun around to look at the sign and groaned, “You didn’t navigate anything by the fucking sun, did you?”

“No, I didn’t, I love you, man, but you are such a Hufflepuff sometimes,” Theo chuckled as he whacked Draco on the back.

Draco shook his head irritably, “I’ll tell Susan you said that. She’ll have your balls, and you know it.”

Theo shuddered, “That I do, anyway, we know where we are so what now?”

“Walk to Hogwarts?”

“I’m just guessing here, but I’m pretty sure that would be classed as cheating,” Theo pointed out matter of factly.

“Yeah probably,” Draco sighed, “Let’s find somewhere to pitch this tent and work the rest out from there.”

“What’s a good place to pitch a tent?” Theo asked.

“Well not a mountain for a start,” Draco said as he shot Theo an amused look, “Let’s look for a clearing in that wooded area over there. That way if it rains we’ll be sheltered from the worst of the weather.”

“It’s August,” Theo reminded him.

“And we’re in Scotland, so that means nothing,” Draco remarked, “Plus, there probably won’t be Muggles in the woods, they’ll be using the designated camping spots.”

“Alright, I can get on board with this plan. Let’s go,” Theo chirped.

Draco shook his head at his friend as he walked towards the wooded area, whistling as he went.

* * *

**_The Forest of Dean, England._ **

“Neville…I know where we are.”

Neville frowned at his best friend, “Why do you say that like it’s a bad thing?”

Harry sighed, “Because we’re in the Forest of Dean.”

Neville looked at Harry blankly, “And?”

“The Forest of Dean,” Harry said slowly, “You know, it’s a forest in the South of England.”

“Yeah, I know where the Forest of Dean is,” Neville said, “I just don’t know why you’re acting so weird. This is fine; there are trees which means we have firewood; there will be animals that we can hunt, edible plants that we can harvest. There won’t be many Muggles, and there will be plenty of clearings to camp in.”

“Yes,” Harry said, “There are plenty of clearings to camp in, I would know because Hermione and I camped here for a couple of months after Ron left us.”

Realisation dawned on Neville’s face, “Oh…oh….OH! This is where you…you two…”

“Yeah,” Harry said quickly, “This is where it happened.”

“Right,” Neville said slowly as he tried to work out whether he should make a joke about the situation or whether he should tell Harry just to man up. In the end, he said, “Well, in that case, I better make sure I don’t make any mushroom soup. Otherwise, you might jump my bones.”

Harry didn’t expect to laugh at that, but it just sort of slipped out. He laughed loudly and heartily, for a moment he thought that he sounded like Sirius.

“Sorry Nev, I didn’t mean to be a downer about it,” Harry said as he looked around at the trees, “It was just…it was a hard time for me, so it feels strange being back here again.”

Neville nodded as he pulled the tent out of the bag Sheppard had given them, “Erecto.”

As the tent began to put itself up, Neville asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Harry swithered over the question, “I didn’t talk about it to anyone for a long time. I told Daphne obviously, but I told her what she needed to know and nothing else.”

“Not talking about something like that is a bad idea,” Neville said as he watched the tent erect itself.

“Hermione and I talked about it,” Harry admitted, “That summer after the war? You know the one when I was a dick and missed your birthday party cause I was too busy brooding?”

Neville chuckled, “I wasn’t expecting you to be there,” he admitted. The tent pinged into position, and Neville crawled inside to inspect it. Harry followed him in, and as they looked around the tiny tent that would be home for the next two weeks, they continued their conversation.

“Top or bottom bunk?” Neville asked.

The tent wasn’t like the one that Harry had used during the war. It was just one room with bunk beds against one wall and a small seating area, that contained no seats. If they wanted to cook, they would have to do it outside on an open fire.

“Top,” Harry replied, “Hermione always slept on the bottom bunk during the war…or she did when Ron left anyway.”

“Until you ended up sleeping in the bottom bunk together,” Neville said, “When you and Hermione talked about it, you know after the war? Did it bring back any feelings?”

“I don’t think the feelings ever went away, to be honest,” Harry said, “I loved her, and she loved me. But it wasn’t love like it should be, you know? It was twisted by circumstance.”

“Yeah, I do get that,” Neville said with a frown, “Susan and I had a thing like that. It was why we could never have gotten together after what happened with Hannah.”

Harry nodded, “When you see someone at their worst like that…in their darkest place…”

“It's hard to go back,” Neville finished.

“Yeah,” Harry sighed, “I thought we might get together, but then the final battle happened, and after it, I was just so numb. Every time I looked at her, I felt guilty because I…I took something from her, you know? And I beat myself up for that. We managed to salvage our friendship though, and I always thought she would be my best friend forever, but she isn’t.”

Neville looked up in surprise, “She isn’t?”

Harry shook his head, “You are, Nev. You’re the one I want to talk to about shit like this, and you’re the one I want to have my back when I’m out in the field. You’re the one I want to have mock duels with when I’m stressed and you’re the only one I trust with my life. You’re the guy I want standing by my side when I marry Daphne. Not Ron, not Hermione…you.”

Neville frowned down at the ground, “I’m your best friend?”

Harry nodded, “Yeah. It’s not the first time I’ve referred to you as my best friend. Why are you so surprised?”

“I always thought you meant that I was one of your best friends,” Neville admitted, “Cause for a long time Lilly was my best friend, and nobody noticed it because nobody noticed me. I always just hung around with whoever would put up with me. Sometimes it was Seamus and Dean, but they used to talk about me behind my back and Hermione was nice to me, but she always kept me at arm's length…I used to have a crush on her too, you know.”

“Sorry,” Harry said sheepishly, “If I’d known that I wouldn’t have told you that story.”

Neville shrugged, “That’s just it though, isn’t it? We both had a crush on Hermione at school, but she only ever smiled at me and called me cute in a kind of condescending way, it was _you_ she slept with because it was _always_ you. Either one of us could have been the boy who lived, but Voldemort chose you, Ginny chose you, Hermione chose you. Notice a recurring theme there?”

“Nah,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “I’m not going to let you go down this whole self-deprecating route. Ginny didn’t choose me; she chose you. We had this unspoken agreement to wait for each other, but she didn’t know that I’d slept with Hermione. She slept with you; she chose you.”

“But you said-”

“That I was fine with it?” Harry countered, “Yeah, I am fine with it, but the point is that she chose you. Hannah chose you, Lilly chose you. People _choose_ you because you deserve their love. You didn’t just become my best friend by chance, Nev. I chose you.”

“Careful,” Neville joked, “You’re starting to sound like Draco.”

“Yeah well, maybe that’s not such a bad thing,” Harry shrugged.

Neville frowned, “What do you mean?”

“I mean I’m finally starting to understand Draco and Theo’s relationship,” Harry said honestly.

“Oh fuck,” Neville joked.

Harry smiled slightly, “I get it now. Draco loves Theo, but they aren’t into each other sexually. It’s a relationship, Nev. An unconventional sexless, polyamorous one but a relationship all the same.”

“You’ve been talking to too many portraits,” Neville chuckled, but he kept his eyes on Harrys’ all the same.

“Draco needs Theo; he doesn’t know what he would do without him. Theo is the person he wants to go to when something bad happens. Theo is the person who he has always been able to rely on and _will_ always be able to rely on. He’s the only person who can bring Draco back when he’s on the brink of destruction, when he’s on the verge darkness, when he’s about to lose himself,” Harry said quietly, “And that’s how I feel about you, Nev.”

Neville nodded, “Yeah,” he said in a resigned tone of voice, “That’s how I feel about you too. You bring me back when things are getting on top of me. You’re always there, even when you’re going through your own shit, you’d drop everything for me, and I’d drop everything for you.”

Harry cocked his head at Neville, “So I’m sorry for not seeing it sooner. I’m sorry for being the dick that only spoke to you when his other friends had fallen out with him. I’m sorry for treating you like you were second-best and taking too long to realise how fucking brilliant you are.”

Neville snorted.

“I mean it,” Harry said firmly, “It took me a while to realise that Ron wasn’t who I thought he was. I thought he was brave underneath the cluelessness. I thought he would fight for what he believed in, but he wasn’t that guy, Nev. _You_ were.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I made some mistakes when we were at Hogwarts,” Harry replied, “But now that I’ve grown up and worked everything out, it’s you I want as my Auror partner, it’s you I trust with my life, _not_ Ron. You aren’t second-best Nev; you aren’t just a back-up Ron. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

Neville smiled slightly, and Harry was sure that he could see his friend holding himself up a little straighter, “If I’m being honest Harry, that’s all I’ve ever wanted to hear from you.”

Harry grinned and clapped him on the shoulder, “So, what’s our plan of action then?”

* * *

**_Inverarnan, Scotland._ **

“See? It really wasn’t that hard.”

“You used magic,” Theo pointed out as he lay on the bottom bunk bed in the tent, “It would have been more of a challenge if you hadn’t been allowed to use magic.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re going to be really unhelpful over the next two weeks?” Draco asked.

“I’m helpful. I mean…I can cook.”

“Do you know a poisonous berry from an edible one?”

“Uh…no.”

Draco shook his head with some sort of fond amusement, “Do you have the faintest idea how to hunt?”

“Yes, I do actually,” Theo said, “But this is the Cairngorms so we can’t hunt.”

“Bugger,” Draco muttered, “Protected area…how are we going to eat?”

“Live on plants like a rabbit?” Theo suggested.

“No, there must be another way…” Draco said with a frown, “What would Hermione do in this situation…transfigure something into food?”

“Nope, Gamps Law, no can do,” Theo said, “Hey, I hear Harry says she makes a mean mushroom soup.”

Draco let his hand drop down the side of the bed so that he could hit Theo, “Shut up, I don’t want to think about that. I don’t ever want to think about him and Hermione you know…together, alright?”

“No offence Draco but this seems like a pretty sore spot for you,” Theo mused.

“Uh yeah, it is,” Draco said irritably, “I hated him at the time, and he was sleeping with the girl I had admired for years, and now he’s one of my best friends, so I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Right, but the thing is,” Theo said as he stood up so that he could look at Draco, “You had a crush on Hermione then you started dating Daphne because it was what your parents wanted and yeah, you loved her in a schoolboy kind of way.”

Draco rolled his eyes.

“Then you became a Death Eater, Daphne broke up with you, and you were with Pansy,” Theo said calmly, “And you were in love with Pansy. You were stupidly in love with Pansy, and you were fucking her right underneath my bunk bed actually.”

“What’s your point?”

“You can’t be pissed off at her for fucking Harry, who she loved,” Theo remarked, “When you were doing the exact same thing. Let’s face it, if Pansy hadn’t died, you two would be married with a kid right now, and Hermione would probably be dating Harry.”

“Wow, Theo,” Draco hissed, “Don’t hold back.”

“I’m not going to hold back,” Theo said firmly, “You can’t have stupid hang-ups like this for the rest of your life because if you do, you’re going to end up as a bitter, twisted old man like your dad.”

“You better not be saying I’m anything like that man!”

“I’m not!” Theo snapped, “But you need to stop holding onto the past. What you did in the war, and what she did in the war? It’s irrelevant, Draco. Hermione loves you now; what happened with Harry doesn’t matter. If you gave her the option to go back and not sleep with Harry, she’d probably say yes. Just like you would say yes if you were given the opportunity to go back and not take the mark. You both have things in your past that you would change if you could, but you can’t.”

Draco looked up and caught Theo’s eye.

“Holding onto that stuff is just going to make you bitter,” Theo said softly, “And you’re not bitter, Draco. You’re not like your dad because you have so much compassion, even for people who don’t deserve it.”

“I don’t have compassion,” Draco sighed, “Don’t talk about me like I’m a hero or something. I walked out on you during the war because of Pansy and it…it wasn’t even because I loved her more than you, it wasn’t that.”

“It was because she was pregnant with your baby, and your father never protected you,” Theo said.

Draco looked up sharply, “How did you…”

“I know pretty much everything about you, Draco,” Theo said, “Even the stuff you haven’t worked out yet. The minute you broke down to me about Pansy being pregnant, I knew if push came to shove you’d chose her over me. It hurt, I mean of course it fucking hurt, that’s why I avoided you for a while after the war, but in the end, I couldn’t condemn you for that because if I had been in your shoes, I’d have done the same thing.”

“I feel guilty all of the time, Theo,” Draco said quietly, “I lied to myself. I spent weeks grieving like Pansy had been the love of my life, and now everyone thinks she was and…I did love her, but truth be told, I think I loved Daphne more. It just…I couldn’t tell everyone else that it wasn’t Pansy I was grieving for. It was that baby that we lost…it was a ray of hope on the horizon, you know? A future that I thought would make me better because there were so many days when all I could see was darkness and,” he cut himself off and tried to hold it together, “I still feel like that Theo. I feel like I’m constantly on the verge of darkness, like my life is a scale and I’m terrified that the smallest thing is going to tip it in that direction and that terrifies me.”

“In that case, you need to let it all go,” Theo said. He sat down on the edge of Draco’s bed and grabbed his hand, “And you need to tell Hermione the truth. She can handle it, you’re just scared of her reaction, but she can take more than you think she can. She’s okay with us, isn't she? And we knew Sadie would understand, but there was no guarantee that Hermione would.”

Draco just nodded.

“One day, you and Hermione are going to have little curly-haired blonde babies of your own,” Theo continued, “And you’re going to be a great Dad, Draco. You’re going to do all of the things that your father never did for you. You’ll be there cheering them on when they think they are hotshots at Mini Quidditch, even though they are only a foot off the ground.”

Draco laughed tearfully and leant into Theo’s embrace.

“You’ll be there to scare away the monsters under the bed, and you’ll be there to pick up the pieces when they get their hearts broken. You’ll be there to walk your daughter down the aisle, and you’ll tell them that you love them. You’ll make sure that they grew up knowing what those words mean,” Theo said, wrapping his arms around Draco as she spoke, “Because we’re not going to let history repeat itself. We’re going to dote on our kids, and we’re going to be the best Dads that we can be, we’re going to give our kids everything we never had.”

Draco couldn’t speak, he was choked with tears.

“We can’t change the past, Draco,” Theo murmured, “You can’t get that kid back that you lost with Pansy. But the past has changed us, and we’re with the right people now. When we have kids, we’re going to right the wrongs our fathers made. And we’re going to do that together. I’ll always be there; you know that? It doesn’t matter what you do or say to me; I’ll always forgive you because you’re my best friend and I love you. That’s unconditional, and I don’t just feel like that because we grew up together. I feel like that because you’re a good person. I’ve always been able to see it, even when you can’t and now Hermione can too. Between the two of us, we’re going to keep you on the straight and narrow.”

Draco hugged Theo tightly, “I love you too, Theo.”

“That’s all I get after that epic speech? I love you too, Theo? That’s like me saying I love you and you come back with _I know_ ,” Theo joked with a shake of his head, “Just go the full fucking Hans Solo on me why don’t you?”

“Fuck you,” Draco laughed, although tears were still streaming down his cheeks.

“Nah, not into blokes, remember? I know it’s gonna be a long two weeks, but I don’t think I’m gonna get that desperate,” Theo said, smirking at Draco in amusement, “I mean I know Hermione, and I are cousins and all, but-”

“Shut up,” Draco said through his laughter, “Just don’t make me any mushroom soup, and we’ll be alright.”

Theo grinned, “See? Now we’re joking about Harry and Hermione shagging during the war! That’s good; it means we got past your internal demons!”

“Since when were you a psychologist?”

“Since I got bored the summer after the war and took a night class,” Theo said with a wink, “And if it makes you feel at all better, Hermione said Harry was a shit shag.”

“She didn’t say that,” Draco snorted, “She doesn’t talk to you about stuff like that.”

“No, but ever since our little four-way after graduation, haven’t you noticed that Sadie and Hermione spend more time together? All that drinking wine together while we duel or hang out in my man cave? What do you think they talk about?”

“That Harry Potter is shit in the bedroom, apparently,” Draco said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve and looking at Theo with an amused smile.

“Yep, inexperienced and sloppy were the words she used,” Theo said with a grin, “Wanna know what she said about the first time you shagged? After you withheld for weeks because you thought she actually gave a shit about the snake on your arm that is?”

Draco raised an eyebrow at him, “What did she say?”

“Mindblowingly good sex,” Theo said with a grin, “So there you go. Harry Potter is shit in the sack, and he’s shagging your sloppy seconds. Therefore, you’re the man.”

Draco let out a hearty, genuine laugh, “I love you, Theo.”

Theo smirked, “I know.”

“Now whos going the full Hans Solo?”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	26. Far Away for Far Too Long

**_Cairo, Egypt._ **

She had been here for a couple of days now, and it was safe to say, Sadie hated Egypt. The food was spicy, and it made her stomach churn, she had hardly eaten since she got here. The Centre for Alchemical Studies was the most hideous and garish place that she had ever had the misfortune to stay in.

Then there were the people, Merlin, the people she had to study with.

“Good morning Sadie!” Myla said in a high-pitched tone of voice as she skipped alongside Sadie, “Isn’t it a lovely morning to be studying famous alchemists?”

“It’s 6 am,” Sadie said dryly without opening her eyes or drawing the curtain around her bed back.

“I know, don’t you just love to be up bright and early?” Myla asked cheerfully.

“No,” Sadie mumbled, “I like to sleep.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” Sadie sighed.

“Oh good morning Myla!” Priscilla said in just as high and irritating a tone of voice, “Famous philosophers class today! Don’t you think that will be odd for Brucey? We will be studying his father!”

Sadie rolled her eyes; their classes didn’t start until 8 am so there really was no reason to be up screeching at this time of the morning.

“Oh, that will be weird!” Myla agreed, “He’s just gorgeous, isn’t he?”

Priscilla sighed, “Completely, and that _accent_. Don’t you just love it, Sadie?”

“I prefer an English accent actually,” Sadie said dryly, she had completely lost her happy go lucky attitude since arriving in Egypt, “I’m quite partial to a West Country twang.”

“Sadie,” Priscilla sighed, “You can’t just say that because your husband is from Somerset!”

“Yes, I can,” Sadie said as she held two fingers to her head, “I like Theo’s accent, I don’t like Bruce’s accent. Frankly, I think it’s quite whiny and irritating actually.”

Priscilla tutted, “Unbelievable.”

“Unbelievable,” Myla reiterated, “Shall we go and study together in the cafeteria before class?”

“Oh, yes, lets!”

The door shut behind them and Sadie sunk further down into her bed, “Thank Merlin for that,” she mumbled to herself. She was sure she heard Arielle chuckle from the bed next to hers, it turned out that the French girl was one of the more decent people here. She was a little shy but not as irritating as Myla and Priscilla.

* * *

**_London, England._ **

“I am _so_ bored!”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Daphne, “You’ve been in the job for how long?”

“Two and a half days,” Daphne said, “And yesterday was the first day on the job, the first day was all about paperwork.”

“Yeah mine too,” Hermione said as they ate lunch together in a small café just outside Diagon Alley, “Although it’s not a good sign if you’re bored already.”

“I’m only bored because they chuck the trainees in this cursed room,” Daphne said with a wave of her hand, “It’s basically-”

“A room full of all the cursed objects found in vaults when a family has died with no heir,” Hermione said quickly, “I always thought there would be fascinating things in there! Are they fascinating?”

“Nope, shitty old trophies and cheap arse jewellery with curses on it to make it appear more expensive,” Daphne said with a roll of her eyes, “The curses are all so easy to break, it’s so boring Hermione! Bill said he reckoned we should be getting through about 8 to 10 cursed objects a day; I cleared 21 yesterday.”

Hermione snorted, “Yeah, I understand why you’re getting bored. If it makes you feel any better, I feel the same. I get posted to different departments so that they can assess my ability, but they started me off in the admin office. Do you know how boring and soul-destroying it is to sit at a desk for 8 hours writing document after document?”

“Probably equal with using the same curse-breaking method on one piece of shitty jewellery after another,” Daphne said dryly, “Ugh, I miss Harry! And I miss you and Draco; you did my head in when you lived there because you kept cock-blocking us, but now the house feels empty and lonely.”

“Little bit too much information there, Daph,” Hermione said with a slight smile, “But I appreciate the sentiment.”

“Do you want to come over for like a week-long sleepover?” Daphne asked as she gave Hermione the puppy dog eyes.

“That might work on Harry…and Draco….and probably Sadie,” Hermione said in amusement, “But it won’t work on me. You are not dragging me away from my library for anything, sorry.”

“Well, then I can come for a sleepover at your house!” Daphne suggested eagerly.

“Daph, traditionally you’re supposed to wait for someone to invite you,” Hermione said as she tried to hide an amused smile.

“I know but Hermione, I’m lonely,” Daphne said, “And I’m…I’m not sleeping so well with Harry being away.”

Hermione’s eyes softened, “Yeah, I can sympathise on that one. I don’t sleep great without Draco either.”

“Does that mean I can stay?”

“Of course you can,” Hermione said with a smile, “But as soon as the boys come home, I’m kicking you out.”

“Fair deal,” Daphne grinned, “I’ll bring my things over tonight; you’re the best Hermione!”

Hermione shot Daphne a smile as she got to her feet, “Yeah, I know. See you tonight.”

* * *

**_Amiens, France._ **

“Do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?”

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Walk past me as many times as you want Marcel, but you will never be anything but irritating.”

Marcel smiled, “Ah, so you say! Can I sit next to you? Since we are partners, after all.”

“We aren’t partners,” Lilly pointed out, “We’re just both assigned to Healer Selwyn.”

Before Marcel could say anything else, a Senior Healer walked into the lecture hall and began to talk about the different ways of magically sealing wounds.

* * *

**_The Forest of Dean, England._ **

“Harry, just kill the deer!”

“I can’t! It reminds me of my mother!”

“It’s a deer!” Neville said in exasperation, “Do you want to eat or not?”

“I can’t kill it,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “It would be like killing my mother, I can’t do it, Neville.”

“Oh for the love of Merlin,” Neville said, he raised his wand.

“No! You can’t kill it!”

“Harry, it’s a bloody _deer_!”

“You don’t understand Neville!”

“Great,” Neville muttered, “You scared it away, now what are we going to eat?”

“Can’t we just apparate to the edge of the forest, nip into the nearest town and buy rations?” Harry asked as he sat down on a tree trunk.

“I’m pretty sure apparating would count as cheating,” Neville said irritably, “So it’s going to be another night of thistle soup.”

Harry sighed, “I’m sorry but I just can’t…it was a doe, Neville. My mother’s Patronus was a doe, and she came to me during the war.”

“What?”

“Well technically, Snape helped me and his Patronus was a doe because he loved my mother,” Harry admitted, “But that doesn’t change the significance of the occasion.”

“We’re going to starve because Snape sent you his Patronus during the war and you thought it was a sign from above? Seriously?”

“Merlin Neville, you’re grumpy when you’re hungry,” Harry said irritably, “It’s like being on the run with Ron.”

Neville glared at him, “Yes, I’m hungry, and you are acting like a sensitive little girl. If you can’t kill a deer, how are you going to kill a bad guy in a duel if it needs to happen?”

“That’s different,” Harry argued, “In the heat of battle it’s different. I’m sorry I couldn’t kill the deer, but I have very little to remind me of my mother, and a doe always makes me think of her.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Neville sighed, “I’m just a bastard when I’m hungry, and I am fucking sick of thistle soup.”

“I’m sorry Nev, I’ll go and check if my trap caught any rabbits,” Harry said as he shot his friend an apologetic look.

* * *

**_Tyndrum, Scotland._ **

Draco and Theo awoke to the sound of a soft banging outside their tent.

“What’s that?” Draco asked in a panicked whisper.

Theo’s eyes widened, “Shit! Did we put up Muggle repelling charms?”

Draco frowned, “I thought you did it.”

“I thought _you_ did it!” Theo exclaimed.

“Bugger,” The two men muttered at the same time.

“What now?” Theo asked as he glanced at the flap of the tent.

Draco sighed, “Go out there and distract them. I’ll work something out.”

“Distract them how?”

“I don’t know, just distract them!” Draco said as he pushed Theo towards the flap of the tent.

Theo glared at his friend one last time then he unzipped the flap of the tent and stepped outside. He kept his hand close to his back pocket in case he needed his wand for whatever reason, but he wasn’t met with a particularly sinister sight. It was just a couple of Muggle tourists pitching their tent.

“Oh, good morning!” The woman said brightly, she had some sort of accent, but Theo couldn’t work out where she was from. It was either South Africa or Australia.

Theo smiled at her a little nervously, “Good morning.”

“How long have you been camping here for?”

“A couple of days,” Theo said with a nod.

“We’re just stopping here for today then making our way further up,” The woman said, “It’s just so beautiful here, isn’t it? I can feel the magic.”

“Oh…uh…really?” Theo asked as he began to panic, “I suppose it is a…uh…a lovely place. Don’t you think Draco?” he called into the tent.

“Draco?” The man who was with the woman said, “That’s an unusual name.”

“Yeah my family have an obsession with the stars,” Draco said as he emerged from the tent, “Have you introduced yourself, Theo?”

Theo shook his head, “No, I’m Theo, that’s Draco.”

“I’m Elsie, and this is my husband Rod,” The woman said with a smile, “I was just saying, you can really feel the magic here, can’t you?”

“Uh, magic?” Draco asked with a frown, “No, no, definitely no magic here.”

Elsie frowned at Draco after that comment, “So…uh…what brings the two of you out here anyway?”

“We’re on holiday,” Theo said quickly, the strange look that Elsie had just given them combined with the fact that she was questioning their reason for being here made him panic, “Aren’t we honey?”

Draco shot his friend a brief look of horror before regaining his composure, “Uh yeah…we always wanted to walk the West Highland Way.”

“Oh, that’s what we’re doing too!” Rod said eagerly, “You guys should do it with us, we can use the same camp spots.”

“We like discreet camp spots, we try and avoid the sites,” Draco said.

Theo nodded, “Why stay in crowded places when we can surround ourselves with this beauty, right?”

Elsie beamed, “Exactly, wow you guys are _just_ like us. It’s so progressive to see a gay couple just so open like you. You must be very brave.”

“Yeah, that’s us,” Theo said, “We’re brave guys.”

Elsie smiled at him, “We were just going to fry up some breakfast. Do you want some?”

“Oh, breakfast sounds great, we’re actually running a bit low on rations,” Draco said with his best polite smile.

“We’re always happy to share with our fellow campers,” Rod chirped, “Come on over and have a seat. We’ll just nip in and grab the gas fire.”

The couple disappeared inside their tent, and Draco turned on Theo, “Honey?” he hissed.

“I panicked!” Theo whispered.

“Well, now they think we’re gay!”

“Yes, but they are also going to feed us,” Theo muttered.

Draco paused, “Are you suggesting we pretend to be gay for the next two weeks for free food?”

Theo frowned slightly, “Yeah, I think I am.”

“That’s the worst idea you have ever had,” Draco whispered.

“Are you a Slytherin or not, Draco?”

“There’s being Slytherin, and there’s being Slytherin. This is just being stupid, we could never pull it off,” Draco said.

“Yes, we could, we know everything about each other,” Theo whispered as they heard movement inside the tent, “Come on, Draco, trust me.”

Draco glared at him, “If this doesn’t work, I will kill you.”

Theo grinned at that, “No, you don’t, you love me too much _darling_.”

Draco’s glare just intensified upon that comment.

“Here we go! Let’s light this and have some breakfast!”

* * *

**_London, England._ **

“I’m worried.”

“About Draco?” Daphne asked as she looked up from the book that she was reading. The two of them had spent the last few hours sitting on the roof terrace together underneath a blanket. They had been immersing themselves in muggle literature as the sunset over London.

“About Theo,” Hermione admitted, “I mean I know that Draco is fairly competent, but he’s responsible for Theo now too. He’s far more likely to get himself killed trying to keep Theo alive than he is trying to keep himself alive.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much, Hermione,” Daphne said, “Theo isn’t as bad as you think he is. He lets us all believe that he’s useless, but he’s pretty competent, he’ll have Draco’s back.”

“I know,” Hermione said with a slight smile, “He plays the fool, but he could rival me as far as intelligence goes. I would never tell either of them this, but he’s probably smarter than Draco.”

Daphne smiled, “He probably is,” she agreed as she leant into Hermione and rested her head on the Gryffindor girls shoulder.

“This is nice,” Hermione mused.

“Yeah,” Daphne agreed, “And I’m glad this week has turned out like this, you know?”

“Me too,” Hermione admitted, “I thought you’d be lost without Sadie.”

Daphne shook her head, “No, Sadie and I have always been close, but Tracey was my best friend. Sadie hung out with us sometimes, but then other times she would be in the library with you or Lilly. It’s why she can relate to Neville so much, she never really had a best friend. She had me, but I had Tracey. She had Theo, but he had Draco. You know?”

“Yeah,” Hermione said softly, “I can understand that.”

“That’s why I’m glad that it’s worked out this way, with Sadie being in Egypt and Lilly in France,” Daphne continued, “Because we were getting pretty close at school and then when you lived at the manor and I thought…well, I kind of thought once you moved in here we’d drift apart. I thought it would be you and Sadie, and me and Lilly because of our inseparable other halves.”

Hermione laughed, “I wouldn’t class any of you as my best friend; I love you all. It’s different with Sadie and I, undoubtedly, I mean it has to be with the situation as it is.”

“Yeah…what is going on with you guys, exactly?” Daphne asked curiously.

“Well we basically all live in one massive house now,” Hermione said with an amused smile, “Although Sadie doesn’t know that yet. Draco and Theo built a door in the basement between the two houses.”

“A warded door?” Daphne asked.

“No, just a regular door,” Hermione said, “One I’ve been using all week to feed Sadie’s cat and check up on their house-elf.”

“So basically you’re just one big, happy, pureblood family?” Daphne asked with an amused grin.

“I guess so,” Hermione answered.

“And how are you so okay with that, exactly?” Daphne questioned.

“Because in a way, I’m used to it,” Hermione replied, “I’ve always been part of a threesome, you know? It’s just that I’ve changed Ron and Harry for their Slytherin counterparts and now I have Sadie which means I get some intelligent company.”

“And you're engaged to one, and the cousin of the other,” Daphne said with a chuckle, “I mean I get the whole, being part of a trio helps you understand thing. But still…I don’t know if I could do it, but you’re so calm about the whole thing.”

“At the end of the day, I love Draco, and I knew from an early point in our relationship that he and Theo were a package deal,” Hermione said honestly, “The war taught me to be more open-minded. People died because of things that they couldn’t change, because of the way they were born, their _blood_. We survived that and the world we forge shouldn’t be one where people are punished for their feelings or beliefs.”

“Well, the war certainly did change you,” Daphne said with a smile, “How intimate is this four-way then?”

“It’s not, apart from the one time it was,” Hermione said sheepishly, “Mostly, Sadie and I just sit up here and drink wine together while those two are off duelling or scheming. Actually, the first time we talked about it, we were up here…”

“So what, Sadie’s your girlfriend? Draco’s your fiancé and Theo is his boyfriend?”

“Shut up, Daph,” Hermione snorted, “If history repeats itself, you’ll end up in the exact same situation.”

“If history repeats itself?” Daphne asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

“I’ve learned about pureblood family history since Abraxas and Elladora moved into our hall,” Hermione said with a chuckle, “Elladora loves to talk, and gossip more to the point. Did you know that Elladora Potter, Abraxas Malfoy, Thaddeus Nott and Gertrude Longbottom had a very similar relationship to ours?”

“Oh shit,” Daphne muttered, “It’s in their DNA, we’re screwed.”

Hermione chuckled and cast a warming charm as it began to get a little chilly now that the sun had set.

“You know, going back to our original topic of conversation…sometimes I worry about Harry too. I know he’s the chosen one and he defeated Voldemort, but he’s not super-human, Hermione.”

“I know he isn’t, but you don’t need to worry about him,” Hermione said gently, “Not with something like this anyway. It’s about survival, and Harry copes with that well.”

“Sometimes I wish Harry and I had the same relationship that you and Harry have, the two of you just know each other so well,” Daphne said.

Guilt flitted through Hermione’s eyes briefly, but she glanced down before Daphne could notice, “Trust me, you don’t what the kind of relationship that Harry and I have had. So much of it has just been dictated by the need for survival and the effect that has on you…it’s not good, it’s not healthy.”

Daphne frowned, “Hermione, you both did what you had to do to survive during the war. We all did, in our own way. You shouldn’t feel guilty about having to do things you regret.”

“That’s not what I mean Daphne,” Hermione said as she caught Daphne’s eye, “I’m talking about everything that happened between Harry and I when Ron was gone.”

“You were in the heat of battle, you thought you were going to die,” Daphne said, “I understand how that could heighten emotions. You forget that I fought in that war too, and I know what happens when emotions are heightened. I made mistakes with Blaise.”

Hermione frowned, “How much has Harry told you, about what happened?”

“He told me that he nearly died after being bitten by a snake,” Daphne began, “You were worried sick and when he woke up, things were tense. You danced one night, and one thing led to another. He never went into detail. Why?”

Hermione bit her lip, “Because it wasn’t like it is with you and Harry. Do you know what you said to me when you were worried about how much Harry was drinking? About how he was a bit more aggressive in the bedroom?”

Daphne frowned, “Yeah?”

“That’s what he does when he’s stressed,” Hermione said carefully, “And he was stressed during the war when he and I were together.”

“Are you saying…” Daphne trailed off.

“I’m saying that how he is with you when he’s stressed…that’s how he was with me, all of the time,” Hermione said, eyeing Daphne anxiously as she waited to see how she would react to this news.

“Wow,” Daphne uttered after a moment, “So he just fucking _used_ you?”

“We used each other, don’t paint me as the victim,” Hermione said carefully, “But it wasn’t loving and tender. We weren’t in a relationship like that.”

“Yes but that’s just…” Daphne sighed, “I can understand why he feels so much regret about it now. He was the first guy you slept with and he just…”

“The first time wasn’t so bad,” Hermione said honestly, “He gave me plenty of options to back out, and I didn’t. We’re both at fault, Daphne. But I just wanted to make it clear; you don’t want the kind of relationship that we had. You’ve got the good Harry, the Harry that I would have wanted if we had had a relationship, but there was no way that we could have after that.”

“He might be the good Harry,” Daphne agreed, “But he’s still broken. He’s wracked with regret and guilt. I spend most of my nights soothing him back to sleep from the nightmares. He saved everyone, but he paid the price for that.”

“Yes, he did pay the price,” Hermione agreed, “But he also got you, and I know from the way he talks about you, that for you he would pay that price over and over again. He loves you and respects you; he _adores_ you, Daphne.”

“At the end of the day, it was always going to be complicated,” Daphne said with a slight smile, “You’re one of my best friends, and you’re engaged to my first love. Then there’s the fact that I’m engaged to yours.”

“And I’m fine with that,” Hermione said with a smile, “Because you took the broken Harry that I knew and made him whole again.”

“And you took the shell that was Draco after Pansy’s death and brought him back to life again,” Daphne said, grabbing Hermione’s hand.

“Everyone ended up happy in the end,” Hermione said with a smile, “Just like in a Walt Disney story.”

“Speaking of which, can we talk about how utterly unrealistic _Pocahontas_ was?”

Hermione laughed and said, “Yes! Totally historically inaccurate…”

* * *

**_Cairo, Egypt._ **

Sadie had been at the centre for just short of a week when she began to long for home. She had been eating nothing apart from cereal for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch, some days she couldn’t even keep the sandwich down. The Egyptian food had played havoc with her stomach, and the heat made her feel sick pretty much constantly. The other girls that she shared a dormitory with didn’t feel the heat the same way, Priscilla and Arielle had both lived in France and Myla was from a part of America that got hot in the summer. As a result, nobody let her open the window in the dorm room at night, so she wasn’t sleeping much either.

“Do you feel okay, Sadie?” Arielle asked one night as Sadie hung over the balcony attached to the common room.

“I just feel so hot all of the time,” Sadie sighed, “And there’s hardly even a breeze at 8 pm!”

“It’s Egypt in August,” Arielle said by way of explanation, “You look awfully pale.”

“I haven’t been that well since I got here,” Sadie admitted, “I think it’s just a combination of the Egyptian food and the heat.”

“The climate doesn’t agree with everyone,” Arielle said. It agreed with her, though; she had a beautiful tan. Unlike Sadie’s pale, blotchy, sunburnt skin.

“I’m glad I won’t be studying here all year,” Sadie sighed, “I’ll be home for a while soon.”

Arielle frowned, “Aren’t you staying at the centre?”

Sadie shook her head, “I explained that I was married and couldn’t spend an entire year away from Theo, so they gave me a place on the course but with only half of the year studying here. I spend two weeks here then two weeks at home doing self-study.”

“Oh,” Arielle said, “I guess that makes sense. Just try to get through the next week then, after that, you can go back to your lovely cold England.”

Sadie laughed at that, “I never realised how much I would miss the wind!” she joked.

* * *

**_Bridge of Orchy, Scotland._ **

“I don’t want to leave this tent.”

“Why not? I can smell Elsie’s cooking; it smells amazing.”

Draco glared at Theo as he pulled his t-shirt on, “Believe it or not, I’m not looking forward to another day of hiking through Scotland pretending to be your bloody boyfriend.”

“I think it’s worth it for the food,” Theo said with a shrug, “And at least if I’m spending the day hiking and chatting to a couple of Muggles, I’m not thinking about how much I miss Sadie.”

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes; he was surprised it had taken this long for Theo to bring up his wife, “Well, I’m sure she’s enjoying herself in Egypt.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem,” Theo said irritably, “I don’t want her to enjoy herself too much, you know?”

“She’s not going to cheat on you Theo,” Draco assured his friend, “But I wonder how she’ll feel when she finds out you’ve been cheating on her for two weeks.”

Theo snorted in amusement, “Nah, she’s known about that for ages. Do you remember that time before the wedding when she introduced you as my boyfriend to her parents?”

“Yes, didn’t she say; This is my boyfriend Theo, this Theo’s boyfriend, Draco and this is Draco’s girlfriend, Hermione?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that was what she said,” Theo said with a chuckle, “I bet that’s why they wound us up during the selection process, Sorenson probably said something.”

Draco hummed thoughtfully as they left the tent, “I wonder how Hermione is getting on with her new library.”

“She probably hasn’t slept all week,” Theo sniggered, “We’ll get home, and she’ll have read every book.”

“Hermione? Don’t you boys just have some friends with unusual names?” Elsie chirped, “Breakfast?”

“Oh yes please, Elsie,” Theo said eagerly.

“So this Hermione? Are her parent's fans of Shakespeare?”

Draco nodded, “Her parents both love the theatre, but they didn’t have many friends who enjoyed going with them. When they went to see “ _A Winters Tale”_ they ended up sitting together, and Hermione’s dad asked her mum if he wanted to go on a date.”

“I never knew that about Mione,” Theo said thoughtfully, “That’s kind of a cute story.”

Draco smiled slightly, “For everyone except Hermione, who just has to deal with having a weird name because of her parent's love story.”

“You’re named after a star, your name is weirder,” Theo commented.

“Thanks for that, Theo,” Draco said as he raised an eyebrow at the boy.

Elsie chuckled, “You boys are just adorable. Do you have any other friends with strange names?”

“Uh…not really,” Draco said as he thought through the names of their friends, “Except Neville.”

“Neville? You don’t hear that one much anymore,” Rod said, “Don’t suppose he was named for the Prime Minister?”

“He was actually,” Theo mused, “His gran was the illegitimate daughter of Neville Chamberlain, so our friend Neville is actually named for his great grandfather.”

“How do you know that?” Draco asked in surprise, “I didn’t know that.”

Theo shrugged, “You can kind of be an asshole to Neville sometimes, he’s more my friend than yours.”

“Does he think I’m an asshole?”

“You bullied him all the way through school Draco,” Theo reminded him, “So sometimes he thinks you’re an asshole, yeah.”

Draco sighed, “Shit…I didn’t realise that. I should really apologise to him when we get home.”

Elsie smiled at them, “How many miles do you think we should cover today? Rod and I thought we should aim for the bottom of that mountain in the distance.”

Theo nodded, “Yeah, let’s aim for that and see how we get on.”

“Speaking of love stories and people’s names,” Elsie said, “How did you two meet?”

“Oh, we’ve known each other forever really,” Draco replied, “Our parents knew each other, so we practically grew up together.”

“So you were childhood sweethearts?” Elsie asked eagerly, “That’s adorable.”

“Yeah,” Theo said with a false smile, “Our Fathers…they led a similar lifestyle, so our families came together a lot. Draco and I became friends when we were kids, then we went to the same boarding school, and we were in the same house, so we shared a dorm for seven years.”

“How did you fall in love if you were friends originally?” Elsie asked curiously.

They hadn’t discussed a cover story, so Theo was completely winging it as he said, “Well…there was always something between us and we both knew it. But we were too scared to act on it because we didn’t want to ruin our friendship. We spent our school years trying to ignore it, you know dating other people then getting jealous and falling out? The usual kind of thing.”

Elsie nodded and dished out some eggs and bacon on plastic plates.

“Then, in our last year of school, I got fed up of pretending. We have this other friend, she’s called Daphne, and she had a crush on this guy who Draco hated through school. Daphne is one of Draco’s best friends so I figured there was no way she would get with this guy, so we made a bet,” Theo explained, “I said if Daphne ever slept with the guy she had a crush on, I would tell Draco how I felt.”

Elsie nodded again and leant forward; she was following the story with great interest.

“So I told him in the breakfast hall, and everyone made a big scene out of it,” Theo said, “We kissed, people cheered, and the rest is history.”

“That was bold of you,” Elsie said, “I mean we’re very open-minded people, but not everyone is so accepting.”

“Yes, that’s something we have to live with every day,” Draco said with a solemn nod.

Elsie nodded sadly and nipped inside the tent to tell Rod that breakfast was ready.

“You just told you and Sadie’s love story but put my name in,” Draco muttered.

“Best I could do on short notice,” Theo said, he waggled his eyebrows at his friend, “Would you have rather that I told them the epic tale of the Astronomy Tower? Where we declared our love for each other?”

Draco rolled his eyes and whacked his friend over the head, “Shut up, you arse.”

* * *

**_Amiens, France._ **

“Is your Dad a thief?”

“What?” Lilly asked Marcel with a frown as she sat on the edge of the swimming pool while waiting for their instructor.

“I just wondered if your Dad was a thief because someone stole the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes,” Marcel said smoothly.

“Marcel, do I have to spell this out for you? I. have. a. boyfriend,” Lilly said slowly, “And for your information, my dad works in musical theatre. In fact, he dresses up as a woman for a living and prances about on stage with _his_ boyfriend.”

Marcel gaped at her for a moment. Then the instructor walked in and told them all to get in the pool.

Lilly smirked and jumped in, pleased she had managed to leave Marcel speechless even if it was brief.

* * *

**_The Forest of Dean, England._ **

“Thank Merlin your rabbit traps finally paid off,” Neville said as he and Harry sat in the entrance of the tent with a fire lit just outside.

“I know, I was so hungry,” Harry agreed, “Not that it’s a foreign feeling mind you.”

“Yeah, you would have gotten used to being hungry during the war I guess,” Neville said thoughtfully, “I know how you feel, it was hard to get food to the Room of Requirement and then to ration it after that. There were some weeks when we barely had enough to keep everyone going.”

“I wasn’t actually talking about the war,” Harry said with a faraway look in his eyes, “I was thinking about when I was kid, living with my Aunt and Uncle.”

Neville frowned, “Did they starve you?”

“No, they just didn’t feed me as often or as much as they fed themselves,” Harry admitted.

Neville’s frown deepened, “Harry…you’ve never actually told me about your life before Hogwarts. I mean I know you lived with your Muggle Aunt, Uncle and cousin but that’s about it.”

Harry sighed, “That’s because I don’t like to think about it, let alone talk about it. Everyone thinks that because I was the chosen one, I grew up with a silver spoon in my mouth, but it couldn’t be further from the truth, to be honest, Nev.”

“Then tell me,” Neville said gently, “Because if we’re going to work together seamlessly like they want us to, we need to know everything about each other.”

Harry sighed but said nothing.

“I mean I always thought I had a crappy childhood,” Neville said to get Harry to open up, “My Uncle thought I was a squib, so he tried to force the magic out of me by holding me out of windows and throwing me off bloody piers.”

“My Uncle used to try and beat the magic out of me so that I wouldn’t be a freak like my parents,” Harry said quietly, “And my Aunt used to hit me with a frying pan if I asked too many questions about what had happened to my parents. My cousin…he used to chase me to school and home from school with his gang of friends, they treated it like a sport, they called it Harry-hunting.”

Neville was trying to keep the horrified look off of his face, but he wasn’t sure he was doing a great job, “That’s disgusting, Harry.”

Harry shrugged, “It was all I knew then but looking back now, I suppose it was a form of abuse. Do you know I never had a bedroom until I was 11? Dudley had two bedrooms, one to sleep in and one to fill with all of his toys, Merlin he was a spoiled little bloody brat.”

“If you didn’t have a bedroom, where did you sleep?” Neville asked with a frown.

“The cupboard under the stairs,” Harry replied, “There wasn’t any room for a bed, so I slept on a mattress. Every time Dudley ran down the stairs, he dislodged dust and spiders onto me, the dust annoyed me because I always had a cough, but I grew to like the spiders. I used to talk to them because I didn’t have any friends at school, so I didn’t have anybody else to talk to. Everyone was too scared of Dudley to be my friend.”

“Fucking hell Harry,” Neville barked, “That’s bloody child abuse! Your Aunt and Uncle should have been put in jail for that!”

Harry shrugged, “It doesn’t matter now; it’s in the past.”

“Is it?” Neville asked, “Because I don’t think being locked in a cupboard, being treated like a house-elf and being beaten by your own family is the sort of thing that just disappears overnight.”

“I’m fine now, Nev.”

“What would happen if I locked you in a small space then?” Neville asked, “Would you freak out?”

Harry smirked at his friend, “I locked myself in a good few broom closets with Daph last year. Stop worrying Nev; I’m fine now.”

“I’m not talking about being locked in a broom cupboard with your girlfriend. What if we were captured and you were locked in a tiny cupboard for days?” Neville said, “Are you sure it wouldn’t get to you?”

“I passed all the Aurors mental tests, didn’t I?” Harry quipped, “I am past all of it so you can stop worrying, really. I’m more messed up by everything that happened with Voldemort than from what the Dursleys did.”

Neville knew all about Harry’s problems relating to Voldemort, so he nodded and said, “Alright,” but truthfully, he didn’t quite believe his best friend.

* * *

All that talk of the abuse Harry had gone through at the hands of his muggle family, had obviously gotten to him more than he thought because that night, he had a nightmare, a very old one.

He was back in the graveyard at the end of fourth year. Only this time, Cedric wasn’t with him. It was Neville whose name he screamed after the yell of, _“Kill the spare!”_

It was Neville whose body he sobbed over; it was Neville who he tried to avenge when he got his feet in a blind rage.

And it was Neville who was holding him tightly when he woke up with tears on his cheeks, his breath coming in gasps.

“It’s okay,” Neville said saying softly, “It’s okay, you’re safe, Harry. The war is over, and you’re safe.”

Harry gripped at Neville’s t-shirt as he tried to draw in a deep breath. The vision of that green light flying for his best friend was still burned in his brain. He shut his eyes tightly.

“There’s no graveyard, we’re just in a tent in the forest,” Neville murmured, “You’re safe.”

Harry managed to steady his breathing, but his heart was still racing. Neville had clambered up onto the top bunk to try and bring Harry out of the nightmare when he started screaming.

Harry breathed in shakily and rested his head on Neville’s shoulder, “That was a new take on an old classic.”

“You go back to the graveyard a lot, don’t you?” Neville asked.

Harry nodded, the tent was in complete darkness so Neville couldn’t see the tear tracks on his cheeks, “Yeah. I spent a whole summer watching Cedric die over and over again. But that was the first time I watched you die.”

“Me?”

“Yeah,” Harry sighed, “You were in Cedric’s shoes.”

“It wasn’t real, Harry,” Neville said, putting his arm around Harry’s shoulder, “I’m right here.”

Harry took a breath and nodded, “I know.”

“Do you want me to leave you alone so you can get back to sleep?” Neville asked.

“No,” Harry replied quickly, too quickly, “I mean-”

“It’s fine, I can stay if you want,” Neville said.

“I sleep better when there is someone else there,” Harry said, “Someone’s heartbeat to listen to, the rhythm lulls me to sleep, and it reminds me that I’m not alone.”

“I get it,” Neville said honestly. He lay down and looked up at the roof of the tent, “I spent a year sleeping in a room full of people. I mean granted, we didn’t sleep much with guard duty, but still, …it was hard to go back to sleeping alone after that.”

“Yeah,” Harry mused, lying down next to Neville in the small bunk, “I…I spent most of the war sleeping with Hermione and then in the summer, I slept right next to Ron’s bed, so I was never really alone.”

“I know. I remember what it was like after the final battle,” Neville said quietly, “It was just you and I in the Gryffindor dorm while we were fixing the castle. Every night we’d start off in our own beds, but by the morning we’d be together because someone had a nightmare and the other one had fallen asleep after talking them off the ledge.”

“Yeah,” Harry remembered, “We were both in dark places back then.”

“We were,” Neville agreed, “It’s why we stayed to fix the castle; we were fixing ourselves in the process.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed, “I guess we were, and I guess we’ve always been a bit more like Draco and Theo than we thought.”

“Ah well, it does make sense,” Neville mused in the darkness, “We’d have been even more like them if we’d grown up together like we were supposed to. Those two are as close as they are because their fathers were scumbags, Draco’s mother was under his father's control, and Theo’s mother died when he was so young. That meant that they only really had each other growing up.”

Harry shut his eyes as his heart rate finally returned to normal, “They have a good few years on us, I suppose, and you always were a late bloomer.”

Neville laughed, “The real concern here is the fact that we’re in the forest of dean in a _tent,_ and now you’ve managed to get me into your bed. If I turn on the radio, we’re absolutely fucked.”

Harry let out a genuine laugh at that, “Shut up, Nev,” he murmured fondly as he felt sleep begin to wash over him once more.

* * *

**_Cairo, Egypt._ **

****

As the second week began, Sadie continued to feel awful. She could barely stay awake in a lab about the alchemical properties of rare stones like the stone of Erised. The window was open, and there was the tiniest little breeze coming in, it was giving her so much relief that her eyes kept drooping shut.

“Sadie,” A voice whispered, “Chin up. If you fall asleep, you’ll get kicked out of class.”

Sadie’s head snapped up, “Sorry Ash,” she whispered as she rubbed her eyes, “I just can’t sleep at night in this heat.”

“It will pass, August is always a hot month over here,” Ash said, “This breeze comes along in September, and it is honestly, heavenly.”

Sadie smiled slightly, “September feels a long way away.”

“You will get used to the heat, just give it time,” Ash said, “And you need to eat, why don’t you eat at dinnertime?”

“The Egyptian food just makes me so ill,” Sadie admitted sheepishly, “It’s too rich and spicy, I’ve never been good with spicy food.”

“I’ll have a word with the chef and see if he can whizz you up something to remind you of home,” Ash said, he shot her a wink and then looked back down at the stones they were studying before the professor could catch them talking.

* * *

**_London, England._ **

Daphne hated Mondays at the best of times. She hated them even more when she got called to the boss’s office the minute she walked through the door. She knew Bill, which made her slightly less nervous but all the same, her heart pounded a little faster than it should have as she walked to Bill’s office and knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Bill’s voice called.

Daphne took a deep breath and composed herself then walked into the office with a smile, “Good morning Bill,” she said.

Bill smiled back at her from where he was sitting behind his desk. However, he was not alone in the office. Leaning against his desk was a man who looked to be in his early 30’s, he had slicked back dark brown hair and icy blue eyes.

“Good morning Daphne,” Bill chirped, “How was your weekend?”

“Good,” Daphne replied politely, “I got well acquainted with Hermione’s new library. How was yours?”

“Great, Fleur and I took Vic over to France for the weekend,” Bill said, “Sit down, will you?”

Daphne obliged and sat down across from Bill. The redhead gestured to the man in the room, “This is Stuart Fawley, he’s one of our Senior Curse Breakers.”

Daphne smiled and shook his hand, “Pleasure to meet you.”

“You too, Miss Greengrass,” Stuart said with a smile, “I’ve heard lots of good things about you.”

“Have you?” Daphne asked as she raised an eyebrow at Bill.

“There’s no need to look so suspicious Daphne,” Bill said, “Stuart is here because he’s going to become your mentor. When I heard that you broke the curses on 119 objects last week, I decided to pull you out of the cursed room. Frankly, your talents are wasted there, that’s almost three times as many objects as we expect trainees to get through in their first week.”

Daphne grinned broadly, “Does this mean I get to go out in the field?”

“That is entirely up to Stuart,” Bill replied, “At first he will let you consult from the office, and if you prove that you’re good enough to handle yourself in the field he might well choose to take you out. Do you have any questions for me about this next step?”

“Apart from, when can I start?” Daphne asked eagerly.

Stuart laughed, “Always happy to take on an eager young trainee like yourself, Miss. Greengrass. I think we will work well together.”

Bill nodded, “I’m sure you will. If you have any questions or concerns, Daphne, you know where I am.”

Daphne nodded, “Thanks, Bill, I was getting so bored in that cursed room.”

“A mind like yours is truly wasted there,” Stuart said as he opened the door for her, “Shall I show you to our office?”

Daphne nodded and smiled one last time at Bill as she left with Stuart. As they walked through the bank, Stuart chatted away to her, "So what brings a girl like you to a place like this?”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Because I’m blonde and pretty so there’s no way I could have the brains to be a Curse Breaker, right?”

“Not at all,” Stuart said smoothly, “But blonde, pretty girls have lots of options and not many of them fancy daring adventures and dangerous curses.”

“Well, I’m not your average pretty, blonde girl,” Daphne remarked, “And my fiancé is Harry Potter, daring adventures comes with the territory.”

“You’re quite young to be engaged if you don’t mind me saying,” Stuart remarked.

“I do mind you saying actually,” Daphne said shortly, “And not that it’s any of your business, but he’s a very good man.”

“I’m sure he is,” Stuart said, “He did save the wizarding world from a terrible fate. Mind you; they do say that heroes are the most broken people around. They don’t make great husband material.”

“According to who?” Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow, “Stan Lee?”

“I have no idea who that is,” Stuart admitted.

“He wrote comic books, it’s a muggle thing,” Daphne said nonchalantly, “One of my best friends is a muggle-born and Harry grew up with muggles too.”

“Ah, I’m a pureblood,” Stuart said, “I’m sure you know the name Fawley?”

“I’ve seen a few of you about,” Daphne said, “But I don’t know the name. Has anyone in your family done anything of significance?”

“Oh yes, there’s a Minister for Magic in there,” Stuart said a little proudly, “Of course everyone knows what your family is famous for. Greengrass shipping, I’m sure that’s left you with a lovely trust fund.”

“No, my father blew all of his money on gambling and alcohol years ago,” Daphne said matter of factly, “And the family business is a joke these days, everyone knows that it's tipped to go into administration by the end of the year so quit pretending.”

Stuart nodded, “Right,” he said a little awkwardly, “Here we are. It’s small and humble, but I do spend more time in the field than in here, so I don’t mind. You can have the other side of the desk there.”

The small, humble office was a broom cupboard, but Daphne didn’t say anything because she was so pleased to be out of the cursed room. She sat down on one side of the desk, and Stuart sat down opposite her, as he did so he brushed his leg against hers then apologised, but something told Daphne that it hadn’t been an accident.

“Take half of this pile of papers,” Stuart said as he pushed it into the middle of the desk, “And have a read through it. If anything looks like a serious claim of a cursed object, let me know, and we’ll start investigating.”

“Okay,” Daphne said as she began to glance over the first file, despite being a little wary of her new mentor she knew that she would enjoy this part of the job far more than she had enjoyed breaking boring everyday curses.

* * *

**_London, England._ **

“Honey, I’m home!”

“Daphne, you don’t actually live here!” Hermione’s amused voice called from the kitchen.

“I’m a temporary tenant, where are you?”

“Kitchen,” Hermione called back.

Daphne followed the smell of food into the kitchen and put her handbag down on the table.

“You’re a terrible tenant, by the way, you aren’t even paying rent,” Hermione joked.

Daphne shrugged and smiled, “I’m gracing you with my presence. Isn’t that a gift in itself?”

Hermione snorted, “You’re in a good mood today. How many cursed objects did you get through?”

“None, I got promoted,” Daphne said smugly, “Bill called me into the office first thing this morning to meet my new mentor. I got through three times as many cursed objects as the other trainees last week, so Bill said there wasn’t any point in wasting my talents by keeping me there.”

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised,” Hermione admitted, “I got to spend the day in court today, so that was good. I was so sick of the four walls of that bloody office…mind you, sitting taking notes through trial after trial was only marginally better.”

Daphne hummed thoughtfully, “It’s only for another three weeks though then you get to try something new. What are you cooking?”

“Pasta, it’s about all I can cook,” Hermione admitted.

“Well, it smells good,” Daphne said.

“So this promotion of yours, what is it?”

“Proper curse breaking,” Daphne said eagerly, “My mentor and I spent the day looking through letters sent in from Muggles and wizards about objects they claim to be cursed. Some of them are nonsense, but some are legit, today's job was sorting through them to work that out. Once we’ve done that, we go out into the field to hunt down and destroy or un-curse the objects. Bill said it’s at Stuart’s discretion whether he takes me into the field or not, but Stuart said he couldn’t see any reason why I couldn’t go with him on a find and retrieve mission tomorrow.”

“Well, that sounds exciting,” Hermione said a little bitterly, “I’ll be honest; I’m jealous.”

Daphne chuckled, “It isn’t all that great, my mentor is sleazy. I’m pretty sure he’s been flirting with me all day.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her, “Is he good looking?”

“Oh totally,” Daphne replied, “Dark hair, blue eyes, well-structured face. Conventionally he’s excellent looking, but he’s in his 30’s, and there’s just something about him that makes me squirm.”

“Oh, the creepy sort?” Hermione said.

“Not creepy exactly, just sleazy,” Daphne admitted, “He kept rubbing his leg against mine today. Our office is a cupboard, and we have to share a desk, so there isn’t much room.”

“Didn’t you tell him to lay off?”

Daphne shook her head, “I wasn’t sure if he was doing it on purpose or not and…well if I say something and piss him off, I could end up getting thrown back in the cursed room again.”

“Daph, if this guy is a sleaze then you need to tell him to back off,” Hermione warned her, “Otherwise he’ll take silence as encouragement.”

Daphne scoffed, “Trust me, he knows that I’m not interested. I shot him down with every topic of conversation yesterday, and I made it very clear I was engaged.”

“That doesn’t matter to those sorts of guys,” Hermione said, “Some of them get off on sleeping with other people’s wives or girlfriends.”

Daphne shook her head, “I’m a big girl Hermione, I know how to handle sleazy guys don’t worry.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “I know you do Daph. Hey, do you fancy taking a break from the library tonight and watching a Disney film?”

“I feel in the mood for a superhero movie actually,” Daphne mused, “Maybe I’m just missing Harry and his hero complex.”

Hermione chuckled and said, “Either way, you can pick the film. Oh look, dinner is ready!”

*** ~ TBC ~**


	27. Are We Out of the Woods Yet?

**_Kinlochleven, Scotland._ **

“Do you think I’m the weak link in the chain?”

Draco frowned, he had assumed that Theo was asleep because they had spent the last hour lying silently in their bunk beds.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean out of you, me, Harry and Neville,” Theo said quietly, “Am I the Peter Pettigrew?”

Draco scoffed, “I can’t believe you actually just asked me that question. Of course, you’re not. Pettigrew betrayed his friends because he wanted power. He was a weak-minded coward. You would never betray us, you aren’t power-hungry, and you definitely aren’t the weak-minded one.”

There was a pause then, “You aren’t weak-minded either Draco. I know your father told you that you were, but you aren’t.”

“And you aren’t the Pettigrew,” Draco assured him, “You didn’t give anything up in your physical torture test, did you?”

“No, but it was a test,” Theo said, “And I knew it was a test. I knew they could threaten Sadie but that nothing would happen to her. In real life, they could use Sadie against me. I mean they did it once before didn’t they? On Valentine’s Day.”

“Theo if you view love as a weakness then it’s going ruin your life,” Draco said, “They used Hermione against me, they used Daphne against Harry. At the end of the day, the women in our life are our weaknesses, and unless we want to give up on them, then there is nothing that we can do about it.”

“I just don’t know what I would do if someone hurt Sadie and it was my fault,” Theo sighed, “And I worry about you being a weakness for me too because…we’re going to be Auror partners but we’re in a relationship of sorts, aren’t we?”

“I suppose you could view it that way,” Draco said, “But we’re going to have to learn to leave home behind us when we go to work. We can’t let feelings get in the way of the job. You can’t run blindly in to save me and get other Aurors killed.”

“I can be objective, Draco,” Theo reminded him, “I had to be during the war.”

“I know, we both did,” Draco said with a nod.

“I just don’t know what I would do if something happened to you or Sadie. I don’t know how I would be able to live without her. I keep thinking that one day you’re all going to work out that I am the weak link and drift away from me. I keep worrying that Sadie will eventually realise that she can do so much better than me,” Theo admitted.

Draco swung his legs out of the bunk and jumped down, “Theo, your worries are completely unfounded. None of us think that you are the weak link, you are probably the smartest out of the four of us, and you are definitely the most logical. Harry and Neville act on impulse because they are typical Gryffindors and you’ve said it to me yourself, I don’t have a great deal of common sense at times. We need your logical thinking and your wit; I suppose what I’m trying to say is…you’re our Hermione.”

Theo looked up at Draco, “You think I’m that valuable?”

“Yes, I do,” Draco said honestly, “And I can tell how much you’re letting this get to you because you didn’t even make a sarcastic comment about how you can’t be our Hermione because you aren’t sleeping with me.”

Theo smiled slightly, “It did cross my mind,” he admitted.

Draco shook his head in amusement, “I couldn’t have gotten through the war without you, Theo, just like Harry and Ron couldn’t have gotten through the war without Hermione. You kept me from running into the dark tower to save people when we didn’t even have a well-thought-out plan. You kept me alive with your logical thinking, so I will never think that you are the weak link in the chain, okay?”

Theo nodded, “Thanks Draco, that means a lot.”

“And as for Sadie,” Draco continued, “Why are you so caught up on this idea that she’s going to leave you for someone better?”

“I don’t know,” Theo shrugged, “I spent school acting like an idiot and sleeping my way around the skanks of Hogwarts. Why would she want to be with someone with a history like that? How can she have any respect for me?”

“Because she knows who you are underneath that,” Draco said solemnly, “She loves the guy who risked his life to get her out of the dark tower. She loves the guy who would do anything for his friends, the guy who acts like a dick to pretty much everyone but completely adores her. Your past is your past, Sadie isn’t bothered by it, so you need to stop letting it bother you. Take your own bloody advice, Theo or you’re going to end up being a bitter old man like your father.”

Theo shot him an amused look, “Touche.”

Draco smirked in response.

“I know I don’t talk about them as much as you do, I try and bury the past I guess, but I have regrets too,” Theo admitted, “And I think it all stems from what happened to my mother. I mean she was forced into a marriage with a monster. Then she had the nerve to fall in love, and he killed her for it, in the most brutal way I can imagine.”

“I feel a bit responsible for that, if I’m honest,” Draco admitted, “I mean it was my father that she fell in love with.”

“Yeah and you were a kid, we both were,” Theo said, “It had nothing to do with us but…I always used to like thinking about the idea that we could have grown up like brothers if my mother had left my father for your father.”

“I don’t know if it ever would have happened that way if it makes you feel any better,” Draco said honestly, “My mother always said that I was the only good thing to come from her marriage to my father. I think she would have fought for custody of me. I wouldn’t have seen much of my father growing up, which…well, it would have been a good thing for me but not for you.”

“Your father wasn’t a good man, but he wasn’t a monster, not like mine,” Theo argued.

“My father let the dark lord consume him,” Draco said darkly, “By the end, he did anything that he asked. The dark lord had warped and twisted his mind until even my mother didn’t recognise him anymore, I’m not convinced he would have been any better to your mother than your father was.”

Theo sighed, “Look at us all; our families are in ruins. My mother was forced into her marriage, your mother was coerced into it by her family, Daphne’s mother hated her father, and where does that leave us? My parents are both dead. Your father will rot in prison. Merlin knows where and the only thing keeping your mother sane is you. Daphne’s father is dead, and his wife and daughters couldn’t even force themselves to cry at his funeral. I fucking hate pureblood traditions Draco and I will _never_ write a marriage contract up for my kids, I don’t care if they chose to marry a man or a woman or a bloody dragon, I just don’t want to put another generation through what we went through.”

Draco smiled slightly, “Beautiful sentiment and all Theo but, a dragon? Really?”

“I was just trying to make my point,” Theo said, “And my point is, because of what happened with my parents, I didn’t want to believe in love because I always thought that love just got you hurt.”

“So you cut things off before they could get serious,” Draco realised.

Theo nodded, “And I got a reputation as a womanising arsehole, but the reason I did it doesn’t matter Draco. I did some horrible things like with Susan…I took advantage of her; she was upset because her Aunt had died and I…I never should have done what I did.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” Draco agreed.

“And I never should have started anything with Pansy,” Theo added, “I nearly lost one of the most important people in my life because I actually let myself wonder if love might be worth it. I shouldn’t have acted on my feelings.”

Draco shook his head, “It’s all ancient history, Theo but I appreciate you saying that all the same.”

“I was a terrible person,” Theo said, “Sadie deserves more.”

“No, she deserves the man who loves her and will always love her, above anything else,” Draco said, “And that’s you. Whether you feel worthy or not is irrelevant because at the end of the day, if you love somebody enough, you become worthy of their love because they make you a better person.”

Theo looked up at his best friend, “That sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

“I don’t think I’m worthy of Hermione sometimes,” Draco said, “Sometimes I wonder why she didn’t go off and live the golden life she should have done with Ron. Then I remember that Hermione would never have been as happy with him as she is with me because I challenge her in a way that he never could.”

“So you think I’m being insecure for nothing?” Theo asked.

Draco nodded, “Yeah, I do.”

“I feel a bit like a whinging girl now,” Theo admitted sheepishly.

Draco laughed out loud at that, “Sorry to break it to you, Theo, but that’s nothing new.”

“Oi!” Theo exclaimed as he hit Draco around the head with a pillow.

“Ouch! What was that for? I just gave you stellar advice!”

“But then you were a dick about it!” Theo exclaimed, and they proceeded to bicker like an old married couple.

* * *

**_Amiens, France._ **

“Did it hurt?”

“Did what hurt?” Lilly asked as she ran a little faster in a bid to get away from Marcel.

“When you fell out of heaven,” Marcel said as he sped up to match her.

Lilly groaned in frustration, “It is 6.35 am! Would you give it a break? What part of ‘I have a boyfriend’, do you not get?”

She pushed herself and darted away from him, Lucille who had been running next to her shot her an amused look, “I think the answer to that question is, all of it.”

Lilly shook her head, “I think I’m going to kill him before six months are up,” she said a little breathlessly.

Lucille laughed and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be your alibi.”

* * *

**_Cairo, Egypt._ **

As he had promised, the day after saying he would convince the chef to cook something English for Sadie, Ash brought her a covered stainless steel dish. He grinned and looked quite pleased with himself as he sat down across from her and Arielle.

“As promised, an English classic,” Ash said, he pulled the lid off and unveiled, “Steak pie!”

Sadie laughed and smiled at him, “Thanks Ash, even the smell of that curry type thing that everyone else is eating was making me feel sick.”

Ash smiled and said, “I know what it’s like to be in a foreign country when you miss home. We travelled all over before we eventually settled in Egypt.”

“Where did you go before you settled here?” Sadie asked curiously. She took a bite from the steak pie, which was one of her favourite English dishes. She was expecting it to taste like heaven, but even it made her stomach churn violently.

“Oh all over the place, Romania, Argentina, New York, Russia, then eventually here,” Ash said.

Sadie nodded and forced another mouthful of steak pie down; she didn’t want to seem ungrateful after all.

“Oh, I also put a big pack of water bottles outside your dorm room,” Ash said, “I know it’s not the same as the breeze from a window, but maybe it will help.”

Sadie smiled at him, “Thanks, Ash, I really appreciate it.”

* * *

**_London, England._ **

“Good morning Daphne.”

Daphne smiled politely, “Good morning Stuart.”

“How was your evening?” Stuart asked as he rubbed his leg against hers.

Daphne tried not to roll her eyes, “Good, I’m staying with my friend at the moment since our other halves are both away.”

“Oh, your fiancé is away, is he?”

That question sent alarm bells ringing in Daphne’s head but all the same, she replied, “Yeah, he’s training to be an Auror. The first two weeks of basic training involve a two week isolation period, so he’s off doing that with his new Auror partner.”

“That’s interesting. I suppose you’re feeling lonely.”

“Not really, like I said I’m staying with my friend,” Daphne said, “We watched a movie last night, that’s a muggle thing by the way.”

“I do know what a movie is,” Stuart said, “Do you want to hear today's agenda?”

Daphne nodded and looked up, “Yes, I do.”

“I looked through the cases we considered to be cursed last night, and the first one I think we should tackle is this one,” Stuart said, he slid a piece of parchment across the desk to her and brushed his leg against hers _again_ , “It’s one of the cases you identified, the cursed ring that seems to have made its way through this muggle family.”

“Oh the Richardson family,” Daphne said with a nod, “Yes well I did some research, and Natalie Richardson is telling the truth, every woman who has worn that ring has died the day after her wedding day. The first death was in 1891, and there have been three since then.”

Stuart nodded, “Probably a case of a spurned wizarding lover cursing the family forevermore. Shouldn’t be a difficult object to find or a difficult curse to break, we will need to pretend to be muggles though, so we need a cover story.”

“And you’re looking at me like that because you don’t know much about muggles,” Daphne said with a pointed look.

“That is entirely correct,” Stuart said as his lips quirked into a smile.

“Alright then I suggest we say that we’re journalists,” Daphne said, “We can say we’re from “ _The Sun”_ they’re always writing about shit like that. We’ll say we would like to write a story about the family curse and then while I’m questioning the family, you can say you need to go to the toilet.”

“Ah, I follow you,” Stuart said with a smirk, “I find the ring, break the curse, and then we get the hell out of there.”

“Pretty much,” Daphne said with a nod.

“Cunning, clever and flawless,” Stuart said as he got to his feet, “Just like you,” he added smoothly, far too seamlessly.

“Okay,” Daphne said awkwardly, “The Richardson family live in Essex. Shall we just apparate there?”

“That sounds like a great plan.”

Daphne was grateful that the next hour was devoid of inappropriate comments. They changed their appearances, devised a cover story then apparated to the home of the Richardson family. It was a charming manor house which came as no surprise given the nature of the story.

They made their way up the path, knocked on the door and introduced themselves as Miss Daisy Meadows, and Mr Gordon James from “ _The Sun”_ to the butler then waited to be allowed entry. About 5 minutes later, the butler came back and led them to the morning room where the family were taken breakfast.

The family consisted of a relatively young couple and an older woman. The young woman stepped forward and smiled, “I’m Natalie Richardson, it was me who wrote to the papers about the family ring. This is my fiancé Jim Daniels, and this is my Mother, Rebecca Richardson.”

Jim smiled at them, and Rebecca just nodded gravely.

Daphne smiled brightly at Natalie, “Thank you so much for letting us in Miss Richardson. We are eager to hear the story.”

“So you believe it then?” Natalie asked hopefully, “That the ring is cursed.”

“Of course we do,” Stuart replied, “We wouldn’t be here if we thought it was a hoax.”

Daphne nodded as she sat down in the chair that the butler had provided, “Why don’t you start by telling us how your family acquired this ring?”

“Well,” Natalie began as Stuart began to look around the room as subtly as he could, “It came into the family in 1890 when my great-great-grandmother Rosalie became engaged to a man called Sebastian Malfoy. They were due to be married in 1891, but on their wedding day, Rosalie told Sebastian that she could not go through with the marriage, nobody seems to know why.”

Daphne nodded, alarm bells had rung the moment she heard the name “Malfoy”, she wasn’t looking forward to having _this_ conversation with Hermione.

“The following day, Rosalie was found dead, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with her. The doctor examined her and said that she was perfectly healthy, only without a heartbeat.”

“Very unusual,” Daphne said, although in her mind she was thinking the opposite. It sounded just like a cursed death or death by the killing curse.

“Yes!” Natalie agreed, “Of course everyone assumed Sebastian was her killer, but he was never seen again. Rosalie died without any heirs, but her younger sister had a daughter called Jemima. In 1910 Jemima married and the next day, she was found dead, exactly the same as Rosalie.”

“That’s very spooky,” Daphne encouraged as she nudged Stuart.

Stuart nodded, “I don’t like the scary parts of these stories; they give me nightmares. Would you mind if I nipped to the bathroom while you tell Daisy the gory parts?”

“Of course not,” Jim chuckled, “I was the same the first time I heard the story. It’s just at the end of the hall.”

Stuart smiled, “Thank you very much,” he said as he slipped out of the room.

“So Jemima was found dead, did they ever find out who did it?” Daphne asked.

“They assumed it was her husband; after all, he did inherit a lot of money. After a long investigation, the police arrested him, and he was hung,” Natalie said, “But it gets stranger as I told you in my letter. Jemima’s twin brother had a young baby at the time of her death, and his daughter was called Hyacinth. In 1930-”

“Hyacinth got married and was found dead the day after her wedding day?” Daphne guessed.

“Yes,” Natalie nodded, “The autopsy said there was nothing wrong with her, she had just dropped dead. Hyacinth was my Mothers, Aunt. You were born after she died, weren’t you, Mum?”

Rebecca nodded, “Hyacinth was the second eldest of eight children. I was born 13 years after she died.”

“So was your Aunt the last to die in these mysterious circumstances?” Daphne asked.

Rebecca shook her head, “No, that was Samara in the ’50s.”

“1950, to be exact,” Natalie said, “Samara’s father was Hyacinths older brother. She was found after her wedding day.”

“And have there been any weddings since?” Daphne asked.

Rebecca shook her head, “I warned them all off, and they listened. Natalie and I are the only women left in the family, and I, for one, shall never marry. Natalie has this foolish notion of breaking the curse so that she can marry the love of her life; it is so romantic it makes me sick.”

Daphne chuckled, “Do you think it can be broken?”

“I don’t see why not,” Natalie said, “They can exorcise ghosts, can’t they? Why couldn’t they undo curses?”

“I suppose there must be someone out there who can,” Daphne agreed.

Rebecca rolled her eyes, “Don’t encourage her, please, dear.”

“Sorry,” Daphne said sheepishly, “But there is something nice about the notion of breaking the curse so that true love can triumph.”

“See Mother!” Natalie said, “It _is_ a generational thing. Are you married, Miss Meadows?”

“I’m engaged,” Daphne said with a smile, “But I will be married soon, the wedding is set for New Year's Eve.”

“That’s very romantic,” Natalie said with a smile, “I understand why you believed my letter now.”

Daphne smiled and got to her feet, she heard Stuart walking along the corridor towards the morning room, “And our readers will too. Do you mind if I take some photographs of the house and the chapel on my way out? Just for effect, for the article.”

“Of course not,” Natalie said, “You are welcome to. Thank you for coming and…for believing.”

Daphne shook her head, “No problem, thank you so much for your time.”

She turned around and saw Stuart smiling triumphantly at her. She felt a surge of relief, that meant that he had found the ring and hopefully destroyed any curse that was on it. They made their way outside in silence, and they talked as Daphne pretended to take photographs for her ‘newspaper article’.

“Did you find it?”

“Yep, in the old hags jewellery box.”

“She isn’t an old hag,” Daphne remarked, “Did you remove the curse?”

“Yep, as I said, it was easy,” Stuart said, “The Malfoys aren’t exactly renown for creating vicious curses.”

“No just for helping vicious dark lords,” Daphne muttered, “So that’s it now? They can get married, and nobody will die?”

“Here’s hoping,” Stuart said, “It might be a generational curse in which case if anyone of this generation married they would still die. I don’t think Sebastian Malfoy was smart enough to perform that kind of curse though so yeah, I think it’s broken.”

Daphne turned away from the house after pretending to take her final picture, “Great,” She said with a grin, “It’s one hell of an adrenaline buzz, isn’t it? Going in there with a fake story, pretending to be someone else, sneaking around an old house. I loved it.”

She turned around to look at Stuart for approval as much as for anything else, but she hadn’t expected him to be so close to her. He smiled as he closed the gap between them and kissed her, which completely threw Daphne. She didn’t kiss him back, but it did take her a second to process what he was doing. Before she had a chance to pull away from the kiss, his hands had started to wander.

“What the hell was that?” Daphne snapped as she pulled away and took a few steps back.

Stuart laughed, “Come on, you’ve been flirting with me since Bill introduced us.”

“No,” Daphne said slowly, “I haven’t been. I think you’re a pompous arse.”

“Seriously? You’re having a laugh,” Stuart said with another smile, “I know girls find me attractive, especially young, impressionable ones like you.”

“Look, I might be young, but I am _not_ impressionable,” Daphne said firmly, “And the fact you seem to like younger women is pretty wrong, to be honest. I mean you must be in your 30’s.”

“Say what you want about me, but I can end your job in five minutes,” Stuart said as his smooth façade disappeared, “All I need to do is tell Bill that you fucked up and that’s it, you’re back in the cursed room, or you’re out of the programme.”

Daphne glared at him, “You can’t blackmail me to keep me quiet.”

“I can,” Stuart said, “I mean who is Bill going to believe if this goes further? A trusted Senior Curse Breaker who he trained with in Egypt? Or you, a silly little girl who thinks Harry Potter is in love with her?”

Daphne swallowed hard but didn’t say anything. She knew he was talking nonsense, she knew Harry _was_ in love with her, but it stung all the same. Just like the fact this idiot could make her lose the job she loved hurt. She didn’t know what to say; it felt like she would lose either way.

“So I suggest you keep your mouth shut and come back to the office with me,” Stuart said, and his tone was just demanding enough to scare her a little, “Let’s get on with work like normal for the rest of the day and tomorrow, we can forget this ever happened.”

“Forget this ever happened?” Daphne hissed, “You are blackmailing me; that’s not something I can forget easily.”

“Well you better because if you don’t, you will be looking for a new job next week,” Stuart said nastily, “So come on, back to the office with you.”

Daphne swallowed again but turned on her heel and stalked down the path to the gates. The moment she reached them, she apparated back to the bank and made her way along the corridors in a daze until she reached the office she shared with Stuart.

She sat down at the desk and tried to compose herself. When he arrived 5 minutes later his nice guy façade was back on, he smiled at her, sat down and brushed his leg against hers _again_ , it made her feel sick.

“So, let’s have another look at these letters, shall we?” He asked as if nothing had happened.

* * *

**_The Forest of Dean, England._ **

After Harry and Neville had been stuck in the Forest of Dean for a week, they seemed to be surviving quite well. They had worked out the routes the rabbits used to get home to their burrows and were eating enough rabbit and assorted plants that Neville had identified as safe, to keep themselves going.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat rabbit again,” Harry said as he forced another mouthful down, “Don’t get me wrong, it tastes okay but not when you’re eating it every night.”

“I think it’s disgusting, but it’s food at the end of the day,” Neville said, “If we don’t want to die of starvation then we have to eat it.”

“I feel bad, killing rabbits on their way home,” Harry said with a frown, “I mean I keep thinking, what if that was me? What if I was on my way home to my wife and kids then I got caught in a trap, and just like that, I was dead. I keep wondering if his rabbit wife is just sitting there waiting for him wondering why he hasn’t come home…”

Neville looked at Harry cautiously, “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah,” Harry said glumly, “The whole thing just reminds me of Peter Rabbit.”

“Who?”

“Muggle character from a book,” Harry sighed.

“I hate to say it, but if you have morality issues about killing a rabbit on its way home to its rabbit wife then you might have issues working as an Auror,” Neville pointed out, “There might well be times when you have to kill someone for…and I hate to put it like this, the greater good.”

“I know,” Harry said, “I’m just feeling melancholy because I miss Daphne.”

“So you’re drawing parallels to your life…with rabbits?” Neville asked as he looked at Harry warily, “You really are worrying me.”

Harry shook his head and looked into the depths of the campfire before them, “She’s my weakness Neville, her and Teddy. I spent the war trying to keep everyone I loved at arm’s length so that they couldn’t be used against me. I failed obviously, look at what they did to Hermione in Malfoy Manor…”

“You couldn’t have stopped that,” Neville said, “You could have told Hermione to leave and never have come back, but she would have slapped you and told you to shut up.”

“That’s true,” Harry agreed, “But it doesn’t change the fact that people I love get hurt. I do everything I can to protect them, but I can’t always be there for them, you know?”

“Daphne can look after herself Harry, and she can look after Teddy when you aren’t there,” Neville said, “I get that you worry about someone hurting them, but the war is over.”

“It doesn’t matter Neville,” Harry said as he looked up at his friend, “There are still a lot of bad people in the world. It’s one thing me putting myself in the firing line by deciding to become an Auror but am I putting Daphne and Teddy there too?”

“No, you know that you aren’t,” Neville said, “Daphne is going to be your wife whenever you two set a date, that means something and if you adopt Teddy then legally he is your son. Do you really think that we just become Aurors and are left to fend for ourselves? A reserved bed in St. Mungo’s isn’t the only perk Harry, Daphne and Teddy have a level of protection.”

“Do they?” Harry frowned.

“Of course they do. The last thing the Aurors want is some sicko hurting Daphne and Teddy to get to you,” Neville said, “Your Manor will get extra wards, there will be surveillance charms so that if anything does happen, there are leads. Nothing is going to happen to Daphne or Teddy, alright?”

“Alright,” Harry said with a small nod, “I’m sorry Neville I just…I didn’t want to fall in love because love is weakness, it’s my biggest weakness, but I just fell so hard for Daphne. It took me a while, but I see why they called her the ice queen now. She’s ice, and she’s fire. I fear the cold, but I crave the burn.”

Neville smiled, “And she’s turned you into a poet, apparently.”

“Apparently,” Harry said with a slight smile.

“I get it, you know?” Neville said as he looked into the campfire, “Because love is my weakness too.”

Harry smiled, “Lilly?”

“Yeah, Lilly,” Neville sighed, “Who I am missing like crazy right now, and yeah, I hate that she’s going to be running out into the middle of duels to heal people like us, but I love her. I can’t lose her, which means coming to terms with the fact that she wants to be a trauma healer. That doesn’t mean that I’m not scared about what I’ll do if I see her get hurt because she’s my weakness.”

Harry nodded, “I get that, I really do. I mean if someone did hurt Daphne or Teddy I don’t know what I would do. I don’t know if I would be able to control my temper…”

“I’ll tell you what you would do in that situation,” Neville said firmly, “You would come to me because I know what you’re like when you’re angry or upset. So you would come to me, and you let me be your moral conscience. I’ll stop you from doing something stupid and becoming your godfather.”

Harry frowned at that, “You think I’m like Sirius?”

“I think you have a temper and I think you’re reckless,” Neville said honestly, “If Draco betrayed us and Lilly and I ended up dead, do I think you would run after him, duel him then end up looking like a murderer? Yeah, I do. Because A.) You have a temper. B.) You are reckless and C.) You have a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time when an authority figure shows up.”

Harry chuckled at that, “Alright, you may have a point there.”

“So if you ever feel like you might end up killing someone and rotting in Azkaban, you come to me, okay?”

“Deal,” Harry said with a smile, “Thanks, Nev.”

* * *

**_London, England._ **

When Daphne went back to Grimmauld Place that night, she went intending to tell Hermione that she had been right about her creepy, sleazy colleague. She decided to walk home because her head was spinning. After what had happened, Stuart had acted normally all day, he had continued to make suggestive comments, and he had continued to rub his leg against hers.

Daphne had skipped lunch; the whole thing just made her feel ill. She had hoped that the walk home might clear her head, but it just made things worse. What if Hermione blamed her for what had happened? After all, she, like Harry, had believed Daphne’s reputation when they had been at Hogwarts together.

What if she told Hermione and Hermione said it was because she had flirted with Stuart? What if Hermione thought that she had cheated on Harry. _Harry_ , even thinking his name made her feel sick. What would Harry have to say about this? Would he blame her too? Would he be angry at her?

Daphne sighed as she turned onto Grimmauld Place. Whatever Hermione thought, Harry would think it too because they were pretty in sync that way. If Daphne told Hermione and she blamed her, then she would tell Harry and Harry would get angry. He might even break up with her. She paused in front of the door and shook her head. She couldn’t tell Hermione; she would talk to Sadie about it when she got back from Egypt.

There was only one problem with that, Sadie wasn’t back until Saturday morning, which meant that Daphne had to work with Stuart for another four days.

* * *

**_Amiens, France._ **

“I hope you know CPR.”

“Of course I know CPR, do you really think I would have gotten into this course without that basic knowledge?” Lilly muttered irritably as they pulled on sterile Healers Robes to go and observe their first operation.

“I was going to say because you take my breath away.”

“I’ll take your breath away permanently if you don’t leave me alone,” Lilly said sharply, “I have a boyfriend, and yes, he’s in England, and I’m here, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to jump into bed with the first slimy French frog I meet. Can I go and observe this guy getting his ribs re-set now?”

Marcel just smiled charmingly at her, “Of course, after you.”

Lilly rolled her eyes and stalked out of the room. Marcel really couldn’t take no for an answer.

* * *

**_Killiechonate, Scotland._ **

“Do you ever miss Pansy?”

“Where did that question come from?” Draco asked Theo as they climbed over rocky paths. Elsie and Rod were chattering between themselves as they walked further ahead of the two men.

“Just the conversations we’ve been having. About you loving the baby more than her and me regretting stuff that happened during the war,” Theo shrugged.

“Of course I miss her, she was a big part of my life,” Draco replied, “Sometimes I wish she was here because I know her and Hermione would have gotten on, with a lot of coercion. I never wish things were different, though. I’m happy with my life the way it is.”

“I know,” Theo said with a frown, “And don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with Sadie too, but there are times when I write out a guest list, and I go to write her name then remember she’s not here anymore.”

“She was a huge part of our lives,” Draco said, “All of our lives, I know she wasn’t best friends with Daph or Sadie, but I’m sure they still miss her too.”

“I don’t know,” Theo said, “Sometimes I get the impression that Daph is glad she’s gone. I mean think about it, everyone in our year thought of the Slytherin girls, and they thought of Pansy because she was a gossip and…well, a bully too.”

“Yeah, she was at times,” Draco agreed, “But she acted that way because of her insecurities.”

“I don’t think that matters to the people who she bullied,” Theo said honestly, “But think about it, how many people knew that you dated Daphne? All the gossip was always about you and Pansy. It was always about Pansy, and Daphne was treated like her second in command. The ice queen behind Pansy Parkinson, I always got the impression that she resented her for that.”

“I know that she did,” Draco admitted, “But that doesn’t mean she’s happy that she’s gone. Daphne isn’t like that.”

“She’s your best friend; you _would_ give her the benefit of the doubt,” Theo pointed out.

“She’s my closest female friend,” Draco corrected, “You are my best friend Theo, and I’m sorry you know? That I reacted the way that I did when I found out about you and Pansy, she was already gone by that point, and there was no reason for us to argue about things we buried a long time ago.”

Theo nodded, “I just wondered if there were times when you thought about her or if you ever talked to Hermione about her.”

“I don’t talk to Hermione about her,” Draco said, “I sometimes think she hated Pansy more than she hated me.”

“She probably did,” Theo mused, “Because even if she wouldn’t admit it to herself, she was probably jealous of Pansy. Like you were jealous of Harry and Ron.”

Draco frowned, “I never thought of it like that before, but I suppose it does make sense. Pansy was horrible to her as well, though. I suppose that’s why we don’t talk about it. I don’t talk about Pansy, and she doesn’t talk about what happened between her and Harry.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit toxic?” Theo asked, “I mean, Sadie and I talk about everything. There are no secrets.”

“Not talking about it isn’t the same as keeping it a secret,” Draco said, “She knows I dated Pansy, she knows I loved her once. I know she had some warped sort of love for Harry, I know they slept together. I don’t need to know anymore, and neither does she.”

“I would respectfully disagree with that,” Theo said, “It is a secret because she doesn’t know the whole story, does she?”

“She doesn’t need to know about that Theo,” Draco said sharply, “What good would telling her do?”

“It would give her more of an insight into you for a start,” Theo argued, “You know each other pretty well, but if neither of you are completely truthful then you will never know each other 100%.”

“She knows about all of the worst parts of me, and she still loves me,” Draco said, “So why compromise that by spilling my guts about my past girlfriends? People don’t talk about their exes for a reason. I already had to tell her about my relationship with Daphne since those two are friends now. I don’t intend to tell her about Pansy too.”

“And you’re really okay with her not telling you everything about her and Harry?” Theo asked.

“I’m fine with it,” Draco said, “So can you just drop the bloody subject?”

Theo raised his hands in a sign of defeat, “Fine, but I don’t think you’re both fine with that arrangement, I’m just saying.”

“Then just shut up,” Draco said irritably as he walked a little faster in a bid to get away from Theo.

* * *

**_Amiens, France._ **

“I think I’m going to kill Marcel,” Lilly said one night on her second week at the centre.

Savannah snorted, “I’ll help you. The other day he said to me, _Are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only ten, I see._ Do you know how offensive that is? I am from Texas!”

“I suppose it’s like someone assuming an English person is Welsh,” Lilly mused, “I would get pretty offended.”

“He is disgusting,” Lucille said, she glanced at the door, but it was still shut. The three girls were the only ones still sitting in the common room. Lilly had been writing a letter to Neville, she couldn’t send them, but she wrote one every two days anyways. Savannah had been studying, and Lucille had been knitting.

“He said to me, _Are you Jamaican? Cause jer-makin-me-crazy._ ” Lucille said, “I said he was racist and that if he ever tried to flirt with me again, I would use voodoo magic on him.”

“Voodoo magic isn’t real, is it?” Savannah asked.

“I always thought it was a myth,” Lilly agreed.

“It is but that sleazy little frog doesn’t need to know that, does he?” Lucille asked with a smirk.

Lilly laughed and grinned, “Sneaky, I knew I was gonna like you, Lucille.”

“If he’s seriously bothering you, why don’t you just talk to your Senior Healer about it?” Savannah asked, “She can give him a caution, and if he keeps it up, she can swap him out with another one of us.”

“I might talk to her if he makes another comment,” Lilly admitted, “Because I’m worried it’s going to distract me and it’s not fair on Neville either. He’s already paranoid enough about me meeting someone else here.”

“Is Neville your boyfriend?” Savannah asked eagerly, “I was really hoping that we could get into some back-home gossip!”

Lilly laughed and opened the locket that she wore around her neck. Inside was a photograph of her and Neville that had been taken at Sadie and Theo’s wedding, “Yeah, that’s him.”

“Oh lord, he is a fine-looking man,” Lucille said approvingly.

“And so tall!” Savannah gushed.

“He is tall,” Lilly laughed, “I know we seem like an odd pair, little and large as my friend Theo calls us.”

“As long as you love each other, I don’t think it matters,” Lucille said with a smile, “What’s he doing back in England?”

“Training to be an Auror,” Lilly said proudly, “I’m so glad we get to work with our local trainee Aurors on a Wednesday because it means I’ll get to see him.”

“Lucky you,” Savannah said, “My boyfriend is just a farmer, I don’t think I’ll be seeing much of him. He’s a Muggle, but he was my childhood sweetheart, so when I came home from school in the summer, he was always there.”

“Do you think he’ll wait for you this year?” Lucille asked.

Savannah shook her head, “No way, I’ll come home and find him in bed with Mary from next door or Sue-Ann from down the street.”

Lilly frowned, “Shouldn’t you just have broken up with him, then?”

Savannah shrugged, “Probably. What about you, Lucy?”

“I don’t have anyone back home,” Lucille replied, “Apart from my mother who misses me a lot but I don’t think I’ll go back apart from to visit. There are just so many opportunities here in Europe that I don’t want to miss out on.”

Lilly nodded and smiled, “Live your life while you’re young,” she agreed.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	28. Breaking Point

**_London, England._ **

Daphne had barely eaten by the time she went into work on Wednesday morning. She felt sick with dread at the thought of spending all day with Stuart, mainly because most of the day was spent in a cramped little office. He had flirted with her incessantly on Tuesday, and he had moved on from rubbing his leg against hers, he was full-on running his hand up her leg now. Daphne always moved her leg away, but she didn’t say anything anymore, the first time she had told him to stop it, and he had threatened to head upstairs to Bills office.

There was a part of Daphne that wondered if Bill would believe her over Stuart. After all, Harry was a good judge of character, and she was his fiancé, but then she kept coming back to the fact Bill had known Stuart since he was a trainee Curse Breaker. She was just his little brother's girlfriend. There was too much history between Bill and Stuart. Talking to Bill would be a considerable risk, and she didn’t want to lose her job.

“The beautiful lady is looking rather pale this morning,” Stuart said when Daphne stepped into the office, “Are you sleeping?”

“Not really,” Daphne said dryly, “I’m not really eating either.”

“You must be coming down with something,” Stuart said, “It’s the time of year for it.”

Daphne didn’t say anything as she sat down on her side of the desk and pulled her chair as far out as it would go. Even with the back of the chair against the wall, the creep could reach her.

“I was just about to say, there’s no point sitting down,” Stuart said, he was sitting on the edge of the desk, “We’re off to Surrey to find a cursed hairbrush.”

Daphne got up silently, and they left the office together. As they walked to the back entrance of the bank, the one that was strictly employees only, Stuart asked, “Any theories?”

Daphne shrugged, “Cursed hairbrush, probably cast by a witch in revenge after falling out with a friend.”

“I suspected as much,” Stuart said, “This is a recent curse, so we have an extra job. If we can find any evidence relating to the person who cast it, we are required by law to pass that on to the DMLE.”

“Do the Auror office deal with that?” Daphne asked.

“Oh that depends on the nature of the curse,” Stuart said, “If its something petty like this which is just making girls hair fall out then it goes to the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol. If it’s something that’s killing people, then it’s up to the Aurors to solve it.”

Daphne nodded, “That makes sense,” she said as they stepped out of the bank into the back alley and apparated to Surrey.

The job was relatively easy; they found the hairbrush and had a quick chat with the cursed girl to find out who the culprit was. Stuart recorded the memory, and once they left the house, he extracted it from his head and put it into a phial, “Well that’s the evidence for the DMLE. I’ll drop it in later today.”

“Could I do it?” Daphne asked, “One of my best friends works in the DMLE, I could take her lunch.”

Stuart glanced down at her, “That’s very considerate.”

Daphne frowned, “Why do you sound surprised that I can be considerate?”

“Well, us Slytherins don’t have a reputation for compassion,” Stuart said with a smirk, “Do we?”

Daphne wanted to say something along the lines of, _I should have known you were a Slytherin_. But she didn’t, she just shrugged, “I’m not your average Slytherin.”

“You are not average in any way, Daphne,” Stuart said as he placed his hand on her back.

Daphne’s instinct was to jerk away from his touch, but he anticipated this and snaked his arm around her, “I am fortunate to be working with someone as pleasant as you. Of course, you can take the evidence to the DMLE.”

“Thank you,” Daphne said stiffly.

“There is just one condition,” Stuart said quietly as his hand dropped lower onto her bum.

Daphne tried to pull away from him, but he gripped her tighter and her wand was holstered on the leg that he was pressing himself against.

“Don’t you dare tell anyone in the DMLE any lies about the big mean supervisor that you think is blackmailing you. Not that anyone would believe you anyway, you’re just a little minx who is playing hard to get,” Stuart said, he squeezed her bum then let go.

Daphne felt physically sick as she took the vial from him, “I’m not playing hard to get, I’m engaged,” she reminded him as she spun on her heel and apparated back to the office.

When Stuart got back, he acted as if nothing had happened like he always did. He clearly felt like he could get away with more in the field than he could in the office, which meant Daphne had some time when she felt relatively safe. After all the corridor outside the office was busy with Curse Breakers and goblins so she knew Stuart wouldn’t try anything. However, she hated going out into the field with him, and she was dreading what he was going to do next.

* * *

**_London, England._ **

“Hermione, there’s someone at the front desk for you.”

Hermione glanced up from her paperwork, “Is there?”

Penelope nodded, “She says she’s your friend and that she’s brought you lunch. Have you taken a lunch break yet this week?”

Hermione shook her head, “No, I’ve just been eating in here.”

“Then I think you ought to get out of this office for a while,” Penelope said, “Take your lunch hour outside; it’s a lovely day.”

Hermione nodded and got to her feet, “I will, thank you, Penelope.”

Penelope just smiled in response as Hermione grabbed her handbag and headed for the front desk. She smiled when she saw Daphne standing there, holding a brown paper bag and two cups of coffee.

“I thought we could have lunch,” She said when Hermione reached her.

“That sounds great,” Hermione said with a smile, “Let’s eat outside. I’d like to get out of here for a bit.”

They left the Ministry via the front entrance which brought them out onto Scotland Place.

“Whitehall Gardens are about 5 minutes this way,” Hermione said as she hooked her arm through Daphne’s, “Thank you so much for getting me out of there for a bit.”

Daphne shook her head, “I needed to get out of that stuffy old bank too.”

They made small talk about the weather and how they both hated being stuck indoors doing paperwork during these last days of lovely summer weather. When they reached the park, they sat down on a bench and ate their sandwiches.

Daphne took a deep breath and looked down at her untouched sandwich, “Sometimes fresh air just makes you feel a bit better.”

“I thought things were going good at your work?” Hermione said, “With you getting to go out in the field and all now.”

“Yeah, it is pretty exciting,” Daphne said, “I like getting to go out and talk to people, find the cursed object and everything, you know?”

Hermione nodded, “So what’s got you so down? I mean Daph, you’re hardly eating.”

“I don’t know,” Daphne lied, “I guess I’m just feeling a bit under the weather.”

Hermione hummed thoughtfully, “I suppose the weather is starting to change; it is the time for it. Are you sure that’s all it is?”

Daphne nodded, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“You’re sure you’re not…well do you have another reason for feeling unwell?” Hermione asked.

Daphne wasn’t following Hermione; she just got defensive because she thought that Hermione knew something about what was happening at work, “What? No, I told you I’m fine.”

Hermione frowned, “You’re not pregnant then, you’re sure?”

Daphne looked up in disbelief, “Pregnant? No, come on, Harry and I are careful. Why would you jump to that?”

“I don’t know, wars and baby booms,” Hermione said sheepishly, “And you look pale, you’re not eating, it was just where my mind went.”

“Well, I’m not pregnant,” Daphne said with a shake of her head, “But speaking of pregnancy, when is Ginny due?”

“Soon,” Hermione replied thoughtfully, “October I think, her due date might be Halloween actually.”

“That would be weird for Harry if her baby was born on Halloween,” Daphne mused, she glanced at her watch, “I really don’t want to go back to work. If I have to spend another day stuck in that office with Stuart…”

“Is he still flirting with you?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah,” Daphne said as her stomach churned, “But I can put up with it if it keeps me out of that cursed room.”

“Daph, you shouldn’t have to put up with a sleazy guy just to get to do a more exciting job,” Hermione said.

Daphne shrugged the comment off, “It’s fine, Hermione. You wouldn’t blame me if you had spent a week going mad in that room.”

“I’m pretty close to going mad being stuck in the admin department,” Hermione complained, “And I have another two and a half weeks of that to go.”

“It will pass faster once Draco’s back,” Daphne said, “Do you know when their isolation ends?”

“Sunday night,” Hermione replied, “I was going to go to Sunday lunch at the Burrow to pass the time since they doubt they’ll get out until after 6 pm at the latest.”

“Molly invited Teddy and me” Daphne mused, “I wasn’t sure if I would go or not, but I think I will if you’re going along.”

“You know Teddy loves it there,” Hermione smiled, “Will Harry see him when he gets home?”

“No, I have him overnight on Saturday, but I need to take him back to Andromeda’s for his dinner,” Daphne replied, “I’m trying to arrange a weekend to have him over for when Harry’s back.”

“That sounds good,” Hermione said, “He misses him an awful lot.”

“Yeah,” Daphne said, “I know he does.”

* * *

**_Cairo, Egypt._ **

Sadie, Liang, Arielle and Ash were all lazing around the common room on Wednesday evening. Sadie still felt a little queasy, but Ash’s English dinners were doing the trick. They were getting her strength back up, and she wasn’t feeling sick to her stomach now that she wasn’t starving herself

“I miss England,” Sadie sighed.

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Ash joked.

“I miss Theo…”

“We know that,” Arielle said with an amused smile.

“I miss English food…”

“Hey! I thought I cured that!” Ash exclaimed.

“Don’t get me wrong, I am loving my English dinners,” Sadie said honestly, “And I’m so grateful that you managed to do that for me Ash, but I just want a proper cup of coffee or a fizzy drink that doesn’t taste like it’s been left out in the sun for hours.”

“I suppose that’s fair enough,” Ash conceded, “Is there anything else about England that you miss?”

“Yeah…I miss Daphne.”

“Daphne?” Liang said, “Daphne Greengrass?”

“Yes,” Sadie said, she opened her eyes and looked over at Liang, “She’s my best friend.”

“Her family own Greengrass Shipping Limited,” Liang said, “They are our biggest competitor.”

“Her father owned the company,” Sadie said, “But then he died, and it fell to the next male heir which is her Uncle Phineas. It doesn’t have anything to do with Daphne; she’s training to be a Curse Breaker.”

“I just found the connection interesting,” Liang admitted, “Do you have any other internationally recognisable friends?”

“Apart from Harry Potter,” Ash joked.

“Not really,” Sadie replied, “Apart from Neville Longbottom, commonly known as Harry Potter’s snake killing sidekick.”

“I saw that photograph of him beheading the snake in the newspapers in France,” Arielle said, “It was pretty impressive. I don’t suppose he’s single?”

“Nope, sorry,” Sadie chuckled, “He is very happy with another one of my friends…she’s training to be a Trauma Healer in Amiens.”

“You lot really are quite far-flung,” Ash said in amusement, “How do you find to catch up?”

“At the moment, we don’t,” Sadie said with a chuckle, “But we’ll all see each other on Sunday night. I bet they’ve all had a much more exciting time than me, I’ve just felt ill from the moment I got here.”

“You’re perking up now you’ve got my good ole English food to eat,” Ash said as he patted her on the back on his way to the door, “See you guys in the morning for study hall.”

“Night Ash,” Sadie said as she shut her eyes and let herself drift off again. She had taken to sleeping on the couch in the common room with the balcony door wide open since her bitchy dorm mates wouldn’t let her open a window. Of course, all of this hassle could have been avoided if they were allowed to use magic, she could have just used cooling charms.

However, they had to check their wands into lockers at the end of the day because no magic was permitted in the dorm rooms or the common room.

* * *

**_Amiens, France._ **

“I’ve had a terrible day, but it always makes me feel better when I see a pretty girl smile,” Marcel whispered as he and Lilly walked along the corridor towards the operating room, “Would you smile for me and make my day?”

Lilly turned to Marcel and glared at him, “We are about to go into that room and watch Healer Selwyn cut into some poor bastards brain. His survival chances are slim to none, so you really haven’t had a bad day yet Marcel! Would you just shut up and let me focus? I’m getting sick of your bullshit!”

She was hopeful that Marcel had gotten the message because he did at least look a little guilty. He didn’t make a smart arse comment either, he just nodded and followed Lilly silently into the operating room.

* * *

**_The Forest of Dean, England._ **

“I’m enjoying this way too much. What did you say it was again?”

“Pheasant,” Neville said, “I don’t know where it came from; they aren’t even in season.”

“I don’t care, I’m just glad it’s not a rabbit,” Harry said, “What day is it?”

“Wednesday,” Neville replied, “We’re almost there.”

“Are we? I feel like this week is going slower than last week,” Harry said, “Sunday feels ages away.”

“Tell me about it,” Neville said, “I think it’s harsh that we don’t even get a weekend off at the end of this. I know Sheppard said we would get a few days off during the week, but Lil will need to leave for France late on Sunday night. I’m hardly going to see her.”

“This long-distance thing is bothering you already isn’t it?”

Neville nodded then sighed, “It will be worse when I get home. Her stuff is all over the house, everywhere I look I’m reminded of her and…Merlin, this will sound cheesy. I just want her back there. I want to have dinner with her every night and be able to go to bed with her. I don’t want her to be on the other side of the bloody channel.”

“I understand,” Harry said honestly, “I know that I couldn’t manage it. I’m finding it hard enough to be away from Daph right now, if she ever does need to up sticks for her job then I guess I’ll just have to go with her.”

“Well, I can hardly commute in from France,” Neville said glumly, “This long-distance thing is going to be the end of us, I can just tell.”

“Only if you let it be,” Harry reminded him.

Neville shook his head, “Haven’t you noticed that I’m a disaster when it comes to relationships? It turned out that Hannah was obsessive and a bit psychotic, then Susan seemed to be more interested in my fame than me. Now Lilly…”

“Lilly loves you for who you are,” Harry said, “Not Neville the war hero Longbottom, but who you really are. That’s rare so you better not give up on that just because you find six months of long-distance love hard to cope with.”

“It’s easy for you to say that,” Neville said, “You and Daphne have a perfect relationship.”

“Perfect?” Harry scoffed, “How can you think that?”

“Look at the two of you!” Neville exclaimed, “You’re getting married, you’re adopting Teddy together. You are literally the golden couple.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Okay firstly, don’t ever call us that again or between us, we will curse your bollocks off. Secondly, Daphne and I are far from perfect, and I can give you plenty of examples of that.”

“On you go then,” Neville challenged him.

Harry snorted, “Where do you want me to start? I mean I’m a fucked up mess who became an alcoholic and punched her in the face? That’s a pretty good start. She gets next to no sleep because my nightmares keep her awake, but she still calms me down and helps me get back to sleep every time I wake up screaming. And how do I thank her for that? I don’t because I channel my emotions in all the wrong ways. I channel my depression into drinking, and I channel my stress into sex. I take it out on her, and she doesn’t even complain about it.”

“Maybe she likes it,” Neville joked.

“It’s not funny, Nev,” Harry sighed, “I’m a mess, she’s healing me, but I’m not better yet, and we do argue. We’re both stubborn, and when we get caught on an idea, we don’t want to admit that we’re wrong or compromise. We argue about Teddy because we have conflicting ideas about what’s best for him since we were raised so differently. What I’m saying Neville is that we’re far from perfect, but I love her despite the fact she drives me up the wall half the time.”

Neville nodded, “I know what you’re saying. I just…I’m worried that Lilly and I will spend the next few months struggling through for nothing.”

“You know that won’t happen,” Harry said, “If Lilly didn’t have faith in your relationship, you wouldn’t still be together.”

“What if she meets someone else in France?”

“She’s probably thinking, what if he meets someone else in Auror training?” Harry pointed out, “You just have to trust each other and make the most of the moments that you do have together.”

“Yeah,” Neville said with a sigh, “I just wish those moments weren’t so few and far between.”

* * *

**_Amiens, France._ **

“Healer Selwyn, could I talk to you, in private?”

Clara smiled at Lilly and nodded. She said goodbye to the Senior Healer that she was talking to and said, “Let’s check if the break-room is empty. Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m fine,” Lilly assured her, “And I’m definitely not thinking of quitting if that’s what you were thinking.”

“Oh, I didn’t think that,” Clara said as she led Lilly into the empty break room, “You have a stronger stomach than most. What’s bothering you?”

Lilly frowned, “Marcel, he keeps flirting with me, and every time I see him, he comes out with some cheesy chat-up line. It’s distracting when he does it before we go into the operating room and it’s just sleazy and disgusting. I have a boyfriend, and I keep telling him that but he’s taking no notice.”

Clara nodded, “It’s alright, you don’t have to get yourself worked up about it. I had noticed the odd comment, but I wasn’t aware that it was happening so regularly. I will give him a caution, and if he keeps it up, you had better come back and tell me. We want you to feel comfortable and secure here, do you understand?”

Lilly nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you, I was worried about telling you.”

“You had no reason to be,” Clara said, she put the kettle and asked, “Do you want a cup of tea?”

Lilly nodded, “Yes, please.”

“While I have you alone, I wanted to ask, how are you coping with being here while your boyfriend is back in England?”

Lilly opened her mouth to reply then hesitated and shut it.

“Is it serious, with this guy?” Clara asked.

Lilly nodded, “Yeah, we were living together in England before I came over here.”

“And you’re finding it hard to be so far away from him,” Clara said.

“Yes,” Lilly admitted, “But it isn’t affecting my work-”

“I would never suggest that it was,” Clara cut her off by raising a hand. She handed Lilly a cup of tea and sat down in an uncomfortable chair.

Lilly sat down next to her boss; she had no idea where this conversation was going.

“I was just going to say that I understand how hard it is when the man you love is in another country,” Clara said tentatively, “My fiancé lives in England, and I live here.”

“Oh,” Lilly said, “I don’t mean any disrespect but, couldn’t you do what you do here in England?”

“Oh, I could train people at St. Mungo’s,” Clara said with a nod, “Or I could work as a Healer in the trauma ward there. But I could never do what I do here. All the same, I do suspect that this will be my last year at the centre.”

“That must be hard,” Lilly said, “Didn’t you say you had worked here for six years?”

“I have worked and lived in France since I was 18,” Clara said with a nod, “I didn’t really have a choice, I’m surprised you haven’t said anything actually. You fought in the war, and you’re from the UK. I assume that means you know who my brother was.”

“I did wonder if you were related to the Death Eater Selwyn,” Lilly admitted, “But it’s not my business, and it doesn’t affect how I see you, so I didn’t think it was worth mentioning. Is that why you came to France?”

“My father and my brother were twisted,” Clara said, “My mother died halfway through my last year of school, and I didn’t want to go back home without her calming influence. So, I upped sticks and moved to France to become a Healer.”

“I guess you like it here since you stayed so long,” Lilly mused, “I kind of hate France to be honest.”

“Oh I completely hate France,” Clara said with a roll of her eyes, “I hate the food and the lack of manners and the guys like Marcel. I do love Paris though, and I bet you will too. The art and history are amazing. The only reason I stayed was because I was too scared to go home while I knew my brother was there. Now he’s gone, I suppose I’m just scared.”

Lilly nodded thoughtfully, “How did you meet your fiancé? Was it here in France?”

“It was through work,” Clara replied, “During the war, I went home briefly to help. Most of the time I didn’t leave the trauma ward at St. Mungos. I was just an extra Healer for all of the injured Aurors that were being brought in. Sorenson started chatting me up when he was lying in the hospital wing half-dead, and the rest is history.”

Lilly looked up sharply, “Did you say Sorenson? As in Sorenson Cauldwell?”

Clara frowned, “Yes…you can’t know him, can you? He’s much older than you are.”

Lilly laughed, “He is older than me, but I do know him. One of my best friends is Sadie Cauldwell, his little sister.”

Realisation shone in Clara’s eyes, “I should have realised that when you were talking about your friend Theo the other day. Theo is the name of Sadie’s Husband…no wonder I recognise you; I must have seen you at Sadie’s wedding!”

Lilly was still chuckling, “Sadie did say that Sorenson had been dating someone and that the wedding was the first time she had met her, but I had no idea it was you.”

Clara laughed, “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. We’re both English, and most of your friends are purebloods like me, we’re all related at the end of the day.”

Lilly snorted, “Yeah, when there are only 28 ‘pure’ families there tends to be a lot of inter-breeding. Doesn’t there?”

Clara chuckled, “Yes, the Cauldwell family actually came to Britain from America in the 1860s which is why they aren’t on the sacred 28, but even then, they have managed to marry themselves in with Zabinis, Potters, Weasleys, Slughorns, Ollivanders, Lestranges and now Notts.”

“Your family are an ancient wizarding family though,” Lilly said, “You must be related to everyone.”

“Oh if you go back far enough, you’ll find every name in the sacred 28 in my family tree,” Clara said with a roll of her eyes, “Sometimes I dream of being a muggle-born.”

“There’s a lot more of us, therefore, a lot less incest,” Lilly agreed.

Clara laughed heartily at that, “It is nice to have a decent Brit here to mentor. What house were you in?”

“Ravenclaw,” Lilly replied.

“That explains why I like you so much,” Clara grinned, “A fellow Ravenclaw.”

“You were in Ravenclaw?” Lilly asked in surprise.

“Yes, uncommon for a girl with dark wizards all around her, I know,” Clara said with a chuckle.

At that point, a bell rang loudly downstairs.

“New casualty, duty calls,” Clara said as she got to her feet and abandoned her cup of tea, “Here’s another little piece of information for you, you will never finish a cup of tea or coffee here.”

* * *

**_London, England._ **

Thursday was Daphne’s lucky day. When she got into work in the morning, Stuart told her that Bill needed a favour, so she had to spend the day back in the cursed room with the other trainees. At first, she was worried that she was being demoted, but then she realised that they had found a particularly interesting statue from the Lestrange vault which had a curse on it that none of the trainees could break. Daphne had to admit, it was a difficult one, so it did take pretty much all day as well as all of her expertise.

The best part of the whole thing was that she hadn’t had to see Stuart all day and soon her best friend would be home, and she could come clean. After all, Sadie would know what to do because she always did.

She went into work feeling a bit lighter on Friday because she knew Sadie was coming home the following morning. She would get to see Lilly soon too and then the boys would all come back. There was a lot to look forward to at the weekend. Daphne still didn’t quite have her appetite back, but she was managing to eat small amounts now at least.

“Ah, my beautiful assistant has finally decided to grace me with her presence,” Stuart said when Daphne walked into the office, “How did yesterday go?”

“Fine, it was a difficult curse, but I managed to break it,” Daphne said stiffly, “What’s on the cards for today?”

“I looked through some letters yesterday and identified a few interesting cases so we’ll be in the field for most of the day,” Stuart chirped.

Daphne’s stomach lurched at that, and she found herself wishing that she hadn’t had breakfast, “Right, where?”

“London first then Taunton and…oh our last one is in the sticks, Caithness.”

Daphne nodded, “What’s the first case?” she asked as they left the office together.

“Cursed toilet,” Stuart said, “It’s an easy enough fix, I suppose I’ll have to drop the toilet off at the DMLE afterwards. It will be of some interest to the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.”

Daphne nodded again, and they made their way out of the bank to the scene of the ‘crime’ in silence. Luckily, the first job was in the middle of London so there wasn’t much that Stuart could sensibly get away with, it was a relatively quick job, and it only took about two hours. An hour of that had involved Daphne drinking coffee on a park bench while Stuart took the offending toilet into the DMLE.

“Next,” Stuart said as he clapped his hands together, “Off to Taunton to have a look at a cursed steam engine.”

Daphne frowned, “Did you say a cursed steam engine?”

“Yes, apparently it’s spewing insults instead of smoke,” Stuart said with an amused look as they slipped into an alleyway, “Obliviators are already working overtime with the muggles there. We need to get in and un-curse it as soon as possible so there won’t be any time for chit-chat, just watch and learn.”

Daphne wanted to roll her eyes, on top of everything else Stuart was a smug arsehole. They spun and apparated away, emerging into a chaotic scene at a train station in Taunton. As Stuart had said, it was busy, and there was no time for chit-chat, which also meant there was no time for inappropriate comments or groping, thankfully.

Daphne could only observe; it was a problematic curse to break, partly because of the size of the object. It took Stuart a good 4 hours to finish, and by the time he had, it was well past lunch-time. They grabbed sandwiches and sat down in the (thankfully, very crowded) park to eat them.

She had to admit; she was feeling relieved. She had been out in the field with him all day, and so far, things had been so busy that she had forgotten all about his blackmailing ways. Daphne knew things would be different in Caithness though.

“Alright, now we’re refuelled let’s head up to Scotland,” Stuart said as he clapped his hands together.

“What are we doing up there?”

“Ah, I’m glad you asked,” Stuart said, “It’s an interesting one. An abandoned crofters cottage in Caithness is apparently cursed, it may well just be haunted instead, but I wanted to investigate.”

“Why?” Daphne asked with a frown, “If there’s no solid evidence, then why are we wasting our time investigating it?”

“Let’s call it curiosity or a hunch, either-or,” Stuart said evasively. He told her the co-ordinates, and once they were clear of Muggles, they apparated there.

It was the middle of nowhere. They were on a moor with an abandoned cottage before them that was well on its way to becoming a ruin. It had no roof, but the rest of it was still standing, although it looked like it might fall down at any point.

Daphne immediately felt uneasy; she could feel Stuart’s eyes on her as he said, “Are you coming to investigate or not?”

“I just…I have a bad feeling about it,” Daphne admitted.

Stuart laughed, “Maybe it is haunted. I didn’t peg you as the sort who is scared of ghosts.”

“I’m not,” Daphne said defensively, “But I think there is a curse on it, something just feels wrong here.”

“Then let’s have a look and see if we can work out what,” Stuart said, he was standing in the doorway and holding his hand out to her.

Daphne tried to push the bad feeling away as she stepped up onto the front step and slipped past Stuart into the cottage, she sure as hell wasn’t going to hold his hand. As she moved past him, he grabbed her arm and pushed her inside.

She was going to turn around in anger and asked him what the hell he had done that for, but then she felt something strange. It was like a warm wind had just rushed over her, and it had erased all of the angry thoughts from her head. Instead, she felt light, like she was floating on air, and when Stuart kissed her, she didn’t push him away. Instead, she deepened the kiss as the light feeling became a sudden onslaught of passion.

It felt like being under the imperius curse, but the fog was thicker and harder to cut through. Her thoughts had flown all over her head, they were out of order, and her body was reacting even though her mind was all over the place.

She was kissing him back, and she had no control over it. He unbuttoned her blouse, and she couldn’t push him away. As her fear grew and panic set in, she began to get a bit more clarity, but it was like she was standing outside of her own body, watching this happen to her.

He slid his hands up her legs, under her skirt and murmured, “I knew you were just playing hard to get.”

And those words cut through the fog like a sharp knife. She tried even harder to pull away, but her brain just refused to communicate with her body. She was sure he could see the fear in her eyes as he smirked and unclasped her bra. It was like being trapped by devils snare, the more she tried to break free, the harder it was to do so.

“I can see why the boy wonder keeps you around,” He murmured appreciatively as he pressed himself against her, his eyes flashing with lust. Daphne wasn’t stupid; she knew what he was going to do if she couldn’t break free of the curse.

She shut her eyes and focused like she would do when using Legilimency. She concentrated her mind entirely on breaking free, and it gave her a split-second of clarity. Just long enough to pull herself away from him and run out of the cottage. When she got outside, she gasped as she tried to get fresh air into her lungs.

He followed her out, so she hastily buttoned up her blouse and glared at him, “You knew that was going to happen! That was why you brought me here!”

“All I knew was that a local claimed this cottage was cursed by Morgana,” Stuart replied, “But yes, I did know that you were going to give in to me eventually.”

“I didn’t do any of that by choice!” Daphne hissed, “Something happened the moment we stepped inside that cottage, you _knew_ that!”

“Oh something happened alright,” Stuart said with a sly grin, “You finally gave in to me, and I would love to-”

“Shut up!” Daphne roared, “Accio letter for Caithness!”

The letter flew from Stuart's pocket and landed in Daphne’s hand. He lurched forward to grab it from her, but she threw up a shield charm to stop him. It wouldn’t hold for long, especially if Stuart tried to break it down with any spells or curses, but it would hold for long enough for her to skim the letter.

“ _The cottage was supposedly cursed by Morgana, the evil sorceress, thousands of years ago. According to legend, all those who enter are drawn to whoever is in close proximity to them. The nature of the curse was to ruin a local woman's reputation after the man Morgana was supposed to marry left him for the Caithness woman.”_

“Well I suppose we know that the curse does exist then,” Stuart said.

“You tricked me, Fawley!” Daphne hissed.

“Oh, you _loved_ it. You were just as into it as I was-”

“Because I didn’t have a choice!” Daphne snapped, “And I won’t put up with this anymore. Blackmail is one thing but that? That was sexual assault you fucking creep! So do you know what? Tell Bill I made a mistake, get me fired! Right now being fired would be better than working with you, you scumbag!”

Before Stuart could say anything else, Daphne dropped her shield charm, spun on her heel and disapparated. She didn’t want to go back to Grimmauld Place because she knew that Hermione would see how upset she was, and she would get the truth out of her, one way or another. The natural choice that was left was, therefore, Potter Manor, but it was Harry’s house and right now thinking about Harry made her feel sick with guilt.

She wanted Sadie, but Sadie was in Egypt, so there was only one place left for her to go. Daphne made this decision in a split-second as she spun to apparate and when she rematerialised she was standing in front of a metal gate looking up at the home she had grown up in.

She had some good memories here, but there were far more bad ones. Daphne stood at the foot of the stone steps staring up at the house for a moment. She wasn’t entirely sure that she would enter. Greengrass House was a façade, it was designed to look old like the likes of Malfoy or Potter Manor, but it had been built when her family rose to prominence in the early 1800s.

The house was whitewashed and stood three stories high, four if you included the room at the top of the tower. It wasn’t a manor, but it was grand enough with its large bay windows and the gold leaf embellishments that her grandmother had added. Daphne took a deep breath and walked up the steps. She stood outside the front door on the porch and raised her hand to knock.

She hadn’t set foot in this house since she left to return for her eighth year. Her father had set this house alight in a bid to murder his entire family, it hadn’t been too severely damaged, but the wing at the back was far newer than the rest of the building. Daphne felt sick as images from that night flooded back to her.

She remembered waking up in bed, feeling terrified. She remembered the smell of the smoke, the heat of the fire—her mother running down the stairs with Astoria in her arms screaming at Daphne to run. The back door had been consumed in the fire, so they had stood shivering on the porch as they waited for the Aurors to show up.

Daphne remembered all of it as clear as day even though she had only been six years old at the time. She remembered the Aurors wrapping them up in blankets and giving them hot tea to drink. She remembered the nice lady who had asked her questions about the fire and her family. Daphne hadn’t known anything at the time, so their questions hadn’t meant anything to her.

She remembered how, after the fire, they had to stay with Uncle Phineas while the house was being fixed. She had found it strange that although Phineas was her Fathers brother, she hadn’t seen her father for the entire month that they stayed with Phineas. She remembered all the whispered conversations her Mother and Phineas had; they would always stop the second she walked into the room.

Daphne remembered the effect it had on Astoria. She had been four and a half at the time, and she had stopped talking for a year. When she did start to speak again, she spoke very quietly, and she became so timid when she had been bubbly and full of life before. Daphne remembered how terrified she had been on the first night they moved back in, she remembered being too scared to sleep in case the house went on fire again.

She remembered the night her father came back, not long after they moved back into Greengrass House. The argument had been loud, and Astoria had come into her bedroom because she wanted a cuddle. Daphne had covered her sister's ears and listened as her parents shouted at each other. She had been old enough to understand what had happened; her father had set fire to the house to punish her mother because her mother was in love with someone else.

Daphne remembered coming downstairs the next morning to find her mother performing glamour charms on herself. She remembered how her mother limped for a week afterwards, how she cradled her arm as if it was hurting. She had known, even at such a young age, that her father was responsible. From that moment on, Daphne had been terrified of two things, fire and her father.

When she had been a little older Daphne had asked her mother why her father had done it. Lareina had sat her down, made her a cup of tea and told her the truth. Daphne had always respected her mother for that, she could have sugar-coated it, but she thought it was important that Daphne knew exactly what sort of man her father was. That was how she had discovered that her mother had been forced into an arranged marriage with her father; she had found out how much her mother had always hated her father. She had looked for love elsewhere, and she had found it once or twice, Lareina had told Daphne that when he found out, her father set fire to the house to punish them.

She vividly remembered asking her mother why he had come back then? Lareina had looked ashamed as she admitted that she had begged him to come back because her younger brother had blown all of the family money by drinking too much and gallivanting across the globe. Daphne remembered her mother telling her that she couldn’t have provided for her girls without Cygnus, so she had begged him to come back and support them. That had been the night he came back to the house, the night of the argument that Daphne remembered so well.

Daphne had said to her mother, “He hurt you, didn’t he?” And Lareina had said that yes, he had. He had beaten her to within an inch of her life, but he had promised to come back. There had been conditions though, Lareina had to pay for what she had done, and if she ever strayed again, then he would kill her. Daphne knew from the look on her Mothers face and everything she had just heard that this was true.

Once she was older, Daphne began to wonder if it was a coincidence that she didn’t see as much of her Uncle Phineas anymore.

She pulled herself out of the depressing memories and knocked on the door. After all, if she didn’t do it now, she never would. There was a crack, and the door opened almost immediately, a little house elf smiled brightly up at her, “Good days Miss. Daphne!”

Daphne smiled weakly back, “Hello Corky. Is my sister at home?”

“Yes, Miss, she bes in her room,” Corky said, “Is Miss staying for tea?”

“I don’t think so Corky, I’m just going to go up and see Astoria,” Daphne said as she stepped into the entrance hallway.

The house didn’t look like it had changed at all. Directly ahead of her was a spiral staircase, and four doors were leading from the central hallway. One went into the lounge, another into the dining room, another into the library and another into what had been her father’s private study. From the dining room, there was access to the conservatory or, as her mother preferred to call it, the dining room. Behind the spiral staircase was a smaller doorway; if you went through it and followed the stairs down, you would find yourself in the kitchen. Unlike at Potter Manor or Grimmauld Place, this wasn’t a place to socialise or cook. Her mother had never cooked, so she rarely entered the kitchen and instead took all of her meals in the breakfast room or the dining room. The kitchen in Greengrass House was most definitely Corky’s domain.

Daphne made her way up the stairs and bypassed the first floor. The master bedroom was located on that floor, as was the drawing-room and a second large bedroom which her mother had always called the most agreeable guest bedroom.

The second floor was where Daphne’s bedroom had been when she lived here. This floor consisted entirely of bedrooms, but hers and Astoria’s were the largest, and they had an adjoining shared bathroom. The other three bedrooms were relatively small and rarely got used.

Before she knocked on the door of Astoria’s bedroom, Daphne walked into her old room just to reminisce for a moment. She wasn’t sure if her mother had kept it or if she had converted it into another spare room. It made her smile to see that it remained unchanged; it was like she had just stepped out of it yesterday.

The walls were pastel green; she had painted them herself in her third year. There were posters on the walls with images of the Weird Sisters, and her little library of muggle books remained in the alcove that she had turned into a reading corner. Her dressing table still had some old perfume bottles sitting on it, and every surface was covered with wizarding photographs of herself with a combination of Tracey, Sadie, Pansy or Draco. She smiled a little sadly as she began to pluck them from the dresser and put them into her handbag, they all brought back great memories, but those memories were tinged with sadness Tracey and Pansy weren’t here anymore.

Once she had placed all of the photographs in her bag, she looked around the room. Her bed was made up neatly; the curtains had been pulled open to let light in. Despite her rocky relationship with her mother, it looked like Lareina kept the room perfect for her, just in case Daphne ever came back. It made her heart swell with love, but she felt guilty too, she didn’t see her mother often enough, and that had to change, especially when Teddy was legally adopted.

Daphne sighed and left the room, shutting the door gently behind her as she did so. She walked to the next door along and knocked three times; it had been their secret knock as kids.

There was a pause and then, “Daph, is that you?”

“Yeah,” Daphne called back.

She heard shuffling inside the room and then Astoria came to the door. She opened it and smiled, “What brings you back home?”

“A really shitty couple of weeks,” Daphne said, for some reason tears had begun to fill her eyes, “And I don’t know who to talk to or what to do so I just wanted to come home.”

Astoria stepped out of the bedroom and hugged her sister, “Come upstairs, it’s the only place mother can’t eavesdrop.”

Daphne felt stupid as she hastily wiped her eyes and followed Astoria up the stairs. All that was above them was the tower that stood at the centre of the house. Originally it had been a bell tower, but the bell had been gone for as long as Daphne remembered. They climbed the wooden step and emerged into a small square room.

It had four narrow windows and a roof light; Daphne had always loved that as a kid. She and Astoria had laid a blanket out on the floor and looked up at the stars, trying to spot constellations. It, like the rest of the house, was completely unchanged. Two huge beanbags sat against one wall as they always had, and a blanket box filled with warm blankets sat against another wall.

Astoria pulled out the fluffiest blanket she could find and sat down with Daphne on one of the large beanbags, “What happened?”

“This guy at my work,” Daphne began, and she felt so stupid as her eyes welled up again, “Merlin, I don’t know why I’m crying, it’s pathetic!”

“It’s fine,” Astoria said gently, “I’m your sister, I _know_ that you cry. I don’t believe any of your ice queen rubbish.”

Daphne sighed and looked down at her shaking hands, “This guy at my work is blackmailing me and he…well…it’s a long story, and I just don’t know where to start.”

“The beginning,” Astoria said as she took Daphne’s hand and squeezed it.

“I uh…He’s my mentor. I got pulled out of the cursed room because Bill, my boss, said I was too good to be stuck breaking easy curses so this guy, Stuart, became my mentor and I was excited because it meant I got to go out in the field and break proper curses.”

Astoria nodded as Daphne paused for breath.

“But after our first case he kissed me, and I told him I wasn’t interested because I’m with Harry,” Daphne continued shakily, “That was when he threatened me. He said if I said anything, he would tell Bill that I made a mistake so that I would lose my place as a trainee Curse Breaker. I thought Bill would believe me over him because Bill and Harry are close, but Stuart said that he and Bill went way back so there was no way he would believe me over him.”

“It’s alright, Daph,” Astoria said as she squeezed her hand again, “Keep going.”

“So I didn’t feel like I could say anything to Bill without losing my job,” Daphne said shakily, “And I thought after that it would stop, but all week he’s been touching my leg under the desk or grabbing my bum when we’re out on the field and then today-” her voice caught. She shut her eyes tightly, “He took me to this cottage in Caithness that was apparently cursed, and when I went inside, I felt this warm wind blow over me then all of a sudden I…I was kissing him, but I had no control, it was like the imperius curse and he…”

Astoria’s eyes darkened, “Daph, tell me he didn’t.”

“He didn’t get that far,” Daphne said quietly, “But he had his hands all over me, and I was panicking, but the more I panicked, the harder it was to break free then he…” she swallowed and hastily wiped her eyes, “…he unclasped my bra and just stared at me then he said,” her voice became lost in her throat.

Astoria wrapped her arms around her sister.

“He said he understood why the boy wonder kept me around,” Daphne choked out tearfully, “And something snapped. I was able to get free and get out of there, but I just feel so useless, Astoria. I should have been able to fight him off, I mean I fought in the war…”

“I’m going to kill him for what he did to you,” Astoria said icily, “You couldn’t fight him off, you were under a curse, and it sounds like an ancient lust curse too. Daphne, those curses were designed to turn women into whores, the fact you broke free is a fucking miracle, and I swear to the founders, I’ll put him in the bloody ground.”

Daphne looked up at her sister in surprise, “Astoria…you never get angry.”

“I’m not angry, I’m plotting revenge,” Astoria hissed, “He sexually assaulted you, and he _took_ you there to rape you.”

“He assaulted you, Daphne, that’s what he did!” Astoria retorted, it wasn’t often that Daphne saw her sister like that, she had always been so meek and timid.

At that, Daphne broke down in her sister's arms. Astoria wrapped her up in a blanket and said, “You need to listen to me right now, Daphne. You are not going to let this guy beat you. You are going to tell the Aurors what he did, and he is going to be arrested.”

“I can’t,” Daphne said, she wiped her eyes on the blanket, “If I do anything, Harry will find out that I cheated on him.”

“Stop panicking,” Astoria said, she placed her hands on Daphne’s shoulders and looked her in the eye, “You did nothing wrong, you didn’t cheat on Harry. This scumbag assaulted you, that’s not cheating, do you understand?”

“What if Harry doesn’t see it like that?”

“He will,” Astoria promised, “He loves you, Daphne, he knows that you would never do something like that. You need to get to the DMLE and report this guy or report him to Bill directly and see if you have any right to legal representation. You work for Gringotts, so I would hope that you do, even if you are a trainee.”

Daphne frowned at her sister as she wiped her eyes, “How do you know all of this, Tori?”

Astoria shrugged and glanced down, “I think I would like to be a lawyer, but I need to study hard this year and apply next year. I didn’t do as well as you in my N.E.W.T’s.”

“You can do anything that you want if you put your mind to it,” Daphne told her, “You always were naturally smarter than me, you just struggled to find motivation.”

“I’ll always think you’re the smarter one Daph, you’re my big sister, I’ll always look up to you,” Astoria said softly.

Daphne smiled weakly, “I’m hardly a stellar role model at the moment, am I?”

“That’s not your fault, none of this is your fault,” Astoria said, “I need you to understand that.”

Daphne just sighed in response.

“And you can’t go to work with this guy on Monday, it needs to be resolved before you go anywhere near this fucking creep,” Astoria said coolly.

“But all the Curse Breakers are off at the weekend,” Daphne said, “So there isn’t much that I can do, even if I wanted to.”

“Then first thing Monday you go to Bill, or you go to the DMLE right now,” Astoria said, “They don’t shut at the weekend, after all, crime never sleeps.”

Daphne shook her head, “I can’t do that right now Astoria. Sadie comes back tomorrow morning, and Harry gets back on Sunday. I need to talk to them first before I report anyone or go to the DMLE.”

“Just promise me that you will do something, please,” Astoria said, and the hint of desperation in her voice was what made Daphne realise that she was in the right here.

“I promise,” Daphne said as she leant into her sister's hug, “I’m sorry that I don’t see you enough Tori. I’m sorry we’re not as close as we were as kids.”

“I guess sisters just grow apart as they get older,” Astoria said, “You always had your friends at Hogwarts, and I had mine, but we had the summers. This year we didn’t have that because…”

“Because of me and Harry,” Daphne realised, “I’m sorry, I never meant to shut you out, but that’s exactly what I’ve done since Harry and I got together. You need to come and visit more, you and Dennis.”

“Dennis and I broke up Daph, at the end of the school year,” Astoria said sheepishly, “We just didn’t see our relationship lasting outside of school.”

“I’m sorry Astoria, I know you liked him,” Daphne said.

Astoria shook her head, “I was kind of glad when it ended actually, he irritated me. He was just a bit immature, I guess.”

“So you’re gonna date an older guy next time then?” Daphne joked weakly.

“Maybe, or maybe I’ll just focus on getting into the DMLE first,” Astoria said with a smile, “And I’m as much to blame as you are for the two of us drifting apart you know. I never even wrote to tell you about the break-up.”

“And I never even wrote to tell you that I’m getting married and becoming a mother, all before the millennium hits,” Daphne said as she pulled back from the hug to look at her sister.

Astoria frowned, “What?”

“Harry and I are getting married on New Year's Eve,” Daphne said, “And we’re going to adopt Teddy too. Nobody knows. It was all supposed to be a big secret, but I wanted to share it with my baby sister.”

Astoria smiled tearfully, “That’s great; it really is. Does this mean I’m going to be an Aunt?”

“Yeah,” Daphne realised, “I suppose it does. Assuming Harry doesn’t break things off when he finds out about everything that’s happened this week.”

“He won’t,” Astoria said confidently, “But how are you going to raise Teddy while both of you are working?”

“Well I work 9 am - 4 pm Monday to Friday and Harry works 9 am – 5 pm Monday to Friday. Then when he starts doing fieldwork he will have to work every second weekend, but he’ll get two days off during the week instead so between us, we’ll find babysitters.”

“Mum would love to help,” Astoria said, “You know that she is dying to have grandkids.”

“I know,” Daphne said with a small smile, “And Teddy has his Grandma as well so she would help. If need be, I know Molly would help when she could too.”

“So you would manage, like you always do,” Astoria said, “You and Harry have such a strong bond, I get envious sometimes.”

“Well, you will find someone too Tori, I know you will,” Daphne said as she gripped her sister's hand, “Dennis Creevey was punching well above his weight anyway.”

Astoria laughed tearfully at that and hugged her sister, “I’ve missed you Daph, I’m glad you came back.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	29. The Truth Will Out

**_Stronaba, Scotland._ **

“We get to go home tomorrow,” Theo said cheerfully as he got dressed on Saturday morning.

“I can’t wait for a shower in my own house,” Draco said, he shoved his feet into his boots, “Or a bath in my own house.”

“Or a shag in your own bed,” Theo joked.

Draco laughed, “I was going to say a night in my own bed, but that would be a bonus.”

Theo glanced down at his watch and said, “The missus should be getting back right about now. I wonder if she’ll go home or straight to Potter Manor to see Daph.”

“Oh, she’ll go to Daphne, no doubt about it,” Draco said. He unzipped the flap and stepped out of the tent, Theo followed suit, and they began to pack the tent away, ready for their last full day of hillwalking.

“Should I be worried that my wife is gonna go straight to her best friend?” Theo joked after scanning the campsite and making sure that Elsie and Rod were inside their tent.

“Wife?” Elsie’s voice said from behind them, “I thought you two boys were gay?”

Draco and Theo both jumped and spun around. Elsie was standing behind them with a basket full of wild berries.

“Uh…”

“Well…”

“We…”

“I…”

“The thing is…”

“That’s your cover blown guys, but nice try.”

Draco and Theo spun around once more to find Auror Mitchell stepping out of Elsie and Rod’s tent.

“With all due respect sir, what the hell is going on?” Draco asked with a frown.

“Elsie and Rod weren’t Muggles,” Theo realised, “They were plants from the Auror office.”

“Yes, we were,” A new voice said from the treeline.

Draco and Theo spun around to the spot where Elsie had been standing, in her place stood Auror Carter.

“Now I’m intrigued that you jumped straight into a gay couple instead of coming up with a story about friends camping for a stag do or something in that ilk,” Mitchell said, Carter walked around them to stand next to him.

“That was an interesting leap,” She agreed.

“I panicked,” Theo said sheepishly.

“And in your panic, pretending to be a gay couple was the first thing you thought of?” Carter asked, “I’ll tell you one thing; it will be an interesting one to write a report about.”

Draco’s cheeks flushed, “Great, Theo, now we’re going to be the laughing stock of our class.”

“Don’t worry,” Carter said with a reassuring smile, “None of this will go beyond the Senior Aurors.”

“But you better be ready for Sumner to rip the shit out of you for it,” Mitchell smirked.

“That would be fair,” Theo said with a nod, then his face fell, “Oh no…Sorenson Cauldwell isn’t a Senior Auror, is he?”

“He’s a Junior Training Auror,” Carter said, “So don’t worry, he won’t find out about this unless he breaks the rules by reading your private file.”

“I wouldn’t put that past Sorenson to be fair,” Draco said.

“No, neither would I,” Theo muttered.

“You don’t get to be the grumpy one here,” Draco said irritably, “This was your idea.”

“You played along with it!”

“Only because you coerced me into it!”

“Merlin, no wonder you two made such a passable couple over the last two weeks,” Carter said with a shake of her head. She shot a smile at Mitchell, “Right, shall we have a hike without these two tag-alongs before we get back to base?”

“Sounds like a great idea,” Mitchell said, “See you boys back at base.”

Draco frowned at the retreating Aurors, “Do you think those two are…”

“Oh yeah,” Theo said with a nod, “They are definitely shagging.”

* * *

**_London, England._ **

When Sadie stepped out of the British International Apparition Centre, she did not expect to get pounced on by her best friend.

“Sadie! I’ve missed you so much!” Daphne said as she hugged her friend tightly.

Sadie laughed and pulled back from the hug, but the sight she was met with made her frown. Daphne looked paler and thinner than she had two weeks ago, “Are you crying?”

Daphne swallowed and wiped away her tears, “I’m just thrilled to have you back. Wow, look at your tan!”

Sadie knew that Daphne was changing the subject on purpose, but she supposed she wouldn’t want to talk about whatever was bothering her out in the open, so she said no more about it as Daphne grabbed one of her bags and hooked her arm through hers, “How is Egypt?”

“Awful,” Sadie replied, “I hate it. It’s too hot and sticky; the Centre for Alchemical Studies is a joke. The poverty divide in that country is disgusting, there are beggars a street away from the gates of the centre, and everything in that bloody building is gold or gold leaf. Then there are the people on my course, every single one of them is an entitled idiot whose rich daddy is an influential politician or whose rich mummy is trying to be Australian Minister for Magic. There are flies everywhere too and mosquitoes, ugh I hate it, Daphne!”

Daphne smiled at her friend fondly, “Good thing you don’t have to go back for a couple of weeks then.”

“I can’t handle spending two weeks at a time in that place with those people,” Sadie said irritably, “I really hate it and I missed everyone so badly, you, Theo and Hermione in particular.”

“Yeah, I really missed you too Sadie,” Daphne said honestly as they walked up an alley together, “But I kept Hermione busy enough that she didn’t miss you. I couldn’t sleep without Harry, so I spent most of the last two weeks with her.”

“Oh thanks, Daph,” Sadie said with a smile, “I was a bit worried about her being cooped up on her own with all of us away somewhere.”

Daphne smiled, “Don’t worry about it. Do you mind if I come back to the house so we can catch up properly?”

“Of course not,” Sadie replied with a smile.

Without another word, the two friends spun on their heels and disappeared. They re-emerged in an alleyway around the corner from Grimmauld Place and walked the short distance to the doorway of number 11.

Sadie placed her hand on the door, and it automatically unlocked. The two girls stepped inside, kicked off their shoes and hung up their coats in the hall.

“I can’t decide if I want a cup of tea or a glass of wine,” Sadie said as they made their way down to the kitchen.

“I’m voting for wine,” Daphne said.

“Then I guess I’ll have to join you,” Sadie said as she grabbed a bottle of red from the wine rack.

Sadie silently poured out two glasses then handed one to Daphne, “Now, what’s going on with you?”

“What do you mean?” Daphne asked quietly.

“You’re pale, you’ve lost weight, and you seem on edge,” Sadie commented, “What the hell happened while I was away?”

And that was it. Daphne broke down. She cried, and she told Sadie everything. Sadie listened patiently and hugged her friend; she didn’t say a word until Daphne was finished.

“Daphne, what he did to you is disgusting,” Sadie said, she didn’t shout, she spoke quietly but in a dangerous tone of voice, “If you don’t report him then I’ll have to kill him, and I’m not joking about that.”

Daphne looked up at Sadie through her tearstained eyes. Sadie did look furious, “That is sexual assault, more than that he blackmailed you! It’s not only disgusting; it’s illegal, and you have got to tell someone about it!”

“If I take legal action then Harry will find out about all of it,” Daphne said quietly, “It would all be out in the open, the papers would probably even get a hold of it. I can’t do that Sadie; I just can’t.”

“If you can’t face telling the Ministry then you have got to report this to Bill. This bastard has to get sacked Daphne; surely you know that,” Sadie fumed.

Daphne nodded numbly, “I was too scared of losing my job, but it seems like I don’t have anything left to lose now. Apart from Harry of course and with that comes losing Teddy…”

“You aren’t going to lose Harry,” Sadie said firmly, “You are my best friend Daph, and I love you to bits, but you really can be an idiot sometimes. Harry, you and Teddy, you are a family, and Harry is fiercely loyal when it comes to family. He’s far more likely to end up in Azkaban for killing this arsehole than he is to leave you willingly.”

“Right because that scenario is so much better, Sadie!” Daphne exclaimed.

Sadie raised an eyebrow at her, “Don’t give me cheek just because you don’t like what I’m saying. We both know that Harry has a temper, I think deep down you’re more afraid of what he’ll do when he finds out than you are about him leaving you.”

“Maybe I am, but I don’t know what I’m feeling anymore,” Daphne sighed, “This whole week has just been one big fucked up mess.”

“Well we’re going to un-fuck it, between the two of us,” Sadie promised her friend, “You’re going to drink that wine then we’re going next door to talk to Hermione. She works in the DMLE, she’ll be able to tell us what you can and can’t do. She’ll know if there’s a way to keep it out of the press.”

“There’s not a way to keep anything out of the press these days,” Daphne said glumly as she looked into the depths of her wine glass, “Haven’t you noticed?”

“Drink your wine,” Sadie ordered as she dumped her trunk on the kitchen table.

“Can’t I just take it round with me?” Daphne asked, “It’s not like we have to go outside to get to Hermione’s.”

Sadie frowned, “What do you mean?”

“The door,” Daphne said as if it were obvious, “In the basement.”

“Daphne, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sadie admitted, “What door?”

Daphne looked up at her friend with wide eyes, “Shit, I forgot that Theo hadn’t told you yet.”

“Show me,” Sadie said in a long-suffering way.

Daphne did. She led Sadie to the door and opened it.

“Is that Draco’s man cave?”

“Yep,” Daphne replied.

“And that’s a door,” Sadie said, “An unwarded door that anyone can open. I mean, of course, it is because Theo isn't going to want to go outside in his pyjamas at 3 am when he is struck with a random business idea that he just _has_ to tell Draco about. And Draco is going to want to wander through in his fucking boxers at 7 am on a Sunday morning to discuss the politics section of the Prophet. I mean…I’m not even surprised anymore. We might as well have just bought a manor and called it Black-Nott House.”

“Well, …you might have saved yourself some money. One manor as opposed to two houses in London…” Daphne weighed it up in her head, “If you ever fancy moving to the country, I’d go full foursome and just buy the one house, yeah.”

Sadie shook her head in amusement, “Don’t tell Theo that I said this, but right now, it’s actually quite useful,” she said as she walked through the door into Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

“It’s useful until Draco barges in on you having sex. No, scratch that, Draco knows how to knock. Theo’s going to barge in on them having sex,” Daphne said with a nod.

“Probably,” Sadie agreed, “I give it a week and then there will be a list of rules up on that door, in Hermione’s hand-writing.”

Daphne snorted in amusement and followed Sadie up the stairs into the entrance hall of Grimmauld Place.

“How on earth did you two get in here?”

Sadie jumped, “What the-”

“It’s just Abraxas and Elladora,” Daphne said offhandedly. She had been talking to them all week, mostly to tell them about the stupid things Draco had gotten up to in recent years.

“The floo system did not activate, and you did not come through the front door,” Abraxas pointed out.

“Yeah, we came through the secret door in my husband's basement which leads to Draco’s basement,” Sadie said with a wave of her hand.

Elladora turned to look at her husband, “So they are _just_ like you and Thaddeus.”

Abraxas rolled his eyes, “Now Elladora-”

“Don’t take that tone with me. He moved his entire manor, brick by brick, _two counties_ south to be closer to you,” Elladora said calmly, “And then you built a secret tunnel system between your houses!”

“I did not hear you complaining about that tunnel system when our home was attacked during the war, Elladora!”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “They’ll be at it for hours. Come on, let’s find Hermione.”

“Hermione! I’m back!” Sadie yelled.

There was a clatter and a bang. Then Hermione appeared at the top of the stairs, “Sadie! You’re home.”

“Wow, that was hard,” Sadie said sarcastically, shooting Daphne an amused grin.

Hermione reached the bottom of the stairs and hugged Sadie, “Look at your tan! You look like you’ve lost weight though, have you been eating?”

“Egypt doesn’t agree with me, but I’m fine,” Sadie assured Hermione, “It’s Daphne that we need to sort out.”

Hermione frowned when she looked at Daphne, “Daph, have you been crying?”

“Yeah, it’s a long story. We need alcohol for it, where did Draco put the kitchen again?” Sadie asked.

“Through here,” Hermione said, leading them across the hall into the bright, airy kitchen.

“Sorry about the lack of small talk. We can catch up about your new job later, and I’ll tell you all about how much I hate Egypt, but right now there are more pressing matters,” Sadie said quickly, “Someone fucked with my best friend and I’m pretty pissed off which is why I need wine.”

Hermione just nodded, “Okay. Red or white?”

“Whatever has the highest alcohol content,” Daphne said as she slumped down into a chair.

Hermione grabbed a dusty bottle from the top shelf and said, “Well, in that case, let’s break into one of Draco’s nice French ones. Now, what is going on?”

“I can’t go through it again,” Daphne said quietly, “I’ve had to do it twice in the last 24 hours. Sadie, can you fill her in?”

Sadie nodded, she took a large gulp from the glass of red wine that Hermione had just handed her then told the story, the entire story. Daphne made her way through a large glass of wine in the time it took Sadie to recount everything.

When Sadie had finished, Hermione shook her head and said coolly, “Stuart Fawley, what’s his address?”

“I…uh, well I don’t know his address,” Daphne said with a frown, “I suppose I could find out from Bill but…why, are you asking me this?”

“Get me his address, and I will kill this bastard,” Hermione said in a very dangerous tone.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at Hermione, “You’re scaring me a little bit right now.”

“Believe it or not, I wasn’t just the brains of the golden trio,” Hermione said, “I can look after myself, and I am more than capable of killing this guy.”

“Physically, yes,” Sadie agreed, “But morally, I doubt it.”

“Oh no, my moral conscience is totally okay with it,” Hermione assured them.

“Right now it is, but when you’re standing over his body covered in blood, you’ll go full Lady Macbeth on me,” Sadie said calmly, “So no, you’re not capable of killing him. Stop being ridiculous and think about this logically please.”

Daphne looked at the two of them in disbelief, half expecting Hermione to slap Sadie.

What actually happened was even more surprising. Sadie got to her feet and put her hands on Hermione’s shoulders. She looked her in the eye and said, “You’re a genius who works in the DMLE. How do we destroy a man without killing him?”

Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. She picked up her wine glass and said, “I may work in the DMLE, but that’s not the best way to tackle this. You need to tell Bill because if you don’t, the Aurors are just going to ask you why you didn’t talk to your boss as soon as it happened.”

“I know what I need to do, but it doesn’t feel as easy as everyone makes it out,” Daphne said, “I mean I’ve probably already lost my job anyway but-”

“No stop right there,” Hermione said, “This guy is a prick! Bill will know that you’re telling the truth. He loves Harry like a brother, and it’s obvious that he's fond of you too. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have pulled you out of that cursed room so quickly.”

“But-”

“And if you’re worried about Bill taking this guys side because they trained together then stop worrying,” Hermione continued, “Because don’t forget, this is a fairly new job for Bill too. He only moved back to Britain just before the war started; he’s spent the majority of his career working in Egypt, so he doesn’t know Fawley as well as you think he does.”

Daphne sighed and let her head fall into her hands, “But what about Harry?”

“Look Daph, Harry adores you,” Hermione said, “He isn’t going to be angry with you. If anything he’ll probably try and kill this bloody Fawley guy.”

“Maybe that’s what I’m worried about!” Daphne exclaimed, “Have any of you considered that maybe I don’t want someone’s death on my conscience? Of course, I’m worried about telling Harry because I don’t want him to do something stupid and end up in Azkaban!”

“Well, for a start, Harry is the chosen one, he won’t go to Azkaban,” Hermione began to say.

“No Hermione, I know you think the sun shines out of your best friend’s arse, but he would go to jail for that,” Sadie cut in, “Murder is murder, regardless of who you are.”

Hermione sighed, “Regardless, Harry isn’t like that.”

“I’m sorry Hermione, I know that Harry is your best friend, but I think I know more than you when it comes to this one,” Daphne said hotly, “Harry is far more like his godfather than you think and his godfather ended up in jail for doing something stupid!”

Hermione wanted to say more, but she didn’t want to start an argument, so she sighed again and said, “Fine, but either way, you have to tell him.”

“I don’t think I’m actually capable of keeping it from him,” Daphne admitted.

“But what can we do? I mean can we get him arrested?” Sadie asked Hermione.

“Well, as I said, the first thing you have to do is tell Bill everything,” Hermione said, “Once you’ve done that you will know if you are entitled to legal representation. If you are then your work takes it from there, and it goes through the DMLE in a sort of tribunal. If you aren’t entitled to legal representation, then you need to come in, give your statement to the Aurors, submit your memories to back it up then it goes to court. You can afford a good lawyer though, so that would help your case.”

“Surely she will get legal representation though,” Sadie said, “I mean it’s Gringotts.”

“She’s a trainee, and she has only been employed for two weeks,” Hermione said, “It’s debatable, but Gringotts is a good employer, so we will just have to wait and see.”

“And what about the press?” Daphne asked, “I can’t handle those vultures finding out and splashing it all over the front page.”

“If it goes down the tribunal route then the press won’t be able to find out,” Hermione promised, “But if it goes to trial in the DMLE then it will be a lot harder to keep quiet.”

“Hermione!” Sadie hissed.

“What?” Hermione asked defensively, “If you want my advice, then I have to tell the truth!”

Daphne shook her head, “It’s fine; I’m glad you did.”

Sadie sighed and looked at Daphne, “Do you want me to come in with you on Monday when you go to tell Bill?”

“I don’t think it’s the kind of thing where I can take a friend in,” Daphne said glumly, “But I appreciate the offer.”

“You don’t necessarily have to tell him on Monday,” Hermione said with a frown, “He’ll be at the Burrow for Sunday lunch tomorrow.”

“Yeah, and I’ll have Teddy with me,” Daphne reminded her.

“There will be plenty of people there to watch Teddy; you know that,” Hermione said, “I could grab Bill and pull him aside. Then you could talk to him, and I could stay for moral support if you needed it.”

“It might be easier to tell him in an informal setting,” Sadie said gently.

“Without Fawley being there to make you nervous or distract you,” Hermione added.

Daphne sighed but nodded, “Alright, I will tell him tomorrow at the Burrow, but right now I need to get over to Andromeda’s. I need to pick Teddy up for his sleepover.”

Hermione nodded, she stepped forward and hugged her friend, “I am so sorry, Daphne.”

Daphne just shook her head, “I’ll be fine,” she said stiffly, “I’ll catch up with you on Monday night, Sadie?”

Sadie smiled weakly and nodded, “Yeah, I want to hear how it goes with Bill.”

“Alright bye guys,” Daphne said as she threw some floo powder into the fireplace, “And thanks for everything.”

Hermione sighed and looked across the breakfast bar, “Is she okay?”

“No, she’s falling apart,” Sadie said honestly, “She spent years objectifying herself, telling herself that she didn’t need love, she just needed sex. That’s why she got called the ice queen, but it made her feel like men want her for her body above all else, and what Fawley did to her, it just cements that.”

Hermione shook her head angrily, “Sadie, what he did to her is _disgusting,_ but it could have been so much worse if he-”

“Don’t even go there,” Sadie said, her blue eyes icing over, “Don’t even say it, okay? Because if he had done that to her, I would have killed him.”

Hermione frowned, “Sadie-”

“There are very few people left in this world who I love,” Sadie said coldly, “My father is gone, and yes, he’s not dead, but he might as well be. When he comes out of prison, he won’t recognise me anymore. He went in, and I was a 17-year-old girl, finishing school, and he’ll come out to find Sadie Nott, the wife of Theodore, a mother probably. How will I get any semblance of a relationship back with him?”

Hermione sighed and grabbed her hand, “I don’t know,” she said honestly.

Sadie swallowed and looked up, “I lost Tracey and Pansy to the war too. I’m fiercely loyal to the friends that I have left, and I swear to Salazar, if he had done that to her, I would kill him, and I wouldn’t do it in a subtle way to avoid detection, I would _slit_ his throat.”

Hermione sighed and walked around the table. She pulled Sadie into a hug and murmured, “Then you’d go full Lady Macbeth on me, and you know it. You could do it, in the heat of the moment but then you would regret it for the rest of your life.”

Sadie swallowed her pride and hugged Hermione back, “I hate him for what he did.”

“I know,” Hermione said, “I do too, but between them, our boys will find a way to punish him.”

“They had better,” Sadie said, drawing back and taking a steady breath. Her hand shook as she picked up her wine glass.

Hermione noticed, she grabbed Sadie’s other hand, looked her in the eye and said, “They will.”

* * *

**_The Forest of Dean, England._ **

“Well,” Harry said thoughtfully, “The last two weeks have been interesting.”

“I’ve learned a lot about you actually,” Neville said, “Even though I thought I knew you already.”

Harry nodded, “I guess Sumner was right to send us even though we thought we didn’t need it. I suppose I should apologise for being an arse…”

Neville snorted, “Do you think Draco and Theo had such an enlightening week?”

“Merlin knows,” Harry said with a shake of his head as a portal appeared in front of them.

On the other side, Sheppard waved at them and gestured for them to come through.

* * *

**_Stronaba, Scotland._ **

“Do you know something, I’ve kind of enjoyed this week,” Theo mused as they waited to be extracted on Sunday afternoon.

Draco raised an eyebrow at him, “Should I be worried about that?”

“Not the whole fake boyfriend thing,” Theo reiterated, “But all of these heartfelt chats are good for the soul.”

“For you maybe,” Draco muttered, “If you didn’t know all of my business before, you definitely do now.”

“I knew most of it before,” Theo said honestly, “But I think this was a good idea anyway. I know how to get inside your head now, _partner_.”

“Don’t call me that,” Draco said with a glare as a portal appeared in front of them.

“But you are my partner,” Theo objected, on the other side of the portal Sheppard motioned for them to come through.

“I know, but if you ever say it like that again, I won’t be,” Draco said. He shot Theo a smirk and stepped through the portal.

Theo shook his head in disbelief, “Honestly, you spill your heart to a guy for two weeks, and what do you get? Abuse! Some things never bleeding change.”

* * *

Harry and Neville reconvened with Draco and Theo almost immediately after entering the lecture hall at the Auror training base.

“Woah, who knew you could grow a beard!” Theo exclaimed upon seeing his friends for the first time in two weeks.

“Which one of us are you talking to?” Neville asked Theo.

“The chosen git, obviously,” Theo said, “You’re like a little boy who has become a man!”

Harry rolled his eyes, “I’ve been able to grow a beard for a while, Theo. I just shaved it while I was on the run in the war because it used to irritate me.”

“Why grow it this time then?” Theo asked with a raised eyebrow.

“For the same reason I didn’t grow a beard,” Draco said, “It didn’t irritate him, it irritated Hermione.”

Harry nodded sheepishly, “Yeah, she hated it.”

“What’s your excuse, Theo?” Neville asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He just can’t grow anything more than bumfluff,” Draco said with a smirk.

Harry and Neville sniggered at that as they settled down in the front row and waited for the others to return to the hall.

“So where did you spend your holiday?” Neville joked.

“The bloody Cairngorms,” Draco said with a roll of his eyes, “With a couple of Muggles who were actually plants from the Auror office.”

“And I sort of panicked when they started talking about how magical the place was,” Theo said sheepishly, “And said I was there with my boyfriend so Draco and I had to pretend to be a couple for the whole two weeks.”

Harry and Neville guffawed shamelessly upon hearing this, all the while Draco shook his head and glared at his sheepish best friend.

“Where did you spend your two weeks then?” Draco asked once the pair had finished laughing at them.

“Oh the most nostalgic place you could imagine,” Neville said sarcastically, “For Harry anyway.”

Draco frowned, “Surrey?”

“No,” Harry said a little tentatively, “The Forest of Dean.”

“Right,” Draco said awkwardly.

Theo looked between the two of them, “Am I missing something here?”

“You usually are Theo,” Neville said, he patted his friend on the back and added, “I’ll fill you in later.”

“You don’t have to,” Draco said, “Theo, the Forest of Dean is where Harry and Hermione had sex during the war.”

“Oh!” Theo realised.

“Anyway,” Draco continued, “I did a lot of soul-searching, Harry, and I’ve decided it's pointless to dwell on the past. You and Hermione have history, just like Daphne and I have history. It doesn’t matter, the future does.”

“You say that like you came up with it all by your fucking self,” Theo muttered, “You’re a dick, you know that?”

“He’s your dick though,” Neville said, waggling his eyebrows at the two Slytherins.

“Silence in the hall!” Sumner barked as he walked into the lecture hall.

They all fell silent instantly. Following orders here came much more naturally to Harry than it had while he was at Hogwarts.

“I hope you all enjoyed your isolation. Nobody tried to kill their new partner, so that’s always a sign that we paired you together well,” Sumner began, “We observed some of you closely by planting disguised Aurors in there with you, and we observed some of you from a distance. We were happy with how everyone did, and I hope that you now feel at ease with your new partner. I will say one thing now; however, we noted some tension of a sexual variety between a pairing and we do _not_ tolerate relationships between co-workers here. If you are found to be sleeping with your partner then we will have to take action, I hope that’s clear.”

“I hope he’s not talking about us,” Theo whispered to Draco.

“We don’t have sex, we’re fine,” Draco said, shooting him an amused look.

“It’s got to be Max and Emily,” Harry whispered.

“Hey, don’t judge,” Neville muttered, “It could be Blanche and Ophelia.”

“Oh, it could be,” Theo agreed, “Blanche wouldn’t know a dick if it slapped her in the face.”

Draco snorted, “Theo,” he hissed.

“What?” Harry asked in confusion.

“She fucks women, Harry,” Draco said, shooting his friend an amused look.

“Oh,” Harry realised, “Right!”

“So! Down to business then. You are going to get a couple of days off to wind down before the real training starts. However, I expect to see all of you in here sharp at 8 am on Wednesday,” Sumner said.

Sheppard then stepped into the lecture hall with an armful of parchment.

“Auror Sheppard is going to hand you a list of things you will require for this year,” Sumner said, “As well as your timetable.”

“It’s like being at school again,” Theo whispered, a little too loudly.

“Trust me, Nott, it’s much harder than school,” Sumner said harshly, “Now, I am sure that you are all eager to hear the course breakdown so here it is. Year one will probably be the most boring for a lot of the thrill-seekers here because there will be no field training. You will attend classes on the base here, some practical and some where you will need to tap into your academic side. I’m sure that will be easier for some of you than others,” he said as he looked directly at Harry’s group of friends, “Although at least you three dunderheads have Nott to help you through.”

Theo grinned proudly at this while Harry and Neville nodded, they knew they weren’t the most academically inclined. Draco, on the other hand, looked thoroughly insulted.

Sumner continued, “You will also continue with your physical training, and we will be giving you additional flying lessons so that you are all skilled fliers rather than competent fliers.”

Neville looked a little sheepish upon hearing that news.

“As you will see on your timetable Wednesday afternoons will be reserved for practising your healing magic. This will be a shared class with the trauma healers in your year because they will be the healers you will be working with on an everyday basis when you graduate.”

Neville looked up as soon as Sumner began to talk about shared classes and his face lit up.

“And Longbottom, if you lay a hand on your girlfriend while you’re at training, I will break it, and I _will_ make you mend it,” Sumner barked, “These trauma healers are often women, pretty women. We don’t want you getting mixed up with the pretty women because then they get feelings and feelings are complicated when their job is to save your sorry arse when your guts are hanging out. Are we clear?”

“But she’s my girlfriend, sir,” Neville pointed out.

“Not when she’s here she’s not,” Sumner snapped, “When she’s in this building you are Recruit Longbottom, and she’s Trainee Trauma Healer Moon.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve had that dream,” Neville whispered to Harry.

Harry had to bit his lip to hide his amused grin.

“As you can also see on your timetable, Friday afternoons will be reserved for the use of the simulation room,” Sumner continued, “That is what we used to conduct your tests. It can become anything, and as you know, the scenarios depicted are very realistic. We will be giving you mock missions every Friday, and sometimes you will be competing with the other pairs, but sometimes you will be working together as part of a large team.”

Sumner paused and looked around, “Are there any other questions about the first year?”

Harry raised his hand, “Can we stay off base now that isolation is over, sir?”

“Yes Potter, you may,” Sumner said, “There are dorms here for those who require them, but you may commute in as you would with any other job. Any other questions?”

Nobody raised their hand, so Sumner said, “Right, year two then. At the moment we call you Recruits, but in your second year, you become Trainees. You will be permitted to observe Aurors in the DMLE and also Hit Wizards if any of them take a liking to you and want to drag you along on a case. You can provide assistance, but you will never be working on your own, and you certainly won’t be going out into the field without at least two Aurors present. There are limits to the sorts of cases that you can work as well. The big cases will be completely off-limits. Understood?”

Everyone nodded.

“In year three, you are still a Trainee Auror, but you are effectively on probation,” Sumner continued, “You will be free to work unsupervised on any cases that you are assigned, but you will be tested and observed at varying points by myself or another Senior Auror. If at any point you fail to meet the standards we require, we can kick you out. Do you all understand?”

Everyone nodded once more.

“After you finish your third year, you will be given your badge, and you will officially become a fully qualified Auror. At that point, and that point only, you will have job security. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Everyone in the room echoed.

Harry supposed that to some people that was scary, to some people, it meant a lot of pressure. Luckily for Harry, because of his family money and the family money owed to Daphne upon her marriage, he could afford to lose his job without devastating his family. He did know that his family money wouldn’t last forever though, and Daphne’s inheritance relied on whether her Uncle Phineas would grant the request. Given the fact that she hadn’t seen him in years, she was doubtful.

“Alright then,” Sumner said, “Get yourselves home and showered, Potter shave that ridiculous thing off. Enjoy your free time, and I will see you all on Wednesday morning.”

There was a lot of noise as everyone got up to leave the room, amongst it the four boys chatted amongst themselves.

“Have you seen this timetable? It is literally just like school, look at all of these lectures!” Theo complained, “Disguise, Tracking, Interrogation Training, Stealth, Law & Ethics!”

“Oh look, Theo, your favourite subject is on here!” Neville exclaimed, “Muggle Relations!”

Harry and Draco sniggered at this while Theo glared at Neville, “Very funny.”

“I actually like the look of this timetable,” Neville admitted, “There’s even Herbology lab.”

“I don’t see what plants have to do with being an Auror,” Theo muttered huffily.

“Well knowing your plants is kind of crucial when it comes to potion brewing,” Draco pointed, “And I also noticed that Potions lab was on the timetable. I assume they want us to be able to select potion ingredients and make potions ourselves in case we’re ever stranded somewhere and need to do it.”

“That would make sense,” Harry said as he scanned the timetable, “Some of the stuff on here looks interesting like Code Deciphering, that could be fun.”

“I bet you’re gonna love Monday afternoons,” Draco said sarcastically.

Harry rolled his eyes, “Because it’s mind magic? Very funny. As long as nobody pokes around my head and looks at my dreams just to taunt me like Snape did then I think I’ll be just fine.”

“He makes a good point,” Neville said.

“Of course you’re going to side with him!” Draco argued as the group left the building, “You’re his Auror partner!”

And the bickering that had commenced lasted all the way to the gate.

* * *

“Come on, Teddy, we’re going to be late,” Daphne said as she grabbed the little boy and threw some floo powder into the fireplace. She held him tightly to her as she said, “The Burrow.”

They whizzed through chimney after chimney before they reached their destination. Daphne stepped out into the kitchen and smiled at Molly, “Can I help with anything, Molly?”

“No, no dear,” Molly said cheerfully, “The others are all outside setting up. These lunches won’t be outside for much longer though.”

Daphne nodded and steered Teddy through the kitchen, “That’s true, the weather will turn soon,” she said as they stepped outside.

She scanned the garden a little nervously and chuckled when she saw Bill, Charlie and George fighting with the three picnic tables that they were supposed to be setting up for their mother.

“Welcome to the family, Daphne.”

Daphne jumped and turned around. She hadn’t seen Ron standing so close to the backdoor, “Oh, hey Ron.”

Ron smiled slightly, “How are you guys getting on?”

“Good,” Daphne replied, “Or at least we will be when Harry is finally freed from his isolation. How are things with you and Katie?”

“As good as they can be,” Ron said honestly, “We aren’t together, we gave it a good try, but it was a one night stand. We only tried to make it work because of the baby, and that’s not healthy.”

“No,” Daphne agreed, “You can be good parents without being together as long as you can work as a team.”

“That was what we agreed,” Ron said with a nod, “Speaking of parenting, you seem to be doing a good job.”

Daphne smiled down at Teddy, “We do what we can, but things are hectic right now with our new jobs. Everything is up in the air; once things are a bit more stable, everything will become a little more official.”

Ron’s eyes sparkled with realisation, “Oh, so that is happening?”

“It’s happening,” Daphne said, “Just not yet. Why are you standing here looking so broody by the way?”

“Ginny has been glaring at me since I got here,” Ron said.

Daphne turned around and followed his line of sight. On the other side of the table fight, Ginny stood next to Blaise, and she did indeed look incredibly pissed off with her brother.

“Is she still pissed that your mother was so angry when she got pregnant but so okay with you becoming a father?” Daphne asked. She grabbed Teddy’s hand as the little boy tried to toddle towards the table fight.

“No, she’s over that,” Ron said, “At the moment she’s pissed off because she thinks I’m stealing her thunder. Katie is due on the 24th of October, and Ginny is due on the 7th of November. If Katie goes late and Ginny goes early, the babies could be born really close together.”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t really blame her for being pissed off about that,” Daphne said with a slight smile, “When you think about it, do you?”

“No, I get it,” Ron said honestly, “But she’s being irrational about it.”

“She’s pregnant and therefore very hormonal,” Daphne said as the table fight came to an end. It looked like Bill had won, “Give her time,” she said.

Ron nodded and walked away to talk to one of his brothers. Shortly after he had done so, Hermione stepped through the backdoor.

“Good afternoon Daph. Are you ready?”

Daphne nodded, “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she admitted.

“Why don’t you take Teddy over to Fleur and settle him?” Hermione asked gently, “I’ll go and grab Bill. I’ll ask if we can go somewhere alone and then you can come and meet us in the orchard where everyone plays Quidditch, okay?”

“Okay,” Daphne said a little shakily, “Come on, Ted, let’s go and see Auntie Fleur.”

Hermione strode across the garden to the spot where Bill was holding an open bottle of beer and laughing about something with Charlie, “Bill, I need to talk to you.”

Bill held out a bottle of beer, “Talk to me. I’m right here.”

“I mean in private,” Hermione said, “Somewhere secluded like the orchard.”

Bill whistled, “I know you had a crush on me when you were little Hermione, but I’m a happily married man now.”

“I’m serious, Bill,” Hermione said sternly, “And for the record, it was Charlie I had a crush on.”

Charlie grinned, “Yes, give me five Mione!”

Hermione chuckled and hi-fived him. When she turned back to Bill, he was no longer smiling, “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am,” Hermione said.

“Alright, let’s go,” Bill said as he handed Charlie his beer, “I would tell you to look after that until I came back, but I know you’ll just drink it so be my guest.”

“It will be gone before you hit the gate!” Charlie called after them.

Bill shook his head in amusement and asked, “Is it Harry? Is something wrong?”

“Harry is fine,” Hermione said, “Or at least, I think he is. He, Draco, Neville and Theo have been in isolation for the last two weeks, but I would have thought they would have informed me if they weren’t okay.”

“What is going on then?” Bill asked, “Because you don’t get all serious for nothing, Hermione. Not these days anyway.”

“Something is going on,” Hermione said, “But I’ll explain when we get to the orchard.”

Bill nodded and said no more. They reached the gate and slipped through it. Then they made their way to the orchard where the leaves had just started to fall from the trees.

“Come on, what’s going on?”

“It’s not my story to tell,” Hermione said as she glanced behind, “We’re waiting for someone else.”

“You’re acting all cloak and dagger here,” Bill said, he frowned, and for the first time he looked suspicious. It was one of the few times when Hermione could tell that he was a serious Curse Breaker with a vital job and a sense of paranoia that came from the war.

When he heard shuffling in the woods, he reached for his wand but sighed with relief when Daphne walked into the clearing.

“Daphne? What on earth is going on?” Bill asked as he looked between her and Hermione.

Hermione looked pointedly at Daphne; after all, she had to be the one to tell Bill.

“Look I don’t think there’s an easy way to say this Bill, so I’m just going to say it,” Daphne took a deep breath, “But Stuart Fawley has been blackmailing me ever since you made him my mentor and on Friday, he sexually assaulted me.”

“What?” Bill asked sharply.

“I know it’s probably hard for you to believe,” Daphne said quickly, “You trained together and you’ve worked together for years, but I swear Bill, I’m an honest person, I wouldn’t lie about this-”

“No, stop right there,” Bill said, “I don’t know what the hell Fawley told you, but he and I don’t share some special bond just because we trained together. He was a prick when I first met him, and he’s still a prick now so please Daphne, don’t worry about me not believing you. Just tell me what he did.”

Daphne breathed a little shakily, “To begin with he just made inappropriate comments and rubbed my leg against his. Then he started stroking my leg with his hand but on Friday…”

Hermione grabbed Daphne’s hand, “It’s okay.”

“He took me to this cursed cottage,” Daphne said, “And when I stepped inside, this wave of magic washed over me. It felt like the imperius curse, he kissed me, and he started to…to take my clothes off, and I couldn’t control it.”

“That despicable piece of shit,” Bill growled, “Please tell me he didn’t rape you?”

Daphne shook her head and looked down, “He didn’t get that far. I managed to snap out of it but he…” she cleared her throat, “He went too far.”

“Yeah, he fucking did,” Bill said, turning away from Daphne as his eyes flashed angrily.

Hermione stepped forward carefully and whispered, “When is the moon?”

“Tonight,” Bill muttered.

“Bill,” Hermione said, tentatively placing her hand on his arm, “You need to calm down.”

Bill breathed in deeply and counted to ten. When he opened his eyes, they were blue again, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, “You’re in the clear.”

“I’m sorry, Bill,” Daphne said quietly, “I didn’t mean to make you angry, especially today.”

Bill shook his head, “Don’t apologise, okay? You have nothing to apologise for. He is in the wrong here, nobody else.”

“So I won’t lose my job?” Daphne asked, looking up at him.

“Of course you won’t,” Bill said, “Do you have any evidence to support the fact he took you to that cottage knowingly?”

Daphne held out the letter. Bill scanned it and swallowed hard, his eyes flashing amber once more.

“Bill,” Hermione warned him. It was the same tone you would take with a dog that wasn’t obeying orders.

All the same, it worked. Bill took a deep breath once more and blew it out, “Sorry.”

Daphne looked at him nervously, “It’s okay.”

“Merlin,” Bill said with a shake of his head, “I am _so_ sorry, Daphne.”

“It wasn’t your fault Bill.”

“And it wasn’t yours either,” Bill told her, “It was entirely his fault, and he will pay for this!”

“What will happen, Bill?” Hermione asked, “Daphne hasn’t been in the job long, and she’s still in training. Does she have a right to legal representation?”

“Of she does!” Bill exclaimed, “It doesn’t matter how long you have worked for us or in what capacity. Everybody who works for Gringotts is entitled to legal representation.”

“Surely that means that Fawley is entitled to it too?” Hermione pointed out.

“Yes, he is,” Bill said, “But I’m the one who sits at the head of the review board, so trust me, that doesn’t mean shit. He is going to go down for this; he will never work in a respected institute or be allowed to be in a position of power again.”

“Does that mean it has to go to the courts?” Daphne asked anxiously.

“There are two ways that we can do it,” Bill said, “It can go through the courts, and he might well receive jail time. The other option is to do it through an independent review within the bank.”

“If it was an independent review, would there be any press coverage?” Daphne asked.

“No, it would be completely private, and the record would be sealed,” Bill replied, “But the worst that could happen is that he could be dismissed without a referral. Is that enough for you?”

Daphne nodded, “That’s fine. I don’t want the press to find out. The longer I can keep it from Harry, the better.”

“I understand why you don’t want to tell him,” Bill said, “I know what his temper is like but let me give you a word of advice. Harry is going to find out sooner than later, and it would be much better if it came from you.”

“I know,” Daphne said quietly.

“And when you do tell Harry,” Bill added, “Which will be tonight, let him know that Fawley likes to spend his Sunday evenings gambling in Knockturn alley.”

Daphne looked up in surprise.

Bill smirked rather wickedly and tapped his nose, “But you didn’t hear it from me.”

Daphne smiled slightly, “I heard nothing.”

“Good,” Bill said, “Now, first thing tomorrow morning we will have the review then you can go home for the rest of the day. I can give you the whole week off if you need it.”

Daphne shook her head, “No, I’ll be back first thing on Tuesday. But…does this mean I need to go back to the cursed room?”

Bill shook his head, “Your talents were wasted there, don’t worry. You’ll be doing the same job. I’ll just find you a competent mentor.”

“Thank you, Bill,” Daphne said gratefully.

Bill shook his head, “Don’t thank me, I’m just doing the right thing. You should have come to me sooner. I feel terrible that you let it get this bad.”

“I’m sorry, I just…I didn’t know how to, and I was so afraid I would lose my job,” Daphne said.

Bill nodded, “I understand why you didn’t, and I promise, I will sort all of this out. Just come to my office at 9 am on Tuesday, and we’ll make sure Fawley never sets foot in Gringotts again.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	30. Crime and Punishment

The moment Theo stepped into the dimly lit kitchen of the home that he shared with Sadie, he was almost knocked off his feet.

“Oomph – Sadie!”

“Sorry,” Sadie said sheepishly as she grabbed his arm to steady him, “It’s just been the most awful two weeks, and I’ve missed you so much.”

Theo pulled her closer and kissed her on the top of the head, “I’ve missed you too, but I want to know why you’ve had an awful two weeks. Are you okay? Did something happen in Egypt?”

“It’s fine Theo, you don’t want all my doom and gloom,” Sadie said offhandedly as she pulled back from the hug, “Why don’t you just tell me all about isolation instead?”

“I don’t want to talk about the two weeks of hell I had to endure with Draco,” Theo began to joke as he pulled away from her, “So – lumos – why don’t you tell me about, holy shit Sadie!”

Sadie jumped in alarm, “What?”

“You look ill,” Theo said, he stepped closer to her and cupped her face with his hands, “You’re lying, about something happening in Egypt.”

“Nothing happened in Egypt,” Sadie promised, “It just disagreed with me.”

“Forget about my two weeks,” Theo said as he shoved her into a kitchen chair, “Tell me why you look like you need to be admitted to St. Mungo’s.”

Sadie sighed, “Well, I probably look a little grey because I’m struggling to keep anything down. It’s just the Egyptian food; it really made me ill. You know that I can’t handle spicy food or exotic food in general, I’ve been feeling better since I got home, but my stomach still hasn’t settled yet.”

Theo didn’t look entirely convinced by that, “And there’s nothing more to it than a funny belly? Because there’s a sparkle in your eyes that’s missing.”

Sadie sighed again and glanced down to avoid his gaze, “Honestly, Theo, it’s Egypt. I hate it. I hate everything about it. The class division is disgusting, there are beggars all over the streets, and then you have the wizarding buildings which are literally paved with gold. Then there are the people on the course, they are horrible! Every single one of them has a famous daddy who invented some shitty invention or a famous mummy who is going to be Australian Minister for Magic one day. I don’t fit in with them at all.”

Theo smiled slightly, “Love, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your daddy invented the sneakoscope, and he’s pretty famous for that. And your mummy is a pretty famous criminal law attorney.”

“Yeah but I don’t go around rubbing that in everyone’s face, Theo!” Sadie snapped, “Ugh, you just don’t get it! I’m not a privileged bitch. I’m not!”

“Sadie, calm down,” Theo said quickly, “I didn’t say that.”

“You were thinking it!”

“No, I wasn’t,” Theo said gently, “You know me pretty well, but you don’t always know what I’m thinking. Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

“I’m fine!” Sadie said irritably, “I just hate Egypt! The course isn’t even what I expected, and I hate it!”

She got to her feet in the middle of her rant and began to take her frustration out on Theo. With every point she hit him in the chest, “I hate the thought of going back there!”

“I hate being surrounded by those people!”

“I hate being away from you for two weeks at a time!”

“I hate it!”

“Alright, alright,” Theo said, he grabbed her hands and pulled her into a hug so that she couldn’t hit him anymore. Her voice had begun to shake towards the end of her rant, and Theo could tell that she was crying against his chest. He could feel her body shaking, he shut his eyes and whispered, “It’s alright, you don’t have to go anywhere for the next two weeks, and I’ll be here to look after you. Okay, baby?”

Sadie nodded against his chest, “Okay,” she whispered.

“And at the end of those two weeks, if you don’t want to go back then we’ll look at your options,” Theo promised her, “If you hate it then there’s no point making yourself miserable for the next year.”

Sadie pulled back and looked at him with bloodstained eyes, she shook her head, “I can’t back out on it now that I’ve started.”

“We’ll just have to find a way to make you love it then,” Theo said as he drew her closer again and kissed her lips softly, “I’m sure we’ll find a way.”

Sadie smiled tearfully, “I love you, and I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Theo said, and it came from the heart, “I’ve just spent two weeks spilling my heart to Draco. I think we probably know everything there is to know about each other now. But all I wanted was to tell you about it, and you weren’t there. I hated it too baby, I really did.”

Sadie nodded; she buried her face into his shirt and sighed, “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Theo said honestly, “But we’ll work it out. We always do, don’t we?”

She nodded again and held him tightly, “Yeah, we always do.”

* * *

When Neville stepped into the kitchen of Longbottom House, he felt utterly exhausted. He wanted a hot bath then he wanted to collapse in his lovely, comfortable king-size bed. Sleeping on a bunk bed with Harry’s loud snoring keeping him awake wasn’t his idea of fun.

He yawned as he trudged through the dark, empty kitchen. He dumped his bag by the door; he knew that their lovely house elf would do his laundry even though he never asked her to do it. Lilly had picked a good one there. He felt a pang that was becoming very familiar when he thought about Lilly. He knew that all of his friends were going home to their other halves tonight, but Neville wasn’t expecting to see Lilly until the following weekend. After all, she was only allowed to leave the training centre between 9 pm on a Friday, and 7 am on a Monday. Then there was her travel time to consider between those times as well, so Neville knew that it wasn’t worth her time to come over for one night.

There had been a tiny glimmer of hope that had died when he stepped into the empty kitchen. It didn’t mean anything anyway; he kept telling himself that as he made his way upstairs in the house which had become very familiar to him.

By the time he reached the door to his bedroom, he couldn’t be bothered with the bath that he had previously been looking forward to. Instead, he decided just to collapse into his bed, he opened the door and lazily murmured, “Lumos.”

The light flew from his wand into a lamp on the bedside table.

“Hey.”

Neville jumped out of his skin and fell back against the door. He should have been able to feel that something was different, but he was just too tired to notice, so he really hadn’t expected to turn on the light and find somebody in his bed.

That somebody was, of course, Lilly and she was currently cackling.

Neville picked himself up and tried to slow his racing heart, “Coming home to find you naked in our bed would have been hot if you hadn’t just about killed me and the cackling is a definite turn off.”

Lilly grinned and threw a pillow at him, “I came all the way from France just to shag you tonight so watch your mouth, Longbottom! I can quite easily just go back to France and leave you frustrated for another two weeks.”

“Oh no, no,” Neville said as he walked towards the bed, “No way Lillian Moon. You don’t get to come in here trying to give a man a heart attack then run off without apologising.”

Lilly chuckled, as soon as he was close enough, she grabbed him and pulled him onto the bed, “How was isolation?”

“Isolating, and totally not what I want to talk about right now,” Neville said as he pulled his t-shirt off.

“What if I want to hear about it?”

“I’ll tell you about it later,” Neville said, he slipped his jeans off and threw them across the room.

“Did you and Harry bond?” Lilly asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Do you really wanna talk about Harry right now?” Neville said, taking his boxers off and climbing into bed with her, “Because I don’t. I want to enjoy the only night I’m going to get with you for two weeks.”

“I think I can live with that.”

* * *

Neville kept his promise, as he lay in bed with Lilly wrapped up in his arms, he told her about isolation, “I spent two weeks straight with Harry in the Forest of Dean. We had a lot of heart to hearts and a couple of fights, and we ate way too much bloody rabbit. I never want to eat it again if I’m honest.”

Lilly smiled slightly, “I think you secretly enjoyed it.”

“It’s no secret,” Neville said with a smile, “I did enjoy it. Harry said I was his best friend.”

Lilly frowned, “Uh…yeah? Everyone knows that.”

“I didn’t know that,” Neville said as he looked down at her, “I thought Ron and Hermione were his best friends. As it turns out, it’s a whole other thing between him and Hermione, but he said that I’m his best friend.”

“So you’re just replacing me now that I’m shagging you, huh?” Lilly teased, “All those Spice Girls concerts and Quidditch World Cup games just mean nothing now, I guess.”

Neville laughed heartily at that and kissed the top of her head. He shut his eyes and smiled at the smell of her hair, it was stupid, but he wanted to remember all of these little details for the times when they were apart, “I love you so much Lil and I can’t tell you how happy I am about this whole Wednesday afternoon joint class.”

Lilly’s eyes lit up, “Oh, I know! We will have to work but still, getting to see you will be amazing. It also means that we’ll get to work together in simulated situations before we graduate which means you’ll be able to see that I’m not going to get myself killed on my first day on the job.”

Neville doubted that anything would ease his worries, but he didn’t want to tell Lilly that. Instead, he smiled and said, “I hadn’t thought about it like that, but that’s true. Anyway, how is your new life in Amiens?”

“It’s pretty amazing,” Lilly admitted, “I just wish I could move it all to England so that I could see you every day, but I love it. My mentor is called Clara Selwyn, and she’s from Britain too. She ran away to France because her brother was a Death Eater and she’s been there for years, but she’s getting kind of sick of it because her fiancé works over here-”

“Yeah, I know, her fiancé is Sorenson,” Neville cut in, “Sadie’s brother.”

“How did you know that?” Lilly asked in surprise.

“Because I spoke to her for ages at Sadie and Theo’s wedding while you were getting drunk with Daphne and Hermione,” Neville said as he shot a grin her way.

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Great, that’s really embarrassing. I felt bad that I didn’t know that, being so close with Sadie and all but Clara didn’t seem bothered by it. She’s really nice; I get to shadow her so I see all of the operations she does and I also help with her rounds in the wards. Once she’s satisfied with my scores in the written tests and my answers during observation, she’s going to let me assist on operations.”

“It sounds like you love it,” Neville said with a small smile.

“I do,” Lilly said eagerly, “After the first six months are over I’ll get to come home to you boys and observe or assist in the field too. To be honest, the only thing I don’t like about the course is Marcel.”

“That sounds like a sleazy name.”

“It belongs to a sleazy guy,” Lilly said distastefully, “He’s French, and he flirts with me all of the time. When I say all of the time, by the way, I literally mean all of the time. The other day we were getting ready to go and observe a guy getting life or death surgery. We were getting prepped to go in, and I was trying to get ready to see someone die in front of me then Marcel started flirting with me.”

“Just threaten him and tell him to leave you alone,” Neville said as he ran his hand along her spine, “You’re short but scary, I’m sure it would work.”

“No, he just doesn’t seem to get the message,” Lilly said with a roll of her eyes, “I tried to tell him to stop every single time, but he kept doing it. I spoke to Clara, and she said if he kept making comments, she would have a formal word with him about it.”

“I’ll have a ‘formal’ word with him about it too,” Neville said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, “I’ll see him when I come to visit you next weekend.”

“You’re going to threaten him, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Neville chirped, “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Nope, I think it’s pretty hot,” Lilly grinned.

“Good, because I’m going to tell him if he doesn’t leave my girlfriend alone, that I happen to know where to find the sword of Gryffindor _and_ how to use it.”

Lilly’s grin widened, “Oh, you definitely know how to use that sword,” she whispered as she caught his lips in a kiss.

* * *

****

Daphne had been sitting in an uncomfortable chair in the kitchen for the last half an hour. Her eyes kept flickering over towards the fireplace as she waited for Harry to get home. She had it all planned out. She would offer him a cup of tea, ask about his week and then calmly explain everything to him.

All the same, she hadn’t felt this nervous in a long time. She was strong; she was calm; she was cool; she was the ice queen. This shouldn’t have upset her as much as it had, she kept telling herself that she was being silly, but that didn’t make her feel any less sick to her stomach about the events of the past week.

When the floo did eventually whir to life, Daphne jumped out of her skin because the room had been entirely silent up to that point. She watched the flames warp anxiously, and after what felt like forever, Harry stepped out.

He looked around the room, probably expecting it to be empty but then his eyes fell on Daphne. He started to smile, but then a frown began to form on his face, “Daph, what’s wrong?”

The look on her face told him that something was seriously wrong and his first thought was to panic.

“What’s happened?” Harry asked as he pulled her to her feet and enveloped her in a hug. The moment he wrapped his arms around her, she began to cry quietly. As a whole Daphne didn’t sob. The only exception had been when she finally let herself break down over Tracey’s death.

“Daph,” Harry whispered as he held her tightly, “Please tell me you’re okay. Did someone hurt you? Tell me what’s going on, please.”

Her body shook in his arms, and he closed his eyes tightly. His worst fear had been realised, he had been gone for two weeks, and someone had hurt her. He hadn’t been there to protect her; it was just like he had told Neville that he feared.

“I’ve been so scared,” Daphne said breathlessly, “I don’t know how to tell you and…I…I…please don’t leave me, Harry, I’m so sorry.”

“Daphne, calm down,” Harry said in the most soothing voice that he could muster, “What are you talking about? I would never leave you, why would you say that?”

“Because of what he did,” Daphne said through a sob.

Harry’s entire body went tense, “What? What _who_ did? What happened, and who did it?”

Daphne pulled back from the hug, her eyes were red and bloodshot, and she couldn’t look him in the eye, “I…about a week ago I got paired up with a mentor at work and…and…”

“And what, Daphne?”

Daphne shut her eyes tightly. Harry sighed, he could tell that it was tough for her to say what she needed to say, so he picked her up and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs with her on his lap.

Daphne instantly hid her head in his chest and said very quickly, “He sexually assaulted me and blackmailed me all week. It started with just comments, and he would rub his leg against mine underneath the desk…”

She told him the entire story, and throughout it all, Harry did not say a single word. He listened with a face that gave nothing away and Daphne spilled it all out. She cried, and she stumbled over her words, and she didn’t look him in the eye once because she just couldn’t face the shame and disappointment that she knew she would see there.

When she had finally told him how the story ended, how she had eventually told Bill earlier that day and that Fawley would be punished, she looked up at Harry with wide, terrified eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Harry asked in an emotionless tone, “None of this is your fault.”

“But it still happened.”

“It happened to you Daphne,” Harry said as he got up and set her down on the chair, “You didn’t make it happen.”

Daphne looked at him, warily, “But he…”

“He violated you,” Harry said, rage creeping into his voice, “He used you, and he hurt you. _Nobody_ gets to treat you like that, do you understand me? Because you might have thawed, but you are still a queen to me. You are selfless, you have a beautiful soul, you are kind, you are intelligent, you are brave, and you are perfect.”

Daphne blinked the tears out of her eyes and hugged him tightly, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Harry promised. He wrapped his arms around, “So much, and this does not change that. Do you understand?”

She nodded, but there was nothing else that she could say to him. Harry put an arm around her waist and gently led her upstairs. He said she needed sleep because she looked exhausted and truth be told, she felt it.

He sat silently by her dresser while she changed and got ready for bed. Then he lay with her, and she was asleep faster than she had been in weeks. The comforting beat of his heart, the familiar smell of him and the circular motions that his hand was rubbing on her back lulled her into a peaceful sleep.

Once she was asleep, Harry got to his feet and tiptoed out of the bedroom. He walked into the drawing-room, and his eyes were drawn to the drinks cabinet.

“Don’t you dare, Harry James Potter.”

“I won’t,” Harry told his mother, who was watching him suspiciously from the frame of her portrait. He threw some floo powder into the fire and said, “11 Grimmauld Place.”

Sadie’s face appeared in the fire quickly, “How is she?”

“She’s asleep,” Harry said quietly, “Can you come over to keep watch? There’s something I need to do.”

“Harry,” Sadie began to say, “If you kill him-”

“I’m not going to kill him, Sadie,” Harry snapped, “But it is taking _everything_ ounce of self-control that I have right now not to open the bottle of Ogdens in that cupboard. So I need to go to the person who keeps my temper in check and makes sure that I don’t kill fucking bastards like this!”

“Neville,” Sadie said softly.

Harry bowed his head, “Yeah. But I can’t leave her alone, Sadie.”

“I know,” Sadie said, “Stand back, I’m coming through.”

“Before you do, tell Theo to get Draco and be here in ten minutes. Okay?”

Sadie nodded, and Harry stood back from the fireplace. A few minutes later, she stepped out of the fire.

She kissed him on the cheek and said, “Don’t do anything stupid.”

Harry sighed but nodded. “Make yourself at home, okay?”

Sadie just nodded in response.

As soon as she left the room, Harry conjured a Patronus and said, “Neville, you remember that chat we had in the Forest of Dean about how I should come to you if I felt like I was going to do something stupid that would put me in Azkaban? Well, I’m testing your loyalty. I need you right now.”

He sent the Patronus to Neville and sunk into one of the hard wooden chairs. How could he have let this happen? This was all his fault if he had just _been_ here…if he had been able to help her, if-

“ _Floo signature, Neville Longbottom_.”

“Access granted,” Harry said, he hadn’t expected Neville to arrive so quickly.

The floo roared to life, and Neville folded himself out of the fireplace.

“Good, you’re wearing a cardigan. I need the cardigan-wearing Neville right now.”

“What’s going on, Harry?”

“Can you please stop me killing someone?”

“Woah, rewind,” Neville said quickly, “Who are you killing and why are you killing them?”

_“Floo signatures, Draco Black and Theodore Nott.”_

“Access Granted.”

The floo roared to life for the second time, and Draco stepped through with Theo hot on his heels.

“What’s going on? Theo just said I was urgently needed here,” Draco said as he frowned around at all the serious faces.

“Is someone hurt?” Theo asked nervously.

“I don’t want to get into it in detail,” Harry said, “But Daphne got paired up with a mentor at work, and the fucking bastard tried it on with her, got told no and then blackmailed her and sexually assaulted her.”

“What?” Theo hissed, “By sexual assault do you mean-”

“Not that far but pretty fucking unacceptable all the same,” Harry said, “So we are going to go and deal with him.”

“And by deal do you mean kill?” Theo asked, “Because if so I would suggest we take him to muggle ground, somewhere isolated where they wouldn’t think to send cadaver dogs.”

“Or we cut him up and portkey his body parts into different oceans,” Draco said, “The muggle authorities are useless when it comes to working together so they would never be able to solve it.”

“Right Bonnie and Clyde, we’re here to _stop_ Harry murdering this guy, not to help him,” Neville told them.

“Why? He hurt Daphne; he deserves to fucking die,” Theo said.

Draco and Neville looked at him in disbelief.

“She’s my _family_ , guys,” Theo said, “I know we act like we don’t like each other, but she’s my cousin, and nobody treats my family like that.”

Draco gripped Theo’s wrist, “Calm down, Theo. She means a lot to all of us, but landing ourselves in Azkaban isn't going to help her. Is it?”

“Guys,” Harry said, his voice shook, “We need to do something. I’m going to flip, you have no idea how close I am to losing it right now,” Harry said in a dangerous tone of voice.

“Okay, Harry, I’m sorry. How do we find him?” Draco asked.

“He gambles in Knockturn on a Sunday night,” Harry said.

“So we want to catch him on his own and whizz him away to somewhere isolated,” Theo said, “How about I lure him into the bathroom, and Draco knocks him out then we side apparate him to St. Kilda?”

“Where?”

“Scottish island, it’s in the middle of nowhere with no inhabitants,” Theo said, “Once we get him there, we bind him, and then we wake him up and hex him within an inch of his life.”

Harry nodded, “Yeah, I like that plan. Let’s go.”

“You aren’t going to Knockturn Alley right now,” Neville said, he grabbed his friends arm, “If someone dodgy so much as looks the wrong way at you, you would knock them out.”

“You’re right,” Harry admitted grudgingly, “Draco, Theo; would you two mind playing fetch?”

Draco and Theo smirked at each other, “It would be our pleasure,” Draco said maliciously.

“We’ll meet you on St. Kilda,” Neville said, “Bring him to us in one piece. Harry deserves to destroy this guy, not us.”

“Yes boss,” Theo joked as he and Draco headed for the front door so that they could apparate down to Knockturn Alley.

* * *

When Stuart Fawley woke up, the first thing he was aware of was that he was freezing. The second thing was that he couldn’t move his hands or legs. He jolted awake sharply and looked around; he was tied to a chair in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. He could hear the ocean crashing against the shore, and there was the distinctive salty aroma of seaweed in the air.

There were no street lights, only the dim light of the full moon. His sense of dread kicked in when he heard a distant howl.

“Don’t try and work out where you are,” A voice from the shadows said, “You never will and knowing won’t help you anyway.”

“Who are you?” Fawley asked. He sounded far less afraid than he was.

“I’m glad you asked that,” The voice said as it got closer, “My name is Theodore Nott which probably means nothing to you, but it should because – Lumos – Daphne is my cousin, but I love her like a sister.”

Fawley swallowed as he looked into Theo’s enraged face, “Look, man, this has been a misunderstanding.”

“Oh, there is no misunderstanding here,” Another voice said, a smoother one, “We know exactly what you did to Daphne.”

“We _?_ ” Fawley asked. The panic was beginning to show in his voice now.

“I’m Draco Black, formerly Malfoy. I suspect you have heard of me. My Father is rotting in a commonwealth prison for torturing scumbags like you and – Lumos – I’m one of Daphne’s best friends, not to mention her first love.”

Fawley already looked terrified, which pleased Draco and Theo immensely because they were only the warm-up act.

“It’s not what you think, really,” Fawley said quickly, “I just kissed her, how was I to know that she wasn’t into it?”

“Of course you knew that she wasn’t into it,” A third voice said from the darkness, “But you forced yourself on her anyway.”

“Oh for the love of Merlin,” Fawley muttered, “Who are you people?”

“I’m Neville Longbottom. If the name rings a bell it’s because I got famous when I beheaded Voldemort’s snake last year and – Lumos – I’m here because I have one vital job to do tonight.”

“What was that job again, Neville?” Theo asked.

“To stop me from doing something that will land me in Azkaban,” A fourth voice said, “You see Fawley, I have a bit of a temper.”

“And who are you, my would-be assassin?”

“My name is Harry Potter and – Lumos – nobody fucks with my fiancé.”

* * *

“Harry!” Daphne exclaimed when Harry got back.

“She woke up not long after you left,” Sadie said by way of explanation, “All the tea in the world couldn’t calm her down when she realised where you were.”

Harry pulled Daphne into his arms, and Sadie eyed his bruised and scratched knuckles, “Are you okay?”

Harry nodded, “Everyone is fine, and Fawley is alive,” he promised his fiancé.

Daphne drew back. She wasn’t crying anymore; her ice queen façade was back up. He knew that would bring its own challenges, she bottled everything up, but if she carried on that way, she would explode.

“What did you do to him?” Daphne asked, her eyes searching his.

“Let’s just say he’ll be spending quite a bit of time getting acquainted with four white walls in St. Mungo’s,” Harry said cryptically.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, “You’re not going to tell me any more than that, are you?”

“I don’t think you need to know the ins and outs of it,” Harry said, “More to the point, I don’t think you want to. After all, it’s not going to make what he did to you go away, is it?”

“No,” Daphne agreed. Her icy blue eyes met his, “Nothing short of being obliviated can do that, but knowing that he suffered would give me satisfaction.”

Harry met her eyes, “Would it?”

Sadie stepped over and grabbed Daphne’s hand, “Would it?” she echoed, “Or would it just make you realise quite how dangerous your future husband is?”

“I know how dangerous he is, Sadie,” Daphne said, her eyes on Harry’s, “I know what he would do for the people that he loves… so what did you do to him?”

Harry let go of her arms and took a step back, “Okay, you want to know what I did to him? I had Neville hold him down while I stood on his crotch until he was screaming for mercy, I did that so he can _never_ treat a woman the way he treated you, ever again. Then I let Theo beat the shit out of him for what he did to you.”

Daphne swallowed as a dark look passed through Harry’s eyes, “Then I broke his leg and told him that it would be better for everyone if he went to St Mungo's and told them he had a bad fall down the stairs because if he didn’t, I would find him and I would kill him, slowly and painfully. Starting by cutting off his balls and finishing by expelling his entrails while he was still alive.”

Sadie sighed and looked at her best friend, “Are you happy that you asked?”

“Yes,” Daphne said honestly, “I needed the closure. I needed to know that he got what he deserved.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry said, “I know I took it too far. Most guys would have just knocked him out.”

“You are not most guys,” Daphne said as she wrapped her arms around him, “You’ve lost too much.”

Harry melted into her embrace and glanced at Sadie, “You should go home. Theo made a real mess of his hands.”

Sadie nodded, “She’ll be okay now that you’re home,” she said.

And without another word, she disappeared through the floo.

“I’m sorry,” Harry murmured against Daphne’s neck, “I’m sorry for failing you.”

Daphne frowned at him, “You didn’t fail me, what are you talking about?”

“I promised myself that I would always protect you and Teddy,” Harry said, “When Neville and I were out there in the Forest of Dean I promised myself that. I failed because if I had been here, you would have told me and it wouldn’t have gotten as bad as it did.”

“The Forest of Dean? I thought you were in isolation on the base,” Daphne said.

“No, we had to spend two weeks doing survival training. They ditched all the Auror pairs in the middle of nowhere,” Harry said quickly, “But that wasn’t the point you were supposed to take away from what I just said.”

“I know, but frankly, I think you’re being stupid,” Daphne admitted, “I get that you have your whole hero complex and you think you’re Atlas, walking around carrying the woes of the whole wizarding world on your bloody shoulders but you are being stupid if you think this was your fault. You were working and I…I let it get that bad, I should have told someone sooner.”

“No, don’t you dare go down that road,” Harry said, “It wasn’t your fault, none of it was your fault. He blackmailed you; he twisted your thoughts so that you would be too scared to talk to anyone about it. That’s what sick bastards like him do; you acted exactly the way he planned for you to act.”

Daphne sighed, “And why? I’m supposed to be strong. They called me the ice queen. Why did I let this happen to me?”

“You didn’t let it happen to you,” Harry said firmly, “It was a shitty thing that happened to you; it wasn’t something that you could control. You’ve wanted to be a Curse Breaker since you started Hogwarts, I bet that’s in your employee file. Fawley used that to prey on you because that’s exactly what he is, a predator.”

Daphne nodded slowly, “You’re right; it wasn’t my fault. He’s just a sick bastard.”

Harry smiled slightly and reached out to grab her hand. When he touched her, she flinched, and he looked up in surprise.

“I’m sorry,” Daphne said quickly, “It was just a…reflex.”

Harry held his hand out to her, “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“I know,” Daphne said. She took his hand and looked into his eye, “But you will do terrible things to protect me, and I…I’m scared that one day if something does happen to me….you’ll turn, you’ll go down a dark path.”

“Not as long as I have Neville,” Harry said, he sat down and motioned for her to sit next to him.

“Oh no,” Daphne said with a slight smile, “You spend two weeks camping in the Forest of Dean. Is this the point when you tell me you’re more like Draco and Theo than you realised?”

“Well, we are,” Harry chuckled, “But not to that extent.”

“So you didn’t shag him then?” Daphne teased.

Harry shot her an amused look, “Hilarious.”

* * *

When Sadie stepped into the kitchen of her house, she wasn’t surprised to find it empty. She walked through the door to number 12 and made her way up into their kitchen. When she reached it, she heard the sound of soft mumbling.

She yawned and stepped into the doorway. Theo was sitting in a kitchen chair. Hermione was kneeling by his side, dabbing a cloth into a murky green liquid then applying it to his hands. Theo was hissing in pain as she did so, and Draco stood behind him, his hands on his best friends shoulders.

“So Harry didn’t kill him.”

They all looked up when they heard Sadie’s voice.

Hermione shook her head, “No, but Theo gave it his best shot.”

“You have made your disapproval clear, Mione,” Theo said through gritted teeth.

“She’s nearly done,” Draco said, tightening his grip on Theo’s shoulder.

“Well,” Sadie said. She cleared her throat and pulled a bottle of Ogden's out of the cupboard, “I said that I wanted him to suffer.”

“And I told you that our boys would make sure that he did,” Hermione agreed.

Sadie poured out four glasses of firewhiskey, “You did.”

“I wasn’t expecting Theo to break four fingers doing so,” Hermione said, looking at Theo in exasperation.

“He hurt Daphne,” Theo said by way of explanation.

“And he deserved whatever he got,” Hermione said, “But physical violence is beneath you, Theo.”

“She’s right,” Sadie said, putting a glass of firewhiskey on the table in front of him and handing one to Draco, “You’re better than that,” she sipped from her glass.

“You are,” Draco agreed, “But sometimes you let your temper get the better of you. Sometimes you are hot-headed enough to be a Gryffindor, Theo.”

“When it concerns the people I love, I guess I am,” Theo said simply.

“Alright,” Hermione said, she pushed herself to her feet, “You’re done.”

“There you are, Hermione,” Sadie said, handing her a glass of firewhiskey, “I know its not your drink of choice, but it does steady the nerves.”

“I don’t need-”

Sadie gripped her wrist, “Look at your hand.”

Surely enough, Hermione’s hand shook. The dark-haired girl nodded and accepted the glass. She took a sip and made a face at the bitter, sharp taste.

“I hated seeing Daphne so vulnerable,” Hermione said. She sank into a chair opposite Theo, “I’ve never seen her like that.”

“We have,” Theo said.

“Just once,” Draco said with a frown, “During the war.”

“Was that when she was under the nightmare curse?” Hermione asked.

The three Slytherins nodded. Hermione asked, “Do you know what she saw there?”

“Her worst fear,” Sadie said, “Which at the time was becoming like the people she despised most in the world.”

“Her parents?” Hermione asked.

“The Death Eaters, my aunt in particular,” Draco replied. He remained standing behind Theo’s chair, but Sadie had sunk into a seat next to Hermione.

“Bellatrix?” Hermione asked, her hand automatically pulling the sleeve of her top down.

Sadie noticed and grabbed Hermione’s hand, “You don’t have to hide it from us. It’s just a scar, one that reminds you of what you are fighting for every time you walk into the Ministry and one that made you stronger. What happened to Daphne, it’s going to leave a scar too, just not one that we can see.”

“But she will get past it,” Theo agreed, “She’s one of the strongest people I know.”

Sadie nodded.

“And while we’re on the subject of difficult truths,” Theo said. He looked up at his best friend, “Draco, you have something you need to discuss with Hermione. If you want us to stay, we will. Equally, if you want us to go, we will.”

Draco shook his head, “Stay,” he said.

Hermione frowned as her fiancé took a seat next to his best friend.

“We talked a lot when we were in isolation,” Draco said honestly, “I mean you do when you spend two weeks straight with someone. I thought we knew everything about each other, but it turns out that there are always things you can learn about another person because we all change and evolve, every day.”

Sadie nodded thoughtfully.

“As it turns out, Theo’s actually pretty wise,” Draco said with a slight smile, “And one of the things he told me is that I need to be completely truthful with you if I want our relationship to work.”

Hermione’s frown deepened, “But I thought I already knew everything about the war?”

“Not quite everything,” Draco confessed, “I haven’t told you the whole truth about Pansy. You know that I was in love with her and that she died, but you don’t know why. You don’t know that behind her cold exterior, she had a wicked sense of humour. You don’t know that she bullied people to cover up her own insecurities. You don’t know that she had a way of cheering me up when everything felt hopeless, and that’s my fault. You don’t know any of that because I was too afraid to tell you, because of the way she was to you at school.”

“I never told you the good parts about Harry for the same reason, for a long time,” Hermione admitted, “I understand more than you think.”

“You don’t understand all of it though,” Sadie said, looking pointedly at Draco.

Draco nodded, “Sadie’s right. The reason I don’t like to talk about Pansy is because it still hurts to think about her death and that’s not because she was the great love of my life. I did love her, but I lost a lot more than a girlfriend when she died because she was…” his voice caught.

“She was pregnant when she died, Hermione,” Theo finished.

Hermione’s eyes widened, “Oh…Merlin…”

Draco cleared his throat and looked down at the table, “I told her it would be okay, and I betrayed my friends to keep her and the baby safe. I went back to Voldemort, I left Theo and Sadie, Daphne and Tracey…I left them in that bathroom to starve because I selfishly only thought of that baby.”

The room was silent as Draco took a breath, “I re-pledged myself to Voldemort. I tortured Luna Lovegood to do that, and I…I lost myself if I’m honest. For a little while, I lost myself, and Theo shunned me which he was perfectly within his rights to. It was Daphne who kept me alive that summer after the war, which is why I stood by and let Theo beat Fawley within an inch of his life tonight.”

Hermione reached across the table and took his hand.

“I loved Pansy, but the reason I fell apart after the war,” Draco blinked away a couple of stray tears and took a shuddering breath, “It was because I was mourning that baby and the life I could have had. I was in a very dark place, and that baby was the light at the end of the tunnel, the thing I clung to. It was the hope of a better world.”

“There is a better world,” Hermione said softly as she walked around the table so that she could hug him, “Not the world you envisioned, but a better world all the same and you helped build that.”

Draco breathed in deeply, “I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t see the point in bringing up something I buried a long time ago, but Theo felt that you ought to know the truth.”

“And he was right,” Hermione said, smiling sadly at Theo, “I did need to know.”

Theo nodded.

“Thank you,” Hermione mouthed as she held Draco tightly.

Theo smiled and got to his feet. He pulled Sadie up and said, “Now that all is right with the world again. Can we go home, love?”

“Yes,” Sadie sighed, “I’m exhausted.”

Draco nodded. He got to his feet and rubbed his eyes, “Thanks, Theo.”

“For what?” Theo asked from the doorway.

“Everything over the last two weeks,” Draco said genuinely, “And everything before that too.”

Theo smiled, “Anytime, Draco,” he said as he put his arm around Sadie’s shoulders and led his wife out of the house.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	31. Friends Like You

Daphne felt sick on Monday morning. She knew she would only have to face a few hours at work because Bill had said that she could go home after the review. All the same, the thought of having to go through it all with Bill wasn’t a pleasant one.

Harry tried his best to make her forget about it. He made her pancakes which she couldn’t eat because her stomach felt so unsettled and he made her a cup of tea which went cold before she could try to will herself to drink it.

“It’s going to be okay, Daph,” He told her, “Fawley won’t be there if that’s what you’re worried about it.”

Daphne shook her head and got to her feet, “I just don’t want to have to go through it all again. I know that I have to for Fawley to be punished, but that doesn’t mean that I have to look forward to it.”

Harry sighed and hugged her, “I understand that. If it helps, think about what we’re going to do afterwards. As soon as you’ve gone through everything with Bill, you get to come home by which point Teddy will be here. Then we’ll have a great afternoon at the Puddlemere match, and then we’ll all go out for a family dinner.”

“Then we go to Sadie and Theo’s and get drunk,” Daphne said with a small smile, “A perfect family day followed by a piss-up. You’re right, that’s exactly what I need.”

Harry smiled back at her, “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Daphne said.

“Can I kiss you?” Harry asked tentatively. After everything that had happened, she was a little jumpy, so he was somewhat cautious when it came to physical contact.

Daphne nodded. Harry stepped forward and kissed her gently. At first, she tensed up, but then he cupped her face with his hands, and she sighed with relief. She had been terrified to kiss Harry after what Fawley had done. She had been scared that it would flash her back to that moment, but it didn’t. Harry kissed her so gently. He poured so much love and affection into that kiss. So much so that she felt emotional when she pulled back.

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” Harry said, resting his forehead against hers.

Daphne managed a small smile, “You better have Teddy in that little Puddlemere shirt I bought him when I get back.”

Harry smiled at her retreating form as she walked towards the front door.

* * *

When Daphne stepped into Bill’s office and saw a rather surly looking official sort of wizard sitting next to Bill at the desk, her pulse began to race.

“Good morning Daphne,” Bill said with a warm smile, “There’s no need to be alarmed, this is my colleague from the legal department of the bank. His name is Mr Gibbs, and he will be taking down notes today.”

Daphne nodded and sat down in the seat opposite of Bill and Gibbs.

“Now, normally Mr Fawley would be here as well, but unfortunately, he is in St. Mungos after having an accident over the weekend. As such, we will have to conduct his part of this review separately. So I will just outline what I need from you today Daphne. I understand how difficult it is for you to talk about this, but I need you to go through everything with me again,” Bill said calmly, “You can do it in your own time, and you can take as many breaks as you need. I just need you to start at the beginning and tell me everything with as much detail as you can remember.”

Daphne nodded once more. She took a deep breath, and she began to recount the whole hideous affair. She felt a little bit more like the ice queen once more as she coolly and calmly went through it all again. Mr Gibbs scribbled away furiously, and Bill kept his gaze downwards so that Gibbs couldn’t see the anger in his eyes. After all, he didn’t want to be accused of being anything less than impartial.

When Daphne had finished, Mr Gibbs nodded and thanked her. There was silence in the office as he gathered his papers and put them in his briefcase. When he left the office, Daphne let out a sigh of relief and relaxed a little.

Bill smiled at her, “You did great Daphne. Do you want coffee?”

Daphne nodded, having everything out in the open officially made her feel like a weight had been lifted from her chest. She felt the greatest sense of relief, and now, she could see the light at the end of what had been a very long, dark tunnel.

She was pulled out of her daze when Bill placed a cup of coffee down in front of her.

“Fawley is in St Mungos,” Bill said as he glanced down at a sticky note on his desk, “He has three broken ribs, six broken fingers, two broken twos, a fractured nose and a cracked knee cap. He says he had too much to drink and fell down the stairs last night.”

Daphne nodded and glanced down, “Does he?”

“He does,” Bill said, “But I know what happened and you know what happened. I think it’s fair to say that he had a little bit of help falling down those stairs, isn’t it?”

Daphne held onto the coffee cup and looked up at Bill, “I think that would be a fair judgement, yes.”

Bill nodded, “I don’t often advocate that people deserve horrific injuries. Not after this,” he gestured at his face, “But in this case, he did.”

Daphne smirked into her coffee cup, “So the hospital report didn’t mention any injuries to his groin then?”

Bill raised an eyebrow, “No, I suppose he elected to keep that to himself.”

“I suppose he did,” Daphne said smoothly. She sipped her coffee and said no more.

Bill sat down on the edge of his desk, “I often wonder why you were in Slytherin, you know? The Greengrass family are notoriously associated with Ravenclaw after all, and you do fit the bill, but then I see it.”

Daphne smiled, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It was intended as one,” Bill said calmly, “Now, are you sure you want to come back to work tomorrow? I wouldn’t begrudge you needing an extra day to gather your wits.”

“My wits are gathered,” Daphne promised him.

“Well then I suppose I should tell you where to report to,” Bill said, “Since you have a new mentor now.”

Daphne looked up, “You assigned me one then?”

“Yep,” Bill said, “And I think you’ll be a little bit more satisfied with this one than the last. I did think about assigning you a woman to avoid any difficulties in the future, but then I realised that you would get pissed off with me if I did that, so your new mentor is another man.”

“That’s fine as long as he’s not a sleazy bastard,” Daphne said.

“He has definitely never been accused of that,” Bill promised her.

“And he’s competent? He’ll let me go out in the field?”

“He’ll let you go out in the field, but I’m not sure how competent he is to be completely honest,” Bill said, “He can be a bit of an immature twat at times.”

Daphne smiled broadly at that, “It’s you, isn’t it?”

“Which part gave it away?” Bill asked with an amused smile.

“The immature twat part, with all due respect boss,” Daphne added the last part as an afterthought.

“First rule of this partnership, I’m your mentor, not your boss,” Bill said, “And second rule, if you want to go out in the field, bring me snacks because my wife has me on a permanent diet and she literally locks me in the dog house if she catches me snacking in the house. Can you handle those conditions?”

Daphne smiled, “Yeah, I think those conditions are fair.”

“Perfect,” Bill said cheerfully, “Now get your arse home. Enjoy a little bit of downtime and be here ready to work tomorrow.”

“I will,” Daphne promised as she got to her feet, “I’m taking Teddy out to the Puddlemere game with Harry this afternoon then I’m getting hammered with my friends tonight, so permission to be a little hungover tomorrow please?”

“Bring me a coffee and a breakfast pastry, and it’s a deal.”

Daphne grinned, “Thanks, Bill, see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” Bill said with a fond smile.

* * *

Daphne found herself breathing a little bit easier as she walked through Diagon Alley. She felt lighter, and she knew now, having done it, that telling Bill was the right thing to do. It made her feel stupid for being so scared to do it in the first place, but it had been dealt with now, and that was what mattered. She left the alley and apparated back to Potter Manor; she felt a smile slip onto her face the moment she stepped over the threshold into the garden because she could hear Teddy laughing.

She followed the laughter around the house and found the two boys in the back garden. Harry was dangling from his broom upside down making silly faces at Teddy while the little boy clapped and laughed in amusement.

Daphne shook her head and didn’t bother hiding the amused smile that was plastered on her face. The moment Harry saw her, he righted himself and smiled slightly nervous at her, “Was it okay?”

“It was fine, just like you said it would be,” Daphne said honestly, “I told them everything, a scribe wrote it down then Bill told me that I had been assigned a new mentor.”

“Hopefully not a sleazy you know what,” Harry said, for the benefit of Teddy’s little ears.

“Nope,” Daphne said with a smile, “My new mentor is Bill, he wants to get out in the field again.”

Harry laughed and dismounted his broom, “Why do I get the feeling you’re going to love your job just a little bit more now?”

Daphne laughed too, “Yeah, I think you might be right. But now is not the time to talk about work, now is the time to talk about Quidditch! Is my little munchkin in his Puddlemere strip?”

“Yes, he is,” Harry said, he picked the little boy up, “As requested by Daphne and we always do what Daphne wants don’t we, Ted?”

Teddy beamed at Daphne and held his arms out to her, “Daffee!”

Daphne’s smile widened as she took Teddy from Harry, “Hey Teddy, I have missed you _so_ much!”

Harry smiled at the two of them with a mixture of fondness and sadness. He loved these moments; he loved that they felt like a real family, but he knew he would see less of both of them now that Auror training had started.

Daphne caught his look and smiled, “You’ll see plenty of him once everything is official. He’ll be there every night when you come in from work.”

“I know,” Harry said, “But that still feels like a long way away, and I miss him.”

“I know,” Daphne said as she grabbed his hand, “I do too, but let’s not let ourselves mope today. Let’s just enjoy this day, okay?”

“Okay,” Harry agreed with a small smile, “Let’s go watch Puddlemere destroy the Appleby Arrows Teddy!”

* * *

The Puddlemere game ran late, which meant that Harry, Daphne and Teddy ended up having dinner late. As a result, by the time they dropped Teddy off back at Andromeda’s, they were late for the post-dinner gathering at No. 11 Grimmauld Place.

By the time they got there, everyone was already gathered in the drawing-room. The couple made their way upstairs arm in arm then entered the drawing-room. All eyes turned towards them, and the room fell silent.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “You don’t need to act awkwardly around me just because I had an emotional breakdown last week. For those of you who weren’t entirely in the picture, yes I worked with a sleazy bastard, and yes, he sexually assaulted me. But he’s being punished, and I’m fine so don’t you dare walk on eggshells around me tonight, or I will curse you all into oblivion.”

Susan got to her feet and wrapped her arms around her friend, “You’re a queen, and I’ve missed you.”

Daphne laughed at that, “Yeah, where the hell have you been for the last two weeks by the way?”

“Undercover training,” Susan said with a smirk, “It’s top secret.”

“But you’re going to tell her anyway,” Percy said with a discreet roll of his eyes.

Susan shrugged, “Yeah, but Daphne can keep secrets, so it’s fine. It was kind of like basic training for bounty hunters. They chuck you in the middle of nowhere with your trainer for a couple of weeks to see what you’re made of.”

“And you aced it, I imagine,” Daphne said.

“Yep,” Susan said proudly, “Best since Percy Weasley apparently.”

“I did tell her that probably wasn’t a compliment,” Ron joked.

Daphne snorted, “Hey Ron, how’s Katie?”

Ron shrugged, “The same as always, she’s healthy, which is the main thing.”

“Good,” Daphne said somewhat awkwardly, she often found it hard to keep a conversation going with Ron. Harry could feel the tension, so he stepped forward, “I reckon we could do with a good catch up mate. What’s going on with the shop?”

The two of them started to chat as they walked away. Susan immediately linked her arm through Daphne’s and swept her out onto the balcony.

“You are such a bad liar.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You aren’t fine,” Susan said with a pointed look, “Girls like us act like we don’t care when men treat us like shit, but we do care. I cared about the fact that guys didn’t want anything more than sex from me, but I pretended that I didn’t. You cared that guys saw you as this sexy ice queen who was cold and emotionless, but you pretended you didn’t. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

“I know what you’re trying to say Suse, but I really am fine,” Daphne said, “I know that what he did was wrong and I know that I don’t deserve to be treated like that. But at the end of the day, my fiancé, his Auror partner, my cousin and my ex-boyfriend found the guy who did it and put him in hospital and to be honest, that’s enough for me.”

Susan smiled slightly, “Fair enough.”

Daphne leant over the balcony and said, “How was undercover training? Because I don’t believe you aced it without any consequences. They use psychological tactics with these sorts of things, and you don’t exactly have a pain free past.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Susan agreed, “It was pretty horrific. I had to relieve some shitty things, and it did change me. But maybe I needed that, I suppose I have always been a bit immature and now that I’ve had a reality check…I feel a few years older.”

Daphne nodded thoughtfully and looked down at London as it began to come to life, “I feel a little older after the events of the last couple of weeks too.”

Susan chuckled as she opened the door into the drawing-room, “Who would have thought that we would all grow up so quickly? I feel like we barely left school.”

“Tell me about it,” Daphne said as they re-joined the party. She couldn’t stop thinking about how much she and Harry missed Teddy when they were apart from him at the moment. She felt older, she felt responsible for that little boy, and now that they weren’t in school, it felt wrong to keep him at Andromeda’s.

“Oh, there you are!” Hermione called when she saw Daphne and Susan, “The boys have just gone downstairs to the man cave, so it’s just the girls now.”

“Which means you’re gossiping?” Daphne guessed.

“We were just catching up on the last couple of weeks actually,” Sadie said, “But we can always gossip if you want to.”

Daphne laughed, “Not without Lilly; she would never forgive us.”

“Talking about Lilly, I assume you heard about her new nickname?” Sadie asked.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, “Do we want to know?”

“I want to know,” Susan smirked, “Go on, Sadie.”

“Well,” Sadie said with a smile, “Obviously her and Neville had that whole stupid “We’re on a break” thing going on over his birthday. Then Neville realised that they were both being stupid, so he ran away to France to tell her how much he loved her. I guess once he got there, he _really_ told her how much he loved her because Lilly’s fellow course-mates now know her as the girl who had loud sex with her hero boyfriend on her first night.”

The others all laughed at this, Susan in particular cackled, but then again, she had known Lilly longer than the others.

“Well, there are worse things to be known as,” Hermione said, “Behind my back, they call me Harry Potter’s encyclopedia because _they_ think that I think I’m above them. I’m just trying to keep my head down and learn everything that I can so I can do my job well…”

“And they are jealous of that,” Daphne said, “So ignore them. You know that you’re far more than Harry’s encyclopedia and you know that he wouldn’t have survived the war without you. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “I know, but nobody likes being the new girl with all of the office bitches breathing down your neck.”

“Tell me about it,” Sadie said with a roll of her eyes, “I don’t think many people on my course like me and I don’t like them much either. I kind of got off on the wrong foot with most of them because they had a go at me for being married since I’m so young. I defended Theo fiercely, and most of them took it the wrong way.”

“At least you have some friends though,” Daphne said, “Apart from Bill, I’ve not met anyone at the bank that I like.”

“I don’t see other people apart from Perce and the other bounty hunters,” Susan shrugged, “They’re all pretty antisocial, so I get to do my own thing which suits me just fine.”

“I’ve met a couple of people I like,” Hermione admitted, “Most of them are junior Aurors, and surprisingly, the hit wizards are nice guys, but my boss is a bit of a cow, to be honest. It really surprised me, I mean I remember her when she dated Percy, and she seemed so nice…”

“Merlin, you’re not talking about Penny Clearwater are you?” Susan asked.

Hermione frowned, “Uh…yes. Do you know her?”

“No but Percy has told me about her,” Susan replied, “She’s a complete psycho! Is she your boss? Oh man, that sucks Hermione.”

“Susan!” Sadie exclaimed.

Susan bit her lip, “Sorry, but I feel like you should have fair warning.”

“Fair warning is great, but you have to explain why you are giving that warning,” Daphne pointed out as she tried to hide her amusement.

“Right,” Susan said somewhat sheepishly, “Well when Percy broke up with Penelope, she went _mental_. She thought they were going to get married one day and then the war happened and Percy changed, he felt responsible for his brother's death, and he wanted a change. So he cut off all ties with his old life, ditched it all to become a bounty hunter and broke up with Penelope.”

Susan paused, mostly for dramatic effect. She liked to make sure that she had her audience enraptured before she got to the climax of her story, “But Penelope didn’t take it normally. She stalked Percy for weeks and tried everything to get him to take her back, I mean I don’t blame her. He _does_ look good in those dragon hide trousers that he wears these days…”

“You’re going off-topic Suse,” Daphne said with a chuckle.

“Sorry,” Susan said with a smirk, “But I have just spent two weeks away from him, so you know…”

“Yeah, we all just spent two weeks away from our other halves,” Sadie said quickly, “We get it. Now get on with your story, what else did she do after he broke up with her?”

“She tried to learn voodoo magic, I’ve heard it’s just a myth, but apparently she went to this dodgy place in Knockturn Alley and bought a doll that was a replica of Percy,” Susan said slowly to build the tension, “She tried to drown it and stab it, but it didn’t work because voodoo magic is superstitious bullshit. Either way, Percy thinks she’s crazy.”

“Jeez,” Daphne said with a grim look, “If I were you, I wouldn’t piss her off, Hermione.”

Hermione groaned, “Just what I needed, a psychotic boss!”

“You’ll be fine,” Sadie said, “Just keep your head down like you are at the moment.”

Hermione sighed and nodded.

“It could be worse,” Sadie said, to cheer Hermione up, “You could have spent the last two weeks pretending that your best friend was your boyfriend.”

“What?” The others echoed.

Sadie grinned, “Theo and Draco spent isolation hill-walking in the Scottish highlands. They met a couple of muggles, and Theo somehow managed to imply that Draco was his boyfriend ‘accidentally’. The hillwalkers spent the next two weeks with them, so they had to keep the story up for the whole isolation period.”

Hermione burst out laughing at that, “Did Theo tell you that? Voluntarily?”

“I had to coax it out of him a little,” Sadie said with a wicked grin, “But he told me in the end.”

“No wonder Draco was so cryptic when I asked him about isolation,” Hermione said through her laughter.

“Aren’t you two mildly concerned about how devoted your other halves are to each other?” Susan asked with a raised eyebrow, “Don’t you remember when they used to apologise to each other in school? Sometimes it looked more like a proposal.”

“Yes, I remember,” Hermione said with a chuckle.

“Seriously though, they built a door in the basement to connect their houses. They spent two weeks pretending to be together, and their bromance always has bordered on a romance,” Susan said with a snort, “Not to mention that they are both Slytherins and we all know that Slytherins are flexible when it comes to sexuality.”

“What’s that meant to mean?” Hermione laughed.

“Ask any Slytherin, and I can guarantee that every single one will have at the very least kissed someone of the same sex,” Susan smirked, “Right, Daph?”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Yes, you make a fair point.”

“And Daphne likes redheads, apparently,” Susan chuckled, “I mean between Ginny Weasley and me.”

“You?” Hermione asked in surprise.

“When did that happen?” Sadie asked with a chuckle.

“At a party in eighth year,” Daphne replied as she sipped her wine.

“Eighth year?” Hermione asked, “When you were dating Harry?”

“Harry was there,” Daphne and Susan said in unison.

“Seriously?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

“Seriously,” Daphne said.

“Why is that such a shock?” Sadie asked. She raised an eyebrow at Hermione, “Draco and Theo were there when we kissed.”

“Woah!” Susan exclaimed, “Say what now?”

“The foursome had a foursome after graduation,” Daphne said with a smirk.

“Holy fuckery…” Susan shook her head, “That has just blown my mind. I mean of _all_ the Slytherins I know, I thought you were the most innocent Sade.”

Hermione snorted, and Sadie glared at her, “Shut up.”

Daphne leant forward, “No, Hermione, do tell.”

“No, Hermione, don’t,” Sadie countered.

Susan burst out laughing, and Hermione shook her head, “For the record, this whole conversation seems a lot like gossiping for a conversation that isn’t supposed to contain any gossip.”

Susan chuckled, “You have a point. I wonder what the guys are talking about downstairs. Guys don’t gossip, do they?”

“Draco and Theo do,” Sadie said, “Sometimes those two were worse than the girls in the common room.”

“They can be bitches,” Daphne agreed.

“Well Harry doesn’t gossip,” Sadie said, “So-”

Hermione cut her off by sniggering, “Harry doesn’t gossip? You must be joking me; he’s like an old witch half the time. Nine times out of ten when it was just the two of us in the common room late at night, he would start the gossiping, _not_ me.”

Susan shook her head in amusement, “So in conclusion, they are gossiping.”

“Yep”

“Definitely.”

* * *

“So what did you make of what Sumner and Sheppard said at the end of isolation?” Harry said as he helped himself to some of Theo’s rum, “About Harper and Emily?”

“Oh, those two were shagging,” Draco said with a nod, “Imagine shagging during isolation training! It was obvious that we were being observed.”

“That’s rich coming from you,” Neville said, “If you had known that you were being observed you wouldn’t have spent the whole time pretending to shag Theo.”

“What?” Ron asked with an amused look.

“Oh, haven’t you heard mate?” Harry asked Ron with a grin, “Theo is shit under pressure and accidentally told a couple of muggles that Draco was his boyfriend. Those muggles stayed with them through isolation, so they had to pretend to be all loved up.”

Ron barked out a loud laugh, “And they didn’t cotton on that you were lying?”

“Have you seen those two?” Percy remarked, “I believed that they were a couple when I first met them.”

Theo snorted, “Nah Perce, we’ve just got stellar acting skills. We did great.”

“Yeah, right up until we blew our cover at the end,” Draco added.

“How exactly did you _blow_ your cover?” Neville asked.

“Ugh!” Draco exclaimed, “That is disgusting!”

Harry sniggered, “The same thought ran through my mind, to be honest.”

“Filthy Gryffindors,” Theo muttered.

“I quite agree.”

“Well, you would agree with your boyfriend,” Ron said.

“And you do realise that you are massively outnumbered, don’t you?” Percy asked, “Four Gryffindors to two Slytherins.”

“And one of those Gryffindors is a bounty hunter,” Harry added.

“And another is the man who killed Voldemort,” Percy said.

“Not to mention the man who beheaded Voldemort’s snake with the sword of Gryffindor,” Harry said.

“Then there’s Ron,” Theo said.

Harry half expected Ron to go mental, but the redheaded man just sniggered, “I’m quite happy running my little joke store while you idiots try to kill yourselves, to be honest. I’ll be the one that becomes Headmaster one day because I’ll be the only one that’s still alive.”

“He has a point,” Harry said with a chuckle, “But anyway, how did everyone else’s last few weeks go?”

“Mine was pretty boring,” Ron shrugged, “Worked, checked in on Katie, the usual.”

“I can’t really tell you about my week because of the nature of my work,” Percy said with a shrug, “But I spent most of it in deepest Peru undercover.”

“Undercover as what, a bear?” Harry asked.

“What?” Percy asked with a frown.

Harry shook his head in amusement and smiled at Neville who was sniggering, “Never mind, it’s a muggle thing. I felt shit for being away for the last couple of weeks while Daphne was going through hell…”

“Stop thinking like that,” Percy said, “It wasn’t your fault. Just like it wasn’t your fault that people died during the war.”

“I feel like we’ve had this conversation before,” Harry said with a rueful smile.

“That’s because we have,” Percy remembered, “Last summer, before you went back to Hogwarts…a lot has changed since then, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Harry smiled, “It has…”

“I agree with Perce, it wasn’t your fault,” Theo said, “But I do kind of know how you feel. Sadie keeps saying it’s just a stomach bug she picked up from the food in Egypt, but it’s obvious that she’s not been well and I feel crap for not being around to help her. She hates that place you know, Egypt, the course, the people on the course and…I think she’s making herself ill because of it. Is that possible?”

Harry nodded, “People handle stress differently. Daphne stops eating and withdraws into herself and Hermione-”

“Screams at people and starts acting like a psycho,” Draco finished.

“I was going to be kinder than that, but yeah, that’s accurate,” Harry admitted while Ron guffawed with laughter.

“Do you remember when she beat the shit out of me when I came back during the war?” Ron asked with a shake of his head.

“Then hugged you and cried,” Harry snorted.

“Sounds like the princess,” Theo said with a grin, “Sadie is more like Daphne than Hermione when it comes to stress but I don’t want her to make herself seriously ill because of this. I told her that if she hates it so much to drop out and find something else that she wants to do, but she’s determined to stick it out.”

“Of course she is,” Draco said, “This is Sadie we’re talking about. When has she ever backed out of something after setting her mind to it?”

Theo sighed, “I know, but this is different…this is hurting her.”

“She’ll be fine, Theo,” Draco said, he rose to his feet, “She’ll either get used to it and adapt or she won’t.”

“And if she doesn’t, then what?”

“Then she will realise that you were right and she will drop out,” Draco said, “So try to stop worrying about her, I know it’s hard but try.”

Theo sighed heavily but nodded.

“I’m going to the bar, do you want something?”

“Double firewhiskey,” Theo replied.

“Make it two,” Ron said.

“Three,” Percy said as he raised his glass.

Harry got to his feet, “I’ll get myself a glass of water.”

“Wimp,” Ron joked.

“Recovering alcoholic,” Neville countered.

“What?” Ron asked in surprise.

“Oh,” Neville muttered, “Fuck.”

“Yeah, we haven’t seen each other since Ginny’s wedding,” Harry said with a sigh, “Percy, I assume Susan told you?”

Percy nodded, “Yeah, she did, and I think it’s bloody brave of you to face it head-on like that.”

Harry shrugged, “I was burying my head in the sand. I would have kept on doing that and lost everything I love if it wasn’t for Neville.”

“You just needed a bit of a verbal kick to the nuts, Harry,” Neville said with an encouraging smile, “And you’re doing brilliantly.”

Theo nodded, “I’d have gone straight to a bottle if Sadie had been assaulted like Daphne was. The fact you didn’t is incredible.”

Draco agreed, “He’s right Harry, you’re doing yourself proud.”

Ron got to his feet and pulled Harry into a bear hug, “I’m sorry I didn’t know,” he mumbled.

“S’alright, Ron,” Harry said, patting him on the back, “It was a tough couple of weeks, but you’ve got enough going on with Katie and the baby and all. I’m on my way up again now.”

Ron patted him on the back, “I’m here if you need me, alright? Even with Katie and the baby, if you need me, I’ll still be there.”

“I know,” Harry said with a smile.

“Right, this has been heartwarming, but I need someone to help me carry the drinks,” Draco said, nudging his head towards the bar.

Harry chuckled and walked over with Draco. They didn’t say much until they reached it. They were out of hearing range of the others now, so long as they spoke quietly.

“Do you reckon Sadie’s pregnant?” Draco asked Harry in an undertone.

Harry scoffed, “What? No.”

“Why is it such an incredulous idea?” Draco asked as he began to pour the firewhiskey out.

“Because Sadie is – Jesus, you are light-handed when it comes to measures – smart, she’s the kind of girl who uses all the spells and takes the right precautions,” Harry whispered, “She wouldn’t let something like that happen. Not like…”

“Not like Ginny did?” Draco finished with a raised eyebrow, “Are you suggesting that your ex is a looser woman?”

“No,” Harry said awkwardly, “Well I mean…she was a little more promiscuous but-”

“But she has a brain and look at her,” Draco said quietly, “She fell pregnant before she had even finished school. It can happen to anyone Harry.”

“But it hasn’t happened to Sadie,” Harry said, “I just can’t see it Draco. Theo’s right, she’s gotten herself ill because of everything going on with her course. It’s not unusual, Daph gets ill when she’s stressed too. She’s been ill for the last couple of weeks, and I’m not automatically assuming she’s pregnant.”

“Fine,” Draco said, “But I just think there’s something more going on than her hating her course.”

Before Harry could say anymore, Draco had begun to head over to the table with the drinks.

Draco was a little irritated that Harry had shot down his idea, mostly because Harry was usually more than happy to gossip. But Draco had a funny feeling that something was off with Sadie and he did have experience of the changes that women went through during early pregnancy. He had seen it with Pansy, and he saw something of that in the way Sadie had been since she had gotten home from Egypt.

* * *

Hermione left the party earlier than Draco because she had work in the morning and he didn’t. She used the door in the basement and had to admit; it was bloody convenient.

She was tired, but she couldn’t go to bed yet because she had promised Lilly that she would floo her and catch her up on all the gossip that she had missed during the evening.

Hermione stepped into the kitchen, made herself a cup of tea and then got comfortable in front of the fireplace before throwing some floo powder into the flames and saying, “Centre for Trauma Healing, Amiens.”

The flames flickered and then turned amber, “Who would you like to be put through to?”

“Trainee Lillian Moon please.”

“One moment,” The voice at the other end said.

It took a couple of minutes for the call to connect, but when it did, the flames turned green, and Lilly’s face appeared in the fireplace.

She smiled broadly at Hermione, “Hey, Hermione!”

Hermione smiled back, “Hey! How are things in France?”

“Busy, how are things at home?” Lilly asked.

“Stressful,” Hermione admitted, “Daphne has been off work for a couple of days. She was sexually assaulted by her mentor, and it’s all going to a tribunal now.”

“Sexually assaulted?” Lilly hissed, “How fucking far did he go?”

“Not that far, but she’s still a bit shaken up,” Hermione answered, “The guy who did it is in St Mungos with a lot of broken bones. Apparently, he got drunk and fell down the stairs.”

Lilly raised an eyebrow, “I see,” she said. They couldn’t talk in any more detail over the floo network because everything that was being said was recorded and kept on record at the Ministry.

“So she’s okay?” Lilly asked.

“As okay as she can be, all things considered,” Hermione answered, “I’ve just gotten back from Sadie and Theo’s, the first thing I did after making myself a cuppa was floo you.”

Lilly laughed, “Is that because you miss me or because you still feel bad for taking Nev’s side during our break?”

“Both,” Hermione admitted honestly, “I do still feel bad, but I also miss you. It felt wrong tonight, all of us chatting and you being on the other side of the channel.”

“Yeah,” Lilly sighed, “It sucks, but at least it’s only for six months. Why was your night interesting, by the way?”

“Well, Sadie told us all about your new nickname,” Hermione joked.

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I regret telling Neville about that. I guess he told Theo who told Sadie, who told you?”

“No, Theo told all of us,” Hermione admitted with a smile, “The four of us spend most of our time together, to be honest. Ever since Draco and Theo put the connecting door in the basement, it's too easy to drink wine in the library with Sadie while those two research duelling techniques.”

“The door in the basement?” Lilly asked.

“Yes, our houses are now connected by a door,” Hermione explained, “And no, it’s not warded. It’s just an ordinary door.”

“I give up trying to understand you lot,” Lilly snorted, “Did you tell everyone my new nickname?”

“No, but Sadie did,” Hermione chuckled, “It is quite funny.”

“To you guys maybe,” Lilly said with a raised eyebrow, “Please tell me you didn’t spend the whole night talking about me?”

“No, of course not,” Hermione replied, “We spent more time talking about Draco and Theo. During their isolation week, they had to spend two weeks in the Scottish Highlands together, and Theo messed up under pressure.”

“No surprises there,” Lilly joked.

Hermione laughed, “Well, he said that Draco was his boyfriend, so they had to spend the next two weeks keeping the cover story up. Draco hadn’t told me about it, so I can’t wait to grill him tonight.”

Lilly snorted, “I wouldn’t believe it if it was anyone else, but with those two, I can believe that. How’s Nev?”

“Lost without you, as expected,” Hermione said with a small smile, “We were all there in couples apart from Ron, so Neville ended up talking to him about boy stuff until the boys disappeared downstairs to the mancave.”

Lilly smiled, “I hope we can make it work, but I hate being so far away from him.”

“And he hates it too,” Hermione said, “That’s what will make it work. If neither of you cared then it would never last.”

Lilly sighed, “That doesn’t mean I enjoy it. Do you have anymore gossip to take my mind off things?”

“Not gossip as such,” Hermione said slowly, “But a theory. Have you heard about Sadie being unwell?”

“I haven’t heard anything,” Lilly said, “I was back for a few hours, and I spent all of them in bed with Nev.”

Hermione chuckled, “And nobody can blame you for that. I’ll fill you in though, Sadie hasn’t been feeling well since she got to Egypt. She thinks she ate something that gave her a stomach bug and she’s only just getting her appetite back now, but when she got back, she looked awful. She was so pale and thin. We were all quite worried. Theo was worried sick; you know what he’s like.”

Lilly nodded.

“But I couldn’t help thinking tonight when she was talking about it,” Hermione continued, “Do you think she might be pregnant?”

“Pregnant?” Lilly asked in disbelief, “No way, this is Sadie we’re talking about.”

“I know, but nobody expected Ginny to get pregnant, did they?”

Lilly bit her lip, “Uh honestly, I kind of did. She had quite a few sexual partners before she started seeing Blaise and she always did seem a little…uh, promiscuous?”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “I suppose I can see why you would think that, but I never saw Ginny that way.”

“Either way, Sadie is nothing like Ginny,” Lilly pointed out, “She’s logical, just like you. There’s no way you would get pregnant just as you were starting an important course that could set up your future career.”

“I know,” Hermione agreed, “I’m meticulous, and I’m sure that Sadie is too, but she did just come back from her honeymoon. If there’s ever a time when you might forget about the charm or get lost in the moment, it would be on your honeymoon.”

“I suppose,” Lilly said, “But still, Sadie’s not pregnant. It’s just the food, she’s always been funny with spicy food, and Merlin knows how they prepare it over there. You’ve heard all the stories about street food, you’re reading too much into it.”

Hermione hummed thoughtfully, “Yeah, you’re right. I guess it’s this baby boom after the war. I’m seeing pregnant women everywhere I look.”

“War equals babies,” Lilly said with an amused smile, “And I had better go. Lights out is in five minutes.”

“Okay,” Hermione said with a smile, “I’ll see you next weekend? You’re all coming to the house for dinner on Saturday, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Lilly said with a smile, “Can’t wait. See you next week.”

“See you later, Lil.”

* * *

By the time Draco eventually crawled into bed, Hermione had been asleep for a few hours. She knew he was back before he reached the bedroom because she heard the basement door slam loudly. Then she heard Draco stumbling through the hall; he managed to knock over every single ornament in the process.

Hermione rolled her eyes in amusement as she looked towards the bedroom door. When it opened, she expected to see a drunk mess in place of her fiancé, but in fact, he was just pleasantly tipsy.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Hermione mumbled from beneath the duvet.

“3.58 am,” Draco said as he kicked off his trousers and discarded his t-shirt on the floor, “You told me to be home before 4 am.”

“You took that very literally,” Hermione said with a fond smile.

Draco climbed into bed next to her in his boxers, “I know what happens when I don’t do what you say, and I don’t like it.”

Hermione chuckled and rolled over so that he could wrap his arms around her, “How bad were the others when you left?”

“Percy and Ron were fine,” Draco said as he kissed her forehead, “Harry was still sober, obviously.”

“What about Theo?”

“He didn’t drink that much,” Draco said, “He was worried about Sadie, he went to bed pretty early to make sure she was okay. Harry and I ended up playing beer pong with Ron and Percy, that’s why I’m so late.”

“Beer pong, dear god. Harry didn’t drink, though?”

“Nah we made him do a dare instead every time he should have taken a drink,” Draco mumbled.

“I’m worried about Sadie too, you know?” Hermione said as she nestled into his chest.

Draco hummed, “Me too.”

“I spoke to Lilly about this earlier, I floo-ed her as soon as I came home,” Hermione mused, “I thought she might be pregnant, but Lilly thought the idea was ridiculous.”

“I thought that too!” Draco exclaimed, “I said the same thing to Harry, but he was sure that I was wrong.”

Hermione looked up at him in surprise, “I think we might be right, you know? A stomach bug wouldn’t have lasted this long; she would have gotten better since she got home, wouldn’t she?”

Draco nodded, “That made me wonder as well, but I noticed a couple of stupid little things. To someone who hadn’t seen it before, the changes are too small to notice, but there were these things with Pansy that seemed weird. Then she told me that she was pregnant and they all made sense…”

Hermione nodded, “She’s been more sensitive than usual lately.”

“Yeah,” Draco yawned, “She’s always ill in the morning, but then she gets better as the day goes on. I know that morning sickness doesn’t always happen in the morning, Pansy used to get it in the middle of the night, but still…”

“It all seems too strange to be a coincidence,” Hermione admitted.

“If she is pregnant, Theo has no idea,” Draco said.

“If she is pregnant, I don’t think _she_ has any idea,” Hermione added.

“Do you think I should say something to Theo?”

Hermione shook her head, “No. I know we’re close, but this is very much their business. We need to let them work it out in their own time and, there is a chance that we’re wrong.”

“True,” Draco said. He leant over to kiss her, “You’re very wise.”

Hermione wrinkled her nose, “Draco, I love you, but you stink of firewhiskey and beer.”

“Sorry love,” Draco mumbled as he buried his head in her hair, “Love you.”

She smiled because she could tell from his tone of voice that he was nearly asleep, “Love you too,” she murmured as he began to snore.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	32. Animal Instincts

“Do you know what date it is?”

“It’s the 17th of August, what’s special about it?”

“Well,” Harry said with a raised eyebrow, “Why have you lot been walking about with mandrake leaves in your mouth for the last month?”

Theo’s eyes widened, “Animagus!”

“The potion!” Neville added excitedly.

“I assume it’s ready then?” Draco asked. He, of course, wanted to remain cool and calm, even though the others had seen through that façade months ago.

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes, Draco could be so predictable, “It’s ready, and it’s in the basement. The question is, are you ready? Do you remember all-”

“All the psychological parts? Yes, yes, you went through it all with us,” Theo said with a wave of his hand, “Now can we take it? Please?”

Harry sniggered, “I think your animagus form might be a dog, Theo, you do get excited easily.”

Neville snorted in amusement and got to his feet, “We are going to take it today though, aren’t we?”

Harry nodded and got to his feet too. He began to lead the way down to the basement as he said, “It would make sense to take it today. That way you can write to the Ministry to register yourselves and add it into your file with the Aurors. It looks good, being an animagus. It’s an extra skill, an edge we’ll have over other people.”

“Depending on the form,” Draco pointed out, “Some have more uses than others. What use was that rat Pettigrew after all?”

“Every animagus form can be useful if you know how to use it,” Harry said, “Pettigrew was a scummy bastard but being able to transform into something small like a rat is useful. You could eavesdrop on important conversations from beneath the floorboards.”

“What about a massive animagus form then?” Neville asked, “Like a dragon or a griffin. How would that be any use? It’s hardly inconspicuous.”

“Brute force,” Harry said, “My form is particularly useful because it enables me to fly.”

“Not to mention the fact it enables you to heal people by crying,” Neville muttered, a little irritably.

“Don’t get pissy yet Nev,” Theo said, “You haven’t seen your form yet; it might be even better.”

“Better than a bloody phoenix?” Neville said, “That would be difficult since it is literally the coolest animal on earth.”

“It is pretty cool,” Harry agreed with a smirk, Neville just rolled his eyes.

They entered Harry’s room of requirement where a cauldron was bubbling away quite happily, “Okay so we’re going to do this one at a time. Remember to close your eyes and completely clear your mind as if you were about to try and use occlumency.”

The other three had stopped joking around to listen now. At the end of the day, if they didn’t pay attention, this could go wrong, and Harry was the only one who had successfully done it.

“After you have taken the potion, keep your mind focused on becoming your animal form. When it starts to work you will feel this weird tingling sensation, and when that stops, you can open your eyes and try to talk,” Harry said, “Obviously it came out a squawk for me, but it will be different depending on your form. Neville, you’re up first.”

“Of course your sidekick gets to go first,” Theo said, somewhat huffily.

“There’s more than enough to go around,” Harry said with a pointed look, “So wait your turn.”

Draco sniggered as Theo crossed his arms like a child would do upon being told off.

Neville laughed but truthfully; he felt a little nervous as he stepped up to the cauldron. Harry ladled some of the mixture into a goblet and handed it to him, “You’ll be fine, Nev, just keep your mind focused.”

Neville nodded. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes. He cleared his mind, just as Harry had told him to then he drank deeply from the goblet. He felt Harry pull the empty cup from his hand, but he tried not to think about Harry or the others, he focused on becoming his animal form. He felt a great sense of relief when the tingling sensation started because he knew what it meant; it was working.

The tingling started in his head and worked its way down his entire body. When it stopped, he opened his eyes a little cautiously and tried to say hello. He scared the life out of himself when it came out as a roar.

The others were staring at him in awe, and when Harry transfigured a mirror, Neville realised why. His animagus form was a lion, a huge, fearsome-looking lion.

“From the boy who never thought he was a true Gryffindor,” Harry said with a proud grin.

Neville would have grinned too, but lions didn’t smile so it just looked like he was baring his teeth. It gave him immense pleasure to see that Theo looked a little bit terrified of him at the moment.

“To become human again, close your eyes and shut out the noise,” Harry instructed, and Neville did so, “Now concentrate on becoming human again. The tingling will start to let you know that it’s working.”

After a few seconds, the tingling did start. This time in his toes, once it had worked its way up to his head, Neville opened his eyes and was relieved to see that he managed to become completely human again with no consequences, “That was awesome.”

“Yeah, it was!” Harry agreed, “A phoenix and a lion, we are going to smash it as Aurors mate!”

Draco rolled his eyes, “You haven’t seen our forms yet. Don’t get too ahead of yourself.”

“I doubt anything can beat a phoenix or a lion, but you’re up next so I suppose we’ll find out,” Harry said.

Draco stepped up to the cauldron and accepted the goblet filled with the potion, “You Gryffindors always have had problems containing your ego’s.”

Harry snorted, “Just remember-”

“Clear my head, concentrate, wait for the tingling,” Draco recited, “I know.”

Before Harry could say anything more, he shut his eyes and cleared his mind. Then he drained the potion and handed the goblet back to Harry. Draco didn’t need to concentrate for long before the tingling sensation began. Snape had taught him Occlumency so clearing his mind and focusing weren’t particularly difficult skills for him.

Once the tingling had worked its way through his body, Draco opened his eyes and was amazed by what he saw in the mirror before him. He had been worried that his animagus form wouldn’t be up to scratch compared to Harry or Neville’s, but there had been no need for him to worry because he was a dragon. Not a full-sized dragon, but a six-foot, emerald green, fire breathing, flying dragon.

He could tell that the others were impressed too because they were all gaping at him. Draco had to admit; he felt rather smug as he shut his eyes and concentrated on becoming human again. The tingling worked its way through his body for a second time, and when he opened his eyes, he was human again.

“You were saying?”

“Alright, a dragon is pretty cool,” Harry conceded.

Neville nodded, “Yeah, it was pretty impressive.”

Theo nodded eagerly, “A phoenix, a lion and a dragon? I can’t wait to see what I become!”

Harry chuckled as Theo bounded up to the cauldron, “What if you’re a tiny cute little bunny?”

Theo scoffed, “As if Potter, give me the potion.”

Harry handed the goblet over, “Just remember to clear your mind and concentrate, or it won’t work.”

“I know,” Theo said as he shut his eyes, “I’ve studied Legilimency, I’ll be fine.”

Like Draco, clearing his mind and focusing came naturally to Theo. He began to feel the tell-tale tingling sensation almost straight away, and he felt his excitement building. Once the tingling had moved from his toes to his head, Theo tried to ask, “What am I?”

It came out as a squeak which wasn’t an encouraging sign.

When Theo opened his eyes, he was looking for something huge and impressive in the mirror. Instead, what he saw was a tiny little Red Panda.

“Aw, Theo!” Neville said with a grin, “You’re so cute, I just want to stroke you!”

Theo glared at Neville; only it didn’t work because Red Panda’s couldn’t glare.

Theo shut his eyes to focus on becoming human again and heard the others snigger. He blocked out the noise, concentrated and silently fumed while the tingling sensation worked its way through his body.

When he was human again, he said, “A Red Panda!? You all become huge, mythical or powerful beasts and I become a fucking Red Panda?!”

“At least you’re cute though,” Neville said.

“You could use that to your advantage if you ever needed to beg for food,” Harry pointed out.

“And you’re the smallest so you can slip through gaps that we can’t,” Draco said, “You can eavesdrop on conversations by hiding on the roof too.”

“Red Panda’s are excellent climbers,” Harry added with a nod.

“And adorable ones.”

“I don’t want to be cute. I want to be a powerful, mythical beast!” Theo said irritably as he stomped towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Draco called after him.

“Home,” Theo said huffily, “Enjoy your fantastic forms together while I go eat some fucking nuts.”

Before anyone could say anymore, he had left the room and slammed the door behind him.

“You were a bit harsh there, Nev,” Harry said as he bit his lip, “With the whole cute thing.”

“Oh, come on, Harry!” Neville exclaimed, “What do you think he would have done if I’d been the small cute one?”

“Neville does have a point,” Draco admitted grudgingly, “Theo would have slagged him rotten for it.”

“Still,” Harry said, “He’s having a hard time at the moment. He’s worried about Sadie being ill, and he already feels inferior compared to us.”

“I think Harry’s saying that you need to apologise for being a dick, Neville,” Draco said, he smirked in Neville’s direction.

Harry nodded, “Yeah, you were a bit of a dick.”

Neville rolled his eyes and sighed, “Fine. I’ll apologise! But only because I feel bad for him with Sadie being the way she is at the moment and definitely not because I think he deserves an apology.”

“You tell yourself whatever you need to tell yourself, Nev,” Harry said, he shot Draco an amused look as he patted his friend on the back.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Draco agreed as he tried not to burst out laughing himself.

* * *

Daphne wasn’t sure what to expect on her first day at work with Bill as her mentor. She didn’t feel nervous about the change, but all the same, she had no idea what Bill would be like as a mentor.

When she stepped into his office on Tuesday morning with two lattes in cardboard cups and a brown bag, Bill was whistling while he created a neat second desk.

“Ah, just in time!” Bill said when he saw her, “It’s not as big as my desk, but that’s because you’re not as important as me, but I hope it will do.”

Daphne smiled, “It’s my own desk, and there’s no sleazy bastard on the other side of it, so it’s perfect. I brought you a pastry, and I didn’t know how you liked your coffee, so I got it black.”

“I’ll drink any coffee but for future reference, white with two sugars,” Bill said as he took the cup and bag from her gratefully, “What do you drink?”

“Most of the time a latte,” Daphne replied, she put her handbag down on her desk, “But there are some mornings when a strong, black coffee is required, and this is one of them.”

“Ah, the gathering last night,” Bill said with an amused smile, “Well, you don’t look hungover and as long as you do your job properly, I won’t bug you about it because I’m that kind of mentor.”

“How are you going to mentor me, exactly?” Daphne asked curiously, “I thought you weren’t a field curse breaker anymore.”

“Technically I’m head of HR,” Bill agreed with a nod, “But I’ll be honest with you, I hate it. I only took the job because Fleur pushed me into it, she thought we needed more money when we found out we were going to be having a baby. She was right, but sitting at a desk all day is not my forte, so I have hired an HR Assistant. She’s going to be doing a large chunk of the paperwork so that I can focus on training my new protégé.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Your new protégé? Bill, everyone says you’re the best Curse Breaker this place has seen in two decades.”

Bill smirked, “Exactly, you have far more potential than you know Daphne. Don’t doubt it; confidence is everything. Now, I am going to take you out in the field today, but there are a few rules that I want to go over first.”

Daphne nodded; she was still reeling from Bill’s comment about her being his protégé.

“I like to think that Curse Breakers who work together should treat each other the same way as Aurors,” Bill explained, “Auror partners know everything about each other, they share their worries and fears about life with each other because it’s important for them to always know how the other is feeling. Now as Curse Breakers we may not save whole towns from dragons or catch dark wizards, but we do save people’s lives on a daily basis, and there is quite a large element of danger in our job.”

“I know that,” Daphne said, “Some of the curses we will be dealing with are going to be nasty.”

“That’s part of it,” Bill agreed, “But there are other dangers. Cursed objects are often owned by dark wizards who are reluctant to part with their dark, dangerous cursed object. There are times when the Aurors get involved, and we all work as a team, but most of the time, we just get on with it ourselves. So that is why I believe it’s important to know how our partner is feeling. If you and Harry have had a fight and you’re feeling down, then I need to know. If I’ve been up all night with a screaming baby, you need to know because we need to know that the other isn’t at their best. Do you agree?”

Daphne nodded, “Yeah, completely.”

“Good,” Bill said, he paused to sip his coffee, “So let’s spend a little while getting to know each other before we go anywhere.”

Daphne frowned, “You do know me though Bill…”

“I know you’re engaged to Harry,” Bill said, “I know you love Teddy like he’s your own son. I know you and your sister were both in Slytherin even though the Greengrass family are predominantly Ravenclaws. I know your family own the largest wizarding shipping company in the world. I know you’re a proud woman and I know you are an incredibly skilled witch who will be a fantastic Curse Breaker one day, but that’s all I know about you. What do you know about me?”

Daphne’s frown deepened, “I know you’re from a big family. I know you’re married to Fleur who you met working at Gringotts. I know you’re a father to a baby girl called Victoire. I know you were a Gryffindor and that your brother Charlie is your best friend. Um…I know you like Quidditch and…”

Bill raised an eyebrow at her, “See?”

“Alright,” Daphne conceded, “We don’t know each other very well.”

“So tell me something about yourself,” Bill said, “Tell me about your childhood.”

Daphne snorted and sat down heavily at her new desk, “Are you sure you want to hear that sob story?”

“I need to know what makes you, you,” Bill said, “And our childhood defines us.”

“Well,” Daphne sighed, “For a start, my sister and I are in Slytherin because we’re very similar to our mother, who was a Crouch.”

“I see,” Bill smiled.

“I grew up in this horrible place called Greengrass House with my mother, father and my little sister. Our family have always been pureblood which is why we’re included in the sacred 28. But we only really rose to prominence in the last 200 hundred years or so with the launch of Greengrass Shipping which became Greengrass Industries over time.”

Bill nodded, and Daphne continued, “So my house is quite new, but they wanted to seem like they had been around for longer, so they built this horrible modern house and tried to make it look like it had been around since Tudor times. I have no good memories of that place…apart from this one room, at the top of the tower. I think it was once a bell tower, but my sister and I used to use it as a hideaway. It was pretty cold and all we really had up there were beanbags and blankets, but we still loved it.”

Bill smiled, “Charlie and I built a treehouse near the orchard where everyone plays Quidditch. When the house was too loud because of all of our younger siblings screaming or fighting, we used to escape out there. It was on the grounds of the house so we could use magic with an old wand of my grandfathers and the Ministry couldn’t tell. We used to create fires and cook on them, sometimes the two of us would spend whole weekends out there.”

Daphne chuckled, “Astoria and I used to fall asleep up in the tower a lot. We would wake up shivering and huddling together for warmth then we would sneak back downstairs to our bedrooms. We had to sneak because my father had a temper and he wouldn’t have approved of us staying up late.”

“Your father was Cygnus Greengrass, wasn’t he?”

Daphne nodded, “He was 28 when he married my mother. She was only 18, she had just finished Hogwarts, and she had all of these dreams and aspirations for her life. She wanted to become a Healer and work with kids in St. Mungo’s, but the marriage was arranged so she had to marry Cygnus when he demanded it and he demanded it as soon as he could,” she paused to take a breath, “My mother hated my father. He was an icy man, and he could be a ruthless man too. My mother…she had a foolish heart, she would fall in love so easily, and I don’t know how many affairs she had over the years. I remember the men I would see around the house, she would tell me they were lawyers here to survey the house or relations that I had never heard of but the older I got, the more I realised what was really going on. Mind you; a couple of them were her relations. She’s a pureblood, and the Crouch's weren’t much better than the Blacks.”

Charlie snorted in amusement, “We might be blood traitors, but my mother was a Prewett. She and my father are related, second cousins once removed, I think.”

“Like Harry and I,” Daphne said with an amused smile, “Anyway when I was six, my father worked out that my mother had been betraying him for years,” Daphne said, “He got angry then he got drunk, and he set fire to the house with all of us in it. My mother got us all out with nothing more than minor burns, and while we were in St. Mungo’s, I begged her not to go back to my father, but she said that she had no choice. She begged my father to take her back, and he did, after beating her within an inch of her life.”

Bill flinched slightly at those words, although he was trying his best to remain neutral.

“My father made her swear to stay faithful to him. He said that if she did, then he would provide for her and me and Astoria even though…” Daphne sighed and looked up, “Harry doesn’t even know this part, Bill.”

Bill nodded, “I’ll keep it in confidence.”

“He said he promised to provide for her and her daughters even if one of them wasn’t his,” Daphne said as she cast her eyes down once more, “He was always kinder to me than Astoria, and there was a part of me that wondered about the difference in appearance between us. I have blonde hair and blue eyes like both of my parents, Astoria has the same eyes as me but dark hair so it wasn’t difficult to work it out. Astoria doesn’t know, and as far as I’m concerned she doesn’t need to know…” she trailed off for a moment, “But anyway, my father died in a somewhat noble way, ironically enough. He wasn’t a good father or a nice man, but he wasn’t a Death Eater, they killed him when he refused to join.”

When Daphne looked up at Bill, he said nothing and his face gave nothing away. She laughed humourlessly, “I did say that you didn’t want to hear my sob story. I bet you have no idea what to say now, right?”

Bill shook his head slowly, “I’m glad that you told me because I feel like I understand you on a different level now. I was quiet because I was debating whether I should tell you something that nobody apart from my brother knows about me, not even my wife.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “I thought you Weasley’s were all about honesty.”

“We are,” Bill said, “But there are some things that even us Weasley’s don’t like to talk about. After everything that you just told me though, I think you deserve to know something about me that nobody knows.”

Daphne sipped her coffee and watched him with interest, “I’m listening.”

Bill, who had been sitting on the edge of his desk, got to his feet and walked over to the window. Since Bill had a nice office, there was a lovely view out over Diagon Alley, so this place was a real step-up from the cupboard she had been stuck in with Fawley.

“When I was a kid, it was just me and Charlie against the world,” Bill began, “Don’t get me wrong, our parents loved us, but they just had so many kids in quick succession that it was hard to give a lot of attention to any of them. I was six when Percy was born, and after that, Charlie and I were left to our own devices most of the time. I’m two years older than him, so Mum always trusted me to look after him, she wasn’t worried about letting us out of the house as long as we didn’t leave the grounds because Voldemort was around, gathering support. The Order of the Phoenix was terrified that he would strike. I remember growing up in fear…I was eleven when Voldemort disappeared, the night he tried to kill Harry, I had just started Hogwarts.”

“Merlin,” Daphne breathed, “I can’t imagine that, growing up with that around you only to have to relieve it as an adult when he came back.”

Bill nodded solemnly but said no more on the subject, “Charlie’s birthday is in December, and he always loved when it would snow on his birthday, but it didn’t happen very often. The first year that it did happen was his fifth birthday, I had just turned seven and I promised to take him out in the snow. Mum said it was fine as long as we didn’t go any further than the orchard, but we knew that there was a lake just beyond there…Dad had taken us fishing there once.”

Daphne listened to Bill’s tale with as much attention as he had listened to hers.

“Charlie kept bugging me, he said he wanted me to use Grandads old wand to make his shoes into ice skates,” Bill said quietly, “He wanted to skate on the pond because it was frozen over and he just kept nagging until I said that it was okay. I transfigured our shoes then we left the orchard, and as we were no longer on the grounds of the house, we were no longer protected by all of the enchantments that the order had put on the place.”

Daphne had a horrible feeling that she knew where this was going, but she stayed silent and nodded as Bill continued, “At first, it was worth it because the minute Charlie got on the ice, it was obvious that he loved it. I didn’t skate much, I just watched him and warned him to stay away from the thin patches of ice, he was a clever kid, so he knew where to skate,” he paused for a breath and glanced over at Daphne, “And this is the bit where you wait for me to tell you that the ice broke and he fell in, isn’t it?”

Daphne nodded, “Is that what happened?”

“No,” Bill said, a dark look flitted across his face briefly, “Something worse than that happened. We heard noises coming from the woods by the orchard; we knew it wasn’t Mum or Dad because the orchard is the only part of those woods in our property and the entrance was right in front of the lake. I called Charlie off of the ice and told him to pull his skates off in case we had to run, I told him to be very quiet as we crawled back to the orchard so that nobody would see us. We nearly made it, but when we got close, somebody came out of the woods.”

Daphne felt tense just listening to the story, so she didn’t blame Bill for having tensed up entirely. He shut his eyes tightly and said, “I now know that the people I saw were Bellatrix Lestrange and the two Lestrange brothers, but back then, I didn’t. Charlie and I hid behind the trees while they dragged a bloody body out of the woods, Bellatrix was cackling, and the two brothers were looking around to make sure that nobody was watching them. I still don’t know who that man was, but I remember them stringing him up in the forest naked, I told Charlie to look away, but I know he saw more than a five-year-old should have seen. I’ve never been able to get the image of that man hanging from the tree, naked and with his head on a spike above him, out of my head. I still have nightmares about it, and I still hate going out in wooded areas alone at night time because every silhouette looks like the shadow of that man. Charlie and I ran home afterwards, and I made him promise not to tell anyone what he had seen, and he never did but…”

Bill opened his eyes and sighed, “It left a mark on him. He couldn’t connect with people for such a long time; animals were his solace because he found them easier than people. His love for dragons was stronger than his love for people, and it cost him so much happiness. I never really forgave myself for that. Not when it lost him Dora…not when it made him move across the world to work with dragons. This last year, having him back and seeing him falling in love with Aurora all over again…well, it’s the first time I’ve allowed myself to stop feeling guilty for what happened all of those years ago.”

Daphne smiled slightly, “I can understand that, all of it. Astoria saw horrible things; she was terrified after the fire. Then again, so was I. It took Harry to cure me of my fear of fire and fireworks, but even though it wasn’t my fault, I never stopped blaming myself for not being able to shield Astoria from everything that my father did.”

Bill sighed, “If I tell you something Daphne, you have to promise to keep it to yourself.”

Daphne nodded, “Don’t worry, I’m very good at keeping secrets. I have to be; Harry has a lot of them.”

“I can imagine,” Bill said thoughtfully, “What you said about me having a good childhood…well, that’s not entirely true. I never really had a childhood if I’m honest, I had so many siblings, and my dad worked so much that I became like a surrogate father to the younger ones. I remember spending my summer holidays looking after Ron and Ginny so Mum could sleep because she was so exhausted. I don’t want to resent them for that, but I do, and because I had to basically raise them, I find it hard to connect with them. Charlie is the only one who really feels like my younger brother. Does that make any sense?”

“Kind of,” Daphne admitted, “But I only have one sister, so I am finding it a bit hard to follow.”

“I just never had much in common with my siblings,” Bill admitted, “We all love Quidditch, but beyond that, there isn’t much. Percy was always too academic for me to connect with, and Fred and George always did their own thing together. Ron irritated me, and I found him to be quite childish because, at the end of the day, he is ten years younger than me. Then Ginny…she’s always been my baby sister, but I’ve never connected with her on a deeper level than that. This is a horrible thing to say because I know families shouldn’t have favourites, but I do, I feel like my favourite siblings are Charlie and Harry.”

“Harry?” Daphne asked with interest.

Bill nodded, “I know it’s not by blood, but I relate to Harry, more than my actual siblings. He’s everything I wanted my younger siblings to be. Nobody else really had the same thirst for adrenaline and danger as me. It’s a horrible thing to prefer an adopted sibling to most of your blood ones, and it’s even more horrible to resent your siblings for stealing your childhood away.”

Daphne shook her head, “It’s not horrible to resent the people who stole your childhood. I never got to have a normal childhood; I spent most of it protecting Astoria from my Fathers rage after he drank too much. I never got to do normal things until I went to Hogwarts, Tracey took me to my first Quidditch game in my third year.

Bill smiled, “I remember taking Harry to his first Quidditch game. We all went to see Bulgaria play Ireland and I never realised how big a deal it was for him. I had grown up seeing Quidditch with my dad, so I took it for granted, but it was a pretty awesome thing to see his reaction to his first professional game.”

“It’s all about making sure that you don’t make the same mistakes as your parents when you’re raising your own kids,” Daphne said thoughtfully, “We take Teddy to every match we can, and he’s not old enough to take it in yet. He just likes the atmosphere and the fact he gets ice cream after, but it’s important to Harry.”

“What’s important to you?” Bill asked curiously.

“Making sure that he gets fun holidays and an ordinary life,” Daphne replied, “We have this cottage in Devon, and I love taking him there. I love taking him to the beach or letting him play in a park because I never got to do any of that. I want him to be able to enjoy being a kid while he can because it’s all over so quickly and the real-world sucks.”

“Ah, it’s not so bad all of the time,” Bill said with a smile, “When you love what you do, that helps.”

“Love helps in general,” Daphne said in a contemplative way as she sipped her coffee.

“For those of us who are lucky enough to find true, pure love then yes, it does,” Bill agreed.

“I’m lucky,” Daphne admitted, “I never believed in love if I’m completely honest. I thought it was a trick, a rush of pheromones that trick the body into reproducing, natures way of ensuring the human race survives another day. I was sceptic because of what I had grown up seeing, and I never wanted to fall in love, I never wanted to experience pain like my mother had, but then I met Harry, and all of my preconceptions went out of the window. The kind of love he has for me and I have for him…it’s nothing that I’ve ever experienced or that I could ever have imagined and I suppose if we’re going to be doing the whole complete honesty partnership thing, I should tell you that I’m marrying him, soon.”

Bill smiled slightly, “How soon?”

“This New Year,” Daphne replied, “It’s a surprise. We’re having a New Years party, but it’s actually a wedding. You’re the only person who knows, apart from Harry and Astoria.”

“In that case I’m honoured,” Bill said with a broad smile, “And I’m happy that you managed to end that conversation on a happy note because it was getting very doom and gloom for a moment there.”

Daphne laughed weakly, “Yes, it was,” she agreed.

Bill cleared his throat and got to his feet, “I don’t know about you, but I feel like we are rather well acquainted now.”

Daphne chuckled, “I feel the same. Does that mean we get to go out on a job?”

“It does indeed,” Bill said, “Now I spoke to a couple of colleagues yesterday about the guidelines concerning trainee Curse Breakers, and they said that foreign jobs are off-limits until you have been here for six months. So we are stuck in the UK, but I made sure I got the top-priority list of jobs in the UK so we should have the interesting cases, not the cursed toilets that were biting Muggles arses.”

Daphne grinned, “What kind of interesting cases?”

“Well,” Bill said as he pulled a brown file out of a drawer in his desk, “Our first case is rather interesting indeed. It concerns a Miss Penelope Van Houston from Cambridge. She claims that a 1,206-year-old family heirloom is cursed. Every time it gets a new owner, that new owner has suffered.”

“Interesting,” Daphne said as they left the office together, “What is the item?”

“It’s a wine cabinet,” Bill replied, “Apparently everyone who comes into possession of it starts having horrible nightmares then bad things happen to them. The last few owners have been known to get mysterious diseases or have died sudden deaths.”

“You’re right, much more interesting than a cursed toilet seat,” Daphne said with a smile, “Thanks Bill, for being my mentor and for opening up to me.”

Bill smiled at her, “Thank you for playing along with my rules. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to do some real work now.”

Daphne grinned, “Me too.”

*** ~ TBC ~ *  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the story of the “Dybbuk Box” which is a cursed wine cabinet.


	33. So It Begins

“How was Daphne’s first day with the new mentor?”

Harry glanced up at Draco, “Oh, it was great. Bill is the best Curse Breaker in 20 years, and he called her his protégé, and they got to go out on this case with a 1,000year-old cursed wine cabinet. She wouldn’t stop talking about it for two hours last night.”

Draco snorted, “Are you worried yet?”

Harry shook his head and smiled, “Nah, I trust her completely, and even if I didn’t, Bill’s not that kind of guy. I do think its funny that she’s acting like a fangirl though, I’ve popped that in my blackmail bank in case I need it later.”

Draco grinned, “I’ve taught you well.”

Harry sniggered at that, “Where on earth are the other two? It’s 5 to 8, Sumner won’t be happy if they show up late for their first real day on the job.”

“They won’t be late,” Draco said, his eyes flicked towards the clock, “Theo is never late for anything important.”

As if on cue, the lecture hall door opened and Theo walked in with Neville in tow. When the two of them sat down in the seats that Harry and Draco had saved for them; they were immediately questioned.

“Is it a coincidence that you two arrived at the same time?”

“No, I was apologising to Theo for being a dick yesterday,” Neville said with a pointed look at them, “Since _you two_ ganged up on me and basically forced me to.”

“And you just accepted his apology?” Draco asked Theo in disbelief, “Just like okay, thanks for apologising? Because I have to buy you broomsticks or literally beg for your forgiveness on my knees when I piss you off.”

Theo smirked, “That’s just because I like to see the lengths you will go to for my forgiveness Draco.”

Neville sniggered and said, “Typical Slytherin,” while Draco shook his head in disgust at his Auror partner.

“I didn’t just accept his apology anyway,” Theo added, “I made him buy me breakfast.”

“So that’s why you were nearly late,” Harry said with an amused smile, “How did you apologise exactly, Nev?”

“I just told Theo about the merits of Red Panda’s,” Neville answered, “I spent hours researching them last night. Did you know that Lilly has a book for everything?”

“No, but that doesn’t surprise me,” Draco said in amusement, “Being engaged to Hermione Granger and all. If there’s an answer she can’t find in a book, she has a nervous breakdown about it.”

Neville snorted, “Yeah, no wonder her and Lil are friends.”

“So what are the merits of Red Panda’s then?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

Neville launched into a rather lengthy explanation, “They don’t eat nuts, contrary to Theo’s belief. They actually eat bamboo, eggs, birds and insects. They are solitary animals, active at night time and mostly sedentary during the day-”

“No wonder I’m a Red Panda,” Theo cut in with a suggestive look, “ _Active_ at night time.”

Draco rolled his eyes, and Harry sniggered while Neville continued, “They are very territorial animals, and they are generally quiet.”

Draco snorted, “Quiet? That’s definitely not like Theo. Territorial sounds about right though.”

“I’m not that territorial,” Theo snorted. He lowered his voice to a whisper and said, “I shared Sadie with you, didn’t I?”

Draco raised an eyebrow at him and whispered back, “More like you shared her with Hermione.”

“What are you two whispering about?”

“Nothing,” Draco and Theo said in unison.

Neville raised an eyebrow, “As I was saying, Red Pandas are also very sensitive to heat. They can’t tolerate temperatures over 25°C.”

“Like Theo when there was a heatwave in Paris during his honeymoon,” Harry said with a grin.

“That sunburn still hurts!” Theo objected.

“So what have we learned? You don’t like heat, you’re territorial, and you’re active at night time?” Draco asked with an amused look, “I mean, I could have just asked Sadie a few pointed questions to work that out.”

“Shut up Draco.”

Neville hid his amused smile, “Did you also know that Red Pandas have a fight or flee mechanism when threatened like humans do? They either climb a rock column or a tree to escape or they stand on their hind legs to make themselves appear larger. Then they use their sharp claws to defend themselves.”

“So I am useful, I have sharp claws, and I can defend myself,” Theo said with a pointed look, “If I lose my wand then that could be useful.”

“So long as there aren’t wards stopping you from transforming,” Harry added.

Theo rolled his eyes, “Well, obviously.”

Before they could talk, or bicker, on the issue any further, the door to the hall opened, and Sumner stepped in.

“Alright recruits! Today the real hard work begins!”

* * *

The real hard work really was hard. They spent the first part of the morning flying around the obstacle course in the grounds of the base then they were thrown right into the deep end with interrogation training. They had to work in their Auror pairs taking turns being the interrogator and the victim. Theo gave the whole room, including Auror Lorne, a laugh when the interrogation topic that he chose was, “Why did you steal the last sandwich at my party? You know cheese and cucumber is my favourite!” 

As Harry had expected, he was better at being the interrogator than Neville. Still, then again, Neville also hated roleplay situations like this because they made him feel insecure and nervous.

After interrogation training, they had a lecture, and by that point, everyone was pretty tired, so they were quite pleased to be able to sit down for a while. Auror Carter spent the next hour lecturing them about stealth and questioning them on all of the ways you could stealthily sneak into enemy territory. Once all of the obvious ones had been shouted out (disillusionment charm, change of appearance with glamour charms, use polyjuice potion) Harry and his friends began to call out the more obscure ways.

“Use an invisibility cloak,” Harry said.

Auror Carter smiled in the way someone smiled politely when they thought somebody had said something stupid, “Well yes but they are scarce and expensive Mr Potter. Not many people have access to them.”

Harry just shot his friends an amused look. Auror Carter then asked if they had any other ideas, and Theo shot his hand up in the air, “Use your animagus form and sneak in.”

“Again Mr Nott,” Auror Carter said politely, “Becoming an Animagus is a challenging thing. One must be a very skilled witch or wizard, so not many people have that option available to them.”

“And even if they did,” Ophelia cut in, “Surely some animagus forms would be no use for stealth purposes?”

“A phoenix would be useful if you need to heal someone and it can also fly,” Harry pointed out.

“Or a lion would be useful if you were in a jungle,” Neville added.

“Or the zoo,” Draco said.

“A dragon is pretty useless though,” Theo said, shooting Draco a smirk, “Not at all stealthy.”

“Unless you wanted to sneak into a dragon reserve,” Draco pointed out.

“A Red Panda is very stealthy,” Theo said, “And small and cat-like.”

“Alright boys,” Auror Carter said in a slightly raised voice, “Yes, some animagus forms can be stealthy when used in the right environment. _However,_ it is too rare an option for us to consider in great detail. Now, let’s talk about polyjuice potion. We don’t teach you how to make it at schools in the UK, so I don’t expect you to know any of this yet, don’t worry. Does anyone know what any of the key ingredients are in a polyjuice potion?”

Harry grinned, he was in his element, his hand shot right up into the air.

Carter looked surprised. She probably knew from his application that Potions wasn’t his best subject, “Yes, Mr Potter?”

“Shredded boomslang skin, lacewing flies that have to be stewed for 21 days, leeches, powdered bicorn horn, knotgrass and fluxweed, oh and that has to be picked at the full moon,” Harry rattled off, “Then, of course, there’s the piece of the person you want to turn into. They used to be brutal and rip off people’s toenails or fingernails, but now generally people just use hair.”

Harry revelled in Carter’s surprised look, “Uh…yes. That is spot on. Would anyone happen to know anything about the complex way in which it is made?”

Harry raised his hand again.

“Yes, Potter?”

“It is brewed in two parts. Each part has two steps,” Harry said, “First you have to add fluxweed and knotgrass then let the potion brew for an hour and a half. Then you add leeches and lacewing flies and heat briefly. After that you add boomslang skin and bicorn horn and heat briefly, you have to let it brew for 24 hours after that part. Then during the last part, you add some more lacewings, stir and add the piece of the person you want to become.”

Carter frowned at him, “Mr Potter, have you brewed this potion before?”

“No,” Harry said honestly. It was the truth, he had watched other people make it, but he had never brewed it himself.

“Then how exactly do you know how it is made?” Carter asked, “This is a highly advanced potion. It is never taught at N.E.W.T level, and the only books about it in Hogwarts are in the restricted section.”

“I was always rather adept at getting into the restricted section without a teachers note, Ma’am,” Harry said with a slight smile.

Carter raised an eyebrow at him, “And you did so just to read up on potions?”

“I needed all the help I could get,” Harry said.

It was clear that Carter didn’t believe him, but she merely smiled slightly and said, “I see. Now, as with all potions, there are restrictions. You must never use the potion to transform into an animal form rather than a human form. The consequences can be very severe, chiefly you could be trapped in that form forever, or you could be left with animal-like tendencies.”

“Does Hermione have any cat-like tendencies?” Theo whispered to Draco, “Can you make her purr?”

Draco snorted in amusement and Harry said, “She definitely has claws.”

Draco winced, “Don’t remind me.”

“This is cute, you two comparing notes about your-”

“-don’t say it,” Harry and Draco echoed.

“-pussy.”

“Fucking idiot,” Neville muttered as he hid an amused smile.

Carter gave the boys a pointed look and raised her voice, “I assume that everyone here knows that the Ministry has restrictions concerning the brewing of polyjuice potion. The justice department can use it at their discretion for undercover jobs and the like. However, it is not to be abused by the public. Can anyone tell me why that might be?”

People started to spout out answers such as, you could turn into someone and sleep with their girlfriend which is technically sexual assault or, you could turn into someone then go into their home and steal all of their money. While these answers were spouted out, Draco whispered, “By the way, how did you remember all of that?”

“I am not as shit a friend as you seem to think,” Harry murmured, “Ron wasn’t bothered about keeping Hermione company while she slaved over that potion for weeks, but I was.”

Draco raised an eyebrow at him, “Congratulations, you’ve just earned another grain of respect.”

Harry snorted at this and focused his attention on Auror Carter once more.

* * *

By the time the lecture was over, Harry was starving, and he couldn’t wait to get some lunch.

However, before he got to the hall, he was pulled aside by Auror Sheppard, “Potter! Do you have a minute?”

Harry nodded, “Yes, sir.”

“Great, we need a word with you in the office,” Sheppard said, “It’s just along the corridor.”

Harry’s heart began to thump harder and faster than it had when he had been flying that morning. They wanted a word with him in the office? On his first day? He started trying to work out what he had done wrong.

Thankfully, the office was a short walk away, so he didn’t have to contemplate for too long. He stepped in, and his mouth went dry when he saw Auror Sumner sitting behind the desk looking rather solemn. Sheppard shut the door behind them and leant against the counter.

“I assume you know why you’re here, son,” Sumner said.

Harry shook his head, “No…I’m sorry, but I don’t.”

Sumner sighed and glanced down, “I understand that you’re a powerful wizard and that you killed Voldemort. But that doesn’t give you the right to put Curse Breakers in hospital.”

Harry’s heart sank, “No sir, you don’t understand-”

“What I understand is that your magical signature showed up on the tiny little island of St. Kilda along with a few others on Sunday night. The next thing we know, Curse Breaker Fawley is in St. Mungo’s with serious injuries claiming that he had a bad fall. Do you care to explain that?”

Harry bit back his fear of being thrown out of the program and nodded, “Yes sir, I can explain it. Stuart Fawley sexually assaulted my fiancé. He was made her mentor because she’s a Trainee Curse Breaker at Gringotts. He abused that position by touching her, kissing her without her consent and then taking her to a cottage that he knew had an ancient lust curse on it. She managed to break free, minutes before he planned to rape her.”

Sumner and Sheppard's stoic facades fell away as genuine disgust showed on their faces.

Harry took a breath, “Frankly, sir, I would have killed him if it wasn’t for the fact that I had Neville there to make sure I didn’t. Fawley deserved to pay for what he did because you know as well as I do that he wouldn’t have been prosecuted for it _because_ it wasn’t rape. You also know as well as I do that the woman gets the blame in the majority of cases like this. So someone had to show that sick bastard what happens when you violate a woman like that.”

Sumner and Sheppard caught each other’s eyes for a moment then Sumner nodded, “I completely understand. The justice system has gaps, and men like that…they tend to fall through those gaps more often than not.”

“It’s wrong sir, with all due respect,” Harry said.

Sheppard nodded, “It is wrong, but we’re working on fixing it. Right now, cases like that, they get handled by the Domestics department, which is overworked and understaffed. Our guy there does the best he can, but with all of our efforts focused on rooting out corrupt Aurors and tracking down the last few Death Eaters, men like Fawley do fall through the gaps right now.”

Harry gave a short nod but said nothing more.

“This would usually be investigated by a higher power,” Sumner admitted, “But Sheppard and myself both have wives. I know how I would react in your situation, and I expect Sheppard feels the same.”

Sheppard nodded.

“So it will remain within the walls of this office,” Sumner finished, “But you must learn Potter, you are not above the law because you killed Voldemort. If anything like this happens again, we will follow the procedures that we are required to follow _by law_ and Auror or not; you will be prosecuted.”

“I understand sir,” Harry said with a solemn nod, “It won’t happen again.”

“I believe you,” Sumner said honestly, “But thankfully, we don’t need to worry about that because Shep took a statement from Curse Breaker Fawley last night. What did he say to you again, Shep?”

“That he was drunk and fell down the stairs, sir,” Sheppard replied calmly, “Caught himself real nastily in a sensitive place too, so I hear.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Sumner said, “Dismissed Recruit Potter.”

“Thank you, sir,” Harry said. He stepped out of the office with Sheppard, and the older man put a hand on his shoulder.

“You alright, Potter?”

Harry nodded, “Yes, sir.”

“And your fiancé?”

“She will be,” Harry replied.

Sheppard nodded, “Good. Next time, cover up your wand signature.”

Without another word, he walked away down the corridor.

* * *

Neville was nearly bouncing off the walls as the group of friends walked to the hospital wing after lunch.

“Jeez Neville, I know you’re excited about seeing Lilly, but you aren’t going to jump her the second we walk in, are you?”

Neville whacked Theo around the head, “Shut up, Theo. You have your other half back now. Mine is still stuck on the other side of the channel.”

“When mine is gone she’s further away though,” Theo pointed out.

“It’s not a competition,” Draco drawled.

“Everything is a competition,” Theo said, “And I need to win something. I certainly didn’t win the Animagus form competition.”

“Oh, Harry wins that,” Neville agreed.

“Hey! I can fly too, and I have super strength just like he does,” Draco objected.

“Yes, but can you heal people with your tears?” Neville asked.

“No, but I can breathe fire,” Draco said.

“So Harry heals, and you destroy,” Neville said thoughtfully.

“Quite accurate really,” Theo remarked when they reached the hospital wing.

“You’re supposed to be on my side, you idiot,” Draco muttered, he whacked Theo around the head for good measure, and the two of them bickered into the hospital wing.

Harry shook his head in amusement and looked over at Neville. He was scanning the room for Lilly, and when he saw her, his eyes lit up. She grinned and waved him over.

“Hey, stranger.”

“Hey,” Neville said with a stupid smile, “I hate the fact I can’t hug you or kiss you right now.”

“Self-control is an excellent trait to train yourself up on,” Lilly said with a grin, “How’s your first day going?”

“It’s busy,” Neville said honestly, “How’s France?”

“Busy, stinking of onions, the usual,” Lilly joked.

“And Marcel?”

“He’s backed off since Clara spoke to him,” Lilly promised, “So you don’t need to march over to France and kick his arse this weekend, don’t worry.”

“Damn, I was kind of looking forward to it,” Neville admitted with a grin.

“Longbottom! Quit acting like a lovestruck puppy and get back to your partner!”

Lilly chuckled, and Neville shot her an amused look before walking back to Harry. The person who had barked the instructions didn’t look intimidating, but Harry had a feeling that would turn out to be a false first impression.

“My name is Auror Frasier,” She began. Frasier had short mousy brown hair and kind looking brown eyes. She was barely 5 foot, but Harry imagined she could pack a punch when she needed too, just like Lilly, “And I am the Senior Trauma Healer in charge of this hospital wing. It will be me you will have to answer to if I see you in this place more than twice a year. Does anyone envision that being a problem?”

Harry raised his hand.

“Oh, you do, Potter, do you?” Frasier asked, “Why would that be?”

“Uh…in school I averaged out at about four trips to the hospital wing a year,” Harry admitted sheepishly.

“Then you need to get better at dealing with your own injuries,” Frasier said curtly which of course made his friends snigger, “And this is what Trainee Trauma Healer Lillian Moon will be teaching you. She will graduate at the same time as you lot; she will be patching you up in the middle of duels, so you’re going to owe a lot to her. The sooner you learn to respect the people that keep you alive in this job, the better.”

Harry nodded, that sounded more than fair.

“That is the purpose of these afternoon sessions,” Frasier continued, “You will be set tasks, and if anyone has any questions, you are to go to Miss Moon, and she will help you. If she can’t help you, which I doubt because she seems like a very competent young woman, then she will come to me or one of my colleagues for help. Do you all understand?”

Everyone nodded.

“Good,” Frasier said, “I’m going to introduce you to the other hospital wing staff, and then I’m going to leave you to it. This is Auror Carson; he is an Auror first and a Healer second which means that he does most of the fieldwork around here.”

Auror Carson had a kind, shy face and bright blue eyes. He smiled and said, “Hello,” in a broad Scottish accent.

“And this is Trauma Healer Keller, she mostly stays on base, and she does the bulk of the training,” Frasier said, “So acquaint yourselves with her because you will see a lot of her over the next few months.”

Keller smiled. She was a beautiful woman with long, dark blonde hair and kind eyes. Everyone here had kind eyes; Harry had a feeling that Frasier was a bit like Pomfrey, a softie at heart.

“Hi everyone,” Keller said, “Today's first task is simple. I want you all to practice basic healing charms, so we’re talking about things like sealing a minor cut and soothing a slight burn. We don’t want to throw you in at the deep end, that’s never a good idea with people who have no experience of healing magic. Can I just start by asking you to raise your hand if you have any experience?”

Harry, Neville, Draco and Theo all raised their hands.

Keller smiled, “I’ll just ask you to summarise what you know for me. Starting with Recruit Potter?”

“I learned the basics during the war,” Harry admitted, “But I was never any good. Herm – my friend – told me that my hand shook too much.”

Keller chuckled, “That’s common for beginners, but it will go away when you feel less nervous about performing healing magic. Recruit Longbottom?”

“I’m pretty good with the after-care charms for the cruciatus curse,” Neville said, “I used them a lot during the war when my fellow students and I were being tortured in school. I can heal a shallow cut or a first-degree burn too, Lil - I mean Trainee Trauma Healer Moon – taught me during the war.”

Lilly shot Neville a sympathetic smile, and Keller nodded, “That is good to know. Recruit Nott?”

“I know the basics. I can heal cuts, bruises, burns, etc,” Theo answered, “I taught myself in school.”

Draco nodded and looked down, “Yes, I’m in the same boat as Theo.”

Harry and Neville both knew why their friends were good with healing magic. They had learned it while looking after themselves or in Draco’s case, his mother. It was the consequence of growing up in an abusive situation; Daphne was also very adept with healing magic.

Keller obviously sensed this too because she smiled sympathetically at the boys and continued, “Thank you for that summary guys. In that case, work in your Auror pairs. Inflict slight injuries on yourselves and then try to heal your Auror partners injuries. Myself and Miss Moon will be floating about observing you all and correcting your technique, so just ask if you need any help at any point. Is that all clear?”

There was a chorus of, “Yes, Ma’am.”

“Does Trainee Trauma Healer Moon need to help you perfect your technique, Nev?” Theo asked with a grin.

“There’s nothing wrong with my technique,” Neville snorted as he and Harry made their way towards their work station.

Harry sniggered at Neville’s expense, and the taller boy said, “Oi, watch who you’re laughing at. I saw that look.”

“What look?” Harry asked as Neville sealed up a cut on his arm.

“The look on your face when you saw Keller,” Neville said, smirking at his friend.

Harry rolled his eyes, “There was no look.”

“Yeah right,” Neville scoffed, “Tall, blonde bombshell. She’s totally your type.”

“I am happily engaged,” Harry reminded Neville.

“That doesn’t stop you from finding other people attractive,” Neville pointed out, “You think she’s hot.”

“I do not,” Harry objected, “Ouch!”

“Stay still then,” Neville said.

“Shut up about Keller then,” Harry bit back.

“Admit that you think she’s hot and I will,” Neville said.

“Fine,” Harry muttered, “She’s pretty fit. You happy now?”

“Oh yeah,” Neville smirked as he looked over Harry’s shoulder, “Hi Healer Keller.”

Harry’s cheeks went scarlet, “Neville, can I inflict your next injury, please?”

Keller walked around to the front of their work station and smiled, although her cheeks were slightly pink, “I would advise against that Mr Potter. Great work there, Mr Longbottom, the wound just needs to be sealed a little more tightly. Do you mind if I demonstrate?”

“Not at all,” Neville said, he shot Harry a slightly wicked smirk and took a step back. Keller sat down in front of Harry and took his arm with one hand, with the other she held her wand steadily and began to tighten the wound while it sealed.

“Is that at all painful?” She asked Harry.

Harry shook his head, “No Ma’am,” he said while keeping his head down.

“There we go,” Keller said kindly, “Do you see how much tighter that is Mr Longbottom? That will reduce the risk of infection greatly.”

Neville nodded, “Thank you, ma’am,” he said as Keller walked away to see how Ophelia and Blanche were getting on.

“You are a fucking dick,” Harry muttered the moment Keller was out of earshot.

“I haven’t seen your cheeks that scarlet since the days of Cho Chang,” Neville joked.

“If I were you, I would shut up before Lilly gets over here,” Harry said, “Because you forget that I shared a dorm with you for seven years and spent two weeks in the wilderness with you.”

“I really don’t see the significance of that,” Neville said calmly, he inflicted a small cut upon himself and held his arm out.

“Don’t you?” Harry asked casually. He took Neville’s arm and held his wand, a little shakily, in the direction of the cut, “Because the thing is Nev, you talk in your sleep, you always have done, and you’ve said some pretty interesting things over the years.”

Neville snorted, “You’re bluffing, I’d know if I talked in my sleep.”

“If I was bluffing would I know about a certain reoccurring dream you spent two years having about Professor Sinistra?” Harry asked as he began to seal the cut up.

Neville’s eyes widened.

Harry smirked, “Or about that little curious phase you went through in sixth year when a certain Slytherins name came up in your sleep-”

“Oh fuck off,” Neville muttered, “No fucking way.”

“No, it was more like, Theo fucking Nott,” Harry grinned.

“I hate you,” Neville muttered, “But I remember the Cedric dreams.”

“Nightmares.”

“And the Draco Malfoy ones,” Neville said with an evil smile, “Definitely not nightmares. Not from the noises-”

“Once!” Harry hissed, “It was once!”

Neville raised an eyebrow at him, “Shall we just agree that I’ll keep all of your dirty secrets if you keep mine?”

“Deal,” Harry said quickly, “Pleasure doing business with you.”

Neville rolled his eyes, “You spend too much time with Draco these days,” he grumbled.

Before Harry could say anymore, Lilly had reached them, “Harry, you are massacring my boyfriend’s arm.”

“I know,” Harry said irritably, “But I just can’t keep my wand steady when I’m doing healing magic. I don’t know why because I can hold it steady fine for other sorts of magic.”

“It’s because you’re nervous,” Lilly said, “You have this preconception that you’re bad at healing magic because Hermione told you so during the war. It’s that preconception that is making your hand shake.”

Lilly took his arm gently and steadied it, “Now, close your eyes and tell yourself that you can do this, then open them again.”

Harry did as she said. When he opened his eyes, Lilly let go of his hand, and it had stopped shaking, “Woah Lil! How did you do that?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Lilly said with a smile, “You did. Now seal up this cut and let me see how tight it is.”

Harry finished sealing up the cut, in a straight line this time. Lilly smiled and nodded, “Great job. You just need to have more faith in yourself.”

Neville smiled at her, “You’re good at this whole, being an authority figure thing.”

Lilly shot him a suggestive look, “Does it turn you on?”

“Oh Merlin, I do not want to be in the middle of this conversation,” Harry said with a vaguely amused look.

Neville snorted in amusement, “Fat chance of any flirting going on with you here.”

“Sorry to kill the mood, but we are supposed to be working,” Harry pointed out.

Lilly laughed, “Harry has a point. I’m going to check how Draco and Theo are getting on. See you two in a bit.”

“See you later,” Neville said as Lilly walked away. The moment she was out of earshot Neville muttered, “Thanks for being a cock block.”

Harry grinned, “What were you going to do? Have a quickie in the fucking supply closet?”

Neville kicked him under the table, “You’re a prick.”

* * *

“Very impressive, I can barely see where the cut was.”

Theo looked up and smiled, “That would be because I used a glamour laced healing charm to avoid scarring.”

Lilly looked impressed, “Very good. Who taught you that?”

Theo’s smile wavered, “I taught myself everything I know Lil, including healing magic.”

Lilly knew enough about his past not to question that so she just nodded, “How is Sadie, by the way?”

“Better,” Theo said honestly, “She’s eating now, not quite three square meals a day yet, but we’ll get there.”

“Now she’s home, her stomach will finally be able to settle,” Sadie said with a nod, “What’s she going to do when she goes back out there? She can’t let herself feel that ill for two weeks at a time.”

“I don’t know,” Theo said honestly, “We’ll work that out when it comes around, I suppose. At the moment I’m just glad she’s got her colour back.”

“And her attitude,” Draco said with an amused look Theo’s way, “I heard that she had to roar at you to get you out of bed this morning.”

Theo rolled his eyes, “When you say _you heard_ , you mean Neville told you.”

“Why was Neville in your house this morning?” Lilly asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Because he was a dick to me yesterday after we found out what our animagus forms were and he came to apologise,” Theo replied.

“Hold up a second; you found out what your animagus forms were yesterday? And Neville didn’t think to floo me to tell me about that?” Lilly asked in disbelief.

“In Neville’s defence, he did tell us _not_ to mention it to you,” Draco said, with a pointed glare at Theo, “Because he knew you would be pissed off if we did and he wants to tell you in person.”

“Well I’m here, in person and he still hasn’t mentioned it,” Lilly pointed out.

“Give him time, he will,” Draco promised, “And we said nothing.”

Theo nodded sheepishly, “Sorry.”

“Idiot,” Draco muttered, it almost sounded affectionate.

Lilly would generally have laughed at the two of them, but she found herself feeling too irritated to do so. She circled the room again and ended up back with Harry and Neville about half an hour later.

“Good job with the burn healing,” Lilly said to Harry, “Much better than your first attempt with the cut.”

“I got a lot of burns when I broke into Gringotts,” Harry said casually.

Lilly snorted, “Only Harry Potter could say that casually and have it make sense.”

Neville sniggered, “That’s accurate. Hey Lil, since Keller isn’t lurking nearby this time, I have something to tell you.”

Lilly felt her irritation at Neville ease with those words. At least he had a reason for not mentioning it straight away, “What’s that?”

“We found out what our animagus forms were yesterday,” Neville said in an undertone, “And mine is awesome, can you guess what it is?”

“A bear?” Lilly guessed.

Neville shook his head, “Bigger, better and stronger.”

“Go on then,” Lilly said with a slight smile.

“A lion,” Neville said proudly, “A huge lion.”

“That is pretty awesome,” Lilly agreed, “I mean, I guess you definitely are a true Gryffindor too.”

“That’s what Harry said,” Neville said with a grin, “Draco is a dragon which I suppose makes sense.”

Lilly nodded, “Yep, his name does mean dragon. What’s Theo?”

Neville tried not to snigger as he said, “A Red Panda.”

“Aww,” Lilly said, “Red Pandas are the cutest animal ever!”

“Don’t say that to Theo,” Harry advised, “He wasn’t happy that everyone else was a powerful or magical creature while he was a cute little Red Panda.”

“Well it makes sense, Theo doesn’t have much luck with magical creatures,” Lilly said, “We wouldn’t want him setting fire to himself or something, would we?”

“You make a good point,” Neville chuckled.

“Red Pandas are solitary animals, they sleep all day and avoid predators,” Lilly added, “They look all cute and fluffy, but they are super territorial. When someone threatens their young or their mate, they get fierce so if you think about it…Theo is kinda like a Red Panda.”

“That’s true,” Harry said, “I had never thought about it like that.”

“I knew everything you just said because after I was a dick to Theo about his animagus form, I had to apologise to him,” Neville said, “The other two ganged up on me and called me a douche. Anyway, I researched Red Pandas, so I could tell Theo how awesome they were. Do you have a book for everything by the way?”

“Not quite everything,” Lilly said, “But I do love Red Pandas.”

“Should I be concerned about this newfound love for Theo?” Neville joked.

“Maybe,” Lilly countered with a slightly wicked smirk, “If you’re going to keep being a dick to people, then maybe you do need to be concerned.”

Neville narrowed his eyes at her to try and work out if she was serious or not.

“Speaking of lovely, cute, fluffy Theo,” Lilly said mischievously, “I had better go and see how he’s getting on.”

As Lilly walked away, Neville said, “She’s joking, right? About the Theo thing and the me being a dick thing?”

“She’s joking about the Theo thing,” Harry replied, “But not about the you being a dick thing.”

Neville groaned, “When did you become the smart one who gives advice about girls? You used to be clueless.”

“Daphne opened up my eyes,” Harry joked with a grin, “And you’re supposed to be burning yourself so stop looking at your girlfriend’s arse.”

* * *

“So I hear that you have the best animagus form,” Lilly said as she reached Draco and Theo’s workstation.

Theo rolled his eyes, “Very funny. I expected that from Nev, but I didn’t expect it from you, Lilly.”

“Watch the attitude!” Lilly exclaimed, “I was serious! I’d much rather be a Red Panda than a lion or a dragon. A phoenix is different, I mean, who wouldn’t want to be a phoenix?”

“I wouldn’t want to be a phoenix,” Draco muttered, “Poncy fancy birds.”

“Coming from the guy who keeps peacocks?” Lilly quipped.

“I have one peacock, one!” Draco defended himself, “And I only kept that one because I raised it from a baby.”

“He’s very attached to Princess,” Theo smirked.

“Princess?” Lilly grinned, “That’s what your peacock is called?”

“Okay firstly, fuck you, Theodore,” Draco said with a roll of his eyes, “Secondly, I was four when I named her.”

“Just saying, peacocks are fancy poncy animals,” Lilly said in a sing-song voice, “Lions are cool and yeah, they can rip someone to pieces in seconds, not that Neville would use it for that. But they are also kind of douchebags.”

“How exactly is a lion a douchebag?” Theo asked with an amused smile.

“Yeah, I’m dying to hear this one,” Draco said, leaning forward slightly.

“Well,” Lilly explained, “Lions live in prides. There are normally one or two lions to a few lionesses and their offspring with those lionesses. The thing is, the male lion doesn’t do much. The lionesses hunt to feed themselves, their young and the male while the male sits and does nothing for like 20 hours a day.”

“I think I can sense where this is going,” Theo said with a grin, “And I don’t think it paints Nev in the best light.”

Lilly shrugged, “I’m not saying he’s lazy, he’s worked hard to get where he is. What I am saying is that the lion doesn’t do much until his pride is threatened then he fights off the opposition. Lions are very territorial, jealous creatures and they are very arrogant, proud creatures.”

“No wonder he’s a bloody lion,” Theo joked.

“Exactly,” Lilly said with a smirk, “As for dragons…”

“Oh come on, what did I do to piss you off?” Draco asked.

“Nothing, I just thought you would like to understand how you relate to a dragon,” Lilly said honestly, “But if you’d rather not then I’ll just go over to Blanche and-”

“No, no,” Draco said quickly, “I would like to know, please.”

Theo sniggered because of how difficult it had been for Draco to say please just then. Lilly smirked again and said, “Well dragons are proud, not unlike yourself. They are also associated with wisdom because although they aren’t able to talk, studies have shown that they are vastly more intelligent than us. You have a thirst for knowledge; it’s why you and Hermione are so good together and that in itself makes you very similar to a dragon. There’s also the fact they breathe fire when they get pissy, that sounds familiar.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “That was sounding so good until you finished it with an insult.”

Lilly smirked and glanced at the clock; there wasn’t long left until their afternoon of practising healing magic was over, “Somebody has to keep you all humble. See you guys at the weekend.”

“I don’t know how Neville puts up with that,” Draco muttered as she walked away.

Lilly turned around and smirked, “It’s for the sex, Draco.”

Theo sniggered and was swiftly whacked around the back of the head for doing so.

* * *

When Theo got home on Wednesday night, he was exhausted. It hadn’t even been a particularly physical day, but his brain had been active from 8 am to 5 pm and that in itself was tiring.

He smiled when he stepped into the kitchen. The smell of something wonderful hit him straight away, and Sadie was singing along to the radio as she cooked it.

“Hey!” She chirped, “I feel a lot better today; I even managed to make spaghetti bolognaise, do you know how much I missed simple, tasty food that isn’t loaded with spices while I was in that place?”

Theo laughed, “Hey, it smells amazing, but you didn’t have to cook. I told you to rest.”

“I did rest,” Sadie promised, “I slept until 10 am then I did some coursework, and since I felt hungry for the first time in days, I cooked.”

He kissed her on the cheek, “Thank you. I’m starving.”

“Sit down then, it’s ready,” Sadie said.

Theo took a seat and watched her plate up their dinner. He found himself feeling more grateful than ever for her after the time they had spent apart.

“So, how was your first day?” Sadie asked eagerly.

“Tiring, but good,” Theo replied, “Except Lilly is one harsh teacher.”

Sadie laughed, “Does that really surprise you? She managed to keep Ron Weasley in line.”

Theo laughed too, “True. I always forget that she dated Ron before Nev…it seems like they’ve been together forever.”

“They just sort of slotted into the whole relationship thing really fast,” Sadie agreed, “But then again, so did we.”

“Let’s face it, Sade, that’s because we’d basically been a couple for years, just without the sex,” Theo said, he shot her a grin.

“That’s true; we did spend about 90% of our time together all the time,” Sadie chuckled.

Theo smiled and said, “This is amazing by the way. How did you have time to do this on top of your coursework?”

“The coursework was ridiculously easy,” Sadie admitted, “I had finished it and sent it over to Egypt via an open floo channel in about 3 hours. After that, I was just looking for things to do, to be honest.”

“No wonder you’re finding it boring if it’s that easy for you,” Theo said, “I’m finding bits of Auror training easy, but some parts are tough.”

“What bits are you finding hard?” Sadie asked curiously.

“Well flying this morning was tiring but not difficult. We had to do interrogation training though, and I was rubbish at that, I just made a joke out of it to cover up the fact that I don’t enjoy shouting at people and threatening them to get information,” Theo said, “My father used to do that to me as a kid, and I hate having to treat someone else like that. I mean we had to roleplay, so it was hard to be like that with Draco. I hope it will be different when I know the person across from me is a bad person.”

Sadie nodded and reached across the table, “I’m sure it will be, and there’s no shame in not enjoying being horrible to people you know.”

“I know,” Theo said with a small smile, “We had a lecture about stealth as well. It was all stuff I knew though, how to make polyjuice potion and the best way to cast a disillusionment charm, you know?”

Sadie nodded, “What was healing magic like?”

“Good,” Theo said honestly, “It was pretty easy actually. Draco and I thought it was a bit of a skive, and we mostly spent the afternoon chatting while the Healing Aurors weren’t looking. You seem so much better today though, I’m relieved.”

“So am I,” Sadie admitted, “I felt like death those last two weeks, it was awful. I’m so glad to be back to normal, and I’m so happy to be home. I’m dreading having to go back to Egypt…”

Theo squeezed her hand tightly, “Well, it’s ages away yet, so don’t let it bother you now.”

“I’ll try,” Sadie promised.

***~ TBC ~ ***


	34. Aurors and Cursebreakers

“I have one piece of advice for you about marriage.”

Daphne glanced over at Bill, “Okay…what is it?”

“Make sure you talk to your other half about kids before you marry them,” Bill said as he picked up a rug and looked underneath it, “Anything under the floorboards over there?”

Daphne shook her head, “Nothing. You sound like you’re speaking from experience by the way.”

“That would be because I am,”Bill said, he moved a tapestry aside, “How difficult is it to hide a wine cabinet? Surely it’s pretty big.”

“I told you, I think it will be in the basement, but you seem convinced that it’s in the drawing-room,” Daphne said, “Are you going to explain that comment by the way?”

“Yeah,” Bill said slowly, “But I think you’re right. Come on, let’s try the basement.”

They were still searching for the supposedly cursed wine cabinet. It was a family heirloom that had gone missing five years ago when the homeowner's mother had died; she was convinced that it was hidden somewhere in the house, and she wanted it gone.

As Daphne and Bill walked out into the hall, Bill said, “Fleur and I didn’t discuss kids before the wedding. We kind of rushed into it to be honest because there was a war on, and we were both scared about what that meant.”

“That’s understandable,” Daphne admitted.

Bill hummed thoughtfully, “Rushing into the wedding isn’t a regret for either of us but not talking about kids is. The thing is, you know how I feel about my siblings and-”

“You don’t want to have too many kids and have them grow up feeling the way you did,” Daphne guessed

“Exactly, I think two would be okay, but Fleur wants at least four,” Bill said, “I hoped after she’d gone through labour once she would rethink that, but she hasn’t. The problem is, I can’t tell her why I’m so against having more kids without telling her about my resentment of my family, and she won’t understand that.”

“You don’t know she won’t understand if you don’t give her a chance to,” Daphne pointed out as they reached the basement door, “Do you think we’re safe to just go in or should we cast any charms?”

“Always assume the worst,” Bill said, he cast a few revealment charms, and nothing happened, “It looks safe, and you sounded like such a woman just then by the way.”

“Well shockingly Bill, I am a woman,” Daphne said sarcastically, “And I also know what it's like not to tell someone something because you’re scared of how they will react. It took me a long time to open up to Harry about my past, and in the end, he took it a lot better than I was expecting.”

“Well, we all know our other halves, and I’m fairly sure I know how mine would react,” Bill said, “Do you want to be on light duty or searching duty?”

“This basement is creepy and full of old shit, so I’m going to go with light-duty,” Daphne said.

Bill snorted, “If you think this is old and creepy, wait until you first go into an Egyptian tomb.”

“Hey, that reminds me – Lumos – do you know the truth about King Tuts tomb?” Daphne asked as they descended the basement stairs.

“Do you mean, do I know if the curse was real or not?” Bill asked.

“Yeah, did the Muggles imagine it or was there a curse?” Daphne asked as they looked around the basement.

“The Muggles – Merlin’s balls, that is horrific – did not imagine it,” Bill said, he got distracted halfway through his sentence by a terrifying Victorian doll that was staring at him with the one eye that it had left.

Daphne looked at the doll with disdain, “Yeah, it is creepy. So there was a curse? A proper, ancient curse?”

“Yep, a proper ancient Egyptian curse,” Bill said, “Shout if you see anything that looks remotely like a wine cabinet.”

“How did they break it?” Daphne asked, “And is that a wine cabinet?”

“No, it’s a chest of drawers,” Bill replied, “It took six Curse Breakers to break it back in 1925. All of the deaths that they said were caused by the curse after that were just incidental.”

“So Lord Carnarvon was cursed then?” Daphne asked eagerly, “Is that why his dog died at the same time as him?”

“His dog didn’t die at the same time as him; it died 4 hours after him. Nobody bothered taking the time difference into account,” Bill said as his eyes searched the basement, “And it’s common for animals to die when their owners do so I doubt the dog was a victim of the curse. What’s that?”

“Uh…a box with some grapes on it,” Daphne said.

“Don’t touch it, that’s our cabinet!” Bill said sharply as Daphne edged closer.

She raised her hands, “What are we going to do with it then?”

“Levitate it into the hall upstairs and break the curse there, we need decent light,” Bill said, “You go on up, I don’t want to risk it touching you.”

Daphne followed his orders and waited for him in the hall. He put the cabinet down on the floor very gently and said, “Since I know you want to know and therefore won’t concentrate properly until I tell you…George Jay Gould who died of fever and Prince Ali Kamel Fahmey Bey who was shot by his wife, both in 1923, were victims of the curse. Aubrey Herbert, Carnarvon’s half-brother, who died from blood poisoning in 1923 was also a victim of the curse as was Archibald Douglas-Reid, a radiologist who x-rayed the mummy and died of a mysterious illness in 1924; and Sir Lee Stack, the Governor of Sudan who was assassinated in 1924. After that, the curse was broken.”

“That is amazing.” Daphne said in awe, “This isn’t going to take six Curse Breakers, is it?”

“No,” Bill scoffed, “It’s nowhere near as old. It’s going to take all of me with a bit of help from you, can you manage that?”

“Definitely, just tell me what to do,” Daphne replied.

“First things first?”

“Diagnostic charm,” Daphne replied.

Bill nodded and cast the charm. It encased the box in bright yellow light, and then a heap of numbers spewed out into the air, “Okay so every Curse Breaker has a different method, so I’ll show you how I like to do this. I don’t like working directly with the curse because I’m used to ancient Egyptian curses. Curse Breakers who don’t work with anything older than 1,000 years or so will almost always mess about with the curse directly while it sits in front of them like this. However, ancient Egyptian curses are normally booby-trapped so that if you do the wrong thing, you suffer for it.”

Daphne nodded and took in everything that he was saying.

“So I like to be sure of myself before I even touch the curse,” Bill said. He waved his wand and conjured up a blackboard and a heap of chalk, “I use a blackboard because I like being able to rub out one or two numbers when I make a mistake. I knew a guy who used a quill and parchment; he used to get so confused with crossed out numbers everywhere that he was pretty much useless.”

“I like that idea,” Daphne said as she looked at the chalkboard, “I would never have thought of it to be honest. I probably would have worked directly with the curse too.”

“Like I said, only Curse Breakers who have broken a lot of Ancient Egyptian curses tend to do things this way,” Bill said as he grabbed a piece of chalk and began to copy the numbers of the curse onto the blackboard, “And most of us learn the hard way.”

“Did you learn the hard way?” Daphne asked curiously.

Bill nodded and lifted his shirt enough to show a dark pink scar on his back, “Yep, a bastard of an Egyptian curse gave me kidney failure. I’m only alive today because Char gave me one of his.”

“Holy shit,” Daphne muttered, “No wonder the two of you are so close.”

“That’s my sob story for the day over,” Bill joked, “Let’s get back to work. This is where all of those charts you memorised in arithmancy come in handy. Did Fawley let you do anything like this?”

Daphne shook her head, “He only let me observe.”

“Out of curiosity, did he work directly with the curse?” Bill asked.

Daphne nodded, “Yep.”

“Idiot,” Bill muttered, “I warned him against that years ago in Egypt. It’s a miracle that the bastard is still alive. I’m going to let you do a little bit more than observe, but this is complex for a British curse so I’ll do this part. So that you know, I’m going to let you know how I work. Obviously, our job here is to unravel the curse, undo it if you will.”

Daphne nodded, “In a simple curse, the numbers spell out the curse that was used. In a more complex curse, the numbers are jumbled, so it’s harder to find the words and therefore understand the curse.”

“Exactly, and this curse is very jumbled,” Bill said, “So I envision it taking a while. Once I have worked it out, I will need to share your magic to undo it. That’s why I said it would take all of me and a little bit of you. I need to borrow some power.”

“That’s fine,” Daphne said with a nod, “But I’ve never done magic sharing before. Well – not on purpose anyway – so you’ll have to show me how.”

Bill shot her an amused look, “I can guess the way you accidentally shared magic. We’ve all been there as teenagers.”

Daphne didn’t even blush, “Yeah, it was…interesting, to say the least.”

“I really didn’t need that image of the guy I think of as a little brother, but hey, there it is,” Bill said sarcastically.

“Sorry,” Daphne said sheepishly, “The first two words of the curse are a name by the way. 1 (1, 9, 10) is VAN and 4 (15, 16, 31) is HOUSTON.”

Bill smiled, “I worked that out 5 minutes ago, but I’m impressed that you got there so quickly. Talk me through your process?”

“The first number is the final number,” Daphne said, “Then there are the numbers in the brackets. 1 is the heart number aka the value of the vowels in the name added up. The only vowel in “VAN” is the “A” which has a value of 1. The number 9 is the social number, aka the value of the consonants in the name added up. V has a value of 4, and N has a value of 5, which makes 9. The 10 is the character number which is the heart number, and social number added together. When the value of the final number is greater than 9, you add the numbers together until you get a single-digit, so 1 + 0 = 1. Therefore 1 = VAN.”

“Just so you know, I’ll only say this if I mean it,” Bill began, “I am impressed.”

Daphne smiled slightly, “Knowing that the first two words are “VAN” and “HOUSTON” doesn’t really help us, though.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Bill agreed, “But I’m still impressed by your raw talent. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to need silence to work out the rest.”

Daphne shook her head to say that she didn’t mind and said no more. It took Bill somewhere between an hour and two hours to work it out. The first three words were “VAN HOUSTON CURSE”, and the last three words were the incantation used to curse the object, _“Familarum Pati Punire.”_

Once Bill knew the curse, he could work out the counter-curse, “Okay, time for a quick masterclass in magic sharing. First of all, do you know occlumency?”

Daphne nodded, “Yes, I know the basics.”

“Thank Merlin,” Bill said, “This would be much more difficult otherwise.”

“Okay, what does Occlumency have to do with it?” Daphne asked curiously.

“I need you to shut your eyes, clear your mind and focus on your magical core,” Bill instructed, “Let me know when you’re ready, and I will draw on your magical power. It will feel bizarre like I’m tugging inside your head, but it won’t be painful.”

Daphne nodded a little nervously, “Alright.”

“And yes, it can have consequences if the person borrowing your magic does it wrong,” Bill said, “But I’m pretty good at this.”

Daphne glanced up at him, “Draco has a theory about his Aunt Bellatrix. He thinks she went mad because she used to let Voldemort share her magic.”

“I know,” Bill said honestly, “And I think Draco is probably right, but Voldemort wasn’t a gentle or considerate man. He used Bellatrix and abused her trust. I bet he took more power than he should have and that he borrowed her magic far too often. I won’t do that to you, trust me, Daphne.”

Daphne let out a breath and nodded, “Okay,” she said as she shut her eyes.

She cleared her mind and focused on her magical core like Bill had told her to. She could see the dim golden glow in her mind, and she could feel the rhythmic humming.

“Nod if you are ready,” Bill’s voice said, it sounded far away and echoed around her head.

Daphne managed a minuscule nod. Almost immediately she felt what Bill had meant, it was like he was trying to pull something out of her head, and although it wasn’t painful, it was uncomfortable.

There was a flash of light inside of her head that made her gasp sharply and open her eyes. When she did, it was to see the yellow glow around the wine cabinet explode and rain down as sparks.

Bill grinned at her, “That was fantastic. Was that really your first time letting someone do that?”

“Intentionally, yes,” Daphne said with a smile, “Was it because of me that you were able to do that?”

Bill nodded, “If I had tried that on my own it would have drained my magical power completely, but that little bit of magic that I borrowed from you made that happen. It was so small that you won’t even feel the effects of it.”

“Wow.”

“And that,” Bill said, “Is why we work in pairs. Shall we go and tell Miss Van Houston the good news?”

Daphne nodded and grinned, “Thanks for becoming my mentor Bill. This is amazing. I mean learning from you is like a dream come true; you really are the best Curse Breaker this country has seen in the last 20 years.”

“Don’t say that to your fiancé,” Bill joked as they began to walk towards the stairs together, “He’ll get concerned.”

“Nah, he’s secure enough,” Daphne chirped, “I can’t wait to tell him about today.”

* * *

Daphne got home later than Harry that night, so when she stepped into the kitchen, he was adding the finishing touches to dinner.

“I had the best day ever!” Daphne said, she dumped her bag on the floor and grinned at him, “We finally managed to find the wine cabinet and Bill showed me how he breaks curses. He is such a genius, Harry! I’m literally learning from the best, and I could watch him all day, the way he works is just so fascinating. I even helped decipher the curse, Fawley never let me near that part of the job. Then he borrowed some of my magic to break the curse, and it was amazing, the curse around the cabinet exploded because of our combined magical power-”

“Woah,” Harry said sharply, “You did magic sharing, with Bill?”

“No, no, Harry not like that,” Daphne said quickly, “It was very professional. Did you know that both parties have to know occlumency to do it?”

“How the hell did we manage it then?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I suppose some of what Snape taught you must have stuck,” Daphne said with a shrug, “But anyway, I had to clear my mind and focus on my magical core. I actually saw my magical core, did you know that was possible?”

“I’m sure I read that somewhere,” Harry replied.

“Well it was pretty cool,” Daphne said, she was so excited, and Harry found it quite cute, “Then Bill borrowed my magic and it was like a flash migraine, I could feel him tugging inside my head which was weird but not painful. I just love it so much, Harry; I love my job!”

Harry grinned, “I love seeing you so happy and to be honest, I love my job too.”

“Oh shit,” Daphne muttered, “I was so eager to tell you about my day that I forgot to ask how yours was.”

Harry shook his head, “Don’t worry about it. My first day was pretty great though.”

“Tell me all about it then,” Daphne said, perhaps a little sheepishly.

Harry smiled, “We flew in the morning then we had interrogation training which was fun. There was a lecture about stealth, and the lecturer shot me down when I suggested using an invisibility cloak because apparently, they are too rare to be considered for use.”

Daphne snorted, “I bet you wished you could tell her that you own the original invisibility cloak from the Tale of the Three Brothers.”

“So badly,” Harry admitted with a grin.

Daphne laughed, “Did you see Lil in the afternoon?”

“Yep, much to Neville’s delight,” Harry joked.

“How is she?”

“She came in, bossed us all around and was a sassy bitch.”

“So she’s fine then,” Daphne said in amusement, “I’m looking forward to seeing her at the weekend. What’s happening with Teddy by the way?”

“We have him on Sunday, we’re taking him to the Burrow,” Harry replied as he put a plate of food down in front of her, “Saturday we have dinner at the Notts.”

“I can’t wait to see Ted,” Daphne admitted, “Do you think we should maybe-”

“Talk to Andi about the adoption?” Harry asked.

Daphne nodded, and Harry sighed in relief, “I’m really glad that you said that because I’ve been thinking about it all week.”

“I was just thinking…” Daphne said thoughtfully, “It would be nice to have it all happen at the same time. What do you think about explaining to Teddy just before the wedding that he’s going to live with us all of the time like he wants to?”

“Assuming everything goes through in time for that, I would be okay with that plan,” Harry replied, he smiled at her, “And I can’t wait you know, to come home to both of you.”

Daphne smiled, “I can’t wait to see him every night rather than just at the weekends.”

“It’s going to be perfect,” Harry said as he leant across the table and kissed her.

* * *

Thursday morning brought another lecture taught by Auror Carter. This time it was about tracking which Harry thought was rather similar to stealth. After all, you had to be stealthy to track someone.

After a basic description of what the class would entail, Carter began to question them about the different methods one could deploy to track someone. Between them, Ophelia and Blanche shouted out the more obvious options like a four-point spell and simple old-fashioned concealing yourself and following them.

“Does anyone have any other ideas?”

Harry raised his hand and Carter looked at him cautiously, “Yes, Mr Potter?”

“What if you had a magical map that showed every room of the building and everyone who was in that building?” Harry said.

Carter sighed, “Mr Potter, your ideas are rather far-fetched. Does anyone have any sensible ideas?”

Harry scoffed under his breath, “Far-fetched, I’d like to show her.”

Neville hid an amused smile at this but said nothing. Nobody had come up with any further ideas, so Harry raised his hand again.

Carter sighed in a long-suffering way, “Yes, Potter?”

“What if,” Harry began slowly, “You had a time-turner, so you knew what the person was going to do. Then you could go back in time and track them to stop them from doing it.”

“Time-turners are not widely available Mr Potter,” Carter said sharply, “In fact, they are rather rare. If no one has any further suggestions, then let’s move on. Can anyone tell me some things that you should do while tracking someone?”

Draco raised his hand.

“Yes, Mr Black?”

“Remember to use a charm to cover up your scent,” Draco said, “Otherwise the person you’re tracking might smell you even if he doesn’t see you.”

“Very good,” Carter agreed. A few more ideas were thrown out, and then she asked, “Does anyone have any tracking experience? It doesn’t matter if it was a human, even tracking an animal could be useful.”

Draco and Theo both said that they had hunted animals on their estate. Harry raised his hand, and Carter narrowed her eyes at him, “I presume you have tracking experience from the war Mr Potter?”

“No, I didn’t track anyone during the war,” Harry said, “But I did track someone while I was in school. I thought they were a Death Eater, so I wanted to see what they were up to.”

“Stalked,” Draco corrected, “That is stalking.”

Carter looked between them and smiled, “Was it perchance Mr Black that you stalked, Mr Potter?”

“Tracked,” Harry corrected while Ophelia and Blanche sniggered.

“How exactly did you do this? With a magical map and a time-turner?”

The sniggering got louder, Harry wanted to say, ‘well yes I did use a magic map actually along with the invisibility cloak that you think doesn’t exist,’ but he didn’t. He just sighed and said, “No, ma’am.”

“Then please stop telling ridiculous stories,” Carter said sharply, “Now, let’s move on to the practicalities when tracking someone…”

“I hate these classes,” Harry grumbled irritably as he snapped the tip off of his quill.

* * *

“Mr Potter.”

Harry looked up; he was putting his things back in his bag after the tracking lecture when Carter called his name.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Stay behind please,” Carter said.

Theo whistled, “You’re in the shit mate,” he muttered as he and the others vacated the classroom.

Carter walked over to Harry and said, “I am beginning to have concerns. Is there a reason you are telling lies and coming out with far-fetched theories?”

“I’m not lying!” Harry snapped, “And I don’t like it when people accuse me of that. Don’t you know that a woman who was supposed to be my teacher made me use a blood quill to carve “I must not tell lies” into my own hand? Do you know what she accused me of lying about?”

Carter shook her head.

“Voldemort being back,” Harry said, “It was my fifth year, right after I had watched him rise from the dead and she made everyone think I was a liar! I do have an invisibility cloak; in fact, it’s the original one. I’m descended from the Peverells, and that cloak has been in my family since at least my great grandfather, and it is still in perfect condition. I also have a magic map of Hogwarts, my father and his friends made it, and it shows every single person in that castle. It shows how they move, it shows every room and it even sees through disguises like polyjuice potion.”

Carter’s eyes widened slightly as Harry continued, “And as for time-turners not being widely available. Well, they gave my best friend one in third year so she could take extra classes. Then I used it to go back in time and save my godfather from getting the Dementors kiss when he was an innocent man so I would appreciate it if you stopped calling my ideas far-fetched!”

“I don’t appreciate the tone that you just took with me, Mr Potter.”

“Sorry, ma’am,” Harry said quickly.

“However,” Carter continued, “I apologise for being condescending. In my experience, all of the things you mentioned were too rare or far-fetched to be considered, but I can see now that they are not rare for you.”

Harry nodded, “I apologise for being rude ma’am.”

“Apology accepted,” Carter said with a nod, “Now run along, you don’t want to be late for swimming.”

Harry was glad to get off without too much trouble, so he nodded and left the room as swiftly as possible.

* * *

“How many kids do you want?”

“What?” Harry asked sharply.

“It’s just a question,” Daphne said.

It was Thursday night, and they were sitting in the drawing-room together. Daphne was reading a book about the Curse of King Tut, and Harry was looking over some of the books he had bought for Auror training.

“It was a loaded question,” Harry said, “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

“No,” Daphne scoffed, “It was just something Bill said the other day…”

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, “You do realise that you’re going to have to elaborate, right?”

Daphne sighed, “Fine, but Bill told me in confidence. He said not to tell anyone, but since I tell you everything, you don’t count. It just means you need to-”

“Keep it quiet,” Harry said with a nod, “You know I’m good at keeping secrets when I need to Daph.”

Daphne nodded, “Did you know that Bill doesn’t like being part of such a huge family? He told me that he felt like he had to be a surrogate father to everyone younger than Charlie and that he resents them for it because he feels like they robbed him of his childhood.”

“Shit,” Harry muttered, “That’s a horrible way to feel.”

“I know,” Daphne said, “He feels awful for feeling like that, but he can’t help it. He said that families shouldn’t have favourites, but he does, and his favourite brothers are Charlie and you.”

“Me?” Harry asked in surprise, “But I’m not his brother, not by blood.”

“Yeah, he said it was horrible to say he preferred an adopted brother over most of his blood family but that he did,” Daphne continued, “He relates to you because none of his siblings have a dangerous job or a thirst for adrenaline like he does.”

“Wow,” Harry said, “Well…I’m honoured.”

Daphne hummed thoughtfully, “But the whole thing about kids…Bill and Fleur didn’t talk about how many kids they wanted before they got married. Then they got married, and now Fleur wants at least four kids, and Bill doesn’t want a big family because of the way he feels about his.”

“Ah,” Harry realised, “So you want to make sure our family goals are compatible before we get married?”

“Exactly.”

“Well,” Harry said slowly, “I’d like two.”

“Is that including Teddy?” Daphne asked.

Harry thought for a moment, “Yeah, Teddy and one of our own.”

“I want four,” Daphne said.

“Four?”

“I’ve always wanted four,” She said, “Growing up with just me and my sister, I always wished that there were more of us. But I don’t want an odd number.”

Harry smiled, “I’d like a big family but Daph, after the way I grew up, any family will make me happy. We’ve got Ted, and you definitely want at least one of our own so either way, they will have what I didn’t, a brother or sister.”

“And two loving parents,” Daphne added.

“So let’s not plan out our whole lives,” Harry said, he reached across and took her hand, “Let’s just see where life takes us.”

Daphne smiled, “You’re such a Gryffindor, living all spontaneously in the moment.”

Harry grinned, “Admit it, you love it about me.”

Daphne’s smile widened, “Yeah, I do,” she admitted.

* * *

On Friday, the boys had a lecture about Curse Breaking. Draco and Theo didn’t seem particularly concerned about this because they claimed it was essentially just Advanced Arithmancy and they had both taken that at school.

Harry and Neville, on the other hand, had never studied arithmancy and had no idea what to expect.

“Good morning, Recruits!” Auror Mitchell said cheerfully as he sat down on the desk at the front of the small classroom, “I’m going to start by asking one simple question. Who has studied arithmancy?”

All hands rose into the air except for Harry and Neville’s.

“Great,” Harry muttered.

“Why is it always me?” Neville moaned under his breath.

Mitchell chuckled, “Alright, in that case. Everyone else draw in your books or daydream or sleep for the next half an hour while I teach these two the basics. After that, I’ll tell you what we aim to teach you over the next year in this class.”

Harry and Neville were forced to sit at the front of the class while the others did their own thing in the back. Mitchell smiled, “There’s no need to look terrified, arithmancy is fairly easy. How are you with maths?”

“Okay,” Neville admitted.

“Terrible,” Harry said sheepishly, “I failed it through primary school.”

“Ah,” Mitchell said, “Well, in that case, this might be a bit challenging. But once you get the hang of it, you should be okay. Let me start with the basics, arithmancy is when we assign numbers to words or phrases, and it’s how spells are created. If you were to see the pure form of a spell, you would see numbers.”

“So you have to know Arithmancy to make spells?” Harry asked.

Mitchell nodded, “Spells, curses, hexes, etc. You have to know arithmancy to make anything new, and you also have to know it for Curse Breaking. You ought to know that Mr Potter, your fiancé is a Curse Breaker, isn’t she?”

“Trainee Curse Breaker,” Harry said with a nod, “But to be honest, I have no idea what she does, technically speaking.”

Mitchell laughed, “Well Curse Breakers undo curses. To do that, they have to unravel the curse using arithmancy to work out the counter-curse. Let me start with an easy example.”

On the blackboard behind him, he wrote, “ _Stupefy_.”

“Now, if we were to see the pure numerical form of this spell it would look like this…” Mitchell said. On the board, he wrote, “ _4 (8, 23, 31).”_

“Does that mean anything to either of you?” Mitchell asked. It looked like he knew the answer.

“Nope,” The boys echoed.

“Alright, so let me show you this chart,” Mitchell said, “This is how we assign numbers to a letter.”

The chart looked like this,

**1**

| 

**2**

| 

**3**

| 

**4**

| 

**5**

| 

**6**

| 

**7**

| 

**8**

| 

**9**  
  
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---  
  
A

| 

B

| 

C

| 

D

| 

E

| 

F

| 

G

| 

H

| 

I  
  
J

| 

K

| 

L

| 

M

| 

N

| 

O

| 

P

| 

Q

| 

R  
  
S

| 

T

| 

U

| 

V

| 

W

| 

X

| 

Y

| 

Z  
  
| 

| 

| 

| 

| 

| 

| 

|   
  
“So the word STUPEFY. We begin by finding out the heart number, which is the value of the vowels added up. You can see from this chart that the value of U is 3, and the value of E is 5. So the heart number is?” Mitchell asked.

“8,” Neville replied.

“Exactly,” Mitchell said, he jotted this down on the board, “Now we work out what the social number is. That is the value of the consonants in the word added up. In this case, the value of S is 1, T is 2, P is 7, F is 6 and Y is 7. So the social number is?”

“23,” Neville said quickly.

“Correct,” Mitchell nodded, “Now to find the character number we add the heart and social number together to get?”

“31,” Neville said.

“So the three numbers in brackets are these numbers, 8, 23 and 31,” Mitchell explained, pointing to the blackboard as he did so, “Do you know what the 4 means yet?”

Neville shook his head, and Harry stared at the board with a blank expression on his face.

“If the character number is higher than 9 then we need to add the two values together until we get a single-digit number,” Mitchell explained, “So the final number here is 4 because?”

“31…3+1 = 4,” Neville said.

“Exactly,” Mitchell said, “So as you see, once you know what to do it is fairly easy. Everybody else, listen up!”

The class focused on Mitchell once more, and he continued, “So our main goal for this class will be to teach you how to break basic curses. There will be times when the Curse Breakers can’t get there fast enough, and you will need to act as our front-line defence. As those of you who studied arithmancy will know, to break a curse we need to unravel it. Can anyone tell me how we would work out the counter curse to Stupefy if we saw it in numerical form like this?”

Harry looked at the board and just saw a swathe of numbers. He couldn’t work out how “ _4 (8, 23, 31)”_ made a spell.

Theo raised his hand, “Yes, Mr Nott?”

“Once you work out that the equation spells “STUPEFY” then you can work out that the counter curse is Reenervate. Once you know that, you know how to undo it,” Theo replied.

Mitchell nodded, “Precisely. However, this is just a simple spell. Real curses can be jumbled so you can make out the words but not the order. Sometimes the whole equation is jumbled, and it’s like one giant maths puzzle. Let’s have a look at a simple curse, to begin with, and see how we get on…”

As Mitchell continued, his voice became a drone and Harry didn’t manage to take in anything else that he said.

* * *

“You still look dazed after that Curse Breaking masterclass,” Draco said to Harry with an amused smile. They were walking to their next class which was on Law & Ethics.

“I have no idea what it was all about,” Harry admitted, “And I feel bad for underestimating Daphne. I mean, I know she’s smart, but I didn’t realise how smart she was, how can she understand that and do that?”

“Because she’s brilliant with numbers,” Draco replied, “So is Hermione actually. She loved arithmancy, and I used to love watching her in that class. She would screw up her nose and concentrate then she would just beam this delighted smile when she worked it out…”

“Holy shit, you sound sappy,” Theo snorted.

“I have a whole new level of respect for anyone who finds that easy,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “I just thought Curse Breakers were like Indiana Jones, I didn’t realise they were mathematical geniuses. I mean Bill is practically Bill Gates!”

“Do you have any idea what he just said?” Theo asked Draco and Neville.

“Not a clue,” Draco replied.

“I got the Indiana Jones bit,” Neville said, “But not the rest.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “I really need to educate you lot on Muggle stuff,” he said as they reached the classroom and slipped inside.

They were the last ones there, so they sat down at a large table at the back of the small room. The lecturer teaching this one was Auror Weir who most of them thought was the nicest Auror around. She was always smiling and chatting away to them in corridors; the others could be pretty harsh most of the time.

“Good morning recruits,” Weir said with a smile, “This class is called Law & Ethics, so I presume you can all work out what it’s about. By the end of this class, you should all have a basic grounding in wizarding and muggle law, but we will also be discussing some ethical and theological issues. Does anyone have any questions about that?”

Draco raised his hands, “Why do we need to learn about Muggle law ma’am?”

“Good question Mr Black,” Weir said, “Somebody always asks that question and usually, it is a pureblood like yourself. As Aurors, we need to be aware of the differences between our legal system and the muggles system because there will be times when our work crosses over into their work. Could anyone suggest a situation when Aurors may have to work with muggle law enforcement?”

Harry raised his hand.

“Yes, Mr Potter?”

“I can think of a few,” Harry said, “Protection duty when an Auror is assigned as a security escort for an important muggle like the prime minister or, if a muggle is killed by a wizard then I suppose the two authorities would have to work together.”

Weir nodded, “Correct. Now in the case of a murdered muggle, we are required to work undercover. We send Aurors into the muggle police force as investigators, and they work alongside the muggles to solve the case, without letting the muggles know that there are magical forces at work. What other situations might involve cooperating with the muggles?”

There were quite a few different options thrown around the room. Weir discussed some of them in more detail than others, but she gave every opinion her consideration. About halfway through the class, she changed the topic, “That was a great first session learning about the basics of cooperating with the muggle police force, but at this point in the lesson, I want to change tack slightly. As I mentioned at the start of this class, I would like to discuss ethics with you. Technically speaking ethics is a branch of philosophy which involves defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong. Can anyone tell me what that means?”

Theo raised his hand, “Basically we’re going to be discussing situations and stating what we would do in that situation while everyone else either agrees with us or attacks our idea, and we have to either defend our choice or concede that we made the wrong one.”

Weir smiled, “Precisely Mr Nott. You have a fine grasp on this, have you studied philosophy at all?”

Theo shook his head, “No, I just read a lot.”

“Mr Nott is quite right. What we aim to do here is resolve questions of human morality by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. Do you see?”

Everyone nodded although Harry was fairly sure that some people had no idea what she was talking about.

“Ethics is a huge area to study, so we are only going to be concerning ourselves with applied ethics during this class. Would you be able to explain what that means to the class, Mr Nott?” Weir asked.

Theo nodded, “I suppose the easiest way to describe it is that it is ethics concerned with moral issues that we face every day. An example would be the debate about euthanasia, half of the wizarding population back people who are terminally sick having the right to die but the other half think that all killing is wrong even if the person wants to die.”

“Exactly,” Weir said with a proud smile, “We will be discussing the kind of moral issues that you could face every day as an Auror. Before we get onto any real-life situations; however, we need to talk about the theories that we use in ethics to help us make an informed, morally correct decision. Does anyone know what any of those theories are?”

Ophelia raised her hand.

“Yes, Miss. Wood?”

“Utilitarianism,” Ophelia replied.

“That’s correct,” Weir said, “Would you like to tell us what that is?”

“It’s also known as the needs of the many before the needs of the few,” Ophelia said, “Or for the greater good which people don’t tend to use anymore after Grindelwald used that slogan for evil.”

Weir nodded, “Indeed. The needs of the many before the needs of the few. What this means is that the consequences of a decision are evaluated on the assumption that the right thing to do is the thing which results in the greatest happiness. It was developed by a muggle called John Stuart Mill, and a wizard called Jeremy Bentham. Now if we were using this theory what we would do in this situation?…a dark lord and his followers are using the home of a perfectly good wizarding family to hideout. They have either threatened the family or used the imperius curse on them, but as Aurors, we know where they are, and we know that we can strike. What do we do?”

Neville raised his hand, “Strike. Innocent people may die, but if the dark lord and his followers die, it could save hundreds of lives in the future because it could prevent a war.”

“Under this theory, that is exactly right,” Weir said, “However there is more to it than just doing what makes the most people happy. The idea of intent and preference also comes into play here, and some people may feel uncomfortable with this notion that sacrifices must be made for the greater good. I do believe that a large part of that uncomfortableness comes from the fact that Grindelwald twisted the theory to justify what he did to muggles.”

There was a general nod around the room as everyone seemed to agree with that.

“Can anyone tell me about another theory that we use in ethics?” Weir asked.

This time Theo’s hand went up again.

“Mr Nott?”

“Deontological ethics, otherwise known as the Categorical Imperative or Kantianism,” Theo said, “It’s all based on rules and duty. Basically, you have an obligation to perform the ‘right’ action regardless of any actual consequences.”

“Correct,” Weir said, “So given the same situation with the dark lord and his followers hiding out in the home of an innocent family, what would we do based on this theory?”

Harry raised his hand.

“Yes, Mr Potter?”

“Kill the dark lord and his followers. If this theory says that your duty is to do the right thing then the right thing would be to make sure they can’t cause any more harm,” Harry replied, “But doing so and not thinking about the consequences doesn’t make any sense. There would be legal repercussions, and then there would be the guilt. It doesn’t matter if you kill a bad person, you still feel guilty, and you still feel conflicted by the fact you were capable of murder.”

“Spot on Mr Potter,” Weir said brightly, “That is an excellent answer, and that is one of the many reasons why this theory isn’t widely used anymore. Acting without thinking about consequences is indeed very reckless and dangerous.”

Harry felt quite proud of himself; he had thought he would hate this class. He thought it would be like History of Magic, boring and dry, but Weir made it fun, and he found himself really enjoying it.

“There are two more theories left. Does anyone know what they are?” Weir asked.

There was silence and much shaking of heads so Weir continued, “The last mainstream theory is that the right action will be that chosen by a suitably virtuous agent. This is the theory that muggles use when they say that God will decide someone’s fate. It is not widely used in the wizarding world. On top of these three methods, however, there is a new modern approach called case-based reasoning. This does not begin with theory, but with the immediate facts of a real, concrete case. This is what we will be using because nine times out of ten when you come across an ethical issue, you will need to think about it there and then and consider it on a case by case basis. Does anyone have any further questions?”

Nobody raised their hands, so Weir bashed on and began by giving them an example.

“Picture the scene,” Weir said as she sat on her desk and crossed her legs, “You are called to Diagon Alley to deal with a magical fire that has gotten out of control. You and your Auror partner are first on the scene, you immediately call for back up, but it takes approximately two minutes for the Patronus to reach the other Aurors. Then it takes five minutes for those Aurors to robe up, get to the apparition point within the Auror department and get to you.”

They were all caught on her ever word.

“These seven minutes are golden. In these seven minutes, its just you and your Auror partner and you get to play God. You decide who lives and who dies because you have to prioritise. That can give you a real complex, which is why we put you through your paces in training to make sure that every time you make that call, it kills you a little inside because if it doesn’t? That’s when you risk turning, its this remorse that keeps your magic pure.”

Theo frowned at these words.

“So the situation is this. Some people have gotten out, they are injured, but they are being tended to by the residents that know how to heal. Your Auror partner goes to deal with the fire while they wait for the Arson Aurors to arrive on the scene. There are two people trapped at windows; one is a young, poor-looking pregnant woman. The other is a famous, old wandmaker. You can only save one, which one do you save?”

Blanche scoffed, “The pregnant woman, obviously.”

“It’s not that obvious, though, is it?” Theo asked, “What if the wandmaker dies without passing on the secrets of the trade? Then wands would change forever; we would all lose magical power. The impact on the wizarding world has the potential to be huge.”

“Good,” Weir said happily, “Continue and I’ll interject if I need to.”

“With respect, Theo, you should always save the pregnant woman,” Blanche said.

“I hate to ask a loaded question, but why?” Draco said.

“She looks poor,” Theo added, “So she’s probably a young mother. Statistically speaking, she would have graduated from Hogwarts with pretty bad grades, and she probably lives in poverty in the closes. It’s not like she would get an important job and her kid would stand a higher chance of being a squib if it was raised in poverty, or malnourished.”

Blanche’s eyes darkened, “Sorry Theo, but you’re dead wrong with all of that. I have a very close friend, who is a teenage mother. She aced her N.E.W.T’s, she’s wicked smart, and she’s going to set an example for her kid by doing the job she wanted to do before she fell pregnant. You don’t get to pick if someone lives or dies based on _statistics_.”

Weir nodded, “You both made a good point. There is a time and place for statistics, but you have to use your heart and your head to make a judgement in this situation.”

“Never mind the fact that it would be wrong to let the pregnant woman die,” Ophelia added, “You don’t know what that baby is going to become. What if nobody had saved Harry’s mother from an attack? The boy-who-lived would never have been born.”

“Well, he would have been,” Harry cut in, “Because if I wasn’t the boy who lived, Voldemort would have attacked Neville, he’d have gotten the stupid forehead tattoo, and then he’d have saved the world.”

Neville smiled, “All the same, Ophelia makes a good point.”

“Yes, she does,” Harry agreed, “But interpret that _this_ way. What if nobody had saved Merope Gaunt? There would be no Tom Riddle, no Lord Voldemort. You’re right Ophelia; you have _no_ idea what a baby is going to turn out to be.”

“Which is why you should always save it,” Neville said, “You can’t judge an unborn baby and make a call like that. What a baby turns out to be is almost always reliant on the way it is raised.”

“Unless it doesn’t know how to love because it was conceived under a love potion,” Harry argued.

“That’s rare,” Draco pointed out, “Incredibly rare. In fact, I think Voldemort might be the only person in living memory conceived that way.”

“That we know of,” Theo said.

“Still,” Draco said with a frown, “I agree with Blanche and Ophelia. You should always save the pregnant woman because it’s the right thing to do, but also because you have no idea what that baby could grow up to be. I do have another point to put forward, though.”

“Go on,” Weir said with a smile.

“What about the father?” Draco asked, “We don’t know anything about him, do we? Yes, he could be dead already, or he could be a waste of space who left his other half when she found out she was pregnant. But what if he's at work? What if he comes home to find out that his other half and his unborn baby were dead because an Auror prioritised a wandmaker? I mean…that’s enough to turn a weak-minded man dark if he…” his frown deepened, “…lost everything like that.”

Weir looked at Draco in disbelief.

“Sorry,” Draco said, automatically assuming that he had said the wrong thing.

Weir shook her head, “No, Mr Black, don’t apologise. This is a pretty basic situation, so it’s the one I start with every year, and in four years, you are the first person to work out the answer.”

“I am?” Draco asked in surprise.

Weir nodded, “The answer is to save the pregnant woman. From a moral point of view, it is the right thing. She’s young; she has her life ahead of her and her baby’s. The wandmaker is old, he has lived his life, you can assume he has passed on the trade to a family member,” she explained, “We don’t know what that baby will become, you are quite right that we take a risk there, but it’s one we must take if we are to live with a clean conscience. The one thing that people do not usually consider is the consequences of the action, which is why I like to start with this scenario.”

Draco looked down, and Theo grabbed his hand under the table, Draco squeezed it back appreciatively.

“In this case, the woman is young, but she is married. Her husband works hard in the DMLE, he’s an intelligent man, and he wants to forge a better life for his young wife and his child. When he comes home to find out that his wife has died, to save an old wandmaker, it fuels his belief that the DMLE is corrupt. As a result, he turns to darkness and finds supporters who believe his theory and he rises against not only the DMLE but the Ministry. Many lives are lost in the battle that follows, so by saving this pregnant woman; you are preventing that bloodshed.”

“Every action has a consequence,” Harry said thoughtfully.

“Exactly, always bear that in mind when choosing your course of action, Mr Potter,” Weir said with a nod. At that point, the bell rang, so they gathered up their bags and left.

While Theo ribbed Draco for his ‘crush’ on the Auror, (“Oh come on, curly brown hair, kind eyes, she’s like a MILF version of Hermione.” “Oh for the love of Salazar, Theo, shut up!’) Harry hung back a little.

“You were talking about Ginny,” Harry said as he fell into step with Blanche and Ophelia.

“She’s always talking about Ginny,” Ophelia said with a chuckle.

Blanche rolled her eyes, “Well, she will be giving birth to my niece. I do need to make sure that she keeps well.”

“Is she doing okay?” Harry asked.

“She’s fine,” Blanche replied, “Fed up of being pregnant, think she looks like a beached whale when in fact, she is glowing rather beautifully but in perfect health.”

Harry chuckled, “And how is Blaise doing?”

“Oh he’s being Blaise,” Blanche said with a laugh, “Focusing on the practicalities, you know? He’s building the house and making sure everything is ready because that’s easier than dealing with her mood swings and weird cravings.”

Harry snorted, “She’s always eaten weird stuff anyway, so I doubt pregnancy has changed her much.”

“Did she always eat treacle tart and steak pie, together?”

Harry made a face, “That’s disgusting.”

“Are you sure she’s not having your baby?” Neville asked as he fell in step with them.

“It is definitely not my baby,” Harry snorted, “You slept with her after I did.”

“Yeah during the war, that would be one hell of a long pregnancy,” Neville joked.

“Look you two,” Blanche said irritably, “Saying stuff like that just cements everyone's opinion that she’s a loose woman who got herself knocked up. She’s not Ginny Weasley anymore, she’s a Zabini, and we look out for our own-”

“Sorry,” Harry cut in, “I don’t think that. I’ve never thought that and I love her to bits, I’m sorry if it came across wrong.”

Neville nodded, “She’s one of my best friends, Blanche. I’m sorry too.”

Blanche nodded, “Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.”

“We are,” Harry promised as he and Neville jogged to catch up with Draco and Theo.

“Way to make it obvious you fancy your brother's pregnant wife, Blanche.”

“Shut up Fee.”

* * *

Friday afternoon brought the activity that all of the recruits had been looking forward to the most. It was the afternoon they were allowed to spend in the simulation room which they had heard so much about.

They gathered in the same waiting room where they had been forced to wait before their selection tests. The five doors remained, but rather than saying, “Testing Room One” through to Five, they now said, “Junior Trainee Simulation Room”, “Intermediate Trainee Simulation Room”, “Advanced Trainee Simulation Room”, “Exam Testing Room One” and “Exam Testing Room Two.”

“Good afternoon recruits,” Sheppard said once everyone was gathered in the room, “As you can see, this has changed a little since you saw it last, but this is how our simulation area normally looks. We just have to shake things up a little during the selection process. We have three simulation rooms that you will be using over the next year; you will all start in the junior room. We work things on a point-based system, so once you reach the required level of points, you will move up to the next room. You will move at different levels depending on how competent you are so for the moment you will all work on the same situation together until pairs start to move up to the intermediate room. Do you have any questions?”

Draco raised his hand and asked, “How does the point system work?”

“Good question,” Sheppard said, “Every time you use the simulation room you will encounter a situation designed to test your magical skills, practical skills and decision-making skills. Certain things you do will gain you points, and certain things you do will lose you points. Any further questions?”

“Do we work together or in our pairs?” Blanche asked.

“You should all work together,” Sheppard replied, “But you are in pairs for a reason. Your points are based on your Auror partnership, so you need to work together to advance yourself and get into the next room.”

When Sheppard saw that there were no further questions, he said, “Okay then. Situation One: A dragon has just terrorised a northern English town. The Ministry has sent people to restrain the dragon, but you are being sent in to deal with the aftermath. You have three and a half hours; if you finish earlier, then we’ll let you know and open the door up for you. Are you ready?”

There was a chorus of “Yes sir,” then Sheppard opened the door, and they filtered in. Nobody had been sure what to expect, apart from perhaps Harry and Neville, but the scene was one of complete carnage.

Almost every cottage in the village was in flames; they were engulfing the bordering forest too. People were screaming everywhere. Dead and injured people were lying in heaps on the streets and in the town square.

Harry swallowed hard; it took him right back to the war. Hogwarts was burning all over again, and the dead were lined up in the great hall.

“Focus on today, not the past,” Neville murmured as his own eyes took in the horror around them.

Harry nodded, nobody else had moved or spoken yet, but they needed to formulate a battle plan. He cleared his throat, “First priority has to be to attend to the injured. We need to line the dead up in the town square and cover them for modesty. We also need to set up a first aid station over there by the part of the forest that isn’t burning.”

“Can I suggest that Blanche and I attend to the injured?” Ophelia asked, “I know some of you guys are better healers but we are good at staying calm under pressure which will help us prioritise which ones to heal first.”

Harry nodded, “I agree.”

“And my father was an Arson Auror. I know the best way to put out a forest fire,” Emily said.

Harry nodded, “Emily, Max, you two focus on stopping the forest fire spreading any further. Draco, Theo, you two try your best to get people out of the houses and then see if you can put the fires out. Blanche, Ophelia, set up a temporary hospital wing then attend to the injured. Neville and I will bring the injured from the streets to you and line up the dead in the town square.”

Nobody questioned the fact that Harry had taken the lead. They all just nodded and then left to get on with the tasks that they had been assigned. It didn’t take Blanche and Ophelia long to transfigure a tent out of logs that hadn’t been set alight and some sheets from one of the few houses that wasn’t burning. With their temporary workstation in place, they set about transfiguring camp beds.

Harry and Neville quickly lost hope that there would be any survivors. By the time they had cleared the streets leading up to the town square, they had found no survivors. All of the dead were male, and as it currently stood, there were 14 of them lined up in the town square.

Draco and Theo were having more luck in the houses. They were running in under strong shield charms and running back out holding kids or sheltering women. It seemed that all those trapped in the homes were women and children, and all those on the street were male.

“Do you think they were defending their families from the dragon?” Neville asked in an undertone.

Harry nodded grimly, “I think that’s exactly what they were doing.”

Neville sighed, and they moved on to the other side of the town square. They had more luck here because they found their first survivors. Some of them had nasty burns and were moaning in pain, but they were alive. By the time they had gotten all of the dead into the square and all of the survivors to Blanche and Ophelia, an hour and a half had passed.

“That’s all of them,” Harry said when they reconvened with Draco and Theo outside of the temporary hospital wing.

Draco and Theo were both covered in soot. Theo wiped his brow and nodded, “We managed to get most of them out safely.”

“Three women dead and two children,” Draco said darkly, “The house was virtually gone by the time we got there.”

“That brings the death toll up to 21,” Harry said, he looked over the cottages, some of which were still smoking even now that the flames were gone, “It looks like Max and Emily did a good job with the forest fire.”

“We should all pitch in to help Blanche and Ophelia,” Draco said, “They are good, but they can’t manage on their own.”

Harry nodded, “I’ve done my part. Those two are in charge now, let’s see where we can help them.”

The foursome walked over to Blanche who was tending to a badly burned man, “How can we-”

“Don’t try anything beyond your capability level,” Blanche said sharply, “You’ll only screw it up and give us more work. Draco, Theo; you two are competent enough to deal with pretty much everyone here. Harry, Neville, go over to minor injuries and smoke inhalation.”

“That’s probably fair,” Harry muttered to Neville as they did as they were told.

“It’s definitely fair,” Neville muttered back.

It took the remaining two hours that they had left in the room to tend to the injured, and they lost another four due to their injuries. All in all, it wasn’t the fun afternoon they had all been looking forward to. In fact, they came away from it feeling incredibly deflated.

* * *

“You look world-weary.”

Harry nodded and rubbed his eyes, “Today was our first time in the simulation room. They give you a scenario and test how you deal with it. Today we had to deal with the aftermath of a dragon attack. The final death toll was 25.”

Daphne sighed, “I’m sorry, that doesn’t sound like a fun way to spend a Friday afternoon.”

“It wasn’t,” Harry said, he sank into a chair at the table, “Did you cook?”

“No, I got Kreacher to cook,” Daphne said sheepishly.

“I keep telling you, the only way to learn is by actually doing it,” Harry said with an amused smile, “What are you going to do when we’re in the cottage in Devon?”

“Bring a house-elf with us?”

“No, definitely not,” Harry said, “Learn to cook.”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “I’m far too busy to learn to cook now. I mean today Bill-”

“I love you babe, but I don’t want to hear about Bill every night I come in,” Harry said honestly, “I’m sorry if that’s harsh, but I’ve had a shit day, so I know that Bill is a wonderful mentor who you admire but I don’t want to hear it right now.”

“That’s harsh, Harry,” Daphne said stiffly, “I mean it’s a bit of a dick move. Just because you had a bad day, that shouldn’t mean I can’t enjoy my job.”

“No, enjoy your job by all means,” Harry said, “But I just don’t want to know how awesome Bill is all of the time. I know he’s awesome, I’ve met him, and…frankly, I have no idea how you two do what you do.”

Daphne frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Curse breaking,” Harry said, “We had a class about it today. Apparently, we need to know the basics in case we need to break a curse before the Curse Breakers can get there. I just don’t know how you do it Daph.”

Daphne smiled slightly, “It’s not that hard; it’s just numbers.”

“Just numbers?” Harry asked in disbelief, “I don’t get it at all. How do letters become numbers? It makes no sense; I just don’t understand. Why is a spell numerical in its pure form? I don’t get it.”

Daphne bit her lip, “Yeah, I can see that.”

“Please help me understand,” Harry half-joked, half-begged.

“You’re asking me to explain my entire job in the space of a few hours,” Daphne pointed out.

“I know, sorry,” Harry said sheepishly.

Daphne shook her head and smiled at him fondly, “What can I say? I do like a challenge. I think I might have a way to teach you…you work best under pressure, don’t you?”

Harry frowned but nodded, “Uh yes, why?”

Before Harry realised what she was doing, Daphne pulled her wand out and said, “Soperius!”

Harry jumped back in shock, “What did you do?”

“I just cursed you,” Daphne said, “You have one hour to work it out and un-curse yourself. Did you retain any information from today's class?”

“What? No! What do you mean you just cursed me?” Harry asked in a rather high-pitched, panicked voice.

“You work best under pressure, you needed motivation,” Daphne said with a wave of her hand, “Don’t be a pussy about it.”

“What did you curse me with?” Harry asked.

“You have to work that out for yourself,” Daphne told him, “So get working. Surely you remember something from today?”

Harry shut his eyes and thought hard, “Uh…heart number is vowels, the social number is consonants, and the character number is both of them added together.”

Daphne nodded, “To see the curse, you need to use a diagnostic charm like…this.”

Golden writing appeared in thin air, “So the first word in the curse in its numerical form is “ _2 (14, 6, 20).”_

“How on earth do I get a word out of that?” Harry asked blankly.

“It’s all about working backwards,” Daphne said, “Look at this chart,” she scribbled out a quick numerical chart like the one Mitchell had shown them, “You focus on what _must_ be true first. For example, there must be more than one vowel in the name; otherwise, the heart number wouldn’t be higher than 9. Now that you know that there is more than one vowel, you need to work out what vowels would create the number 14. Start by assuming there are two vowels and if you can’t get the number you need, then try again with the assumption that there are 3 vowels.”

Harry frowned at the chart, “Uh…okay.”

It took him about 10 minutes to add up all of the possibilities, “5 and 9!”

Daphne smiled at him, “Yeah, so the two vowels are?”

“E and I,” Harry said.

“Exactly. Now do the same with the consonants. The social number is 6, so?”

“There’s only one consonant?” Harry said.

“Not necessarily,” Daphne replied, “There could be two consonants with a low value.”

Harry groaned and let his head hit the table with a loud thump, “Daphne! I thought I was actually getting the hang of this shit!”

* * *

When Draco got home, he felt completely deflated. Pulling women and kids out of burning buildings wasn’t his idea of fun, but at least there had been minimal deaths. If he was honest though, he wanted to come home, have a drink, then crawl into bed.

The moment he walked into the kitchen and saw Hermione covered in dirt and sobbing her heart out, he knew that wasn’t going to happen.

“Hermione!”

Hermione looked up, tearfully, “Draco, I’m so glad you’re home!”

She launched herself at him and his nose wrinkled up. Not only was she covered in dirt, but she also stunk of sweat and muck.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?”

Hermione nodded, but tears were still falling from her eyes, “I had to bury him, and his body was all stiff and heavy, and it was awful!”

Draco’s eyes widened, “What? You buried someone in our back garden?”

Hermione sniffled, “Where else was I supposed to put him?”

“Hermione,” Draco said nervously, “Who have you buried? What’s going on? Did you just find a dead guy or did someone try to hurt you or-”

“Draco!” Hermione said through her tears, “It’s not a person, it’s Crookshanks. I came him from work, and he was just lying there all stiff and cold and…”

She broke down into tears again before she could say anymore. Draco breathed a sigh of relief, partly because he had been worried that his fiancé was a murderer for a moment there and mostly because he fucking hated that cat.

“Oh love, I’m sorry,” Draco said while he held her and patted her back gently, “I know you loved him, but he lived a good, long life didn’t he? He lived through a war; he was a brave old cat.”

“He was,” Hermione sobbed, “He was _the_ bravest cat.”

“The bravest cat I ever knew,” Draco said solemnly.

“Draco,” Hermione sobbed, “Are you making fun of me?”

“No, he was a courageous cat, as far as cats go,” Draco said, “But he was old, he’s probably in a better place now.”

Hermione buried her head in his chest, “What am I going to do without him? He's been tripping me up forever.”

“Well, we could always get a dog when you feel ready for another pet,” Draco said, “Or you could get an owl?”

“I hate owls, they’re arrogant and proud,” Hermione said, she wiped her eyes, “And dogs are so yappy and annoying. It would be like having Harry around all of the time.”

Draco snorted at that but didn’t mention anything about her getting another cat. She knew why, he didn’t like cats, he had made her aware of that when Crookshanks had hung around him during their last year at school.

“Come on, let’s find something funny to watch on TV and open a bottle of wine,” Draco said, “It’s Friday night, I’m not going to let you spend all night moping and crying.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	35. Revelations

“Are you really okay?”

Daphne sighed and looked up at Harry, “I am fine and the more you ask me that, the more annoying it gets.”

“I know,” Harry said sheepishly while he leant against the door. He was wearing a nice shirt and his smart shoes because they were getting ready for dinner at Grimmauld Place.

Daphne turned back to the mirror and continued to put her make-up on.

“It’s just…” Harry said slowly, “Even though you say that you’re fine, what happened was a bad thing and it was a big deal and-”

“And what? You don’t think I’m okay?” Daphne asked, “Do I seem like I’m not okay?”

“Yes,” Harry said, he looked her right in the eye, “You’re a bit snappier than usual and a bit jumpier too. I don’t blame you for that, but I want to help you, and I can’t do that if you keep telling me that you’re fine when you’re not.”

“I am fine,” Daphne assured him, “I hate Fawley, but I know that he was punished for what he did. Yes, I feel stupid for acting like a vulnerable little girl because that’s not who I am. They called me the ice queen for a reason, and I should have cursed that bastard and told Bill as soon as he started his shit.”

“Hindsight is a wonderful thing,” Harry said, “Everyone says they would do things differently with hindsight. Daph, what happened to you…I think most people would have been scared and that’s why Fawley did it. I can guarantee that you aren’t the first person that creep has blackmailed, but you are the first person to call him out on it, and _that_ is why they call you the ice queen.”

Daphne turned around and smiled at him, “I think that’s the sweetest thing someone has ever said to me.”

Harry gave her a boyish lopsided smile; it was the smile that had made her fall in love with him.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Daphne said, “We’re already late.”

“And?” Harry said, “We’re always late.”

Daphne smirked, “Yeah…that’s true. Why ruin our bad reputation by showing up on time?”

Harry just grinned.

* * *

“You guys are so late! You missed the starter!”

“Sorry, Hermione, it was my fault,” Daphne said with a wave of her hand, “It took me forever to decide what to wear.”

“Never mind, you made it in time for the main course,” Sadie said before Hermione could stress or fly off the handle any further.

Draco shot Harry an amused look as the Gryffindor took his seat next to him.

“What’s the look for?” Harry asked innocently.

“You are so lying about why you were late,” Draco whispered.

“Yeah,” Lilly cut in, “You two are always late, and we aren’t stupid.”

“Most of the time it genuinely is because Daphne can’t decide what to wear, to be fair,” Harry whispered back.

“And I’m also not the one who got a special nickname after frolicking with my boyfriend in the dorm room,” Daphne whispered as she slipped into her seat between Harry and Lilly.

Lilly’s cheeks flushed, “Oh shut up.”

Neville looked a little too pleased with himself as he looked down to hide his smirk.

Harry shot Daphne an amused look, “Nice comeback.”

“They don’t call me the ice queen for nothing,” Daphne said with a smirk that Harry hadn’t seen for a while.

He grinned, “The bitch is back.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “You aren’t supposed to be happy about that.”

“Don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing wrong with the soft, warm inner you,” Harry promised her in a whisper, “But I fell in love with the ice queen.”

“I think I’m going to vomit.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Shut up, Hermione.”

Hermione smiled innocently from where she had been standing behind them, “I was just waiting for you to finish your conversation so I could ask what you wanted to drink?”

“Wine,” Daphne said, “I’ll have red, he’ll have white.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, “Since when do you order for me?”

“Since you got predictable,” Daphne remarked, “It’s all you can drink now, isn’t it? White wine?”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed grudgingly.

“And your okay to do that?” Neville asked, eyeing his best friend carefully.

“Wine is fine. Do not ever let me near whiskey though, because that’s my achilles heel,” Harry said honestly.

Daphne smirked, “I’ll make a proper pureblood of you yet.”

Hermione shook her head in amusement, “You two are on good form at the moment.”

Harry smiled slightly and put his arm around Daphne. While Hermione got their wine, Harry surveyed the room. He never knew who was going to be invited to these gatherings, Susan always was, but she only showed up sometimes. Ron and Ginny were sometimes invited depending on whose house they were at.

Sadie and Theo were sitting across from Harry and Daphne, Neville and Lilly were sitting beside them. Draco and Hermione were on their other side. Further up the table sat Susan and Percy, and Ginny and Blaise.

“Where’s Ron?” Harry asked curiously; he assumed that he had been invited since this was Hermione’s house.

“Working,” Draco replied, “It’s a busy weekend apparently.”

“Fair enough,” Harry said, he made a mental note to catch up with Ginny later. He hadn’t spoken to her for a while, and he wanted to find out how she was getting on.

The small talk came to an end when Hermione brought Harry and Daphne their wine then served the main course. Once they had finished their meal, they all headed upstairs into the drawing-room to drink Draco’s expensive whiskey and catch up.

“Hey, Gin.”

Ginny smiled weakly at Harry, “Hey Harry.”

“You look tired,” Harry noted.

Ginny shrugged, “It’s getting more and more difficult to sleep.”

“But you’re okay though, aren’t you?” Harry asked.

Ginny nodded, “I’m getting pretty bored of sitting around the house all day with Zara and the kids while everyone is at work, but yeah, I’m okay.”

“The kids?”

“Beatrice and Billie,” Ginny explained, “Blaise’s younger siblings.”

Harry nodded, “So I gather Blanche has been helping you a lot?”

Ginny frowned, “What makes you say that?”

“Oh, she talks about you at training,” Harry answered, “I figured you must be pretty close after her rant about how great you were in class the other day.”

“Yeah…well, Blaise has been busy with the house, so Blanche has been helping me with stuff,” Ginny said slowly, “What rant are you talking about exactly?”

“It was in Law and Ethics,” Harry replied, “The situation was about a pregnant woman. Theo was saying because she was young, she probably didn’t have N.E.W.T’s and wouldn’t be successful then Blanche took him down a few pegs by saying she had a close friend who aced her N.E.W.T’s and would be an excellent role model to her kid.”

Ginny nodded, “Uh, yeah. Look, I need to talk to Hermione, but we’ll catch up later, okay?”

“Okay,” Harry said, frowning after her as he wondered what he had said wrong.

* * *

“Hermione, do you think we could talk in private for a second?”

Hermione looked up; she was sitting on a sofa with Sadie. The two women were drinking wine and laughing, sitting more closely together than Ginny had seen them sit before.

“Yes, of course, Gin. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Ginny forced a smile, “I just want to talk to you about something.”

“Come on out onto the balcony then,” Hermione said. She got to her feet, propped the door open and led Ginny out.

They sat down, Hermione on the ground with her back against the wall, and Ginny on the one seat that could fit on the tiny little veranda.

“You and Sadie are close these days,” Ginny mused.

“Yeah well, that will happen when your fiance and their husband are practically boyfriends,” Hermione said with an amused smile.

Ginny chuckled, “How close are you? If you don’t mind me asking?”

Hermione frowned, “Uh…why do you ask?”

“I just noticed that you seem closer these days,” Ginny said with a shrug, “You sit closer together, you know? It’s almost….intimate.”

“Well,” Hermione said slowly, “I guess we kind of are intimate without being intimate if that makes sense? Draco and Theo are really close, so that means that Sadie and I do spend a lot of time together. We enjoy each others company on an intellectual and personal level, but I suppose we do like to be near each other. We read in the library together, or if we’ll eat dinner together if the boys are at work. We spent a lot of time this summer under a blanket on the roof garden, just talking about life, debating whether divination was real.”

Ginny nodded slowly, “You care about her. That much is obvious when you talk about her.”

“I do care about her,” Hermione agreed.

“Would you go as far as to say that you love her?” Ginny asked.

“In our way, yes, Not in the same way that I love Draco, but yes. Now, what is with the loaded questions. Gin?” Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I think I might have made a mistake when I married Blaise,” Ginny admitted.

“Oh?” Hermione asked, “In what way?”

“Well, I…” Ginny trailed off, “I’ve slept with a lot of guys, but I wouldn’t say I particularly enjoyed sex that much. This is TMI, I know, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Hermione said with a smile, “Go on.”

“Part of me did it to rebel, being the youngest kid and all,” Ginny said, “And part of me loved the thrill, but the sex was never mind-blowing. Not until Blaise, but that’s because he knows lots of nifty charms and – I’m going totally off-topic sorry – anyway, the point is…”

Hermione watched her friend in amusement; she had no idea where this was going.

“I had doubts before I married Blaise, but I did it anyway because I think it’s the best thing for the baby,” Ginny said calmly, “But I think deep down I’ve known since Daphne snogged me in a broom closet during the war that I’m not really _that_ straight.”

“Yes, I can understand that,” Hermione chuckled, “I have experience of hot, blonde Slytherins making me question my sexuality.”

Ginny looked up in surprise, “You said you and Sadie-”

“Weren’t intimate, apart from the one time that we were,” Hermione said with a sheepish smile “Draco and Theo were there, it's a long story and totally off-topic. Honestly, Ginny, I don’t think anyone is completely into one sex. That’s one thing I’ve learned since the war, and since becoming friends with such a vast range of people.”

“Yes, I know,” Ginny said honestly, “But I think I’m veering very much to one side. Like I don’t mean 50/50. I’m talking 90/10, and it’s all Blanche’s fault, well and Daphne’s. It’s kind of Daphne’s fault too.”

“What’s my fault?”

Ginny jumped as Daphne peered out from the slightly ajar balcony door.

“That Ginny’s a lesbian,” Hermione replied bluntly.

“Oh, I called that!” Daphne said, squeezing herself out onto the balcony, “You don’t kiss like a straight girl.”

“Daphne,” Hermione muttered as the blonde girl sat down on top of her, “You’re not helping, and you are crushing my leg.”

Daphne kicked Hermione’s leg out of the way, “No I’m not, stop being a drama queen. How did you come to this earth-shattering revelation then, Gin?”

Ginny shook her head in amusement, “Because of Blanche bloody Zabini, and what do you mean, I don’t kiss like a straight girl? How many girls have you kissed exactly?”

“A few,” Daphne said with an amused smirk, “You, Susan, she doesn’t kiss like a straight girl either but don’t tell Percy that.”

“So how do you know what a straight girl kisses like then?” Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

“Well, Tracey, Sadie and I all kissed each other in fifth year, just for curiosity sakes, you know?”

“No, because Gryffindors don’t do that,” Hermione said.

Ginny nodded, “That’s a Slytherin thing.”

Daphne shrugged, “All the same, Tracey was definitely straight. Sadie? I mean I thought she was, but I’m not so sure ever since her and Hermione’s foursome.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “And what about you, then? Because I’m doing the maths in my head and I reckon you’ve kissed more girls than guys.”

Daphne thought about this, “Yeah I’m four for three. But the most I’ve done with a girl was that insanely good make-out session with you, Ginny. Now the mind-blowing sex I have with Harry, like in every room of our cottage in Devon, that is how I know I’m mostly straight.”

“What’s your ratio?” Hermione asked.

“Who can do that?” Daphne scoffed.

“90/10,” Ginny said, “Girls to guys.”

Hermione weighed it up, “I think I’m 70/30, guys to girls.”

“Well, Sadie _must_ be good in the bedroom!” Daphne grinned.

“Come on then. What’s yours?”

“Oh to hell with it, if we’re being honest,” Daphne snorted, “50/50.”

“50/50?” Hermione snorted.

“Yeah, I may or may not have thought about asking Lilly’s opinion on foursomes after your story,” Daphne said with an amused grin, “But Neville would _never_ go for it, and she’d need a bit of convincing which is a shame because she’s cute, for a Ravenclaw.”

“Whose cute for a Ravenclaw?”

Daphne looked up as Sadie popped her head out, “Lil.”

“Yeah, fair point,” Sadie mused, “Why are you talking about Lil being cute?”

“We’re just discussing our gay ratio,” Hermione said, “What’s yours?”

“70:30,” Sadie answered.

Daphne snorted, “So the 30 is Hermione then since she said the exact same thing.”

Sadie shot Hermione an amused look, “What’s yours then? Girls all the way except for Harry?”

“No,” Daphne scoffed, “Blaise was also rather enjoyable. He knows all these nifty little charms that just make you-”

“Okay, if you two want to continue this conversation privately, that’s fine with me,” Hermione exclaimed as she got to her feet. She stumbled because Daphne kicked her, and Sadie grabbed her hand.

“Could you _not_ fall to your death from my balcony?” Sadie asked.

“Could you tell your best friend not to be such a pain in the arse?” Hermione countered.

“Daphne, stop being a pain in the arse.”

Daphne snorted, “God Sadie, do you always do what your girlfriend tells you to?”

“When she’s right, yes.”

“And no denial,” Daphne tutted, “What a little pureblood scandal you two are.”

Hermione shook her head in amusement, “You’re drunk.”

“I’m moderately tipsy.”

Sadie smiled in amusement, “Ginny, make sure she doesn’t fall to her death.”

“I will,” Ginny chuckled as the other two girls left the balcony.

Daphne got herself comfy against the wall, “So I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little bit proud of the fact that I turned Harry Potters girlfriend gay.”

“Then got engaged to Harry Potter?” Ginny snorted.

“I know, right? It’s almost like I planned it,” Daphne said as she raised her hand and said, “Accio wine.”

The wine glass flew out of the open door into her hand, and Sadie yelled, “Don’t you fucking dare pour that on unsuspecting muggles like last time!”

Daphne rolled her eyes and muttered, “No wonder she and Hermione are so happy together, bloody killjoys.”

Ginny snorted at that and looked out at the view of the street.

“I didn’t plan it by the way,” Daphne said offhandedly, “I just thought you were hot.”

Ginny raised an eyebrow, “Thanks, but you kinda gave me an existential crisis here.”

“Nah, you married into a pureblood family, it will be fine,” Daphne said honestly, “Just talk to Blaise, he’s normally cool with whatever. And if you have an affair with a girl, nobody is really going to care. I mean it’s not the biggest scandal to come from the Zabinis, look at his brothers. That was _too_ far, even for half-brothers.”

“Were they really sleeping together then?” Ginny asked.

“Yep,” Daphne replied, “And Zara is normally on board with whatever but she was not okay with that. Belinda is more interested in sex than relationships because her job is so stressful and Blanche is a total – oh my god – you’re totally into Blanche!”

Ginny grimaced, “Do you wanna yell that louder? I don’t think all of London heard you,” she said irritably.

“Sorry,” Daphne said sheepishly, “But wow! You want to fuck Blaise’s sister-”

“Daphne!”

“Sorry.”

“Jesus, you are drunk,” Ginny said with a shake of her head, “Aguamenti!”

Daphne shrieked, “You bitch!”

Ginny smirked, “Sober yet?”

“I take back everything I said about that hot make-out session,” Daphne huffed, “You’re a terrible kisser, Weaslette.”

* * *

When Ginny and Blaise got back to High Top House, Ginny actively tried to avoid bumping into Blanche. However, that did not go well because Blanche was in her bedroom.

"Uh, hi?"

Blanche raised an eyebrow at her, "Hi. What's up with you?"

"Nothing," Ginny lied.

"You're a terrible liar," Blanche snorted, "What happened at the Malfoys?"

"You can't call it the Malfoys," Ginny snorted, "The only Malfoys there are Abraxas and Elladora, and they live in a portrait."

"Draco will always be a Malfoy, even if he says he's a Black now," Blanche said with a roll of her eyes, "He's pretentious, and he has a fucking pet peacock."

"Called Princess," Ginny grinned.

"You have got to be kidding."

"Nope," Ginny said, falling onto her bed and sighing.

"Seriously, what's up?"

"Nothing really," Ginny replied, "I just had a chat with the girls tonight."

"And why is that making you act all weird?" Blanche asked curiously.

Ginny pushed herself up in her bed, "Because I discovered that none of my friends are completely straight. Apparently, everyone has a ratio."

"Oh yeah, they do," Blanche agreed.

"What's yours?" Ginny asked curiously.

Blanche grinned, "99:1. Guys really don't do it for me. What's yours?"

"90:10," Ginny replied honestly.

"In favour of guys?" Blanche checked.

"No, in favour of girls," Ginny said, eying Blanche nervously, "Probably down to a really hot make-out session with Daphne during the war."

"Oh," Blanche said with a grin, "Well...Daphne Greengrass...I mean I would so go there, she is hot."

"She is," Ginny agreed, maybe a little bit too quickly, "And unsurprisingly her ratio is 50:50. She's kissed more girls than guys, but Harry is a sex god apparently, I mean I thought he was pretty average."

"Maybe that's just cause you're not that into cocks," Blanche said with an evil grin.

Ginny snorted, "Shut up."

"Does Blaise know about this ratio of yours?" Blanche asked curiously.

"No, and that is a conversation I'll be saving for after this bloody baby is out of me," Ginny added with a sigh, "I'm just so sick of being pregnant."

"Yeah, it does last a long time," Blanche teased, "Have a dragon next time; they only take two months."

"Fuck you," Ginny muttered, throwing a pillow at her friend, "You're never going to have to go through all of this shit, I envy you."

"Ah well," Blanche shrugged, "I won't, which is okay because I don't think I'll ever be the most maternal, but that's why I like being with you."

Ginny looked up in surprise, "What do you mean?"

"I enjoy you being pregnant without having to ever do it myself," Blanche said with a shrug, "I mean I like kids and all, but getting impregnated is not high on my priorities."

"Mainly cause that will involve a dick," Ginny said bluntly.

"Chiefly because of that, yes," Blanche said with a chuckle. She rolled onto her side and said, "Is Blaise going to come to bed with you tonight?"

"I doubt it, he says I grumble in my sleep," Ginny muttered, "And apparently I get up to pee at least three times even though I don't remember it."

"You do, you pee all night," Blanche snorted, "You sleep pee. Clearly, I'm just a heavier sleeper than Blaise because I just laugh at you and go back to sleep."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "But you know Blaise, he needs his beauty sleep."

Blanche grinned, "I'll stay with you tonight. You keep being an asshole and rolling onto your back. I mean I don't know how many times I have to tell you, it's dangerous for the baby if you-"

"I know, I know," Ginny cut her off, "But I can hardly control what I do in my sleep, can I?"

"Apparently not."

"Do you think we spend too much time together?" Ginny asked as she got to her feet and opened the door to the bathroom, "I mean you're in here more than Blaise is."

"That's because Blaise is more of a girl than I am," Blanche snorted, "He needs his beauty sleep, he complains when you kick him because his poor little leg hurts the next day."

Ginny couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, "I know, but even when we're not in here, we're together. I mean we read together, or I test you about stuff to do with Auror training, or we talk about baby names. Do you think that's weird?"

"Honestly, Gin," Blanche shrugged, "I like your company. I'm quite happy to sit and read with you in the drawing-room because I like being close to you."

Ginny nodded, "Yeah. Me too," she said simply as she slipped into the bathroom.

Once she was out of earshot, she turned the shower on and hit her head against wall, "Fuck...just...fuck."

* * *

“Are you going to tell me why you’ve been so quiet since we got home?” Harry said as he took his shirt off, “I’ve done something wrong, haven’t I?”

“Not tonight,” Daphne said honestly, she was sitting in bed with a book open in front of her.

Harry frowned, “Not tonight? How much more cryptic can you get?”

Daphne sighed, “I should have mentioned this sooner, but with everything else going on it just didn’t take precedence. Hermione and I talked a lot when you were in isolation, and she said something about the war.”

“Oh fuck,” Harry muttered, “What did she say?”

“She said something about you and her,” Daphne said, “The way you were back then.”

“Stop skirting around the issue,” Harry said bluntly, “It’s about sex, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Daphne said, she looked up at him, “She said the way you can be when you’re stressed is how you were with her, all of the time.”

“Look, neither of us were in a good place,” Harry said as he looked out of the window into the night, “And I just got…carried away.”

“Carried away?” Daphne asked coolly, “So if your job is getting stressful and you get carried away in the bedroom and hurt me, that’s okay?”

“Daphne-”

“You can’t use sex as a form of anger management, Harry,” Daphne cut in, “Especially not when you’re sleeping with your best friend, and it’s her first time. I mean, how insensitive were you? You must have known she was a virgin.”

“Yeah, I was an insensitive prick,” Harry snapped, “I was an arsehole, and I feel shit for it! If I could go back and change it, I would in a bloody heartbeat, but I can’t.”

Daphne crossed her arms and stared at him.

“I don’t know what else you want me to say?” Harry asked with a sigh, “I don’t know how you’re interpreting what she told you. I didn’t get off on hurting her or anything; I was just a bit…too eager, I guess that’s the polite way of putting it.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Daphne muttered.

“When I realised I had hurt her, I felt fucking awful,” Harry said, “I went out and kicked the shit out of an old tree stump then I sat with my head in my hands and cried because she deserved the world, not that.”

“It’s different when you’re like that with me,” Daphne said with a sigh, “I mean I’m a big girl, and I can handle it, I mean most of the time I even like it.”

“Don’t joke,” Harry said, “Not about that.”

“I’m not joking,” Daphne promised him, “But I just…”

“But what? Is this why you’ve not been sleeping with me? Because I thought it was about what Fawley did-”

“It is, but Hermione mentioned this to me around the time that whole thing with Fawley started,” Daphne replied, “So I guess there’s a part of me that’s scared. Not of you, exactly, but what happened with Fawley has shaken me, and I’m not shaken easily.”

Harry stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her, “You have to realise Daphne, that I was a completely different person back then. In my mind, there are two Harry’s and most people think it’s War Harry and Post-War Harry, but it isn’t.”

Daphne leant into his embrace, “No?”

“No,” Harry said, “It’s pre-Daphne and post-Daphne. You were the catalyst, not the end of the war, or going back to school, not befriending Draco, none of that. It was you coming into my life that changed everything. Sometimes I don’t think you realise how much you mean to me.”

“Sometimes maybe I take it for granted,” Daphne admitted, “And I shouldn’t, I’m sorry.”

Harry kissed her lightly, “I’m sorry too.”

“But I still don’t think I’m quite ready to have sex yet,” Daphne added.

“That’s fine,” Harry promised as he drew her in and kissed her forehead, “I’ll never force you into anything or try to push you when you don’t feel ready. You know I’ll always be here, regardless.”

Daphne sighed and shut her eyes, “I love you, Harry.”

“I know,” Harry murmured, “I love you too.”

* * *

When Daphne stepped into the kitchen, it was to find Harry nursing a cup of coffee. He looked up the moment he saw her and said, “Cuppa?”

“Tea, please,” Daphne said with a smile, “You look like you’ve been up all night.”

“I got some sleep,” Harry shrugged, “But I was thinking about stuff.”

“You going to tell me what stuff?” Daphne said.

“It’s not important,” Harry said honestly, “It’s just work.”

“Is he lying, Ana?” Daphne asked calmly.

“No, he has been up since 6 am though,” Anastasia’s portrait said.

Daphne shot Harry a concerned look, “Did you remember that we’re picking Teddy up today?”

Harry glanced at the clock, “You should still have time for a cup of tea though. Do you think we should start discussing adoption with Andromeda? It’s been thrown about as an idea, but I think we need to have a real chat now.”

“I would agree,” Daphne said as she accepted the hot cup of tea from Harry, “But there is a part of me that’s scared to have that conversation because…”

“It makes it real,” Harry nodded, “I know, I’ve been feeling the same. I definitely want to do it though.”

“So do I,” Daphne promised.

“Then we’ll do it,” Harry said.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	36. The Start of Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote about Mum and Mother is from Desha Wood and the quote about every kid having the potential to be great is from Josh Shipp. Pinterest is a wonderful resource when you need inspiration!

“Good morning!” Andromeda chirped, “You two are early this morning. Teddy isn’t even up yet.”

“That’s what we were hoping,” Harry said cryptically, “We thought it would be nice to talk before he wakes up.”

Andromeda raised an eyebrow at him, “You Gryffindors are terrible at being subtle,” she said. With a wave of her hand, a tray with three teacups and a pot of tea had appeared on the table in the morning-room.

Daphne chuckled, “I have tried to tell him that he needs to get better at that before he’s a qualified Auror.”

“Subtlety has never been my strong point if I’m honest,” Harry said.

“It wasn’t Dora’s either,” Andromeda said with a chuckle while she poured out the tea, “I can guess what it is you want to discuss while little ears is not here. Have you considered what I said about adoption?”

Daphne nodded, “We have considered it a lot.”

“We’ve done a lot of thinking,” Harry agreed, “And we wanted to discuss how it would work if we were going to go ahead with it.”

“Well, as I suggested when we last spoke,” Andromeda began, “Narcissa and myself would happily look after Teddy between us while you two are at work.”

“I never work weekends so it would be Monday to Friday,” Daphne said, “And I work a couple of hours less than Harry a day. so I could easily drop Teddy off and pick him up through the week.”

“We would find a way of making it work,” Andromeda assured them, “As long as we are all sure that it is what is best for Teddy.”

“Are you sure it is what’s best?” Harry asked, “You’re his grandmother, are you okay with letting him live with us?”

Andromeda sighed, “I love that little boy so much, Harry but I can’t give him what he needs. I’m exhausted by lunchtime after running around after him in the morning. I can’t play Quidditch with him or throw him around in the air to get him giggling like you can. The older Teddy gets, the harder it is for me to give him the attention that he needs.”

Harry nodded, “So this way, we all get what we want. You get to have Teddy during the day through the week, but you get your evenings and weekends to recuperate.”

“I feel awful for agreeing, but you are entirely right,” Andromeda said, “I am not as young as I once was. There is a reason that women have babies in their 20’s, you know.”

Daphne smiled, “It’s easier to balance everything when you’re young, and you’re already used to not getting any sleep.”

“Precisely,” Andromeda said, “This way we all get to see Teddy plenty but he will have a better quality of life. On a warm summers day, you can get back from a day of running around the country chasing bad guys and still have the energy to take him out to the park. I just don’t have that ability anymore.”

“We understand Andromeda,” Harry said gently, “And I don’t want you to feel bad about it. Grandparents aren’t supposed to raise their grandkids; they are supposed to babysit them and spoil them. You aren’t the one who isn’t doing your duty; I’m his godfather.”

“And you are only 19 years old,” Andromeda reminded him, “I doubt that Dora would have expected you to step up and offer to raise her son. She would be honoured that you are doing so, however.”

Harry shrugged, “I’m doing what I wish somebody would have done for me as a kid. Teddy has the chance to grow up in a loving family. He can grow up with two parents who love him and a grandmother who adores him, one day he will be a big brother. He will always have a safe place to come home to during the school holidays, and he will always have our love. If we do this right, the three of us can give him everything I always wanted as a kid.”

Daphne gripped Harry’s hand because she could see that he was getting emotional.

Andromeda smiled tearfully and nodded, “I don’t think Dora or Remus would have argued with that sentiment.”

“Neither do I,” Daphne said gently.

Andromeda wiped her eyes so subtly that Harry almost didn’t notice it, “If we all agree then I will start to get the papers drawn up. It can take some time for the contract to be finalised and whatnot. I will do it through the family solicitors to ensure that everything is kept as private as possible. You will get a copy via owl post to review; please make sure you read the contract very carefully when it arrives.”

“I will,” Daphne said with a pointed look at Harry.

Harry nodded, “Yeah, I’ll leave that part up to Daphne,” he agreed.

Andromeda chuckled at this, but before she could say anymore, Teddy came barrelling into the morning room, “Daffee!”

Daphne laughed and picked the boy up as he threw himself at her, “Good morning, little monster. Harry is here too, you know?”

Teddy cuddled into Daphne and smiled at Harry, “Dada.”

“No, Ted, I’m Harry,” Harry said gently, “We’ve been through this.”

“It’s pointless,” Andromeda said, “When I tell him that you two are taking him away for the weekend, he runs around shouting ‘Dada’ and ‘Daffee’.”

“Just accept it and let him call you Dada,” Daphne agreed.

Harry smiled and tickled the boy who was still in his pyjamas, “I guess I should start listening to the women in my life, don’t you think Teddy?”

Teddy just giggled in response.

* * *

“So I know you hate being away from me,” Neville said while he fried up a full English breakfast, “But that doesn’t mean you have to keep quiet about what you’re doing over there. I want to hear all about how much you love the course and about how great France is.”

“Well, I can tell you all about how great the course is,” Lilly said from the kitchen table, “But I hate France.”

“What’s so bad about it?” Neville asked curiously.

“The French?”

Neville snorted, “You sound like Theo. He was so annoyed when Sadie told him that she wanted to go to Paris on their honeymoon. I think he would have rather gone anywhere else.”

“He ended up enjoying it though, even if he pretends he didn’t,” Lilly said with an amused shake of her head, “But in all seriousness, I don’t like what I’ve seen of France. The French Healers in the centre are arrogant idiots. Then there’s Marcel who is just a slimy little slimeball.”

“Has he-”

“He’s left me alone since Clara spoke to him, don’t worry about it,” Lilly said offhandedly, “But then there’s French food which I thought I would enjoy, but I really don’t. I tried frogs legs, and the texture was just awful. Then I ordered a steak the other night, and it was basically rare! I think they just cut if off the cow and put it on the fucking plate.”

Neville raised an eyebrow at her, “You really don’t like France much, do you?”

She shook her head, “Nope. When we go on our honeymoon, we will definitely not going anywhere in France.”

“When?” Neville said as he put a plate of food in front of her, “Not so long ago you were terrified of commitment.”

“Well…” Lilly said as she looked down at her breakfast, “Distance does make the heart grow fonder.”

“I know,” Neville said, he placed his hand on top of hers, “You don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone for a week at a time.”

“You should come and visit me in France,” Lilly said, she looked up at him, “Maybe I’ll like it more if you’re there.”

“Why Lillian Moon,” Neville said sarcastically, “I didn’t think you said cheesy things like that.”

Lilly smiled at him, “I’m serious, Nev.”

“Then I will seriously come to visit you in France,” Neville promised her, “Next weekend I’ll come to you. The only reason that I haven’t yet is because I thought you were enjoying catching up with everyone else while you were at home.”

“I am,” Lilly said honestly, “I love catching up with the girls and nipping over for a coffee with my Mum, but I don’t need to do it every weekend.”

“I think it’s about time I came to visit you anyway,” Neville said, “Your course-mates must be desperate to meet me since I was the one who bestowed your new nickname on you.”

Lilly whacked him around the head, “Oh shut up. They are desperate to meet you, but that’s only because they think you’re tall, dark and handsome.”

“I am rather tall, and I do have kind of mousy brown dark-ish hair,” Neville said with a grin.

“And you’re handsome,” Lilly added, “But don’t you dare flirt with any of them or I will kill you.”

“Why would my eyes ever wander when I have you?” Neville asked.

“At least what I said wasn’t that cheesy,” Lilly murmured as she stabbed a bit of bacon with her fork.

“Can I mess with Marcel next weekend?” Neville asked eagerly.

“I told you he hasn’t been bothering me lately.”

“I know, but I still want to mess with him.”

“Neville!”

“Please? Just a tiny bit?”

Lilly grinned at him and gave in, “Oh I suppose so…just a little bit.”

Neville grinned back, “I can’t wait.”

* * *

“Daph, can I ask you a question?”

“Uh-huh,” Daphne replied, she was a little pre-occupied because they had just set Teddy loose on the new kid's playset they had bought for the back garden of the Manor.

“Does it bother you that Teddy calls me Dada but only calls you Daffee?”

Daphne frowned and looked over at him, “No, of course not. You’re his godfather; he’s known you since he was a tiny baby. I’m a more recent addition to his life.”

“You’ve been around since before his first birthday,” Harry reminded her, “I know you only really started getting to know him at Easter, but he clearly loves you.”

“And that’s enough for me,” Daphne said honestly, “Children have a more profound bond with their mother. To Teddy, you are the only man he regularly sees therefore you are Daddy as far as he’s concerned. It’s more confusing where women are concerned because there’s Andi and Narcissa, then me.”

Harry hummed thoughtfully, “I was just worried it offended you.”

Daphne shook her head, “When we started talking about adopting Teddy, I realised that I need to accept something. I may become his Mum, but I will never be his mother, and that’s okay. He’s mine in a way that he will never be hers because I’m going to be the one who heals his cuts, cuddles him after a nightmare and soothes him when he’s unwell. But he is hers in a way that he will never be mine because I didn’t carry him for nine months and I didn’t give birth to him; I never held him in my arms as a baby. I’ll be his Mum, and she will always be his mother, and I’ll make sure he knows that as soon as he’s old enough.”

Harry smiled at her, a little tearfully, “That was beautiful. Did you come up with that on your own? Because that could go on a wall you know, it’s inspirational.”

Daphne chuckled and looked down to hide the emotions swimming in her eyes, “I came up with it while talking to Sadie late one night about the whole thing.”

“I love you so much,” Harry said, it was a little bit out of the blue, but Daphne understood, “I can’t believe that you and I are only 19 sometimes, but I don’t mind.”

“We both went through some awful things,” Daphne said while she watched Teddy playing, “Both in our childhood and during the war. When you grow up like that, you grow up fast because you don’t have a choice. I want Teddy to be able to grow up without that, you know?”

Harry nodded and slipped his hand into hers, “I want him to grow up good and slow like we should have done, but not many people in our generation got that chance. Some of us didn’t even get the chance to grow up…”

Daphne squeezed his hand, and Harry sighed, “Every kid has the potential to be something great, they just need the right people behind them. If Voldemort had been adopted by someone who showed him love, then maybe he wouldn’t have grown into the monster that he did. Without the Weasley’s or Hagrid or Sirius…I don’t know what I would have grown up to be.”

“With us behind him, Teddy can be whatever he wants to be,” Daphne assured Harry, “I know that you feel like you have to fix the mistakes that were made during your childhood through Teddy, but all you really need to do is love him. If you do that, everything else will fall into place.”

“I already do,” Harry assured her as he let his eyes fall on the little boy.

* * *

“I have to go out for a bit, are you going to be okay on your own?”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at her fiancé, “I spent a whole weekend with him while you were in isolation, I’ll be fine. Where are you going?”

“Just out to help someone,” Harry said quickly, “Won’t be long.”

“Oh no,” Daphne said sharply, “You don’t get to just disappear with a rubbish excuse. Who needs help?”

“Just a friend of mine, nobody you know,” Harry said, “It’s just a quick errand.”

Daphne took another step to block his access to the door, “Let’s try that again, shall we?”

Harry grimaced, “Theo told me not to tell you because he knew you would bring it up for the rest of his life.”

Daphne sniggered, “In that case, I’m not even going to ask now, but you can tell me all about it when you get back. I was just going to bake a cake with Teddy anyway so you wouldn’t have been much help here.”

Harry laughed, “Alright, I’ll see you in a bit. I promise I won’t be long.”

Before Daphne could say anything else, he had dashed out of the house. She shook her head, wondering what stupid situation Theo had gotten himself into this time, and shouted, “Teddy! Do you want to bake a cake for pudding tonight?”

The hyperactive little boy dashed into the entrance hall from the study with a grin on his face. Daphne laughed as she ushered him into the kitchen, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

* * *

“What the hell did you do to end up like that?”

“I pissed Sadie off,” Theo mumbled, “Can you just get me down, please?”

“I wish I had a camera right now,” Harry said with a grin. Theo was currently suspended from a tree in the back garden of his home. His feet had been tied together, and he had been hung upside down from one of the tallest branches.

“Just get me down you self-righteous prick.”

“Theo, hasn’t anyone told you to be nice to the person on the ground when you’re the one hanging from a tree?”

“Surprisingly enough, that has never come up in conversation,” Theo said sarcastically.

Harry snorted and levitated Theo towards the ground. Once he was close enough, Harry cut the rope and Theo fell into a crumpled heap on the grass below.

“Why didn’t you just ask Draco to help?” Harry asked with a bemused look, “I mean he literally lives right next door.”

“I didn’t want Draco to see me like that!” Theo said in an undignified manner.

“Oh for the love of Merlin,” Harry muttered under his breath, “I forgot about your epic love story. How did you manage to piss Sadie off so much anyway?”

“Ask me another,” Theo said as he picked himself up and dusted himself down, “Shall we just say that she’s a little touchy whenever Egypt is mentioned at the moment?”

Harry snorted, “What did you say?”

“She was complaining about having to go back,” Theo said, “So I just said something along the lines of well if you want to keep going with the course then you’re just going to have to suck it up for the next little while. The next thing I know, I wake up hanging from a fucking tree.”

Harry tried to hide his amused look, “Yeah, that is pretty touchy.”

“Exactly!” Theo said with a wave of his hand, “I need a bloody drink after that, are you in?”

Harry shook his head, “Nah, we’ve got Teddy for the weekend, so I really need to get back. I just nipped away when I got your Patronus asking for help.”

“You didn’t tell Daphne, did you?” Theo asked quickly, “She would never let me live it down.”

“I didn’t tell Daphne,” Harry promised, although he knew that his fiancé would find out what happened eventually. She had her ways and means of getting the truth out of Harry.

“But I will warn you,” Harry added, “Sadie will tell Daphne, you do realise that right?”

“I’m hoping if I apologise profusely, then she won’t,” Theo said with a shrug, “I think she should just pack it in if it’s making her this miserable, but that’s not how Sade thinks.”

“She needs to decide for herself,” Harry said, he patted Theo on the back, “Just walk on eggshells at the moment mate, yeah?”

“Yeah, thanks for pulling my arse out of the fire.”

“Or your arse down from the tree, as it so happened,” Harry grinned.

Theo rolled his eyes, “You’re going to tell Draco and Neville about this on Monday, aren’t you?”

“Oh yeah,” Harry said with a mischievous grin, “Have a good weekend, mate.”

* * *

When Harry stepped back into Potter Manor, the first thing he heard was laughter. It brought an instant smile to his face to hear Teddy laughing and Daphne chuckling with him. He followed the sound into the kitchen where it looked like a cake had been massacred rather than baked. There was flour on everything, including Daphne and Teddy.

“Merlin’s balls!” Harry said with a grin, “Did you bake a cake or did the cake bake you?”

“Cake Dada!” Teddy said excitedly. He jumped down from the little footstool he had been using and ran over to Harry.

“No, Teddy, don’t hug Daddy,” Daphne tried to say quickly, “You’re covered in…”

Teddy launched himself at Harry, “Flour.”

Harry laughed, “And now we’re both covered in flour, but that’s okay. These are my weekend clothes anyway.”

Daphne shook her head in amusement, “The cake did find it’s way to the oven eventually.”

“Did you have fun?” Harry asked Teddy.

Teddy nodded eagerly, “Chocolate cake!”

“Oh, that’s my favourite,” Harry said eagerly, “But I think while the chocolate cake is in the oven, you should have a bath.”

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Daphne agreed.

Harry shot her a bright smile, and she smiled back at him. The conversation that had taken place between them and Andromeda that morning was still running through their heads. Harry suspected that Daphne felt the same as he did about the prospect, he was excited and over the moon, but that feeling was also tinged with a lot of nerves.

* * *

“Teddy, don’t fight me on this one. You need to wear a cardigan, it’s getting cold now,” Daphne was trying to tell the child.

Teddy kept shaking his head and pulling his arms out of the cardigan while she tried to put it on him.

“Teddy,” Harry said in a firmer tone of voice, “If that cardigan doesn’t go on, then you’re staying here while we go to the Burrow.”

Whether it was the threat or the tone of voice, Daphne didn’t know, but it did work. Teddy stopped going rigid and let Daphne put his cardigan on.

“I don’t think I’m even going to try and force a hat on him,” Daphne said as she shoved her feet into her boots.

“It’s not really cold enough yet,” Harry said, “And if I know Molly, now that the wind is starting to pick up a bit she will have moved things inside for the winter anyway.”

Daphne nodded and took Teddy’s hand, “I was hoping she would do that. I know it’s not that cold by our standards, but Teddy feels the cold so much more than us.”

“Fleur won’t want Victoire out in it either,” Harry said when they reached the fireplace, “And these days Molly listens to Fleur, for an easy life as much as anything else.”

“I think that’s why Bill listens to her too,” Daphne joked.

They both laughed as the floo powder was thrown into the fire. Harry went through first, and Daphne followed with Teddy. When they reached the Burrow, the large dining room table had been crammed into the kitchen once more.

“Sorry about the mess dear,” Molly said when she heard the floo roar, “It’s time for us to move things indoors again now that the weather is turning.”

Harry smiled in amusement and helped Daphne out of the fireplace with Teddy.

“Everyone else is in the living room,” Molly said, “And no Daphne dear, I don’t need any help before you ask.”

Daphne chuckled, “Alright Molly,” she said. Between them, they managed to drag Teddy into the living room, which was full of people. He hid behind Daphne’s legs as he tended to when faced with a big crowd.

“It’s alright Teddy, it’s just busier than you’ve been used to over the summer,” Daphne said gently. She reached into her bag and pulled out a reasonably well-worn dragon plush toy, “I brought Elli.”

Teddy grabbed the toy and covered his face with it.

“Elli, the dragon?” Charlie asked.

“It’s short for Elliot,” Daphne said, “Harry named it after a dragon in a Muggle book or something.”

“It was a film I used to like,” Harry said, “It was called Pete’s dragon.”

“So Elli is a boy?”

“Hey, it’s nearly 2000. Boys can be called Elli,” Bill joked.

“Well it’s a rubbish name for a dragon,” Charlie said.

“Coming from you, Charlie?” Bill retorted, “The guy who called his teddy bear, Teddy and his dragon, Drago.”

Aurora laughed from Charlie’s side, “Remind me never to let you name our kid if we ever get around to having an actual human kid rather than a brood of baby dragons.”

“Hey, I’m not that bad at naming things!” Charlie defended himself.

“What would you name our kid if we had one then?” Aurora asked.

“Uh…Charlie or Bill…or Arthur.”

“Good to know you love the rest of us, Char,” George joked as he clapped Charlie on the shoulder.

“And none of those are girls names,” Aurora added.

“Charlie is unisex!”

Bill barked out a laugh and said, “Shut up, Charlie. Just face it, you are never naming anything.”

Aurora nodded her agreement, and Daphne laughed. She looked down at Teddy and said, “Come on, sweetheart, you don’t normally act all shy when we come here.”

“I bet I can get him out of his shell,” Charlie said. He knelt in front of Teddy and said, “Do you like dragons, huh?”

Teddy nodded.

“Well I have loads of cool stories about dragons,” Charlie said, “I can tell you about the time I flew a Welsh Green or about the time I rode into battle on a Norwegian Ridgeback. Would you like that?”

Teddy perked up a little and nodded eagerly. He stepped away from Daphne and let Charlie pick him up. Daphne smiled and said, “Thanks Charlie,” as he sat Teddy on his knee and began to tell him stories.

Bill shook his head and caught Daphne’s eye, “He did not ride into battle on the back of a Norwegian ridgeback by the way. It was a small skirmish, and he was leading the dragon in, not riding it.”

Daphne laughed, “Well, it sounds more dramatic to a one-and-a-half-year-old if he says he rode it.”

“That boy and his tall tales,” Bill said with a grin, “How’s your weekend going?”

“Good,” Daphne replied, “Did you get your fence put up yesterday?”

“Yep, and I did not use magic like the wife asked, so she’s happy,” Bill said, he shot Fleur a grin.

“This is weird,” Hermione said as she looked between Bill and Daphne.

“How familiar those two are all of a sudden?” Harry asked, “Tell me about it.”

“Well we do spend all day together five days a week,” Daphne said.

“Like Neville and I, so I understand the bond,” Harry said as he glanced over at Teddy, “If he’s quite happy with Charlie I’ll take this chocolate cake into the kitchen for Molly.”

“I’ll go through and see if Mum wants a hand with anything,” Bill said.

Daphne wasn’t stupid; she knew the fact that they were both disappearing at the same time meant that they were going to talk about something. She could work out that the something was her, or her situation with Fawley more to the point.

She didn’t say anything though as she sat down in the chair and said, “So Draco, did you hear that Theo pissed Sadie off yesterday and ended up hanging upside down from a tree?”

Draco’s response was to positively cackle with laughter.

* * *

Harry dropped the cake off with Molly in the kitchen, and as he was about to head back into the living room, Bill stepped out.

“Oh Bill, I’m glad I caught you,” Harry said in an undertone, “I wanted to talk to you.”

“I was just coming out to say the same thing to you,” Bill admitted, “Let’s nip out into the garden.”

They stepped into the garden and shut the backdoor behind them.

“You go first, Harry.”

“I just wanted to thank you,” Harry said honestly, “For everything that you did for Daphne. You could have put her back in that cursed room or given her any old Curse Breaker as a mentor, but you didn’t, and she’s so grateful for that.”

Bill smiled, “You don’t have to thank me for doing my brotherly duty, Harry. You’re my little brother, the least I can do is keep your fiancé safe after everything she’s been through. I don’t mind mentoring her either though, she’s amazing already, and she’s only a trainee. That girl is going to be a fantastic Curse Breaker one day.”

Harry smiled proudly, “I know. She thinks you’re the best thing since sliced bread; she won’t shut up about you. Every night it’s Bill said this and Bill did that or Bill showed me this new way of working.”

Bill laughed, “That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. I know when a man and a woman work together, there can be all sorts of tension there, and I just wanted to assure you that it’s completely platonic and always will be.”

“Oh, I know,” Harry said, “I trust you and Daphne completely, I know that nothing like that would ever happen. Anyway, look at your wife.”

Bill laughed, “I won’t tell your fiancé that you said that.”

Harry snorted, “Yeah don’t, I value my life, and obviously I prefer Daphne anyway. Fleur is too nice, and she’s also too French.”

“The too French I get,” Bill admitted, “But can a woman be too nice?”

“Yeah,” Harry said, “I’m stubborn, and I’m hotheaded. I need someone who can be a bitch and tell me when I’m an arsehole, and Daphne does that. I’m also not going to lie; it’s really hot.”

Bill laughed, “See, I like the easy life. I try to avoid riling Fleur up at all costs.”

“Then I definitely don’t need to worry about you and Daphne having an affair,” Harry joked, “She goes looking for an argument half the time.”

Bill chuckled, “I just felt we ought to discuss it, so there was no unsaid tension between us about the situation. I wouldn’t want to do anything that would lose me your trust.”

Harry smiled, “And I appreciate that. I know how it can be when you work with someone day in and day out. You get to know them better than you know anyone else, even your own wife or fiancé or whatever.”

Bill nodded, “I told her that, you know? I told her that my philosophy was that we were the same as Auror partners. I know we don’t do what you do, but we’re on the frontline just like you.”

“I think you guys are just as valuable, if not more so than us,” Harry said honestly, “You guys are the geniuses who can look at a curse, turn it into code and decipher it. We’re the muscle; we’re the dispensable idiots that run into battle.”

“Every good army has indispensable geniuses and indispensable idiots Harry,” Bill said as he clapped his hand on Harry’s shoulder.

* * *

“Is Ron coming today?” Hermione asked Ginny conversationally.

“No, he’s working again,” Ginny replied, “He’s saving up everything he can to give Katie, for when she has the baby.”

“Well at least he’s treating her with respect,” Hermione said, “It’s too easy for the man to run off and have nothing to do with his kid these days.”

Daphne nodded, “If you aren’t married, then there’s basically no protection, and it’s a free-for-all if it comes down to a custody battle.”

“More and more people are choosing not to get married these days though Daphne,” Hermione said, “It’s been the same in the muggle world for a little while. The days of shotgun weddings are over.”

Ginny snorted, “You’re saying this to the person who just had a shotgun wedding?”

“You had your reasons,” Daphne said with a smile, “Where is Blaise?”

“Working on the house, like he does every spare minute he gets,” Ginny said with a roll of her eyes, “I see more of Blanche than him these days.”

Daphne tried not to smirk when she said, “Do you?”

Ginny shot her a warning look, “Yes, I do.”

At this point, Hermione decided a change of subject might be a good idea, “Oh, I meant to ask Gin, have you heard anything from Luna recently?”

“I spoke to her last week before she disappeared off to America,” Ginny said, “I asked when she would be back, and she said when the work was done.”

“I didn’t know that she was going to America,” Hermione said.

“Neither did I. What is she doing out there?” Daphne asked.

“Well it’s kind of an interesting story,” Ginny said, and the other two girls sensed that gossip was going to follow, “She left with her new boyfriend because he lives out there. Do you remember the guy she took to the memorial ball that none of us knew?”

Hermione and Daphne nodded.

“He’s her boyfriend, he’s five years older than her, and his name is Rolf Scamander,” Ginny said.

“Scamander…as in Newt Scamander?”

“Yep,” Ginny said, “Luna is dating his grandson.”

Hermione laughed, “Well, it’s Luna so that I can believe. What does he do in America?”

“He runs a sanctuary for magical creatures that are going extinct,” Ginny replied, “And he managed to convince Luna to go back there and work with him.”

“So she’s shacked up with the boss?” Daphne asked with a grin, “Saucy!”

Ginny snorted, “I doubt it’s like that, I don’t even know if she’ll get paid or if it’s a voluntary thing. Either way, this sanctuary is on an island near New York so she said that if any of us had ever wanted to see the states, we could go and visit her.”

“I have always wanted to go to New York,” Hermione admitted, “But I’ll wait until Luna invites me herself. I wonder how Rolf Scamander ended up living over there though? Doesn’t Newt live in the UK?”

“He’s lived all over the place from what I’ve heard,” Daphne said, “He went wherever there were magical creatures that needed discovering.”

Ginny shrugged, “I know nothing on the magical creatures front, but I do know that Rolf has family in New York because Luna told me.”

“Fair enough,” Hermione said with a smile, “It sounds exciting. I’ll look forward to talking to her about it when she next comes back.”

“If she ever comes back,” Daphne joked, “She’s found a sanctuary for rare magical creatures, we might never see her again!”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	37. Workin' 9 to 5!

“Oh my god.”

“What?” Daphne asked sharply.

“I…in…January…me…oh…fuck me.”

“What?” Daphne asked quickly, “Is something wrong? Is everyone okay?”

“I…uh, yeah,” Harry said, he was staring wide-eyed at a letter.

“What does that say?” Daphne asked. She snatched the letter from him in a panic. Her eyes skimmed it, and then she dropped it on the table, “Holy shit, Harry!”

“Yeah,” Harry said in disbelief.

“An order of Merlin!” Daphne said eagerly, “1st class!”

“For me,” Harry said with a shake of his head.

“Uh yeah,” Daphne said, she gave him a pointed look, “Killing an evil dark lord at the age of 17 is the kind of thing that will earn you that.”

Harry was still staring at the letter, “I’m going to get an order of Merlin.”

“1st class,” Daphne added.

The surprise began to wear off, “I’m going to get a bloody Order of Merlin. A 1st class Order of fucking Merlin. Daphne, I’m getting a bloody Order of Merlin!”

Daphne grinned and launched herself at him, “Yes, you are.”

Harry grinned into the hug, “I’m getting a bloody Order of Merlin!”

* * *

“Good morning, boys,” Harry said as he strutted onto the field with his broom.

“Someone got laid last night,” Theo joked.

“Oh, no,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “I’m just in a good mood because I got a nice little letter this morning.”

“A letter put you in a good mood?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow, “What did it have it in it, money?”

“Nope,” Harry smirked, “Just the news that in January yours truly will be getting awarded an Order of Merlin…”

“What?”

“Holy fuck!”

“First class,” Harry said smugly.

Neville smiled slightly, “I would say that’s well deserved, congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Harry said importantly, “Thank you very much.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “You are so not going to shut up about this today.”

“Draco, can you just hex me so that I’m deaf for the rest of the day?” Theo remarked.

Harry grinned, but couldn’t brag any further because an order to get on their broomsticks and get in the bloody air, was barked at them.

* * *

“Why does the weekend always fly by so quickly?” Harry asked, “I hate that point on Sunday night when I have to take Teddy back to Andromeda’s then get my work bag ready…”

Neville patted him on the shoulder, “It will be better when you adopt him, at least he’ll be there in the evenings when you go home.”

“I know,” Harry said with a sigh.

“Do you want cheering up?” Draco asked. He slung his bag over his shoulder, and they began to walk towards their first class. Monday morning started with flying then a quick shower before the intellectual work began.

“I can cheer myself up by thinking about my Order of Merlin, 1st class. But cheer me up anyway,” Harry said.

Draco shook his head irritably, “We all get to spend the next week laughing at Theo for being strung up by his wife.”

“And not in an enjoyable way,” Neville added.

Theo glared at them both, “Oh fuck off!”

“What? Harry needed cheering up!” Neville said.

“Through slagging me off?” Theo huffed.

“You’re an easy target,” Draco said, “And look at his face. He looks like he’s being kicked in the face by a Hippogriff.”

Harry snorted, “Wrong choice of phrase, coming from the guy who was stupid enough to insult a Hippogriff.”

“And then fake a broken arm to make Pansy feel sorry for him,” Theo added.

“I knew you were faking it!” Harry exclaimed.

“What did you tell them that for, you prat?”

“You used my suffering to cheer Harry up!”

Harry shot Neville an amused look while the pair of them bickered, “Some things never change,” he said in an undertone as they slipped into the classroom.

Auror Carter was already waiting for them, so they all fell silent as they took their seats. She began to talk about disguises and how each situation had a perfect disguise. Half an hour in when it came to the discussion part of the class, Harry, Draco, Neville and Theo didn’t end up discussing disguises much.

“So Hermione didn’t want to say anything at the weekend, but the reason she was a bit down was because Crookshanks died on Friday,” Draco said while the others discussed what they were actually supposed to.

“I want to say that I’m sad about that, but I’ll be honest, I agreed with Ron,” Harry whispered, “He freaked me out.”

“And he was an ugly bastard,” Theo added.

“I know, I hated him too,” Draco said, “But Hermione was gutted, and she kept going on about how the house wouldn’t be the same without Crookshanks. I think I would prefer a house that doesn’t have a cat bringing dead shit into it, or puking on my expensive carpets but you know Hermione.”

“She does love cats,” Harry agreed, “Do you know what else she would love?”

“If you say anything about an Order of Merlin 1st class, I will fucking kill you,” Draco muttered under his breath.

“I was going to say kittens actually,” Harry said.

Draco narrowed his eyes at the Gryffindor, “I was just about to say that I’m thinking about buying her a kitten for her birthday.”

“But you hate cats,” Theo said, “You just said that yourself.”

“I know, but Hermione loves them, and I want to make her happy,” Draco said, he shrugged it off to try and look cool, but it didn’t work.

“Aww, that’s true love!” Neville joked, “You hate cats, but you’ll buy her one anyway.”

“I obviously don’t love Sadie because she keeps asking me for another cat and I keep telling her to piss off,” Theo said.

Harry snorted in amusement, “I’ve been thinking of buying a dog, Daph really wants one. I was going to buy her one for Christmas, but I don’t want to do that whole cliché, a dog is for life not for Christmas thing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The advert,” Harry said, “You know, the charity advert? A dog is for life not just for Christmas.”

They all looked at him blankly.

“Never mind,” Harry said with a shake of his head.

“Well Lilly wants a pony, and I keep telling her that if her Dad never bought her one as a kid, then I’m not buying her one either,” Neville said.

“Wow, harsh Nev,” Theo said.

Draco nodded, “Really harsh.”

“But Theo telling Sadie to piss off isn’t harsh?” Harry countered.

“That’s a cat though,” Theo said, “Cats are bastards. Everyone knows that if a girl asks for a pony, you damn well buy her one.”

“Horses are great animals,” Draco agreed, “Huge part of pureblood culture, don’t you think Theo? When did we learn to ride?”

“We started when we were six,” Theo replied, “The girls learned earlier, though.”

“The girls learned to ride earlier?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Horses, you filthy little half-blood,” Draco said with mock disgust.

Harry snorted in amusement.

“Very loyal animals,” Theo said thoughtfully.

“I really miss having a horse,” Draco mused.

“Yeah, that’s the only thing about living in London, isn’t it? No horses, no big open spaces to go for a ride or to hunt. Oh, do you remember that hunt the summer after third year?”

“Yes! That was-”

“Guys,” Harry sniggered, “Is this a thing? Love of horses and hunting?”

“It’s a pureblood thing, that’s why you two don’t get it,” Draco said pretentiously.

“I’m a pureblood,” Neville said slowly.

“But not a proper one, you’re like a kinda pureblood,” Harry said, “Like me.”

“Does anyone hear an annoying buzzing noise? Oh wait, it’s just the half-blood talking,” Theo joked.

“The half-blood killed Lord Voldemort, Recruit Nott,” Carter said, she seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, “You did not, nor did you Recruit Black. Now, how is your discussion about disguises going?”

“Great,” Harry said eagerly, “We were talking about different animal disguises like horses or cats.”

“But Theo said you should never disguise yourself as a cat because cats are bastards,” Neville added.

Carter raised an eyebrow at Theo, “Is that your opinion Recruit Nott? That’s interesting…”

Before Theo could ask Carter why that was interesting, she had transformed into a cat before his very eyes.

“Her Animagus form is a cat, I checked our Auror trainers when we registered ourselves last week,” Neville said with a smirk.

“Oh…fuck,” Theo said, he let his head fall onto the desk with a loud thump.

* * *

“Why does Neville look like he’s just won an order of Merlin?”

“I don’t know but do you know an interesting fact about the order of Merlin?” Harry asked matter of factly.

“Shut up Potter.”

“I’m going to be getting one in January,” Harry continued, “Did I mention that?”

“Did you mention that you’re getting an order of Merlin 1st class?” Theo asked sarcastically, “Do you know what? I don’t think you have mentioned that at all this morning.”

“Really?” Harry asked in faux-surprise, “Because it’s for valour Theo. Valour like a knight.”

Theo and Draco both glared at him as they all walked into their Herbology lab. They were all standing in a big group while they waited for the Senior Auror who would be teaching this class to arrive, so Harry started talking to Blanche and Ophelia.

“Did you hear my great news this morning, girls?”

“What news is that?” Ophelia asked politely.

“I’ll be getting awarded an Order of Merlin in January,” Harry said humbly, “1st class.”

“Oh for Merlin’s sake, shut up!” Theo said.

“He won’t bloody shut up about it,” Draco said to Blanche through gritted teeth.

“Do you realise that he’s just doing it because of your reaction?” Blanche said quietly, “If you didn’t react, then he would shut up about it.”

“Shit, we’re so stupid Draco.”

“Speak for yourself, Theo,” Draco muttered as he elbowed Theo in the ribs.

Before they could argue any further, a pretty redheaded woman in Auror robes stepped into the room. She had blue eyes and a kind smile, “Good morning, recruits. I’m Senior Auror Brown, and I will be observing you in Herbology lab. My main goal over the next year is to teach you all the dangerous plants from the safe plants. I also want to educate you a little on harvesting your own potions ingredients.”

She did a brief outline of the course then she gave all of the pairs a chart and asked them to identify the safe plants from the dangerous ones as a little test to see how much they needed to learn.

“Do you know any of these?” Neville asked Harry, “Because I know them all, but I want to see how incompetent you are.”

“Pretty incompetent,” Harry admitted, “Wolfsbane is poisonous if you eat it as it is, isn’t it?”

“Yeah Harry, it’s really poisonous,” Neville said with a shake of his head, “Thank Merlin, you have me to keep you alive.”

Harry smiled sheepishly, “Yeah, I’m really grateful for that. I saw the look on your face when Auror Brown walked in by the way.”

“What look would that be?” Neville asked.

“The, I think she’s hot, look,” Harry said pointedly, “The look I apparently gave Keller.”

Neville snorted, “The look you definitely gave Keller.”

“Well, you totally gave Brown the same look,” Harry said, “And you like redheads.”

“Lilly is a brunette,” Neville reminded him.

“But Susan is a redhead,” Harry whispered, “Susan, who you had a wild, sexy fling with.”

Neville’s cheeks coloured. Harry continued, “And Ginny, who you had hot up against the wall sex with in the Hogs Head.”

“Look, I don’t want to think about that, alright? Just tell me if Moly is safe to eat or not.”

“Uh…not?”

Neville sighed, “Wrong, it actually counteracts certain enchantments when ingested. You need to brush up on this stuff.”

“I promise to read _“One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi”_ extensively if you admit that you think Auror Brown is hot and that you secretly have a thing for redheads,” Harry bargained.

Neville rolled his eyes but didn’t look up from the sheet that he was filling in, “Lilly is a natural redhead, alright? She dyes her hair because people bullied her for it when she was younger.”

“So yes then,” Harry said.

“Yeah, she’s pretty hot, and yes, I like redheads,” Neville admitted irritably.

“My apologies Recruit Longbottom, but you are far too young for me, and I don’t think my husband would be much pleased.”

“Oh for the love of Merlin,” Neville said, he buried his head in his heads.

Harry sniggered.

“How are you two getting on?” Auror Brown asked with an amused smile.

“Well, according to Neville, it’s a good thing that I have him because otherwise, I would die,” Harry said matter of factly.

“I’m sure you’re not that clueless Recruit Potter,” Brown said kindly, “Could you tell me whether Devil’s snare is safe?”

“If you know how to get it to release you, then I suppose it’s safe enough,” Harry replied, “It hates the light.”

Brown smiled, “See? I have no idea what Recruit Longbottom was talking about.”

As Brown walked away, Neville glared at him, “You do realise that if she had asked you about any other plant on this list, you would have had no bloody clue, right?”

Harry grinned and patted Neville on the back, “I’m a lucky guy.”

* * *

If Harry was honest, he wasn’t sure what to expect when he stepped into his last class of the day. He wasn’t sure what Mind Magic was going to be about, but he didn’t expect to see a room that reminded him of Professor Trelawney’s Divination classroom.

There were no seats or desks, just beanbags, cushions and scented candles.

“Good afternoon, recruits.”

Harry jumped and looked around for the source of the voice. It had come from a woman who was sitting cross-legged in the centre of the room. She had tanned skin, dark hair and deep brown eyes.

“I am Senior Auror Emmagen, and I will be teaching you how to open your mind to new possibilities,” She said.

“Sadie does that all the time,” Theo whispered to Draco.

The blond man sniggered and tried to cover it up with a cough.

“I would ask you all to get comfortable on the floor,” Emmagen said.

Harry was already wary, but he did so. He had to try not to laugh at Neville as the taller man tried to get comfortable on a tiny cushion, he could barely even cross his legs comfortably.

Emmagen sighed deeply, “Now, close your eyes and clear your mind. I want you to focus on your Auror partner and nothing else; I want you to try and communicate with them.”

Harry would have raised an eyebrow if he could have done. He shut his eyes and tried his best to clear his mind, then he focused on trying to communicate with Neville, but nothing happened.

“Recruits Black and Nott,” Emmagen said calmly, “I am delighted that you find mental communication so straightforward. However, I do not want to hear about your weekend plans, and I do not tolerate that sort of language in this class.”

Harry snorted in amusement, and he could feel Neville shaking with silent laughter next to him.

“Everyone else must clear their mind,” Emmagen continued.

This went on in a similar vein for the remainder of the class; Harry was glad that it was only half an hour long. Draco and Theo were told off several times for what Emmagen called their inappropriate mental communication.

Towards the very end of the class, Harry and Neville finally managed to communicate but not in the way that either of them wanted to.

“Ugh, Neville!” Harry exclaimed as his eyes flew open, “You’re supposed to be clearing your mind, not thinking about your girlfriend! How am I supposed to look Lilly in the eye after that? Merlin’s sake!”

Neville’s cheeks went bright red, “I’m sorry, I just thought about her for a second. I couldn’t help it!”

Draco and Theo looked like they were going to wet themselves as they roared with laughter on the other side of the room.

* * *

“So, Neville told me something interesting when I nipped over to drop off Lilly’s birthday present,” Daphne said matter of factly as she stepped into the drawing-room where Harry was reading “ _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.”_

Harry frowned up at her, “Did he?”

“Yes,” Daphne said, “He said that you have a hot Healer at training called Keller. He told me that she’s blonde and very attractive and that you fancy her.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “He only told you that because I pissed him off yesterday.”

“Is it true, though?” Daphne asked.

“There is a Healer called Keller who works in the hospital wing,” Harry agreed, “And she’s attractive yes, but that’s all there is to it.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Harry said, “You aren’t seriously getting jealous about this, are you?”

“You’re the chosen one, you’re getting an Order of Merlin,” Daphne reminded him, “You can have anyone that you want so yes, I feel a little threatened.”

“You feel threatened?” Harry asked in disbelief, “I’m not the one who works with Bill, the best Curse Breaker in 20 years, Weasley! Nobody I work with has long hair, tattoos and piercings. Nobody at my work is a bad arse in dragon hide trousers, Daphne! You should not be the one who feels threatened.”

“I told you, Harry, there is nothing like that between Bill and I,” Daphne said irritably.

“Yeah and I told you, I love you and only you,” Harry said shortly, “I’m not going to run off with anyone else just because I’m the chosen one. You’re the hot one in this relationship, not me.”

“Don’t try to flatter me.”

“I’m not!” Harry exclaimed, “It’s the truth! I’m not going to leave you to shag one of my Senior Aurors, am I?”

“I don’t know, are you?”

“Fucking Neville,” Harry muttered, “Just because he can’t take a joke when it’s aimed in his bloody direction. No, I’m not going to shag anyone apart from you ever, okay? Even if you die, I will never sleep with anyone else. I’ll abstain for the rest of my miserable, sexless life.”

“That’s taking it a bit far,” Daphne said with a raised eyebrow.

“Is it? Or would you haunt me if I moved on?”

“Well,” Daphne said slowly, “That would depend on who you moved on with…”

“See? It’s just easier to never have sex again,” Harry said as he gave her a pointed look.

Daphne sighed, “Okay, I might have been a little touchy about that.”

“A little?” Harry retorted.

“Or a lot,” Daphne mumbled sheepishly, “But as hard as it is for you to believe, I’m still not convinced I’m good enough for you.”

“You talk so much rubbish sometimes,” Harry said, he cocked his head at her, “Do you know that?”

“I mean it, Harry,” Daphne said, “You were supposed to marry Ginny. You were supposed to be the perfect golden couple.”

“Fuck that,” Harry said, “I don’t care what I was supposed to do. I don’t care what the world wanted me to do. I care about what I want to do, and that is be with you, until the day I die.”

Daphne smiled slightly, “That’s cheesy.”

“I don’t care,” Harry said.

Daphne smiled, “Sorry for riling you up.”

Harry fixed her with an amused look, “No, you aren’t.”

“You’re right,” Daphne admitted as she bit her lip, “I’m not.”

Harry smiled knowingly at her.

“And you can shag other people you know,” Daphne teased, “As long as I’m there.”

“You have no idea where my mind is running to right now…”

“I think I could guess.”

* * *

“Coffee and a bagel?”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Bill chirped, “How are you this morning? You seem awfully chipper.”

“Harry and I argued last night,” Daphne said.

“From what Harry tells me about your relationship, that translates into; you had kinky sex last night.”

Daphne snorted, “Maybe. Do we have any work to do this morning?”

“Nice change of the subject there Daph,” Bill grinned.

“It’s a valid question since this is my place of work,” Daphne pointed out.

“We do have a case, but I’m not going to tell you about it until you tell me why you and Harry argued last night,” Bill said.

“It was kind of my fault,” Daphne admitted, “I got jealous about this hot Healer that he works with. Then he said that I wasn’t the one who should feel threatened because he wasn’t the one who worked with, and I quote, Bill, the best Cursebreaker in 20 years, Weasley with his long hair, tattoos, piercings and dragon hide trousers.”

Bill raised an eyebrow at her, “Wow, I never knew Harry felt that way about me. I better tell him that I’m not that way inclined, and I’ve not worn those trousers in years!”

Daphne laughed, “We all know that the idea of him feeling threatened by you is ridiculous. I think he just brought it up to win the argument, so please slag him off for it on Sunday.”

“Oh, you don’t even have to ask,” Bill grinned, “Now this case is a horrific one. You are welcome to take the lead because I might run away halfway through.”

Daphne looked at him in disbelief, “I find it hard to believe that you’re scared of anything.”

“Well this case involves a cursed doll,” Bill said, “Apparently it talks, moves on its own and tries to kill people. I just can’t deal with that to be honest with you Daphne.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, “You are the guy who has broken ancient, terrifying Egyptian curses Bill, and you’re scared of a doll?”

“Wait until you see this bloody thing,” Bill muttered as he slid the case file over to her, “You won’t sleep for weeks.”

Daphne flipped the file open and shrugged, “It’s a doll. What’s the big deal?”

Bill shuddered and said, “You’re a stronger person than me Daphne. You have just earned your first lead on a case. I’ll do whatever you say.”

Daphne shot him a knowing look as they headed out into the corridor, “I didn’t earn anything. You’re only giving me the lead because you’re shitting yourself about this doll.”

“You might say that, but I couldn’t possibly comment,” Bill said cryptically as the office door shut behind them.

* * *

When Wednesday afternoon rolled around, Neville was excited to see Lilly again. Harry didn’t joke about it this time things had been a little bit frosty between himself and Neville all day. They didn’t discuss the reason because they both knew that Harry was pissed off about the fact Neville had told Daphne about Keller. Even Draco and Theo could tell that something was up, but neither of them had asked what it was yet.

So when they were told to practise their suturing skills in their Healing class, Harry decided to get revenge.

“Hey boys, how are you?”

Neville smiled, “Good, how is France?”

Lilly shrugged, “I still don’t like it much. What have you been up to this week?”

“Apart from admiring hot Aurors?” Harry joked.

Neville had been waiting for Harry to drop that one in and when he did, he glared at him.

Lilly frowned, “Which one of you?”

“Neville has a thing for the Auror who teaches Herbology lab, eh Neville?”

“She’s pretty; that’s all I said,” Neville said quickly, “Don’t worry about it, Lil.”

“Don’t worry about it?” Lilly asked angrily, “You had a fling with Susan during the war, then you left her when you realised that Hannah liked you. Then you cheated on Hannah with Susan, but I don’t need to worry about it? You’re right; it’s not like you have a thing about cutting your losses and moving on when something better comes along!”

She stalked away before Neville could defend himself any further. Neville glared at Harry, “If you had ever thought to ask, Lilly is self-conscious about my dating history.”

Harry had to admit, he felt a little bit bad about that, “Well, you had it coming. You had no reason to tell Daphne about Keller, and I got questioned like I had done something wrong when she came in last night!”

“That was so bloody petty of you,” Neville retorted.

“And you telling Daphne wasn’t?”

“Is there a problem here, boys?” Keller asked as she appeared behind them.

“No,” Harry and Neville said in unison, both of them rather passive-aggressively.

Keller raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Harry said, “We’re just having a minor disagreement.”

Keller didn’t look convinced, but she walked away anyway.

“How was I supposed to know that Lilly got touchy about you and other people anyway?” Harry asked irritably.

“How was I supposed to know that Daphne would be bothered about you finding Keller hot?” Neville countered.

“Because she’s Daphne Greengrass,” Harry said slowly, “Who once said in public that if I kept looking at a girl in a certain way she would castrate me and feed my genitals to the giant squid.”

Neville grimaced, “Yeah…”

“I know you remember it because you told her that the giant squid only eats sea creatures so her efforts would be pointless,” Harry said before Neville could say anymore.

Neville sighed, “I know…I shouldn’t have said anything, I’m sorry.”

“I shouldn’t have said something to Lilly just because I was annoyed with you,” Harry admitted sheepishly, “That was bitchy and…I’m sorry.”

“She doesn’t think she’s good enough for me,” Neville admitted, he looked over at Lilly, “She thinks I’m going to run off and leave her as soon as someone better comes along. I tried to explain that’s not what I did with Susan and Hannah, but she didn’t seem to believe me.”

“Would you let me talk to her for you?” Harry asked, “It’s my fault she’s angry with you in the first place.”

“Try if you want,” Neville said, “But you know Lilly, she’s stubborn.”

“I’ve managed to get through to her before,” Harry pointed out.

“Is Daphne still pissed off with you?”

“No, I managed to earn her forgiveness with an impassioned speech,” Harry said, “I suppose I’ll need one of them in January, you know for when I get my Order of Merlin?”

“That’s the first time you haven’t added in that it’s a 1st Class one,” Neville said with a pointed look, “You’re getting humbler.”

Harry laughed and said, “I’m going to pretend to need help so that I can speak to Lilly alone.”

* * *

“I need help with my suturing.”

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, “I know you do, but you could have waited for me to come over to tell me that.”

“Nah,” Harry said, “I couldn’t. I shouldn’t have said that about Neville finding that Auror attractive. I only did it because Neville told Daphne that I found Keller hot.”

“Wow, that’s petty of you.”

“I know,” Harry sighed, “And I had no idea you felt the way you did about what happened between Susan and Hannah.”

“Oh, don’t even start me on that,” Lilly muttered.

“It wasn’t like that Lil, you know Neville isn’t that kind of guy,” Harry said quietly.

“I know,” Lilly admitted sheepishly, “But you weren’t there during the war, Harry. He was brilliant in the Room of Requirement but he kind of lost himself a bit too. He flirted with Susan, he flirted with Hannah, he shagged Ginny, and I was there through all of it, watching my best friend and thinking what the hell is happening to him?”

Harry sighed, “I can understand why that would leave you a bit worried, but you have to remember that we all did things back then that we regret. That doesn’t just mean killing people or hurting people physically.”

Lilly sighed.

“Some relationships work in a war zone but not in real life,” Harry said quietly, “Like Hermione and I. You know, at the time I thought I loved her but the things you feel in a war, they aren’t always your true feelings. Sometimes they are just things you interpret wrong because you’re cooped up in a tent, or trapped in a school.”

“I get that,” Lilly said genuinely, “But he went back to Susan once. He fell back on familiarity then, and he nearly did it with Hannah when we were on a break, so what makes you think that he won’t do it again?”

“He would never have gone back to Hannah. She kissed him, he pulled away then Daphne escorted her from the house, violently,” Harry pointed out with a smile, “And yes, he went back to Susan once, but things are different now. She’s happy with Percy, and he loves you. I think he’s always loved you; he just couldn’t see it even when it was right in front of him for years.”

“Jeez, are you this cheesy with Daphne?”

“Yeah, she frequently tells me that she’s going to vomit while I’m in the middle of an impassioned speech about my love for her,” Harry admitted with a grin.

Lilly snorted and glanced over at Neville, “He looks like a slapped puppy.”

“He hates arguing with you.”

She reluctantly sighed, “I’ll go over and talk to him. You just stay here and practice on that dummy for a few minutes, okay? Look busy.”

“Yes boss,” Harry joked.

* * *

“So your best friend presented your case rather well.”

Neville looked up in surprise, “Did he?”

Lilly nodded, “Yeah, and I’m sorry for holding things you did in the war against you. We weren’t together; I thought it was pretty apparent that I was in love with you, but that doesn’t mean _you_ did.”

Neville smiled sheepishly, “I was a clueless idiot.”

“You were,” Lilly agreed.

“Are you doing that thing where you apologise for flying off the handle without actually saying the words, I’m sorry?”

“Maybe,” Lilly said sheepishly, “But it’s a good thing that you have Harry. He’s better at talking about your feelings than you are.”

Neville chuckled, “You joke, but that’s pretty accurate.”

“I know,” Lilly said with a smile, “Anyway, practice your suturing a bit more, that’s awful. I’d get complaints if you sowed someone up like that in the field.”

Neville laughed and did a mock salute, “Yes, ma’am.”

Lilly smirked at him, “You can save that for the bedroom, Recruit Longbottom,” she said as she stalked away.

* * *

“Ooh, who knew miss au naturel dyes her hair!”

Lilly jumped, “What? How did you know that?”

“Because your roots were just starting to come in yesterday and now they are gone,” Savannah said in her thick American accent.

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Yes, I dye my hair, but that doesn’t mean I want a makeover, Anna.”

“What’s your natural colour?” Lucille asked curiously.

Lilly sighed, “Red,” she admitted.

Savannah, who had dark red hair, raised an eyebrow at her, “And what is wrong with that, missy?”

“I got bullied for it in school,” Lilly admitted, “I was a muggle-born and a geek, so I was already unpopular. They all referred to me as the nerdy ginger one so when I went home for summer, I dyed my hair. Then when I was in fourth year, I learned how to use transfiguration to alter my hair colour.”

“You know Lilly, you are beautiful, but I think you would look great with your natural colour,” Lucille said.

Savannah nodded, “Can we just do a quick charm to see how it would look?”

Lilly grimaced, “Do we have to? I haven’t seen my natural hair colour in years.”

“Please Lilly,” Lucille said, “I’m curious.”

She groaned, “Fine, but you had better put it back to normal afterwards!”

Savannah grinned, “Close your eyes.”

“I don’t like this,” Lilly complained, but she still shut her eyes.

Savannah said, “ _Crinus Muto!”_

“Wow Lilly, you look great!” Lucille said eagerly.

“You look hot,” Savannah agreed, “Open your eyes and look for yourself.”

Lilly opened her eyes nervously but was taken aback when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her natural hair colour was a dark, auburn red, and it complimented her blue eyes far better than it had down pre-puberty.

“See!” Savannah said, “I told you that you would look good! You should leave it like that.”

“Oh…I don’t know,” Lilly said, she bit her lip and stared at her reflection, “Neville might not like it.”

“Oh, who cares? It’s your hair,” Lucille said offhandedly, “And you’re angry at Neville anyway, so why should you care?”

“I’m not angry at him,” Lilly said, “We made up, he just pissed me off a little bit.”

“Well, you show him then!” Savannah said, “Leave it until the weekend and see what he says.”

“If he’s like any guy that I’ve ever dated, he won’t even notice,” Lucille joked.

Savannah laughed, “And if he hates it, then you can always change it back.”

“Or break up with him,” Lucille joked.

Lilly laughed nervously, “Wow…well, this is going to take a bit of adjustment…”

“It will be covered up by a cap in surgery all day every day,” Savannah joked, “You’ll forget that you even have hair.”

Lilly laughed, “That’s true. Has Marcel stopped bothering you, by the way, Lucy?”

Lucille nodded, “I spoke to Joan about him, and she put a stop to it. I think he’s finally getting the message.”

“He’s been fine with me all week,” Lilly said, “But Neville still wants to try and scare him when he comes to visit at the weekend.”

“Oh, let him, Lil,” Savannah begged, “Please.”

Lucille nodded, “Please let him. Marcel is so horrid.”

Lilly laughed and said, “Don’t worry, I told him that he could mess with Marcel if he wanted to. He is a complete arsehole.”

* * *

“You don’t want me to go up there with you, do you?”

Daphne shot Bill an exasperated look, “Yes Bill; I do because if the cursed doll is up there and it does try to kill every person that it sees, then I would like a bit of back-up.”

“It won’t be in the attic though, that’s too cliché,” Bill said.

“Well we’ve searched every other corner of this godforsaken ruin,” Daphne said irritably, “So if it is here then it’s going to be in the attic like I said it was at 10 am yesterday and now here we are nearly 30 hours later, and we still haven’t searched the attic.”

“Right,” Bill said, he swallowed and nodded, “I’ll be the light guy, you do the searching.”

Daphne shook her head in disbelief, for a guy who was dubbed as the best Curse Breaker Gringotts had seen for two decades, Bill could be a real pussy sometimes. They stepped into the attic, which was cold, draughty and dingy.

The light from Bill’s wand illuminated the space, but there was a lot of junk to sort through. Daphne began to levitate things while Bill stayed as close to the attic hatch as he could.

After a few minutes, they found the doll. Daphne had moved a sizeable rotting piece of cloth and underneath it, was the slightly creepy doll. It only had one eye left, and it just looked old and not very well looked after.

When the doll was freed from the cloth, it focused on them with its one eye and smiled, “I’m Bella. What’s your name?”

“I’m Daphne, and this is my partner, Bill,” Daphne replied.

The doll’s smile widened, “I’m going to kill you, Bill.”

Bill screamed, like a girl, and fell through the attic hatch. Daphne rolled her eyes and pointed her wand at the doll, “Priori Incantatem.”

The doll froze, “Lumos.”

Bill groaned on the stairs below.

“Can you get your pathetic arse up here, please? I could do with some light so that I can break this curse,” Daphne called downwards.

“Sorry,” Bill said as he re-entered the room.

“You know my fiancé, Harry Potter, the guy who killed Lord Voldemort?” Daphne asked Bill with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re going to tell me that he’s cooler than me because he’s not scared of dolls, aren’t you?”

“I was going to say, he’s far more bad-ass than you because he’s not scared of anything, but close enough,” Daphne shrugged.

“Fair play, I’m not as cool as Harry, I can accept that,” Bill said modestly, “Thank Merlin, you made it stop talking.”

Daphne cast a diagnostic charm on the doll and shot Bill an amused look.

Bill grimaced, “I feel a little embarrassed right now.”

Daphne snorted, “That’s a schoolboy curse Bill, I mean seriously. I could have broken that in fourth year.”

“It’s a prank curse, isn’t it?”

“Yep,” Daphne grinned, she waved her wand, and the doll burst into flames. Within a few seconds, it was a pile of ashes.

“Okay I’ll be honest, I’m embarrassed right now,” Bill admitted while Daphne laughed heartily at him.

* * *

When Harry got home from work on Thursday night and saw Daphne hunched over the kitchen table, his first thought was to panic. When he saw her sitting like that, he began to worry that something had happened with Fawley.

“Are you okay, babe?”

Daphne looked up with bleary eyes, “I’m fine, I’ve just spent the last half hour going over this contract. The owl must have dropped it on the porch while we were at work.”

“The adoption contract?” Harry asked in surprise, “This soon?”

Daphne nodded, “I know, it’s sooner than I was expecting too. The paperwork will take a long time to go through though, even after we all agree to the adoption.”

Harry sat down next to her, “What does it say?”

“It’s all very legal and cryptic, but it’s the terms and conditions of us adopting Teddy,” Daphne said honestly, “It’s an open adoption which means Andromeda can see him as much as she wants and can also demand to have him back at any point.”

“Not that she would,” Harry said.

“I know,” Daphne said, she rubbed her eyes, “It also says that there are conditions which mean Teddy can be forcibly taken from us and given back to Andromeda. Things like abuse, neglect, etc.”

“So nothing we need to worry about,” Harry said with a nod, “Does it say anything else important?”

“Just that when Teddy is officially adopted he is our financial responsibility and that we shouldn’t expect any allowance from Andromeda,” Daphne said, “It also says that if our circumstances change and we are unable to raise Teddy due to lack of funds, then he can be taken from us.”

“Lovely.”

“Andromeda didn’t write it, Harry,” Daphne said, “I expect she has an excellent family solicitor who will want to make sure that every box is crossed and that there are no loopholes.”

“I know,” Harry said, “But the thought of anyone thinking we would hurt Teddy is awful.”

“It’s a standard adoption contract, don’t take it personally,” Daphne said, she placed her hand on his, “I can’t find any hidden conditions, but I’m not an expert when it comes to legal documents. If you want to be certain, then we should give it to Hermione to look over.”

Harry nodded, “When does this need to be signed and sent back?”

“Within 30 days of us receiving it,” Daphne replied.

“That’s fine, I’ll ask Hermione to look at it over the weekend,” Harry said, “I don’t know Andromeda’s family solicitor so-”

“You don’t trust him,” Daphne finished, “I know, you don’t trust someone until you know them, I know what you’re like.”

Harry nodded, “I’m sorry.”

“In this case, it doesn’t bother me,” Daphne admitted, she squeezed his hand, “I want to be sure that it’s watertight too.”

“It makes it feel real though,” Harry said as he looked at the front cover of the contract, “Looking at that.”

Daphne looked down and nodded. The front cover said;

**Preliminary Contract for the Adoption of Edward Lupin to Mr Harry James Potter and Miss Daphne Lareina Greengrass.**

“It makes it feel very real,” She agreed.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	38. The Letters from Hogwarts

“I’m not looking forward to this as much as I was last week,” Harry mumbled to Neville while they walked towards the simulation room on Friday afternoon.

“Neither am I,” Neville admitted, “I didn’t realise it was going to be as tough as that so early on. I thought we’d get to have a bit of fun with it at first.”

Harry nodded, “I know, and that’s just the first room. The situations are going to get tougher every time we move up.”

“It makes you wonder what’s going to be in the next room,” Neville said quietly.

They reached the waiting room and fell silent. Sheppard was already waiting for them, and all of the other pairs were gathered there.

“Good afternoon recruits,” Sheppard said, “Last week we threw you in at the deep end with a pretty brutal dragon attack. We like to do that here; we don’t believe in giving you an easy start or easing you into something because that’s not what being an Auror is about. You don’t get to ease yourself into a tough case; you get chucked in at the deep end with at least one dead body to contend with.”

Harry could completely understand Sheppard’s point of view. Next to him, Neville nodded thoughtfully.

“So today we’re going to give you a slightly more mediocre situation to deal with,” Sheppard continued, “Yes dragon attacks happen, and when they do, they are horrible. However, we are aware that they are a once in a decade occurrence. Today’s situation is more of a common every-day occurrence. Can anyone guess what it is?”

Blanche raised her hand, “Murder?”

Sheppard nodded, “Murder. I can guarantee that when you are working as an Auror, you will have a murder every couple of days at the least. Witches and wizards think they can get away with anything because of magic, including murder, but it’s our job to show them that they can’t.”

There were nods all around.

“When you guys go into the simulation room today, you are going to be thrown into a little corner of London where a serial killer has been on the loose. I want all of you to work together to catch the murderer, as always we will be monitoring you. Are you ready?” Sheppard asked.

Everyone nodded or said, “Yes,” so Sheppard opened the door to the simulation room. They all filtered in and took in their surroundings. They were in some sort of office; it looked like it had been converted so that they could use it as a bullpen to work from.

Neville looked out of the window, “Oh, we’re in Hackney; this is where Lilly is from.”

“That means at least one of us knows the lay of the land,” Draco said, “That’s good.”

“I know London pretty well too,” Maxwell piped up, “I grew up in Enfield, but I used to roam the streets a lot.”

“Good,” Harry agreed, “The fact you two know the lay of the land will save us time. Is everyone okay if I write the case facts up on this board?”

Nobody argued, so Harry got to work writing out the facts of the case and sticking up the photographs that were in the case file. When he was finished, he said, “Okay guys, let me do a quick brief. There have been three murders in the last two weeks; they all happened in this little corner of London. Jessica Parsons was the first victim; she was found outside the pub just below our makeshift office. Georgia Reynolds was the second victim, she was found in the pub toilets. Kelsea Hawes was the third victim, and she was found in the alley behind the pub.”

“So the pub is our instant connection,” Draco realised, “And the victims are also all blonde.”

“With blue eyes,” Theo added.

“So our serial killer has a type,” Ophelia said.

“Were any of them sexually assaulted before they were killed?” Blanche asked.

“All of them were sexually assaulted,” Harry said as he glanced down at the case file, “After they were killed.”

“Ugh,” Emily said, “This guy is a creep.”

“That’s disgusting,” Maxwell agreed, “What age were the victims?”

“Jessica and Kelsea were both 17 and Georgia was a few days away from her 17th birthday,” Harry replied, “All three girls lived here in Hackney, and all three were Muggles.”

“How were they killed?” Draco asked.

“The Muggle medical examiner said the cause of death was a heart attack in all cases,” Harry said, “She concluded that all three victims had died of fear, in other words, had become so terrified that they had a heart attack.”

“So it was the killing curse then,” Ophelia said.

Harry nodded, “The wizarding medical examiner found traces of the magic emitted when the killing curse is cast. He also found signs that magic had been used to bind the hands and feet, but that healing charms had been used to cover it up.”

“Were they kept captive before he killed them then?” Blanche asked.

“In all cases, the victim was found around 24 hours after they had last been seen,” Harry said with a nod, “And if the timeline in this file is right, he’s got a new victim at the moment. I would say she probably has about an hour to live.”

“So arses in gear then,” Maxwell said with a nod, “What are we doing, boss?”

Harry looked up in surprise, “I’m not automatically the boss Max. Someone else can take the lead on this one if they want?”

Theo tentatively raised his hand, “I think this case requires a lot of logistics. I’m quite good at putting people in the place where they will perform best so I think I would be a good leader on this one.”

Harry smiled and stepped away from the board, “Take it away then.”

Theo looked a little nervous. Draco smiled at his best friend, “Don’t look so worried. You lead our rebellion during the war; we were lost without you when you got captured.”

At this, Theo smiled genuinely and stepped up in front of the group, “We have limited time to find this guy, so I think our best option is to split up and make the most of the amount of people we have here. These kinds of guys don’t tend to live or work far from the place they dump their bodies. They tend to hide in plain sight, so I think one line of enquiry that we have to follow is the employees at the pub. The other line is the buildings near the pub, particularly any apartment blocks that might have a basement or any empty buildings in general.”

“It’s Hackney Theo, there are a lot of empty buildings,” Neville said.

“In that case, let’s focus on those in the immediate vicinity of the pub. He isn’t going to try and carry a body any further than he needs to,” Theo said, “Blanche and Ophelia, I would say you two are the most resourceful when it comes to paperwork and probably the fastest too. Would you stay here and try to work out if any of the employees at the pub live nearby or have a connection to any of the buildings surrounding the pub?”

Blanche and Ophelia both nodded.

“Harry and Nev, you guys are probably going to be at your best searching the empty buildings,” Theo said, “You’ll make quick work of it, and you are probably also best equipped to deal with this guy if you come across him.”

“Alright,” Harry said while Neville nodded.

“Max and Emily, I think you guys should do a thorough search of the pub and the area above it,” Theo said, “This room can’t be the only office above the pub, and you never know if something might have been missed.”

Maxwell and Emily both nodded and accepted their orders.

“What are we doing then Theo?” Draco asked.

“We’ll help Harry and Nev search the empty buildings,” Theo said, “With four of us, we have a better chance of finding him before he can kill anyone else.”

“Alright, are we moving out then?” Harry asked.

“Not quite yet,” Theo said, “There’s no point spreading out unless we can communicate with each other. Is everyone familiar with the Patronus spell that’s used for communicating?”

Everyone nodded apart from Harry; he didn’t want to look like an idiot, so he stayed silent. Theo explained it quickly, anyway, “Great. Just cast a Patronus charm, catch your Patronus, shrink it and put it in your ear. Every time you say, “Patroni”, everyone in the group will hear you.”

Harry shot Neville an impressed look while they all cast their Patronus charms, “Theo is pretty good at this.”

“Just watch out, at this rate he’s going to make you look bad,” Neville joked.

* * *

Draco and Theo had learned that if they were going to be home late, there was no point going to their own houses because their other halves would inevitably be together. On this Friday night, the simulation had run over, so by the time they apparated into Grimmauld Place; they were half an hour late.

“So which house are we banking on tonight?” Theo asked as they stood on the street and looked up at their homes.

“Could go either way,” Draco replied, “If Hermione’s had a hectic day, Sadie would have cooked for her because she’s nice that way, but if Sadie’s stomach has flared up again, Hermione will have cooked her a nice bland meal because she’s brilliant at them.”

Theo snorted, “Backhanded compliment, much?”

Draco sniggered, “I’m guessing Sadie’s cooked.”

“I’m hoping she has,” Theo said as they stepped into the hall of number 11, “And if dinner is at your place, I hope Hermione asked the elf to cook,” he said in a whisper.

Draco shot his friend a grin, “I smell food.”

Theo fist-pumped the air and yelled, “Sorry, we’re late, babe!”

“It’s okay! We’re in the kitchen.”

“Called it,” Draco murmured. Theo chucked, and they made their way into the kitchen together where their other halves were sitting with empty bowls and full glasses of wine.

“Hey love,” Draco said, kissing Hermione on the cheek and dropping down next to her.

“Hey baby,” Theo murmured as Sadie got up and kissed him lightly on the lips, “How was your day?”

“Dull,” Sadie replied, “How was yours?”

“Interesting,” Theo said with a grin.

“Interesting?” Draco scoffed, “Come on, give yourself credit, Theo. You were fucking amazing today.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow, “Do elaborate.”

“Simulation room,” Theo said, “We all had to work together again, it was a serial killer this time, and I took the lead.”

“And you caught him?” Sadie asked proudly.

“Yeah, we caught him,” Draco said. He grinned proudly at Theo, “Before he killed the fourth victim too. I mean he got Harry and Neville to do the dirty work and arrest the guy, but you should have seen him. He put everyone where they were meant to be, had all of us working on separate stuff, but it all came together perfectly at the end.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “Well, I’m not surprised. Theo’s the smartest here.”

Theo raised an eyebrow at her, “Who are you, and what have you done with the Gryffindor princess?”

Hermione snorted, “You’re smarter than me, Theo. I’m more logical and perceptive, but that doesn’t make me smarter. You didn’t just have that happen by chance, did you? You put everyone in the right place and set the game into motion with your knights ready to arrest the guy, your bishops in the background gathering intel, your rooks on the lookout. Then at just the right moment, you said check-mate.”

Theo smirked and leant across the table, “Well, princess, I did not think you understood me that well.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, “You’re a perfect Slytherin.”

“Are they flirting?” Draco asked, looking over at Sadie.

Sadie shook her head in amusement, “I’m past caring if they are. You two flirt all the bloody time.”

“We don’t flirt, we _banter_ ,” Draco remarked.

“And we’re not flirting,” Theo said as he leant back in his chair, “I’m just glad that someone finally understands my genius. But I mean she did call me a perfect Slytherin which might be the nicest thing someone has ever said to me, so watch your back Sade.”

Hermione laughed, “Do you want me to finish that sentence? I was going to say, you are a perfect Slytherin because you get everything ready to go, you line up all your pieces like a Chessmaster, but you don’t get your hands dirty.”

Theo frowned, “That’s still a compliment, Princess.”

Draco hid an amused smile as Hermione tried to hit him across the table, but he ducked and grinned at her.

“So you guys had a good day then?” Sadie asked through her laughter as she set two bowls down in front of them.

“We had a brilliant day,” Draco agreed, “How was your day, Hermione?”

“Don’t get her started,” Sadie said with an amused grin as she topped up Hermione’s wine glass.

“It was bloody awful!” Hermione exclaimed.

Theo looked at Draco and used their ‘mind link’ which had been growing stronger thanks to Auror Emmagens classes. _Why the fuck did you ask?_

_She’s my fiancé; it’s polite to ask._

_But we don’t give a fuck about what Mr Jeremiah in the fucking Wizengamot office said to Mrs Hastings, Draco._

Draco bit back a grin and nodded sincerely as Hermione reached the climax of her story.

* * *

“Honey, I’m home!”

Daphne laughed, “Very funny. I’m in the kitchen.”

“You’re in the kitchen, and I smell food,” Harry said as he walked towards the door into the kitchen, “Are you cheating? Is there a house-elf with you?”

“There is a house-elf with me, but I’m doing the cooking,” Daphne said indignantly.

Harry laughed and stepped into the kitchen; she was indeed cooking.

“Kreacher is just teaching me, right, Kreacher?”

Kreacher nodded, “Yes, Master Harry.”

Harry smiled at her, “You’re learning to cook for me. I guess it must be true love.”

Daphne shot him an irritated look, “I’m learning to cook for Teddy. I figured it would be a useful skill to have when raising a child.”

“What are you cooking?” Harry asked.

“Just ravioli,” Daphne admitted, “But I think it tastes good.”

“It looks good,” Harry said as she began to plate it up.

They sat down at the table and Daphne poured out two glasses of wine, “So how was your day?”

“Strange,” Harry admitted, “Theo took the lead in the simulation room today.”

“Oh Merlin, how badly did you all fail?”

“We didn’t actually,” Harry said, “He was great. He put everyone in the right place so that we all worked to our best ability. It was a serial killer we were trying to catch, and we wanted to get him before he killed anyone else.”

“Did you manage?” Daphne asked.

Harry nodded, “We caught him, and we saved the girl who would have been his fourth victim. Nev and I did the catching, but Theo was an outstanding leader.”

“That actually doesn’t surprise me,” Daphne admitted, “Everyone thought that Draco led our little rebellion during the war, but he didn’t really…Theo was the real leader.”

“Yeah?” Harry asked.

Daphne nodded, “We fell apart when he was imprisoned in the Dark Tower. Draco and Sadie kept each other afloat; they barely slept; they were constantly looking for a way to get him out. Neither of them ever gave up on him. Even back then, you could tell that both of them loved Theo in their own way.”

Harry listened with interest because Daphne rarely talked so openly about her experiences during the war.

“But Theo held us together,” Daphne said, “He was the one with the smart ideas, the sneakiest of all of us. He should never have gotten caught; he didn’t make mistakes like the rest of us. He would think a plan out in his head, and he would calculate all the risks, he would know who he was likely to bump into, and he had about five plans running through his head at any given time.”

“How did he get caught then?” Harry asked curiously.

“Because he’s kind,” Daphne said with a smile, “And he doesn’t often show it. I mean I think you see it now, but back then he wouldn’t want anyone to know it. He saw Luna being tortured, so he yelled to get their attention and told her to run away.”

“He’s noble for a Slytherin,” Harry said with a smile.

“He doesn’t like to see innocent people suffering, and that’s because of what happened to his mother,” Daphne said.

“He’ll make a great Auror,” Harry stated with confidence, “And he earned a lot of respect from me today.”

“Merlin,” Daphne groaned, “Don’t tell him that, if his head gets any bigger, it won’t fit through his front door anymore!”

Harry laughed heartily at that, “This is great by the way.”

Daphne smiled cheerfully, “Is it? Thank Merlin, I was worried it would be awful!”

* * *

It took Neville a very long time to get to France on Friday night because he did it properly. As he waited in line at the English International Apparition Centre, to get his wand checked and be cleared to apparate, he wished that he had just done it on the fly like he had the last time.

Eventually, a surly security wizard checked his wand and his rucksack then cleared him to apparate. He didn’t have to wait in line at the other side, but he did need to have everything checked again by a French security wizard.

Luckily he didn’t have to try to get past the security at the centre straight away. Lilly had owled him earlier in the week and told him to meet her and her friends in a bar in Amiens. By the time he had apparated to Amiens and found his way to the bar, it was nearly 10 pm, and he was already knackered.

He walked into the busy bar and scanned the room for Lilly. He frowned as he looked around because he couldn’t see her anywhere, and he began to wonder if he had gone to the wrong place.

“Nev!” A familiar voice called.

Neville glanced over and saw her waving from the other side of the room. He frowned as he walked towards her because even from a distance, something looked different. When he reached the table that she was sharing with a few other people, he realised what it was, “You put your hair back to its original colour!”

Lilly stood up and hugged him, “Yeah, I didn’t think you would notice. Do you remember it being this colour?”

“Of course I do,” Neville said as he took a step back and looked at her properly, “It looks great Lil, it really suits you.”

Lilly smiled, “Do you think so? I was worried that you would hate it.”

“No,” Neville said, he smiled at her, “I love it.”

Lilly grinned, “These are my friends from the course by the way. This is Lucille, she’s from Jamaica, and this is Savannah, she’s from America. Oh and this is Charlotte, she’s from New Zealand. And this is Michael; he’s Canadian. Guys, this is Neville, my boyfriend.”

“Lovely to meet you all,” Neville said politely as he slipped into a seat at the end of the table.

Savannah sighed, “Do you have any single friends Neville? I _love_ that whole posh English accent thing.”

Lilly snorted, “Posh? Please, Neville doesn’t have a posh English accent, he’s northern!”

“Coming from you?” Neville teased, “I mean you’re from Hackney, your accent couldn’t be more common if you tried.”

“Oi, watch it!” Lilly said. She whacked him around the head while her friends sniggered, “And as I was about to say Savannah, you should meet our friends Draco and Theo. They have posh English accents.”

“Are they single?” Savannah asked.

“One of them is married,” Neville replied with an amused smile, “And the other one is engaged to Hermione Granger, so you don’t want to go anywhere near him.”

“You didn’t tell us that you were friends with Hermione Granger!” Savannah said, “She’s like a hero to us girls! Everyone says she’s one of the people who fought right next to Harry Potter in the war.”

“Harry Potter isn’t that big of a deal to be fair,” Neville said.

Lilly smiled slightly, “Harry is Neville’s Auror partner,” she explained.

“He’s a bit of dick, to be honest,” Neville added.

“Neville!” Lilly chastised.

“Is he really?” Michael asked.

“No, he’s lovely,” Lilly assured him.

“What other famous friends do you have, Lil?” Charlotte asked.

“That’s about it,” Lilly said, “And they aren’t these big famous icons for me because I went through school with them. I remember Harry’s awkward phase when he turned into a tomato every time a girl talked to him.”

“I’m not convinced he’s grown out of that yet,” Neville joked while the others laughed.

Lilly laughed too, “And I remember Hermione’s massive lapse of judgement when she dated Viktor Krum in fourth year.”

“What?” Lucille asked in surprise.

“But she’s so intelligent! Why would she date a dumb Quidditch player?” Savannah asked.

“I guess us intelligent girls like dating dumb guys,” Lilly joked as she shot Neville an amused look.

“Excuse you, Lillian Moon,” Neville said with a raised eyebrow, “You have to be very intelligent to get into Auror training. Can **you** name every plant in 1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi off the top of your head?”

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, “I am in an elite course training to be a Trauma Healer, Nev.”

“Right,” Neville laughed, “Yeah, of course, you are. I’m just so used to being the only competent Herbologist at the moment; you know sharing a class with Harry, Draco and Theo?”

Lilly laughed and started to explain to her new friends who her old friends were. Neville smiled at her and took her hand under the table; he appreciated her so much more now that their time together was limited.

* * *

“Daph, are you nearly ready?” Harry called up the stairs, “We’re going to be late!”

“I’m coming,” Daphne called from upstairs.

Harry smiled in amusement and glanced at the clock. They had been invited to Greengrove House for a meal along with Draco and Hermione. Andromeda had asked them to be there for 7 pm, and it was currently 6.55 pm.

Harry didn’t hear any movement and was about to shout up the stairs again when Daphne appeared at the top of the staircase.

“You look great, but I don’t know how it took an hour to make you look that great,” Harry said when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “I know you think that I just wake up perfect, but this takes work.”

Harry shot her an incredulous look, “You do wake up perfect.”

She shook her head, “I really don’t. Now come on, weren’t you the one complaining that we were going to be late?”

Harry wasn’t sure how she always managed to make everything his fault, but she had a real knack for it. When they got to Greengrove House, a few minutes late, Daphne announced that it was Harry’s fault that they were late.

Harry caught Draco’s eye and shook his head in disbelief. The Slytherin smirked and looked away before Daphne or Hermione caught him.

“Come on through, Teddy is in bed,” Andromeda said to them, “He wanted to wait up for you, but he was exhausted.”

“Oh there’s no point keeping him up past his bedtime for us,” Daphne said with a smile, “We’ll see him tomorrow anyway. Hey guys, hello Narcissa.”

They all made small talk as they sat down in the dining room. Luckily Daphne could keep a conversation going with most people; it was a skill that Harry wished that he had. They talked about their new jobs, Auror training and how Teddy was getting on. Then the subject of wedding bells came up.

“Speaking of new beginnings,” Narcissa said slyly, “When will you two be journeying into marriage?”

“Mother,” Draco said quietly, “Do we have to talk about that right now?”

“Draco,” Narcissa said in a reprimanding tone of voice, “You have been engaged for a few months now, and you have told me nothing about your wedding plans. Have you set a date yet?”

Hermione looked a little sheepish, “Uh…”

“We haven’t even set a year,” Draco said.

Narcissa tutted, “Then what on earth is the point of an engagement, Draco?”

“I proposed because I love Hermione and I wanted to show her how committed I was to making our relationship work out of school,” Draco said honestly, “But that doesn’t mean that we want to rush into marriage, we were thinking of having a long engagement.”

“Rushing into marriage after war just seems a little reckless,” Hermione admitted.

“It worked for your friend Theo and his wife,” Narcissa reminded them.

“Yes, but Theo and Sadie have known each other since they were kids,” Draco said, “They have been friends since they were 11 years old. They didn’t spend seven years insulting each other and then fight on opposing sides of a war, did they Mother?”

“Draco Abraxas Black,” Narcissa said in a low, dangerous tone of voice, “You may make a fair point, but if you ever take that tone with me again then you will find that you are never too old to be sent to your room.”

Harry couldn’t hide the fact that he was laughing, but Daphne covered it up rather well behind her hand. Hermione sniggered while Draco went red and complained, “Mother!”

“I do not appreciate being spoken to like that,” Narcissa said shortly, “And long engagement or not, you must have some plans.”

“Well,” Hermione said, “I think we want to get married in St. Albans because that’s where I’m from.”

“Do we?” Draco asked, “I thought we wanted to get married in Somerset.”

Harry bit his lip in amusement; he sensed an argument coming on.

“Traditionally Draco, you get married in the bride’s hometown,” Hermione pointed out.

“Does that mean it’s going to be a muggle wedding? With loads of muggles?”

“Yes Draco, there will be a lot of muggles there since my family are all _muggles_!” Hermione said shortly.

“Draco, you sound like a prejudiced prat,” Daphne said before the argument could get much worse, “Hermione is right, you will have to have two weddings.”

“Two weddings?” Hermione asked.

Daphne nodded, “Normally the bride and groom have the wizarding ceremony first, just before the big white wedding. The bridal party attend, you get married and then you have a muggle wedding. It’s just for show of course because you will already be married.”

“How do you know so much about this?” Harry asked in surprise.

“I looked into it in case you wanted to have two weddings,” Daphne said honestly, “I didn’t know if you had any muggle friends that you wanted to be there.”

Harry smiled, “That was very sweet of you. But I’ll be quite happy just having a wizarding wedding, the only muggles I’ll invite are Aunt Petunia and Dudley who know about magic anyway.”

“See that,” Hermione said as she glared at Draco, “That is what you should have done!”

Draco opened his mouth to apologise, but Hermione had already gotten to her feet, “But no! You just insulted my upbringing and my blood status, like you always have done because your view on muggles hasn’t changed a bit!”

Before Draco could try to defend himself, Hermione had stalked out of the room. Draco threw his fork onto the table loudly and got to his feet, “Happy now, Mother?” he asked angrily as he rushed after Hermione.

Narcissa shook her head, “I have no idea what I did wrong,” she mumbled, “But I don’t feel overly hungry anymore, forgive me, Andromeda.”

Andromeda shook her head in disbelief as she looked around the half-empty table. Then a cry sounded from above.

“I was wondering if the noise had woken him up,” Daphne said when she heard it, “I’ll go up.”

She left the room, and Harry said, “Well, that escalated quickly.”

“Things have always been a little tense between Draco and his mother,” Andromeda admitted, “But I thought they had improved recently.”

“I think things will always be a bit tense because of everything that’s happened,” Harry said honestly, “We got your contract, by the way.”

“It certainly wasn’t light reading, was it?” Andromeda asked.

“I didn’t read it, but Daphne did,” Harry said, “She told me the basics, she just wants Hermione to read over it tomorrow since she deals with legal documents a lot at work.”

“It does no harm to be entirely certain of what you are entering into,” Andromeda said sensibly, “My solicitor was very thorough when drawing it up, he claims that too often adoption paperwork is not done correctly.”

“Is that why there are all of those conditions?” Harry asked quietly.

Andromeda frowned and looked up when she heard his accusing tone, “Heavens Harry, you don’t think I asked him to put all of that in, do you?”

“No, no,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “Daphne said it would just be a standard thing but…I didn’t like to think that you felt that way.”

“Harry, I have absolutely no concerns about Teddy’s welfare with you and Daphne,” Andromeda promised him, “I know he will be loved, fed and cared for. My solicitor just wanted to make sure that everything was done correctly, Clive is very thorough like that.”

Harry nodded, “I’m sorry that I thought otherwise, Andi. I’ve just been so suspicious since the war…I feel like everyone has an ulterior motive.”

“You ought to talk to someone about that,” Andromeda said.

“I will,” Harry promised, “Senior Auror Sumner thinks I have post-traumatic stress. He wants me to talk to someone about it, but I need to wait until she arrives. Apparently, the Mental Health Healer does rotational work with the Aurors and St. Mungo’s.”

“When you do get the chance to talk to her, don’t be afraid,” Andromeda said, “Talk to her about everything.”

“I will.”

“Make that a promise Harry,” Andromeda said, a little more firmly.

“I promise.”

* * *

“We have a letter from Hogwarts…”

Harry frowned over at his fiancé from where he was supervising Teddy. The little boy was currently massacring scrambled egg and throwing more on the floor than he was eating, “What?”

Daphne stepped away from the coffee pot and showed him the letter which was addressed,

_“Mr Harry James Potter and Miss Daphne Lareina Greengrass_

_Potter Manor_

_Surrey_

_England.”_

“I’m curious now,” Harry said, “Go on – Teddy, eat your toast, please! – read it to me.”

Daphne opened the letter and read aloud,

_“Dear Mr Potter and Miss Greengrass,_

_I would like to formally invite you both to the inaugural Founders Ball as guests of honour. It will take place in the Great Hall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on the 4 th of September. Please RSVP as soon as possible to confirm your attendance. The ball begins at 7 pm._

_Mr Potter, I would also like to invite you to represent Godric Gryffindor at the ball. If you consent, please let me know, and I shall ask you to a meeting with those representing the other founders of Hogwarts._

_I look forward to your prompt reply._

_Professor Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”_

“She wants me to be Godric Gryffindor?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“You should say yes,” Daphne mused, “It would be quite an honour, wouldn’t it? To represent your house founder, you are such a proud Gryffindor after all.”

“How did you manage to make that into an insult?” Harry asked. He shot her an amused look.

Daphne smiled mischievously, “It’s a special talent. I really do think that you should do it though, I doubt McGonagall will ask you to do much more than walk into the hall in costume then dance.”

“With who though?” Harry asked, “Because if it’s you, then I don’t mind, but what if it’s a random person?”

“It won’t be a random person,” Daphne said, “Gryffindor was married to Hufflepuff, so I expect you’ll have to dance with the person playing Hufflepuff. They will want to pick someone fairly well known or influential…”

“Like Gwenog Jones?”

“I think she might be a bit old,” Daphne mused, “You never know, it might be Susan.”

Harry snorted, “That would be awkward. Do you think I should say yes?”

Daphne nodded, “Yeah, I mean they have never had a Founders Ball before, and if this doesn’t work out, then they might never have one again. This could be a once in a lifetime chance, and I think that you should never turn one of those down.”

Harry nodded thoughtfully. He was about to open his mouth to say that he would tell McGonagall that he would do it. However, before he got the chance a large lump of cold, slimy scrambled egg collided with his face and Teddy started laughing hysterically.

Daphne snorted in amusement, “Makes you wonder if Godric Gryffindor faced the same struggles as the great Harry Potter, doesn’t it?” she joked with a wicked grin.

* * *

“Babe, we have a letter!”

“Addressed to both of us?” Susan called from the bedroom.

Percy swallowed his mouthful, “Yeah, it’s from Hogwarts. Can I open it?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute!”

By the time Percy had opened the letter and scanned its contents, Susan had stepped into the kitchen.

“Are you planning on putting on more clothes?” Percy asked with an amused smile.

Susan raised an eyebrow at him, “I’m not planning on catching bad guys in my underwear, although I’m pretty sure it would work.”

Percy laughed, “Yes, I think it probably would. Do you fancy going to a Founders Ball by the way?”

“What’s a Founders Ball?”

“A new thing that McGonagall is doing up at the school,” Percy replied, “It’s next weekend, she wants you to represent Helga Hufflepuff.”

Susan looked up in surprise, “Seriously?”

Percy nodded, “I think it might be fun. If we’re invited, then everyone else will be too.”

Susan hummed thoughtfully, “I definitely can’t turn down a chance to play Helga Hufflepuff. I idolised her when I was at school. Do we need to RSVP?”

“Yep,” Percy said, he put the letter down on the table and added, “I’ll let you reply since you’re going to be the real guest of honour.”

Susan grinned and picked up the letter, “It’s a good thing I look good in yellow, isn’t it?”

* * *

“That must be an interesting letter,” Hermione said when she stepped into the kitchen, “You’re never up so early on a Sunday.”

“The owl woke me up with its tapping,” Draco explained, “It’s from McGonagall.”

Hermione frowned, “Is she alright?”

“She’s fine,” Draco replied, “She’s invited us to a Founders Ball…”

“What on earth is a Founders Ball?” Hermione asked, she put the kettle on to boil and pulled out two mugs.

“It’s the first time it’s been done so I don’t entirely know,” Draco admitted, “I suppose it’s some sort of celebration for the founders of Hogwarts. She’s asking people to represent the founders. Someone from an influential family is being picked from each house.”

“That’s interesting,” Hermione mused, “I wonder if a Weasley or a Potter was asked to play Gryffindor.”

“I suspect she asked Harry,” Draco said, “The Potters are an older family, and they have direct links to Gryffindor and the Peverell’s.”

“That’s true,” Hermione agreed, “Aren’t your family connected to Slytherin?”

Draco nodded, “The Malfoys are…I suppose that’s why she asked me to represent Slytherin.”

Hermione’s head snapped up, “Did she?”

Draco nodded.

“Why do you look so unhappy about that?”

Draco sighed, “Salazar Slytherin wasn’t a nice man, Hermione. I’m not entirely sure that I’m proud that my family is connected to him. I used to be but…times change.”

“He wasn’t a nice man, that much is true,” Hermione agreed, “But he did a pretty great thing, co-founding a school that became a safe haven for so many people over the years.”

Draco still didn’t look convinced, so Hermione added, “If it helps, don’t think about it as if you’re doing it because you look up to Slytherin. Do it for all of the students in Slytherin who need a good role model to look up to. I mean when you were in that house, could you have named anyone in the public eye who was good and who came from Slytherin?”

“I knew good people, like my mother and my godfather,” Draco admitted, “But not anyone in the public eye.”

“Well, you _are_ in the public eye, and you are good,” Hermione said gently, “Be that person that they can look up to. Show these young Slytherins that they don’t have to grow up to be slimy bastards, show them that they can be Aurors. Show them that they can be heroes.”

Draco looked up at her, “I’m not a hero, Hermione. That’s Harry’s job.”

“Harry might be the wizarding worlds hero, but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t a hero to someone Draco,” Hermione said softly, “You grew up with a horrible man for a father. You were manipulated and used as a teenager, but you got to where you are now, and you did that by yourself. You changed your ways, you changed the way that you look at the world, and that’s harder than people think, to those Slytherins you would be a hero.”

Draco looked down at the letter for a long moment. Eventually, he nodded and said, “You’re right, I should do it. Would you be my date?”

“If we’re being historically accurate then your date should be Rowena Ravenclaw, but yes, I will be your date,” Hermione joked.

Draco chuckled, “I wonder who they will ask to play Ravenclaw.”

“I’m not sure,” Hermione admitted, “I can’t think of any influential families connected with Ravenclaw off the top of my head.”

“I expect Susan might be asked to play Hufflepuff,” Draco said, “The Bones are rumoured to be descended from Helga, but I’m not sure about Ravenclaw.”

“We’ll find out when we go to the ball,” Hermione said cheerfully, “When is it by the way?”

“Next Saturday,” Draco replied.

“Ooh, soon then! I’m looking forward to it,” Hermione said happily, “Anyway, since you’re up now. What do you fancy for breakfast?”

* * *

“Nev.”

Neville groaned, “I’m sleeping, Lil.”

“I know, but I just got this letter,” Lilly said, she nudged him again, “It’s interesting, come on Nev.”

Neville opened one eye, “Who sends interesting letters at this time on Sunday morning?”

“It’s 10 am Nev,” Lilly said pointedly, “You’re just hungover because you drank far too much wine last night.”

“You were the one who told me to embrace the French culture,” Neville mumbled, “That food was amazing by the way, and so was the wine.”

“I know!” Lilly said, “And who knew there was so much to do in Amiens, right? Amiens Cathedral was so pretty, and I think I’m going to love you forever since you took me to the home of Jules Verne.”

Neville smiled sleepily at her, “So I made you love France?”

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say love,” Lilly admitted, “But exploring is definitely more fun with you. I have an idea of what we could do today that I think you would find fun.”

Neville opened another eye, “What is it?”

“The Botanical Gardens in Amiens,” Lilly said, “Clara told me that there’s a secret wizarding section. You just need to go through the false door at the back of one of the greenhouses.”

Neville’s eyes widened, “That sounds amazing.”

Lilly smiled, “I thought you would enjoy it. Do you want to hear about this letter now?”

Neville yawned then nodded, “What about it?”

“Well it’s from McGonagall,” Lilly said, “She’s doing a new thing, a Founders Ball. She wants people to play the Founders, and she has asked people from influential families to play the founder of that house. I suppose she asked Harry to be Gryffindor, Draco to be Slytherin and Suse to be Hufflepuff.”

Neville nodded, he was just about following her even though he had just woken up, “The whole thing is a celebration of the Founders and what they did for all of us, and you will never guess who McGonagall asked to be Ravenclaw.”

“Who?” Neville asked stupidly.

Lilly grinned, “Me! She asked me, Nev! I’m not even from an influential family, I mean I’m just a muggle-born, but she said she would be honoured if I would play Ravenclaw. She said that I was a model pupil and would be an excellent role model for young Ravenclaws!”

Neville smiled broadly at her, “That’s great, Lil.”

“I know!” Lilly said excitedly, “I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but I’ve already written back saying that I would be honoured.”

Neville’s smile didn’t wafer, “You might not be from an influential family, but I can completely see where McGonagall is coming from. You spent the war helping heal the injured, you ran a hospital wing in the room of requirement, and now you’re in an elite course. You had to get top grades into everything to be accepted Lil, of course, you’re an inspiration.”

Lilly smiled at him, but not as brightly as she had before, “We’ve never talked about that time, you know?”

“What time?” Neville asked.

“The war,” Lilly replied, “We were both there for most of it. You, Susan and Seamus, got those kids out of the dungeons, and Ginny, Hannah and I healed them, but we’ve never talked about it.”

“I didn’t realise that there was anything to talk about,” Neville admitted as he caught her eye, “I’m sorry if that was wrong of me.”

Lilly shook her head, “It’s okay. I mean, you know that it hurt me to see you acting so recklessly with Ginny.”

“It almost broke our friendship apart, actually,” Neville cut in.

“It was just too out of character,” Lilly shrugged, “The Hufflepuff in Gryffindor colours screwing his friend's girlfriend.”

“I know,” Neville said guiltily, “I mean I know why it happened. You and I…we clashed that year, you had your hospital wing, and I had my rebellion, isn’t that what you said to me at one point?”

Lilly bit her lip, “Sounds familiar, yeah.”

“So it was Ginny that was in the thick of it with me,” Neville said quietly, “She was by my side when we had to drag those kids out of the dungeons or save our friends from the Dark Tower. We had each other’s backs, we duelled together, and we had always been friends. It had never been anything more than that, but I think when you’re in such a tense situation, you feel this sense of closeness to the person that you’re in it with. It wasn’t right, and if we hadn’t been in that situation, it never would have happened, but those conditions were just…they weren’t normal.”

“Yeah,” Lilly said quietly, “And Harry was hardly a saint while he was away, I know. But I didn’t enjoy watching it unfold. As you said, Ginny was by your side, and I had my hospital wing. It was Ginny that you confided in that year, I was just the girl you used to be friends with and if I’m honest, that fucking hurt. It’s why for a while back then, I just didn’t recognise you.”

“For a while, I didn’t recognise myself,” Neville said truthfully, “We did what had to be done, but we didn’t think too much about how that was going to affect us, did we?”

Lilly shook her head, “No…it left a mark on all of us; that’s for sure.”

“Still,” Neville said, “You were my friend, and I let us drift apart when I started to get closer with the likes of Harry and Hermione. You were there for me when everyone was bullying me, and nobody else liked me, but when I got more popular friends, I let you fall by the wayside, and that was a dick move.”

Lilly smiled slightly, “Yeah, it was,” she agreed.

“I’m sorry about that,” Neville said honestly, “I was a stupid kid who didn’t realise what he had when it was right in front of him. I’m just really grateful that you gave me a second chance.”

“That was sappy,” Lilly said, she kissed him lightly on the lips.

“I do sappy rather well,” Neville murmured as he returned her kiss.

* * *

“Love! Are you up?”

Sadie emerged from the bedroom in Theo’s dressing gown, “Yeah, I was just thinking about having a shower.”

“We got an interesting letter this morning,” Theo said as he waved the letter in the air, “McGonagall is doing a Founders Ball next Saturday at Hogwarts. We’re invited, and it sounds like fun, don’t you think?”

“I suppose so.”

“Are you going to be this short with me all day?” Theo asked, “Because I don’t know what I’ve done.”

“You haven’t done anything,” Sadie said irritably, “I’m just not particularly looking forward to going back to Egypt tomorrow.”

“Well, don’t take that out on me,” Theo said, “I told you to drop out if you hate it so much, but you’re determined to see it through.”

“I don’t give up on things, Theo,” Sadie said shortly, “You’re supposed to be my husband, you should know that about me!”

“I don’t know everything about you Sadie, despite being married to you!” Theo snapped, “And I don’t want you to spend our last day together, acting like a bitch just because you don’t want to go back to Egypt.”

Sadie glared at him, “You’re supposed to be sympathetic Theo, that’s what _good_ husbands do!”

“I won’t do what I’m supposed to do just because I’m your husband,” Theo barked, “I’ll do what I’ve always done in our relationship, and that is say things like they are even when you don’t like it! You are acting ridiculously; you can’t just whine and complain like a little girl. You don’t like Egypt, but if you want to finish your course, then you need to suck it up and deal with it. So get over it, Sadie!”

If looks could kill then, Theo would have been lying on the floor, cold as stone. Sadie turned on her heel, and as she slammed the bedroom door, she said, “Well if that’s how you feel, then I’ll just leave now!”

Theo groaned in frustration and kicked the wall hard. He loved Sadie more than he had ever loved a woman in his life, but the way she was acting at the moment was infuriating.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	39. Welcome to the Jungle

By the time Harry, Daphne and Teddy got to the Burrow, Sunday lunch was just about to be served. They all squeezed in around the table, and Harry noted that only one family member was missing.

“Where’s Bill?” He asked Daphne.

“I don’t know. He said he was…” Daphne trailed off as Bill stepped into the kitchen, “…coming.”

“What on earth are you wearing?” Molly asked in disbelief.

Charlie grinned and said, “I still wear them better.”

Bill smacked his brother around the head and winked at Harry, “Heard Harry liked the dragon hide trousers, so I thought I’d see if they still fitted.”

“Oh fuck off, you totally had to resize them!” Charlie sniggered.

“Language, Charlie!”

Harry shook his head in amusement and looked at his fiancé, “I hate you.”

Daphne smiled sweetly, “Do you?” she remarked slyly.

Harry snorted as Bill and Charlie started arguing about what had gotten fatter first, Bill’s arse or his thighs. Eventually, Molly managed to rein them and dinner was served.

They all made small talk while they ate, Hermione and Draco were at the other end of the table, so Harry didn’t get a chance to bring up the Founders Ball until they all migrated into the living room after a hearty roast chicken dinner.

“So we got an interesting letter this morning,” Harry said, he had collapsed into a comfortable armchair and Teddy had fallen asleep in his arms.

“Oh, about the Founders Ball?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah, did you get one too?” Harry asked.

Hermione nodded, “We will definitely go. I think it sounds like great fun!”

“We’re going to go too,” Daphne said, “We don’t have a choice since Harry is going to be Godric Gryffindor.”

Hermione laughed loudly, “Really? Oh, that’s brilliant!”

Harry frowned, “What’s so funny about it?”

Hermione shook her head, “The fact you’re going to be Gryffindor isn’t funny. In fact, it makes a lot of sense. What’s funny is that your old schoolboy enemy will be playing Gryffindor’s arch-enemy.”

Draco smiled slightly, “I’m starting to wonder if we were fated to be enemies, Harry.”

“What, like star crossed lovers but with a bit more violence?” Daphne joked.

Harry laughed, “I can’t imagine you as Slytherin. It’s hard to see a guy as a slimy git when you’ve seen him being soppy with his fiancé and making stupid faces at your kid.”

Draco chuckled, “I’m kind of glad about that to be honest because I was a bit offended at first. I don’t look up to Slytherin, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it, but Hermione convinced me that I would be a good role model for young Slytherins.”

“I would agree,” Harry said, “And funnily enough, Daphne had to convince me to go to it as well.”

“Why?” Draco asked in surprise, “Surely, you look up to Godric Gryffindor and would be honoured to play him?”

“I suspect it has something to do with the fact Harry hates speaking in public or dancing in public,” Hermione said, she shot her friend a knowing look.

“Spot on,” Daphne said, “But I told him that there was no way he could miss out on the chance. If this doesn’t go down well for whatever reason, there might not be another Founders Ball.”

“And even if there was, I would suspect that McGonagall would pick different people each year to make it fair,” Hermione added.

Harry nodded, “Daph’s right. It’s a once in a lifetime chance so I would be stupid to turn it down.”

“It could be a fun night,” Daphne added, “I wonder if any of the others have been invited.”

“I suspect a select few influential students from the last few years have been invited,” Hermione said.

“The last few years?” Bill asked from behind them, “I was a student quite a few years ago, and I was asked.”

“You are a pretty famous Curse Breaker to be fair Bill,” Daphne said with an amused smile.

“Why did they ask Char then? He fondles dragons for a living,” Bill joked.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Charlie has worked in some incredible places. He took part in a revolutionary breeding programme that saved two species of dragons. I would say that makes him pretty influential.”

Charlie grinned and raised his hand, “You tell him Mione! Give me a hi-five.”

Hermione chuckled and hi-fived him. Draco raised an eyebrow at her, “Do I need to be concerned? Because I thought you were over Weasley’s.”

“You say that like I’ve dated more than one,” Hermione pointed out.

“Well there was that weird flirty thing between you and Freddie when we were all at school,” George said, he waggled his eyebrows at her.

Hermione blushed, “There was not.”

“And you had a crush on Charlie when you were younger,” Harry teased.

Hermione’s cheeks became a darker shade of scarlet, “No, I didn’t,” she lied.

Draco looked at her pointedly, “Are you really over Weasley’s?”

“Yes, I am,” Hermione said as she regained her composure, “I just feel strongly about the rights of dragons, okay?”

“Now I think we can all believe that,” Bill said with a grin while the others chuckled.

* * *

When Teddy woke up, and Harry could finally move, he asked Hermione if he could have a quiet word with her. She nodded, and the two of them slipped outside, it was early evening, and the air was rather cold.

They held their cardigans close to their bodies and sheltered by the chicken coup.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just need to talk to you about the adoption,” Harry said honestly, “It’s getting official now, Hermione.”

Hermione caught his eye, “You’re panicking, aren’t you?”

“A little bit,” Harry admitted, he pulled the contract out of his robes, “We got this earlier in the week. Daph and I wanted to give it to you since you read legal documents a lot for your work. If you could just make sure that it’s ironclad, we would appreciate it.”

Hermione nodded and slipped it into her bag, “I’ll look over it tonight and give it back to Daphne over lunch tomorrow. When is this happening?”

“Soon,” Harry said, “Once we sign the contract, the paperwork starts to get drawn up. It could all be official in a couple of months.”

“Wow,” Hermione said, she surveyed her friend, “Are you sure that you’re ready for this?”

“We’ve talked about it so much,” Harry said quietly, “I don’t think we’re ever going to be any more ready than we are right now. It’s just…having him at the weekends is one thing but once this goes through everything is going to change and…”

“Change has always scared you,” Hermione finished.

Harry nodded, “Yeah.”

“Honestly, Harry,” Hermione said, “This is going to be the biggest change of your life. I mean yes, marriage is a big change, but it doesn’t change your relationship a great deal. But having a child, that does. You and Daphne will never have any free time anymore, everywhere you go you will have to take Teddy with you, or you’ll have to find a sitter. Every night when you come home, he will be there. It isn’t going to be easy.”

“I know, but I think we owe it to Teddy,” Harry said honestly, “We can give him a good life, the life he deserves. We’re in a position, financially and emotionally, to offer him that and I don’t think I could forgive myself if I chose not to for selfish reasons.”

“And Daphne feels the same?”

“I told you, Hermione,” Harry said, “We’ve talked about it a lot. Both of us want to do this, and yes, we are both scared, but I think that’s normal.”

“Does Daphne know everything?” Hermione asked, “About Teddy?”

Harry frowned, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, does she know about his werewolf genes, about what that could mean in the future?”

Harry’s frown deepened, “Well, she knows there’s a chance. I’ve told her all about Remus, but we haven’t had that exact conversation.”

“I think you need to,” Hermione said, “And I think you need to be honest with each other about this before you sign the contract. Talk to her about your fears and make sure that she tells you what’s making her nervous. This is a huge change Harry, for anyone, not least for two people who are so young.”

Harry sighed but nodded, “I’ll make sure we talk before we sign anything, I promise.”

Hermione smiled and grabbed his hand, “If it helps, I think what you’re doing is a beautiful thing. I just want to be certain that both of you are sure before you commit to it.”

Harry nodded again, “Thanks Hermione,” he said, he squeezed her hand, “You’re a good friend.”

* * *

“Morning, Theo,” Draco said brightly as he stepped out onto the Quidditch pitch with his friend.

“Morning,” Theo said quietly.

Draco frowned, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Theo said shortly, “I just don’t like Mondays.”

Before Draco could say anything else, Theo got on his broom and shot into the air. They never got a chance to talk while they were flying then Theo showered in a private cubicle to avoid Draco. He was starting to think he had done something to piss his best friend off because, by the time Draco was showered and changed, Theo had already left.

“Where’s your extra limb?” Neville asked as he and Harry fell into line with Draco.

“I don’t know,” Draco said, “He’s been short with me since I first saw him and I think he’s avoiding me too. I don’t know what I’ve done. I haven’t even seen him this weekend.”

“Maybe it has nothing to do with you,” Harry said, “It might just be because Sadie’s had to go back to Egypt.”

“I suppose,” Draco mused, “I had actually forgotten that was today…that makes me a pretty shit friend.”

“Nah, you have a lot going on right now,” Neville said, “We all do.”

They reached their first class of the day which was Disguise. It was always a good class to talk in because there was a discussion section, and as they all found this class easy, they didn’t usually need to discuss anything about disguise in that period.

“Right, what’s going on with you?” Harry asked Theo after Carter told them to discuss the pros and cons of disguising yourself as an animal.

“Nothing,” Theo muttered.

“Theo, we know something’s up,” Neville said, “Don’t pretend you’re fine.”

“Is it because Sadie left for Egypt again?” Draco asked.

Theo pressed so hard with his quill that it snapped, “She’s just acting insane right now! She was whining like a little girl yesterday about going back so I told her to get a grip and she just left, hours earlier than she was supposed to.”

“So, you fought?” Harry asked with a slight smile, “Because these things do happen after the honeymoon period, you know.”

Theo glared at him, “Shut up, Harry. Sadie and I don’t fight, not like you and Hermione do Draco.”

“We bicker and have heated discussions,” Draco corrected, “I mean sometimes we fight but not all the time.”

Harry shook his head in amusement, “All couples fight Theo, especially when relations are strained, and they will be right now. Neither of you likes this set up when you’re in different countries, so you’re taking it out on each other.”

Neville raised an eyebrow at him, “When did you become the agony aunt?”

Harry smirked, “Not so clueless now, eh, Nev?”

Theo ignored them and sighed, “It’s not so much that I hate being away from her. I do hate that, but I don’t like the way she’s acting right now. I get that she doesn’t like Egypt, but she’s so cranky and miserable about it. If that was me, I would just change career, and I don’t get why she’s making herself so unhappy.”

“Because Sadie isn’t you,” Draco said, “She doesn’t give up. Once she starts something, she wants to see it through. I think you’re right, about this course not suiting her, but it isn’t so easy for her to see that.”

“I wish it was,” Theo said miserably.

Before the other boys could give him any further advice, Carter appeared by their table, “So boys, any pros and cons to offer about disguising yourself as an animal?”

“You could get hit by a car and die,” Harry said.

Carter raised an eyebrow at him, “Really?”

“It happened to Nev’s Uncle Raymond,” Harry said sincerely.

Neville nodded, “He transformed himself into a cat to spy on his ex-wife, and she hit him with her car.”

Carter looked between them both for a moment; it was clear that she was trying to work out if they were lying or not.

“It was tragic,” Draco added.

Harry and Neville nodded.

“I am very sorry to hear that,” Carter said eventually, “Come up with some pros for me before we share our ideas with the others.”

They all nodded and watched Carter walk over to the other group, which consisted of Maxwell, Emily, Blanche and Ophelia.

“You don’t have an Uncle Raymond, do you, Nev?” Theo asked with a slight smile.

“Nope,” Harry chuckled, “But good work playing along there, Nev.”

“Flawless,” Draco laughed, “I almost believed you then I saw Harry trying not to smirk.”

Theo chuckled too, and for a moment, he forgot about how terrible he felt.

* * *

After lunch on Monday, the boys were supposed to have a potions lab. However, they were told at the start of the class by Auror McKay that their next task would be an interactive one.

“We are going to dump you in the rainforest,” McKay told them, “And you have to find your way out. You might not understand what this has to do with Potions but let’s call it a joint venture that Auror Brown and I have come up with. You will need to work out what is safe to eat, and you will need to make potions because I can guarantee that at least one of you will get bitten by something poisonous.”

Harry, Draco and Neville all looked at Theo.

“This task doesn’t have a time limit. If you’re stuck in there for over a week then we will extract you, and Sumner will probably kick you out too,” McKay said bluntly, “Your other halves and parents have been informed that you are partaking in a task for the next few days so don’t worry about that. Are there any questions?”

Blanche raised her hand, “Isn’t this just like isolation all over again?”

“There weren’t monsoons, poisonous snakes, killer spiders or paranoid Amazonian tribespeople in isolation, were there?” McKay countered.

“Is this real?” Ophelia asked, “Or is it a simulation?”

“Nope, it’s real,” McKay said, “You’re going to the real Amazon rainforest. You will all have to wear a tag which tells us your vital signs. If someone is genuinely about to die, then we won’t let that happen. You will also be discreetly observed and tested by myself, Auror Brown and Auror Sumner. Any more questions?”

They all shook their heads, so McKay clapped his hands together, “Alright then. We’re sending you in two groups. The first group is Potter, Longbottom, Black and Nott.”

The four boys shared anxious looks, Theo, in particular, looked very pale. Animals and plants weren’t his strong point, magical or otherwise.

* * *

“Holy shit, it’s hot.”

“It’s the rainforest, you idiot.”

“I didn’t know that it would be this hot though!” Draco exclaimed.

“Haven’t you seen any films set in the rainforest? Everyone walks around in shorts, not bloody robes,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “So the first thing I think we should do is this…”

He transfigured his black trousers into khaki shorts and his polo shirt into a vest top. Then he did away with his robes completely and transfigured his shoes into hiking boots. None of the others verbalised the fact that they thought this was a good idea, but they did all copy him.

“So…” Draco said while he looked at Harry, “What do you think we should do?”

“Why does it always fall to me?” Harry asked.

“In this instance, I think it’s because you just mentioned you’d watched movies about this stuff,” Neville said matter of factly.

Draco and Theo nodded.

Harry shook his head in amusement, “Well, we need to navigate our way out of the rainforest so we can get back to our other halves. While doing that we need to not die from exposure or the bite of any poisonous creatures out here.”

“Alright so four-point spell then?” Draco asked.

Something chirped behind them, and Theo jumped, “What was that?”

“Just a bug Theo, calm down,” Draco said.

Harry was frowning into the distance, “I don’t think a four-point spell will work.”

“Why not?” Draco asked.

“Because all it does is tell us where north is,” Harry said, he looked up into the dense foliage above.

“I know I’m not an expert when it comes to geography Harry, but isn’t north where we want to go to get us out of the rainforest?” Neville asked, “East or west will take us to the ocean.”

“We don’t know where we are in the rainforest though,” Harry said, “It covers a huge area. If we’re in the south, it would take days to get out if we travel north. Anyway, east and west would take us to a country before we got to the ocean.”

“Well, what do you suggest then?” Draco asked, “It’s not like we’re going to be able to get hold of a map out here, are we?”

“Even if we could, I doubt it would help us much,” Harry said honestly, “Apart from the Amazon river, there aren’t many landmarks. Everything looks the same.”

“That’s it!” Theo said, “The Amazon river runs from east to west.”

Draco’s eyes widened then he nodded, “If we can find the river, then we can follow it east or west to get out of the rainforest.”

“East would bring us out near French Guiana, and west would bring us out in Ecuador,” Harry said, he shot Neville a pointed look, “I studied Geography in muggle school.”

Neville snorted, “Don’t take it personally; it was just a comment.”

“Now, now ladies,” Draco said calmly, “Less fighting, more planning. How do we acquire a map of the Amazon rainforest in the middle of the Amazon rainforest?”

“We find a happy tribesman who will help us, and not eat us,” Harry replied.

“Eat us?” Theo asked nervously.

“Yeah Theo, they love to eat human flesh out here,” Neville said.

Harry rolled his eyes, “Don’t wind him up, Neville. He’s not going to be any use to us if he’s a nervous wreck.”

Branches rustled behind them, and Theo jumped again, “What was that?”

“Maybe it was a venomous tentacula,” Neville whispered.

“Neville!” Harry and Draco chastised in unison.

* * *

“Hey! Nice choice, I didn’t know that you liked sushi!” Daphne said as she sat down opposite Hermione in the restaurant.

Hermione smiled, “I just thought it would be a nice change from that boring café we normally use.”

“Plus you don’t want to discuss our other halves secret mission in the wizarding world, just in case,” Daphne whispered.

Hermione nodded sheepishly, “Yeah, that is pretty much it. Don’t you think it’s odd? That they are sending them on secret missions so early?”

Daphne shook her head and perused the menu, “No, it won’t be anything serious. It’s just a training mission.”

“Draco didn’t mention anything about training missions,” Hermione said.

“Probably because he didn’t want to worry you,” Daphne said, she looked up at her friend, “I assume he knows about them because Harry only found out when he read the book that Draco lent him.”

Hermione frowned, “I don’t like the fact he’s keeping things from me.”

“He’s keeping things from you to stop you worrying about him,” Daphne said gently, “He knows that you hate what he does. There’s a part of you that wishes he could be like Ron and have a safe, cushy job, isn’t there?”

Hermione scoffed, “There isn’t a single part of me that wishes he was like Ron.”

Daphne shot her friend a knowing look.

Hermione sighed, “I do hate his job sometimes, that much is true. I spent seven years at school, worrying about Harry, wondering when Voldemort was going to catch up to him and take my best friend away. Nobody paid me any attention before I met Harry and Ron, and Harry, in particular, became my closest friend, and I knew someone was trying to take that from me. Now all I do is worry about Draco and Theo. Every day I wonder what they are going to be put through and I know once they qualify, I’ll always wonder if they will both come home that night.”

“You’ll get used to that feeling,” Daphne promised Hermione, “The worry will always be there, but you’ll learn to live with it. I feel the same, even though Harry is the bravest guy around and the most competent wizard I know, I still worry about him.”

“So you’re worried too, about this training mission?”

Daphne shook her head, “They won’t let anything bad happen to them on a training mission. It’s a test which means they are constantly being observed; if anything goes wrong, they will pull them out straight away or send medical aid in.”

“Did they tell you where they had sent Harry?” Hermione asked. She didn’t look quite so tense now.

“A rainforest apparently,” Daphne said, “So assuming that they are all in the same place, Theo is screwed.”

Hermione laughed weakly, “I wouldn’t be so sure of that. He is unlucky with magical creatures, but he’s smarter than he looks.”

“I know he is, but as you said, he’s unlucky with magical creatures!”

* * *

“Ugh! What’s that?”

“That is a Boa Constrictor, don’t touch it,” Harry said slowly, “And remain calm.”

Theo backed off, but the snake continued to advance on him. Harry sighed and said, “I didn’t want to have to resort to this but…”

His friends watched him in confusion as he looked at the snake, screwed up his eyes and said, “Excuse me, that’s my friend and I would rather you didn’t eat him.”

To everyone else, this perfectly ordinary sentence came out as a series of hisses. The snake turned its attention from Theo to Harry.

_“You speak my language?”_

Harry nodded.

_“I am hungry, and this one is full of fear. I enjoy eating those that fear me.”_

“I understand that, but we are on a very important mission, and we really must make it out alive,” Harry explained, “Trust me, you have it better than some of your companions. I once met a Boa Constrictor in a zoo, thousands of miles from here. It was bred in captivity.”

“ _Better_?” The snake hissed, “ _My entire family have been killed by poachers who want our skin. How is that better_?”

“I’m sorry,” Harry said, he was now kneeling in front of the snake, and he was oblivious to the looks his friends were giving him, “I lost my family too. A dark lord took them all from me as a baby.”

“ _You are lonely too_ ,” The snake said.

Harry shook his head, “Not anymore. I used to be, but then I met these people, they are my friends, and I would not like it if you were to kill them.”

“ _I would like not to be lonely_ ,” The snake said.

“Well I will make you a deal,” Harry said, “If you stay with us and help us get out of the rainforest, I will take you home with me. I have a huge garden that you can live in, and there are plenty of animals in the woods behind the house so you will not be hungry.”

The snake cocked its head as if it was considering this proposal. Then it bowed its head in a nod, “ _Yes. If you would like to leave the rainforest, you are travelling in the wrong direction. We must go this way then we shall be able to follow the river_.”

“Okay,” Harry said, “We will follow you.”

The snake bowed its head again, “ _Please tell the fearful one to be quiet. His loud sounds make my head ache.”_

Harry tried very hard not to laugh, “I will. What is your name?”

_“I have no name_ ,” The snake replied.

“Can I give you a name?”

The snake bowed its head, “ _You may_.”

“I think you look like a Dave.”

“ _Dave_ ,” The snake hissed, “ _I like it_.”

Harry smiled and got to his feet. When he turned around, it was to find Draco staring at him with an open mouth, Theo looking terrified and Neville looking vaguely amused.

“I thought you couldn’t do that anymore,” Neville remarked.

“So did I,” Harry admitted, “But then I was at the zoo with Teddy, and this snake started talking to me, so I tried to talk back, and it worked. I guess it’s like riding a bike…once you know how to do it, you never forget.”

“And what exactly were you and the snake talking about?” Neville asked.

“Oh his name is Dave,” Harry said conversationally, “And he was just telling me that we were going in the wrong direction if we were trying to find the river. He said he was lonely, so I said if he got us out of the rainforest, I would take him home with me.”

Neville snorted, “Right, cause Daphne is going to love that…”

“Oh, she’ll come around,” Harry said with a wave of his hand. He looked at Draco and Theo, “Are you two ready? Cause Dave is waiting for us.”

“You just had a conversation with a snake,” Draco said in awe.

“Called Dave,” Harry said with a nod, “Yeah, catch up. Are you coming?”

Draco nodded. He grabbed Theo’s arm and began to drag his partner along. They had barely moved from the clearing they had found Dave in when Theo yelped after seeing a butterfly.

“Theo, Dave asked me to tell you to be quiet,” Harry said, “You’re giving him a headache.”

Neville smirked, “Yeah Theo, shut up. You’re giving the snake a headache.”

Theo swallowed hard and whispered to Draco, “The snake talks.”

Draco nodded, “And Harry replies.”

“Thank Merlin, you heard that too,” Theo whispered, “I thought I was going insane.”

* * *

“I wonder where Neville is right now…”

“Who knows,” Lucille said, “He could be on a secret mission anywhere. Maybe he’s saving the world right now, and we don’t even know it.”

“I doubt he’s saving the world since he’s only just started his training,” Savannah pointed out, “No offence Lil.”

Lilly laughed and shook her head, “None taken. He has just started his training, but he sort of already has saved the world…or Britain at least.”

“Maybe he did save the world,” Lucille mused, “Who knows what would have happened next if Voldemort had taken over Britain.”

“Europe would probably have been his next target,” Michael said, they were all in the common room, but nobody felt like studying.

“Like Grindelwald,” Charlotte added.

“Grindelwald had Europe, but he could never really get Britain,” Michael said, he looked up from his book, “From the outside, Britain is hard to crack because of how tight your security is. Voldemort had it worked out, the way to bring Britain down is through its own corrupt institutions.”

“I didn’t know you were into politics, Michael,” Lilly said.

Michael shrugged, “I like to follow current affairs.”

“You are right though, about the institutions being corrupt,” Lilly said, “That hasn’t changed since Voldemort was killed. There are still dirty Aurors in the Ministry and some officials whose loyalties were questionable during the war. My friends and I are planning to change that; they just need to take their seats on the Wizengamot first.”

“How many friends do you have who are heirs to seats on the Wizengamot?” Michael asked. He sounded impressed.

“A lot,” Lilly admitted with a slight smile, “Neville has a seat and so do Harry, Draco, Theo and Susan. The problem with our system is that a law needs the majority to be passed and with the seats allocated as they are at the moment, the people trying to push the good things through don’t have enough support to do that. Once my friends have taken their seats, things will change.”

Michael smiled at her, “So what you are saying, is that you are part of a political revolution. That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard Lilly!”

* * *

By Wednesday night, the boys had made significant progress. They had found the Amazon River, and they had been following it for hours. Dave assured them that it wouldn’t be long until they were out, maybe another day at most.

Things had been going fine until they reached an area of very thick foliage. As they traversed through the rainforest, they had trees and bushes brushing by their legs and arms.

“Ouch!”

Everyone turned to look at Theo, who had jumped out of his skin, “What now?” Neville asked irritably.

“Something bit me! Something bit me!” Theo said as the colour drained from his face.

“What?” Draco asked sharply.

“Where?” Neville asked at the same time.

“I don’t know! There!” Theo exclaimed.

Neville inspected the spot on Theo’s leg and sighed, “Theo, you idiot!”

“What is it?” Theo asked, “Am I going to die? Oh, Merlin, I’m going to die.”

“Theo, you aren’t going to die,” Neville said in exasperation, “It was-”

“I’m going to die, and the last thing I did was argue with Sadie,” Theo warbled on, “I’m going to die without getting to say a proper goodbye. Her last memory of me is going to be an argument.”

“No, it isn’t,” Neville said firmly, “Because you just got a little nip from a giant beetle.”

“Oh,” Theo said sheepishly.

The others sniggered. Harry opened his mouth to insult his friend, but before he could, he felt a sharp pain in _his_ leg, “Ow! What was that?”

Theo rolled his eyes, “Hilarious Harry.”

“I’m not joking Theo,” Harry began to say. Dave interrupted him by hissing at something in the bushes that they couldn’t see.

There was another hiss then Dave re-emerged and hissed something at Harry.

“Rattlesnake? Is that bad, Dave?”

“You don’t need to ask Dave, yes that’s bad!” Neville exclaimed, “They are the most poisonous snake in this place, you bloody idiot!”

“I didn’t ask it to bite me!” Harry pointed out.

“Shut up,” Neville said shortly, “We need to get you somewhere safe so I can brew up a remedy. Otherwise, you have a few short, painful hours to live.”

“Neville!” Draco exclaimed, “You’re supposed to be the supportive one here. You know the one who tells Harry that it will all be fine, we’ll find a remedy and everyone will live happily ever after.”

“Since when is that my job?” Neville asked. He lifted Harry from one side, “Get him on the other side. I don’t want him putting pressure on his leg.”

“As my Auror partner, it probably should be your job,” Harry said through gritted teeth, “And this hurts like hell already.”

“Pain is the least of your problems,” Neville said as they reached a clearing, “Soon you're going to start feeling numb. It will start in your fingertips and your toes, and if we can’t get a remedy together before the paralysis reaches your neck, then you will probably go blind and lose the ability to talk. If we can’t find a remedy in a couple of hours, you will have respiratory paralysis which means-”

“I’ll suffocate, yeah I’m not an idiot Nev,” Harry said, “So just tell me how we’re going to find this cure, please.”

“We need to make an antivenom and inject you with it,” Neville said quickly, “You should know that Harry. This isn’t your first snake bite.”

“That’s true, you do have a habit of being bitten by snakes,” Draco agreed, “First the Basilisk then Nagini, now this.”

“I get bitten by a snake lots Draco,” Harry joked weakly, it was difficult to joke with pain coursing through his body, “She’s called Daphne.”

“Try not to talk, it might make you feel worse,” Neville said. He had his eyes shut tightly, “And I’m trying to remember how to make antivenom, so silence would help.”

Harry obliged and stopped talking, but when he wasn’t distracted, all he could think about was how bad the pain was.

“We need antibodies,” Draco said, “From an animal immune to snake venom.”

“What animals that live in the rainforest are immune to snake venom?” Neville asked the Slytherin.

“A Mongoose,” Theo piped up, out of nowhere.

“And how the hell do we find a tiny Mongoose in this place?”

Dave hissed in response.

“Dave says he can find one, but can he eat it when you’re done please?” Harry said, his eyes were shut tightly, and his teeth were gritted.

“Dave can do whatever he wants to it, as long as we can use it to save your life first,” Neville said. He looked at the snake, “Go find us a mongoose, Dave.”

The snake bowed its head in a nod and then slithered away.

“While Dave is finding our mongoose, let’s work out our next step,” Draco said calmly, “Does anyone know what we do with the mongoose when we get it?”

“Yeah, how exactly do we extract antibodies?”

“They will be in the blood,” Theo said, “So we need to take blood from the mongoose, a lot of blood.”

“We need to kill it, basically?” Draco asked.

“Yeah,” Theo admitted, “I think we’ll have to kill it. Once we have the blood, I think we’ll need to use a basic extraction spell and modify it. I think I can do it, but I’ll need to write it down in case I mess up.”

“This is when being good at Arithmancy comes in,” Neville realised. He watched Theo transfigure a couple of bits of wood and grass into a notepad and pencil.

“Who knew spells were made with maths,” Harry agreed quietly.

Neville looked over at him, “Where is the pain?”

“Every single muscle in my body,” Harry replied.

“And can you feel your fingertips?”

“I can’t feel my right hand,” Harry admitted, he tried to clench both of his fists, but only his left one moved.

“And your feet?” Neville asked. He had already pulled Harry’s socks and shoes off in case his feet became swollen.

Harry tried to wiggle his toes, but none of them moved, “Try twisting your ankles.”

This time, both of his ankles moved, and Neville breathed a sigh of relief, “Let me know as soon as you lose feeling anywhere. It’s the only indication I have of how much time we have to do this.”

“I will,” Harry said.

“Okay,” Theo said slowly. He stared at the numbers in front of him, “I think this will extract the antibodies from the blood now. I just need to add in something about purification because if they are damaged upon extraction, then I don’t know how they will affect you… Draco will you look over this for me?”

“Spell modification isn’t my strong point, Theo,” Draco said, “I’m far better at using Arithmancy for curse-breaking.”

“No pressure then,” Theo said, he blew out a long breath and looked down at his notepad.

“Can we talk about something to distract me from the fact that I’m slowly being paralysed please?” Harry asked.

Neville glanced over at his best friend, “We could talk about my Order of Merlin.”

“You’re getting an Order of Merlin?” Draco asked in surprise.

“Yeah,” Neville said, “Didn’t I mention that last week?”

“No, Nev, you didn’t mention it,” Harry said.

“Unlike you, who rubbed it in everyone’s face,” Theo said without looking up.

“Don’t be mean to him,” Draco muttered.

“Why? Because I’m slowly losing feeling in every limb?” Harry asked sarcastically, “Don’t let that stop you.”

“You can’t insult a man on his death bed,” Theo said, “Even I am not that ruthless.”

“And Harry isn’t dying,” Neville said. He shot Theo a glare, “So the whole thing is irrelevant.”

“Nev is right,” Draco said, “Harry is a bloody cockroach. He would survive another big bang, and he’d still be a clueless prick.”

“Cheers mate,” Harry mumbled, “And we were talking about you Nev, not me. You’re getting an Order of Merlin, and that’s so great. Me and my sidekick getting our awards together…if I’m still alive then.”

“Okay Harry,” Neville said firmly, “ _A_. You will still be alive then because you don’t survive Voldemort, a Basilisk, Voldemort again, Dementors, a werewolf, a Hungarian Horntail, Voldemort again, Death Eaters, Voldemort again, Nagini and Voldemort again just to get killed by a fucking rattlesnake.”

Harry would have laughed if he hadn’t felt like death warmed up.

“And _B_. I am not your bloody sidekick,” Neville added, “Do sidekicks get awarded 1st Class Order of Merlins?”

Harry smiled, “I’m really proud of you, Nev.”

“He’s acting a bit funny, don’t you think?” Draco asked slowly.

Neville nodded, “Slurred speech and slow thought, a bit like he’s drunk. The venom is spreading through his body a lot faster than I thought it would. We need that bloody mongoose.”

“Where’s Dave when you need him,” Theo muttered irritably.

“Are you nearly done with the spell modification?” Neville asked.

Theo nodded, “I’m done. I just need the blood then I can extract the antibodies. After that’s done, we will need to mix them with a simple serum and then we can inject it into Harry’s blood.”

“Right,” Neville said, “I know what serum you need so I’ll quickly canvas the ingredients and throw that together. Draco, keep him talking and if anything changes or he starts having hallucinations come and get me straight away.”

Draco nodded and sat down by Harry’s side, “So you and Neville are both getting an Order of Merlin, 1st Class. Outstanding bravery…I guess that makes sense. Hermione is getting the 2nd Class, you know?”

Harry didn’t open his eyes, “Is she? Why didn’t she tell me that?”

“She hasn’t told anyone, apart from me,” Draco said, “I thought it meant she wasn’t as worthy as you at first. But then I did some research, and I found out that each class is awarded for a different reason. Did you know that?”

“No,” Harry replied.

“1st class is for outstanding bravery or distinction in magic,” Draco told him, “Second class is for achievement or endeavour beyond the ordinary, and third class is for people who have contributed towards our store of knowledge or entertainment. I guess that’s why Hermione got a 2nd class rather than a 1st, but I think she did show outstanding bravery…”

“Me too,” Harry said quietly.

“Do you know if Ron is going to get one?” Draco asked.

Harry didn’t say anything or do anything.

Draco frowned, “Harry?”

Harry opened an eye, “I shook my head.”

“No, you didn’t,” Draco said, he was beginning to feel that same sense of panic as Neville now, “Can you still move your ankles?”

Harry tried, but nothing happened.

“What about your knees? Can you pull your legs up with them at all?” Draco asked.

This time Harry did manage to move both knees, “And your wrists, can you move them?”

Nothing moved.

“Your elbows?”

Harry tried, but only one moved. Draco swallowed, “Okay, open both of your eyes and shut them again.”

Harry did so.

“Try to nod or shake your head again,” Draco instructed.

This time, nothing happened.

“Try to move your neck,” Draco said.

Again, nothing happened.

Draco swallowed again and yelled, “Neville! You better get back here!”

It took Neville a few minutes to appear back in the clearing, but when he did, he had a basket full of various plants or flowers.

“He can’t nod or shake his head,” Draco said, “And he can only move one elbow.”

“What about his knees?” Neville asked quickly, “Did you check?”

“They are still okay,” Draco said.

“We have about half an hour, for some reason the venom is spreading twice as fast as normal,” Neville said, “Probably because of how many bloody snakes have bitten him in the past. Where the fuck is Dave with this fucking mongoose?”

An angry hiss came from the bushes, and Dave appeared.

“Dave says that your foul language is offending him,” Harry mumbled, “And he says he brought you the biggest mongoose he could find so you should be grateful.”

Neville rolled his eyes, “Dave has too much fucking sass for a snake,” he said as he took the dead mongoose from the snake.

The snake hissed again, and Harry hissed back feebly.

“Dave says if you don’t remember your promise to him, he will crush you to death,” Harry mumbled.

“Don’t worry Dave, you can eat the mongoose once I’ve drained its blood,” Neville said, “Draco, help me please?”

Between them, they made quick work of getting enough blood from the mongoose (and then tossing it to Dave) to make antivenom. Theo’s modified extraction spell worked, and 15 minutes later, they had an antivenom.

“I’ll inject it,” Neville said, he took the needle and injected it into Harry’s vein.

“When will we know if it is working?” Draco asked.

“It will take a few minutes, but the paralysis should gradually reverse,” Neville said, “Harry, can you hear me?”

Harry nodded.

“He couldn’t do that before,” Draco said sharply.

Neville blew out a sigh of relief, “Thank Merlin for that.”

Harry groaned, “I feel like I’m gonna-”

Theo made a face as Harry threw up into the bushes. “I’m guessing he was going to say vomit.”

Draco wrinkled his nose up, “Yep, I think so.”

“That’s good; it’s his body flushing out the venom,” Neville said.

“It’s not good, I feel like fucking death,” Harry complained, “I’m freezing, can someone transfigure me a blanket?”

“No, but I can give you a hug?” Theo suggested.

“I don’t want a fucking hug,” Harry complained.

“Oi, be grateful!” Theo objected, “My modified spell just saved your arse!”

“Yeah, you need to stop getting bitten by bloody snakes!” Draco agreed, “Hermione and Neville have both had to nurse you back to health after lethal bloody snake bites.”

“I’m not sleeping with you, though,” Neville joked.

Harry glared at him, “Why do snakes hate me so much?”

Dave hissed, and Harry smiled, “Aw Dave, that was cute.”

Neville shook his head, “Cute? You think a snake is cute after one just tried to paralyse you and make you die a slow and painful bloody death?”

“Dave said that he doesn’t hate me,” Harry said. Dave hissed again, and Harry said, “He said the rattlesnake tried to kill me because it was jealous that I was taking Dave home with me.”

“Right, that’s snakes for you,” Theo muttered, “Fucking bastards.”

Dave hissed indignantly.

“Dave said that was rude and that he would quite like to crush you to death,” Harry said.

“I don’t like Dave,” Theo mumbled.

“He doesn’t like you either.”

“I liked it better when you were dying,” Theo said irritably as he stomped into the trees, “At least you were bloody quiet then.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	40. High Hopes

It was Hermione’s first day in the Auror office, and so far, she loved it. She already knew a few of the Aurors by name because they were generally quite friendly, but now that she was in their bullpen, they regularly stopped to chat when work was slow.

“No, Rob, I don’t think I can okay that.”

“But you have the authority to do so.”

“Yes, I have the authority to do it, but I don’t see why you need an Auror box,” Hermione told the Auror in question, “Nobody uses them anymore.”

“I’ll modify it,” He said.

“To do what?”

“Be a time machine, obviously.”

“Okay,” Hermione said with a smirk, “I’m a muggle-born, so no I will not release an Auror box to you so that you can become the next Doctor Who-”

She cut herself off when she saw Sadie step nervously into the department. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked ill, “Oh no…”

“What?”

“That’s my friend, I need to go,” Hermione said. She got to her feet.

“If I tell Spalding that you’ve gone home ill, can I have the Auror box?” He yelled after her.

“Yeah, sure!” Hermione replied. She grabbed her handbag and walked to the door to meet her friend, “Sadie! I thought you were in Egypt.”

“I’m meant to be,” Sadie said tearfully, “But I need you, Hermione.”

Hermione nodded, “I’m here,” she promised, “Come on, let’s go home and get the kettle on. Then we can talk.”

Sadie swallowed and nodded. She let Hermione hook her arm through hers, and they left the Ministry silently. Once they were outside, they apparated to Grimmauld Place, and Sadie unlocked number 11 by placing her hand on the door.

The two friends made their way into the kitchen, and Sadie sank into a seat at the table. She rested her head in her hands and took a deep breath.

Hermione put the kettle on the stove to boil and sat down opposite her friend. She reached across the table and took her hands, “What’s going on?”

Sadie looked up tearfully, “I think…I might be pregnant.”

“Yeah,” Hermione said softly, “I think you might be too.”

Sadie’s eyes widened, “You do?”

“You were really sick for a long time,” Hermione said gently, “I wasn’t convinced that it was related to Egypt, but I figured you would have known if you were pregnant. I mean, when did you last have a period?”

Sadie grimaced, “I’m going to sound so stupid, but not since the honeymoon. I just figured it was all of the travelling and-”

“It doesn’t sound stupid,” Hermione assured her, “I was on run for a year, remember? Travelling does mess them up. You’re not stupid, okay? But you could have done a charm to check.”

“I know,” Sadie said, she bit her lip and looked at Hermione, “But I’m scared.”

“Yeah,” Hermione managed a weak smile, “I bet you are. Do you want me to cast it for you?”

Sadie nodded, “I feel sick.”

“It’s the nerves, Sade,” Hermione said as she got to her feet, “If you don’t want to see the spell change colour, close your eyes.”

Sadie shut her eyes tightly, and Hermione cast the spell that revealed pregnancy. A grey smoke swirled around Sadie’s stomach; if she wasn’t pregnant, it would stay grey. If she was pregnant, it would turn pink.

Hermione bit her lip as the smoke began to change colour until it settled at a vibrant pink. She mumbled another spell which caused silver numbers to appear in mid-air. Hermione did some calculations then cancelled out the spell.

She put her wand down on the table and said, “Open your eyes, Sadie.”

Sadie did, and the moment she caught Hermione’s eye, she knew the answer.

“I am, aren’t I?”

“Yes,” Hermione replied quietly, “Eight weeks, Sade. It’s a miracle you hadn’t noticed.”

“Eight weeks,” Sadie said as tears rolled down her cheeks, “But that means…”

“Your honeymoon,” Hermione said with a sheepish smile, “Yeah, that’s when the baby was conceived.”

“Oh Merlin,” Sadie whispered, “But I’ve been travelling and drinking and – oh my god – I just-”

“You didn’t know,” Hermione said. She moved to the other side of the table so she could pull her into a hug, “And the diagnostic charm I just did was basic, but there were no alarm bells, so I doubt you did it any harm.”

Sadie sobbed, “But Hermione, I’m only 19! And this means my life is over!”

“No,” Hermione said firmly, “No, it doesn’t. Come on, Sadie; we should have this chat somewhere you can be comfy.”

She clicked her fingers, and a false door at the back of the pantry opened. Hermione half-dragged Sadie through the secret passage into the drawing-room then she forced her onto a comfortable sofa in front of the fire.

Sadie grabbed Hermione’s hand and pulled her onto the sofa next to her.

Hermione sighed as Sadie rested her head on Hermione’s shoulder, “What am I going to do, Hermione?”

Hermione sighed. She kicked off her heels, undid her tight bun with a flick of her wrist and got comfortable on the sofa, “What you are going to do, is stay calm.”

“How can I do that?” Sadie asked breathily, “What about my course? And what about Theo? He doesn’t even have job stability, and what is he going to say? Oh my-”

“Shh,” Hermione hushed her, “Panicking is bad for the baby. You need to just take a breath and calm down. You will have to drop out of your course, but that’s not the worst thing in the world. In fact, maybe it’s a sign, you hate it, Sade-”

“I know,” Sadie sniffed.

“And what you really want is to own your own apothecary,” Hermione continued, “So you could get a job in an Apothecary while you’re pregnant. I know Ichabod who runs the one in Diagon Alley, he’ll let you work whatever hours you want, and you would learn a lot.”

Sadie shuffled so that she could lie with her head in Hermione’s lap.

“As for Theo, you don’t have anything to worry about there, and I think deep down, you know that. This is just the panic speaking right now, but Theo has plenty of money regardless of job security and you know he will be shocked at first, but delighted. He has always talked about how much he wants a family.”

“Yeah,” Sadie said quietly.

“We’ll make it work, Sadie,” Hermione promised her, “The boys are on that secret mission, but it’s meant to last a week at most. I expect they will be home tonight and when they get home, we are going to sit down and tell Theo everything, and he is going to panic, okay? You know that, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want this. He’ll just have a little cry, Draco will set him straight and tell him that he will be a wonderful Dad, and then he’ll apologise to you for freaking out.”

Sadie smiled, “You really are perceptive.”

“It’s a curse sometimes,” Hermione joked.

“Thank you,” Sadie said softly. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Anytime,” Hermione said, “Now, when do you need to go back to Egypt?”

“I have a week's sick leave,” Sadie replied.

“So we have a week to get everything sorted for you then,” Hermione said, “Starting with a hot bath, I think.”

“That would be nice, but I’m comfy,” Sadie yawned, “And I don’t sleep well in Egypt without someone to cuddle.”

Hermione smiled in amusement, “So you’re going to use me as a pillow for your afternoon nap then, yeah?”

“You’re just so comfy, Mione,” Sadie mumbled as she nestled into the dark-haired girl.

Hermione chuckled, “Once everyone knows, and Theo has had his little freakout, we’re going to get you to St Mungo’s for a check-up tomorrow. Okay? I know it’s not essential, but it wouldn’t hurt with all of the travelling that you’ve done.”

“Uh-huh,” Sadie yawned. She reached up and grabbed Hermione’s hand then slipped into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

“Is that light?”

“The trees are definitely thinning out up ahead,” Neville said, “Dave, is that the end of the rainforest?”

Dave hissed, and Harry nodded, “He said yes, we’re nearly out.”

“Thank Merlin for that,” Theo said, “We’ve been in here for days. I need to get home and floo Sadie to apologise.”

“I’m sure she feels as guilty as you do about your last conversation,” Draco assured Theo.

“I hope so,” Theo said, “But she’s been miserable lately. I’ve been wracking my brain in here to come up with alternative job options for her.”

“Did you come up with any?” Harry asked.

Theo shrugged, “Nothing I know she would definitely want to do. She loves reading and writing though, so I thought maybe an author or a researcher?”

“Hermione thought about being a researcher,” Draco mused, “But she said she loves reading books, and researching all of the facts that go into them would ruin that for her.”

“I didn’t think of it like that,” Theo admitted, “The thing is, Sadie is smart enough to do pretty much anything she wants, but she’s pretty picky about what she does want to do.”

“You know how to pick them, Theo,” Neville joked.

Theo smiled slightly, “She’s a pain in the arse, but she’s my pain in the arse.”

Harry snorted, “Is that as romantic as you get?”

“Guys, look,” Neville said eagerly.

They were in full sunlight now. They walked a little faster and then with a collective sigh of relief, they realised that they had managed to escape the rainforest.

“We’re out!” Theo cheered.

“What now?” Draco asked. He looked around, “Do we just wait for them to pick us up?”

In answer to his question, a portal appeared in front of him. On the other side, Sheppard stood to wave them through.

“I guess that answers your question,” Harry joked as he stepped through the portal. The others all followed his lead, and once they were all through, the portal vanished.

“Welcome home boys,” Sumner said. They were standing in the office that he shared with Sheppard.

“Please tell us we weren’t the last ones out,” Draco said.

“You were, the other group came back a few hours ago,” Sheppard said.

“But you would have finished first if someone hadn’t been bitten by a rattlesnake,” Sumner said, he looked pointedly at Harry.

“Sorry, Sir,” Harry said sheepishly.

“As it is, you still pass this test,” Sumner continued, “Aurors McKay and Brown were both pleased with how you did in there. You were particularly well commended by Auror Brown for coming up with that antivenom as quickly as you did.”

“And Auror Carter highly commended you on your spell modification Recruit Nott,” Sheppard added.

Theo smiled proudly.

“So overall boys, it was a good job. The rest of you can head home, but I need to question Potter about why he brought a Boa Constrictor into my office.”

Dave looked up lazily from where he was sleeping on Harry’s shoulders. The other boys tried their best not to snigger as they left the office.

Harry glanced up at the clock, partly to avoid meeting Sumner’s eye and partly because they had genuinely lost track of time in the rainforest. It was just before 5 pm, and he couldn’t wait to get home to Daphne.

When the door shut behind the other three boys, Sumner turned his attention on Harry, “An explanation please Potter?”

Harry cleared his throat, “Well, this Boa Constrictor is actually called Dave. His entire family were killed by poachers who wanted their skin to use as a fashion accessory. So Dave was lonely, and I was talking to him about how I was lonely too-”

“You speak parseltongue,” Sheppard said.

“Uh, yes sir,” Harry said, “It’s a long story, but when Voldemort tried to kill me he transferred a bit of his soul into me, and it lived in me for 17 years. When I walked to my death to sacrifice myself for the people I loved, Voldemort tried to kill me, but he actually killed the piece of himself in me. It’s soul magic and love magic, so the whole thing is pretty complicated.”

“How does that translate into you being able to talk to snakes?” Sumner asked bluntly.

“Well,” Harry said, “I sort of developed some of the abilities that Voldemort had. One of which was being a Parselmouth. After the bit of his soul in me died, it didn’t come as easily to me, but I guess it’s like riding a bike. Once you know how to do it, you never forget.”

“Right,” Sumner said slowly, “So the snake-”

“Dave,” Harry corrected.

“Dave,” Summer said with a frown, “Told you he was lonely?”

“Yes sir, so I asked him if he could lead us out of the rainforest if I promised to take him home with me,” Harry said, “And he did get us out of the rainforest.”

Dave hissed.

“He says he also saved my life because he found the mongoose that they got the antibodies from,” Harry added.

Sheppard raised an eyebrow in Sumner’s direction.

Sumner looked Harry dead in the eye and said, “Son, are you taking the piss?”

“No sir, Dave is genuinely a lonely snake who I feel a lot of empathy for,” Harry said, “And I really can talk to snakes which I hope won’t make you view me in a negative light. I know that people view it as a bad thing because of Salazar Slytherin.”

Sumner shook his head, “I wasn’t worried about that Potter. I was more concerned with the giant snake you brought home with you. Are Boa Constrictors even legal as pets in this country?”

“Uh…shouldn’t I be asking you that, sir?” Harry asked.

He was sure he heard Sheppard snigger before he replied, “Yes, it is legal to keep them as pets, but there are rules. You need a permit so that we can find you if your snake kills someone and you need to put certain security measures in place to ensure the snake can’t escape from your property.”

“Thank you, Sheppard,” Sumner said with a nod, “I am afraid that reptile care is not my speciality.”

“My brother keeps snakes and lizards,” Sheppard informed Harry, “I can put you in touch with Garry at Reptile Control, it’s in the backroom of Eeylops. He will need to come out and do some inspections then help you put all of the security in place.”

Harry smiled at Sheppard, “Thanks, Sir, that would be really helpful.”

“Right then Potter,” Sumner said finally, “Get yourself home. We will see you tomorrow morning.”

Harry nodded and thanked the two men, then left the office. He got quick a few funny looks as he traversed through the training centre with a huge snake sleeping on his shoulders.

* * *

“Harry, is that you?”

“What other men have been casually walking into my house this week?” Harry joked as he followed Daphne’s voice into the kitchen.

“Very funny. I haven’t cooked for two because I didn’t know when you would be-” Daphne turned around from the pasta pot and dropped the ladle in her hand, “Why the fuck do you have a huge ass snake around your neck?”

Dave lifted his head slightly and hissed feebly.

“His name is Dave, and he’s not too happy about the fact you woke him up,” Harry said, “Hang on, let me just explain to him who you are.”

Daphne stared at her fiancé in disbelief as Harry looked the snake in the eye and began to hiss at it. The snake hissed back, and a full-blown conversation was had, of which Daphne understood nothing.

“He apologises, he didn’t realise that you were his master's fiancé,” Harry said once he and Dave had finished talking.

“His master?” Daphne asked, “Harry, that better not mean what I think it means.”

“He was lonely!” Harry exclaimed, “I couldn’t just leave him out there in the rainforest all alone. His entire family were killed by poachers who wanted their skin, just like my entire family are gone. He helped us out of the rainforest, you know?”

“I don’t care if he helped you out of the bloody rainforest,” Daphne said hotly, “We can’t have a giant snake living in our house. We have a toddler!”

“We don’t have to worry about that, he won’t hurt Teddy,” Harry promised. He looked at the snake and asked it in parseltongue, “You won’t hurt Teddy, will you Dave? He’s my son, or at least he will be soon when we adopt him.”

Dave shook his head slowly and hissed, “ _No master. I will not hurt anyone that you love. I will only hurt those who seek to hurt you_.”

“I wish I had met you years ago when I knew lots of people like that Dave,” Harry hissed solemnly. He looked up at Daphne once more, “See?”

“No, I don’t see, because I don’t speak fucking parseltongue!” Daphne said a little hysterically.

“He said he won’t hurt anyone that I love, only those who seek to hurt me,” Harry translated, “So you and Teddy don’t need to worry.”

“Great so he’s going to crush anyone who hurts you to death?” Daphne said with a shake of her head, “Unbelievable!”

“Daphne, I didn’t think you would be so against the idea,” Harry admitted, “Do you have something against snakes?”

“I don’t think having a huge snake in the house is a great idea when we have a toddler,” Daphne said hotly, “And I have had a very stressful day, so you picked a terrible time to come home with a giant fucking snake!”

“His name is Dave!” Harry exclaimed, “Why do people keep calling him a giant fucking snake? He has a name, you know? He has feelings.”

“Oh for the love of Merlin!” Daphne said. She put the pasta pot down on the table a little violently, “I am so fucking sorry that I didn’t know Dave had fucking feelings, Harry!”

“Daph, calm down,” Harry said gently. He set Dave down on the floor and walked over to her, “He won’t be in the house. I’ll get Nev’s help, and I’ll create a little cabin for him in the garden. I’ll get Hermione to use one of those climate charms to recreate the rainforest. I’ll go out and visit him, but you and Teddy don’t have to worry.”

Daphne shook her head in disbelief, “I give up.”

“Daphne-”

“I am not in the mood, Harry!” Daphne exclaimed as she stalked up the stairs.

Harry sighed and turned to Dave, “I swear, she’s not normally like this. She’ll warm to you when she gets to know you.”

Dave hissed, “ _I will not eat the child. They do not fulfil my hunger.”_

“Yeah,” Harry grimaced, “I’m just…I’m just not gonna pass that one on Dave.”

* * *

When Draco and Theo reached Grimmauld Place on Thursday evening, they were both exhausted and looking forward to a night in their own beds. They both went into number 12, Theo was intending on having a brief chat with Hermione, then heading home to floo Sadie.

When the door clicked shut, Draco called, “I’m back, love!”

“Is Theo with you?” Hermione’s voice floated down the stairs.

“Yeah,” Draco called back, “Why? Do you need him?”

“Yes! Come up to the drawing-room.”

Theo frowned at his best friend, “Do you think everything is okay?”

“I hope so,” Draco muttered. They jogged up the stairs together, and both of them got a shock when they saw _two_ people in the drawing-room.

“Sadie!” Theo exclaimed, “You’re meant to be in Egypt.”

“I know,” Sadie said. She had stopped crying, but her eyes were still bloodshot and puffy.

“She’s got a week-long sick line,” Hermione said, her eyes met Draco’s.

Draco’s eyes widened with realisation.

“Why?” Theo asked as he knelt in front of her, “What’s wrong?”

Sadie bit her lip, and Hermione whispered, “Just tell him, Sadie, there’s no easy way to do this.”

Sadie looked at her husband and said, “I’m pregnant, Theo.”

Theo didn’t know what to say to that. He stared at her, completely frozen in shock. He opened his mouth, “You…you…”

Sadie shut her eyes tightly, expecting the inevitable freak out.

Draco crossed the room swiftly and pulled Theo to his feet. He pulled his best friend into a hug roughly and said, “Don’t freak out.”

“Pregnant,” Theo breathed.

Hermione put an arm around Sadie, “Eight weeks. It happened when you were on your honeymoon.”

“Go figure,” Draco said, patting Theo on the back.

Theo pulled away and began to pace the room, “Eight weeks so its due in March…well that’s a good star sign…it’s not too cold, not too hot, but probably the best time to be pregnant. It would be horrible to be pregnant in the middle of summer-”

“Theo-”

“But this is good. It’s good. It’s a surprise; I mean, how did we even? On that night in Paris with the wine…oh bugger, it must have been that night…but it’s good. If it’s a girl we can call it Almina, I always wanted to do that. I mean as long as Sadie’s okay with that-”

“Theo-”

“And I mean we’re young, but I’ve got enough money. I just need to get through training, but what if I get kicked out? What do we do then? Well, I could do other things, I am smart enough-”

Hermione got to her feet and slapped him, “Theo! Shut up.”

All three of them watched him warily. This could go one of two ways, he could hug Sadie and come to his senses or he could –

“Oh fuck, who am I kidding? I’d be a shit Dad, look at the only role model that I had. Sadie, you’d be better off leaving me.”

“Theo-”

“No, no, that’s a dick move. I’ll leave you, but I’ll give you money. You can raise the kid with Draco and Hermione, that would be better for everyone.”

“No, it wouldn’t!” Sadie snapped as she got to her feet.

“ _Calm down_ ,” Hermione said sternly, “You have a baby to look out for, and you already have high blood pressure, so sit down in that chair right now.”

Sadie sat down and crossed her arms.

And Theo burst into tears.

Draco sighed and drew him into a hug, “It’s going to be alright, Theo. You remember what you said to me when I freaked out after Pansy told me she was pregnant?”

“Not to drown yourself in the shower cause a bath would be better?” Theo asked tearfully.

“After that,” Draco chuckled, “But it’s good to know you haven’t lost your sense of humour.”

“I told you that you weren’t your father,” Theo mumbled into Draco’s chest.

“Exactly,” Draco said, “And you aren’t yours either. You are a good person, and you are going to be a great father. Remember everything that we talked about in isolation? About how we’re going to write the wrongs of our fathers? We’re going to show our kids that we love them, and we’re going to take them to Quidditch games, cheer them on, teach them that love is equal?”

Theo nodded and sniffed, “It’s going to be okay.”

“Yeah, it is,” Draco said. He glanced at Sadie over Theo’s shoulder, “Me and the guys will keep you on the straight and narrow at work, and we will all look after Sadie.”

“Starting with getting her to St. Mungos for a check-up tomorrow,” Hermione said pointedly.

“Are you going to take her?” Theo asked. He drew back from Draco and wiped his eyes, “Because I can’t see how either of us will get away with not going to training.”

“I don’t think I’ll get away with not going to work tomorrow,” Hermione admitted, “I managed to slip away today, but I had to give a crazy Auror a decommissioned Auror box to do that.”

“What the fuck?” Theo asked.

“Don’t ask, he’s Irish,” Hermione said with a wave of her hand, “The point is, I don’t see how I can get away with taking liberties like that two days in a row.”

“You do know someone who can get away from work whenever they want,” Draco pointed out.

“She’ll kill me though,” Sadie muttered.

“Sadie, I don’t think it will be that bad-”

“You weren’t there when she found out that Pansy was pregnant,” Theo cut in.

“That was different,” Hermione said pointedly, “Pansy was only 17, and we were in the middle of a war. You are 19; you are married. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

Sadie sniffed and nodded, “I know.”

“Bill lets her do whatever she wants,” Hermione added, “So going to the appointment with you wouldn’t be an issue.”

Sadie sighed and nodded once more, “Can you get her to come over?”

Hermione nodded and glanced over at Draco, “Would you do the honours?”

“Why do I have to do it?” Draco asked.

“Because she’s your crazy ex-girlfriend,” Theo joked weakly.

Draco didn’t even retaliate. He just walked to the fireplace and floo-ed Potter Manor. Theo sat down on the arm of Sadie’s chair and kissed her forehead, “We’ll get through this,” he promised.

Sadie nodded and bit her lip as Daphne stepped out of the fireplace.

“What’s going on?” She asked a little abrasively.

“I need your help,” Sadie admitted.

“With?” Daphne asked. She glanced at the three solemn faces in the room, “And what’s with the bodyguards?”

“With an appointment,” Sadie said quietly. She caught her best friends eye, “I need you to come to St. Mungo’s with me tomorrow because I’m pregnant.”

“Pregnant?” Daphne echoed.

“Yes,” Sadie said simply, “Eight weeks.”

“Eight weeks,” Daphne scoffed, “Your honeymoon?”

Sadie nodded, and Daphne looked up at Theo, “You idiot.”

“It’s not all my fault! She didn’t cast the charm either, it’s 50/50,” Theo objected.

“Yes, but you knocked her up, Nott!” Daphne said as she punched him in the chest.

Theo winced, “She’s my wife!”

“And? She’s only 19!”

“Who cares?” Sadie snapped.

All eyes were drawn to the usually quiet, blonde woman.

“Who gives a shit, Daphne? He’s my husband, and I love him,” Sadie said simply, “He will be a wonderful father, and this is what we wanted. Yes, we didn’t want it now, but if Tracey was here, she wouldn’t be yelling at me! She’d say, what's meant for you won’t pass you by.”

The words of her dead best friend softened Daphne. She pulled Sadie into a hug and murmured in her ear, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I knew you’d do it,” Sadie said, squeezing her friend tightly, “You did when Pansy told you she was pregnant too.”

“Yes, well,” Daphne said as she drew back, “Slytherin men are adept at getting their other halves pregnant at inopportune times.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “Thanks for that painful reminder, Daphne,” he said dryly.

“So will you take me to St. Mungo’s tomorrow?” Sadie asked.

“Of course I will you idiot,” Daphne said affectionately, “But right now, you need to go home and _you_ need to get her set up in bed with a warm hot water bottle, not too hot because that’s not good for the baby. Make her a milky cup of tea and look after her, do you hear me?”

“Yes, Mum,” Theo said with a slight smile.

“Thanks, Daph,” Sadie echoed.

Daphne leant forward and kissed her on the cheek, “Get some rest, and I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”

Theo hooked his arm through his wife's, and they left the drawing-room.

“Thanks, Daphne,” Hermione said, “I would have taken her, but I already had to take today off work when she came home from Egypt.”

“It’s fine; it’s the least I can do,” Daphne said, she opened the balcony door and breathed in the fresh air, “Once upon a time, I would have been the person she would have told.”

“I’m sorry,” Hermione said sheepishly.

“No, don’t be,” Daphne said, she leant against the railing and looked out into the darkness as cars rushed by on the streets below, “I’m glad that she has you.”

“She has all of us,” Draco said as he joined them, “And she’s going to need all of us.”

“This isn’t going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination,” Hermione agreed, “We’re all going to need to check in on her and keep her occupied.”

“Yeah,” Daphne said, she leant against the railing and said, “Just do me a favour and don’t get knocked up, okay? Because I can’t deal with anymore surprise bloody pregnancies.”

“Neither can I,” Draco admitted.

“I won’t,” Hermione said with a smile, “I’m extremely careful.”

“So am I,” Daphne admitted, “The last thing I need is a baby on the way and a toddler.”

“You’d be a sucker for punishment,” Draco joked, “Do you want to stay for a cup of tea?”

“No, I need to go home and kill my fiancé.”

“Why?” Hermione called as Daphne traipsed across the drawing-room.

“Because he brought a giant fucking snake home and we are adopting a toddler!” Daphne answered before disappearing into the fireplace.

“Yeah,” Draco said sheepishly, “He brought a Boa Constrictor home from our secret mission in the rainforest.”

“He did _what_?”

* * *

When Daphne stepped into the kitchen of Potter Manor and saw Harry feeding Dave a dead rat, she lost it.

“Oh for the love of fucking Merlin!”

Harry jumped, “What?”

“There is a fucking Boa Constrictor in my kitchen!” Daphne shrieked, “My future husband brought a giant fucking snake home, and my best friend is fucking pregnant!”

“Woah,” Harry said, “Start from the beginning.”

“There’s a giant fucking snake-”

“Yeah, I know. I swear I’ll build him a house tomorrow, so he’s not in your kitchen,” Harry said quickly, “Whose pregnant?”

“Sadie,” Daphne said, throwing herself onto a stool at the breakfast bar, “She got pregnant on their honeymoon. I’m taking her into St. Mungos for a check-up tomorrow.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah.”

“How are they both?” Harry asked.

“Shocked, but okay I think,” Daphne said with a shrug, “Hermione seemed to do a good job calming Sadie down today, and I’m sure Draco prevented Theo having a full-blown breakdown.”

“Is that why you’re so upset?” Harry asked knowingly, “Because Sadie told Hermione before you.”

“Yeah,” Daphne admitted, “We used to be best friends, but now…”

“Things change, Daphne,” Harry said softly, “People grow apart, and other people come together. You and Lilly are closer now.”

“Not that close,” Daphne muttered, “And sweet Salazar, what I would give to talk to-”

The floo roared to life.

_Floo Signature: Lillian Moon._

“- Lilly right now,” Daphne finished.

Harry chuckled, “Access granted.”

Lilly’s face appeared in the flames, “Hey Daph – oh my god! Why the fuck is there a Boa Constrictor in your kitchen?”

Daphne glared at Harry, “Thank you, Lilly! Thank _you_ for being the only sane human in my bloody life right now! The Boa Constrictor is called Dave, and _he_ brought him home from the fucking Amazon rain forest!”

“What the actual fuck, Harry?”

Harry scoffed, “Come on, Dave,” he said as he put the snake on his shoulders, “We know where we’re not wanted.”

_“Women_ ,” Dave hissed.

“It’s not too late to call the wedding off, you know?” Lilly’s voice said from the kitchen.

“Don’t fucking tempt me,” Daphne muttered in response.

* ~ **TBC ~ ***


	41. The Founders Ball

“You okay, mate?”

Theo jumped, “So we’re showering together now, are we?”

“We’ve showered together since you joined the Quidditch team in third year,” Draco pointed out.

“Not in a private shower cubicle,” Theo muttered.

“Well, you’re avoiding everyone, they can tell somethings up,” Draco whispered, “If you’re not going to tell them, you need to get a bit better at acting.”

“I’ll tell them at the Founders Ball,” Theo promised, “But I just want to wait and see how the hospital visit goes today.”

“Alright,” Draco said softly, “It’ll be okay, you know? Try not to freak out so much.”

Theo sighed, “Easier said than done.”

“I know, I’ve been there,” Draco reminded him.

Theo caught his eye, “Yeah, I know you have. Sorry, man.”

“It’s alright,” Draco said as he grabbed a towel from the cubicle door, “Just keep your chin up alright? I know you’re worried, but we’ve got a whole day of classes then simulation to get through before we can go home and find out how today went and you’ve got to be on the ball.”

“Got it,” Theo said with a weak smile, “I will be.”

* * *

The simulation was easy that day which was a pleasant surprise after their week in the jungle. It meant they finished on time and apparated home straight away. They usually talked to Harry and Neville for a bit or took their time walking down the path, but they didn’t today.

As a result, they apparated into the alley seconds after Hermione did. She turned around and raised an eyebrow, “5.02 pm?”

“Yes, you can tell the time. Congratulations Princess,” Theo said.

Hermione swiped at him, but he ducked to avoid her hand, and they all stepped onto the street together, “Shut up, Theo. You must be worried about Sadie. I don’t think I have ever seen either of you get home before 5.15 pm.”

“Of course we’re worried about Sadie,” Draco mumbled, “Do you know how today went?”

Hermione shook her head, “Daphne sent me a Patronus at lunchtime and told me not to worry _too_ much but that it would all be explained when I got home which is worse than if I’d heard nothing.”

“Yeah,” Theo sighed, “That doesn’t sound good.”

He put his hand on the door to number 11 and all three of them traipsed in. They headed up to the drawing-room, assuming that Sadie would want to be comfortable and sure enough, that was where they found the two girls.

****

“Hey, baby,” Theo said. He crossed the room and sat down next to his wife, “How is everything?”

“It’s okay,” Sadie said with a weak smile, “But it could be better.”

“Do you want me to explain?” Daphne asked.

Sadie just nodded.

“They are worried about her morning sickness,” Daphne explained, “She has it too regularly, so she’s dehydrated. They have given her strict instructions to drink plenty of water which I have told her she had better follow.”

Sadie rolled her eyes at this and Hermione bit back an amused smile.

“She also has high blood pressure which can lead to difficulties, so she has been informed to rest until it comes down. A Healer will be out every day to check on her until they are satisfied that she’s completely healthy,” Daphne said.

“So house arrest then, Sade,” Hermione said.

Sadie leant back against her pillows, “House arrest,” she agreed glumly.

“Well…” Draco said, “Could be worse, I guess? At least you have two houses to go-between.”

“And my library is your library,” Hermione added.

Sadie smiled, “I might do some researching and write a book. Just to pass the time.”

“You’d be a brilliant Author,” Theo said with a grin.

Sadie managed to chuckle, “I just need to decide what to write about,” she pointed out.

“I’m sure we could come up with something between us,” Hermione said cheerfully, “So any medication?”

“An iron potion once a day to help with the fatigue, but apart from that, bed rest and plenty of water,” Daphne informed them.

“And the baby is okay I’m guessing?” Theo asked, “Sorry if that’s stupid, I just don’t know what they do at these appointments.”

“Sadie is only two months pregnant, so it was a basic check today,” Daphne admitted, “They did a complete check-up on her and a basic one on the baby. But you’ll find out more in around a month at the next appointment at the hospital.”

“So book time off work for that one,” Hermione said pointedly as she looked up at Theo.

“I will,” Theo promised, “As soon as I’ve told my bosses what’s going on.”

“What’s happening with your course?” Hermione asked.

“They don’t know yet, but I’ll have to go back and tell them,” Sadie sighed, “Then they will kick me out, no doubt.”

“You aren’t going anywhere,” Theo said protectively, “They said bed rest, that means no travelling.”

“And especially not halfway across the world to Egypt,” Draco agreed, “You’ll tell them through the floo, and if they have a problem with that, they can take it up with us.”

Daphne smiled at the four of them, “I’m going to get home to Harry and leave you in the capable hands of these three, Sade. I swear at this rate I’m going to start calling you a quad.”

“Just don’t,” Sadie snorted, “Hermione and Theo were flirting at the dinner table the other night; I can’t take much more.”

“We were not flirting,” Hermione scoffed, “I was insulting him.”

“No you weren’t, you were complimenting me!”

“I think calling you a perfect Slytherin is an insult.”

“Well, I think it’s a compliment,” Theo objected.

Daphne laughed. She leant down and kissed Sadie on the cheek, “I’ll check in on you when I can and if you don’t feel up to it, do not come to the Founders Ball this weekend, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, Daph.”

“Anytime,” Daphne promised with a smile. She threw some floo powder into the fire, stepped inside and said, “Potter Manor!”

“Right then, bed rest means bed!” Theo said. He clapped his hands, “Up you go, I’ll get Deeley to make some dinner. Something bland, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Sadie said with a small smile.

“And those two are gonna bugger off home,” Theo said, nudging his head in the direction of Draco and Hermione.

“Nice, Theo,” Draco joked, “Nice to know you only keep us around when you need us.”

“Ah well, us perfect Slytherins know how to delegate,” Theo said with a wink in Hermione’s direction.

“I swear to Merlin; I will obliviate you if you keep that up!” Hermione warned him, and they left the drawing-room to laughter from both of the Notts.

* * *

“Did you find out who your wife will be tonight?” Daphne asked when she heard the front door downstairs open. Harry had just been at the pre-dance meeting up at Hogwarts.

“You could have just asked who was playing Helga Hufflepuff,” Harry called from the entrance hall, “Where are you?”

“In the kitchen!”

Daphne heard Harry’s footsteps on the marble floor, and seconds later, he stepped into the kitchen, “Are you baking?”

“Hermione gave me a recipe,” Daphne said, “It can’t be that hard to follow. It’s just like edible potions, isn’t it?”

“Apart from the baking part, yeah,” Harry said with an amused smile, “And for your information, my wife for one night only is Susan Bones.”

Daphne snorted in amusement, “That could be interesting. What do you have to do?”

“Dance together when we go in and act as each other’s date for the night,” Harry said a little tentatively, “Assuming you’re okay with that?”

“I’m fine with that, it’s just for show,” Daphne said with a wave of her hand, “It does mean that I’ll be a loner all night though.”

“Nah you won’t,” Harry said while he set the kettle on to boil, “Lil is Rowena Ravenclaw, so you and Neville are going to go together.”

“Lucky me,” Daphne joked, “By the end of the night, I’ll have gone on dates with the chosen one _and_ his sidekick.”

“Don’t say that to him,” Harry chuckled, “I need to go outside and feed Dave, are you sure you can finish that on your own?”

“I’ll be fine,” Daphne scoffed, “By the way, who is Hermione going to go with since Draco is Salazar Slytherin?”

Harry turned around and shot her a grin, “Ron offered to escort her.”

“Does Draco know that?”

“I may have inadvertently told him this morning,” Harry admitted sheepishly, “And his response may have been, _oh for fuck sakes, can’t he let go_?”

“I bet Theo and Sadie will hear the argument through the walls this morning,” Daphne joked as Harry disappeared from view.

“I bet! Can you add rats to the shopping list babe? I’m getting pretty low.”

“Tell Dave to eat less then! He’s already decimated the rat, mouse and shrew population of the bloody estate!”

“He’s a growing snake, Daphne! He needs his nutrition!”

“For the love of Merlin,” Daphne muttered under her breath as she added, “ _Rats for Dave”_ to the shopping list.

* * *

“Hey! How did it go?”

“Fine,” Draco said calmly, “Lilly and I discussed how awkward it was going to be to dance together tonight then her and Harry agreed that Neville and Daphne might as well go together so that they weren’t dateless.”

“That makes sense,” Hermione said.

“Out of curiosity,” Draco said in that same calm tone, “When were you planning on telling me that you were going with Ron?”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Let me guess, Harry?”

“Harry told me, yes,” Draco said, “But I feel like it really should have come from you.”

Hermione sighed, “Harry only told you half of the story because Harry is great at hearing something and thinking he knows everything. Yes, Ron offered to escort me to the ball tonight, and I very politely told him no thank you.”

“Right,” Draco said, a little sheepishly, “Who are you going to go with then? Because I have to treat Lilly as my date all night.”

“I know,” Hermione said, “I had suspected that would be the case, so I had a back-up plan.”

“Which is?” Draco asked.

“Percy,” Hermione replied, “I had a feeling that Susan would be Helga so I figured that if that was the case, Percy and I could go together. At the very least, there will be sensible conversation all night.”

Draco grinned at her.

“What?” Hermione asked self-consciously.

“Only you would pick a dance partner for their ability to converse sensibly,” Draco said with a fond smile.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Sensible conversation is a key factor in choosing a partner; thank you very much.”

“Christ, why did you date Ronald Weasley then?” Draco joked, “I mean I can understand why you chose me. Beyond my dashing good looks and sex appeal, I’m very adept at sensible conversation, and I’m deeply emotional.”

Hermione smiled at him, “You’re an idiot.”

“I know,” Draco said, he kissed her on the cheek.

“But I love you,” Hermione finished, “For much more than your ability to sensibly converse.”

Draco laughed, “Come on, I need to make sure this costume fits. I don’t suppose you have a thing for roleplay?”

“Not with Salazar Slytherin.”

Draco raised an eyebrow, “That implies that you do in other situations…interesting.”

“That is not what I said Draco!”

* * *

When the ‘Founders’ met up in the annexe at the back of the great hall, Harry had to admit that they all looked pretty damn good. He thought he was rocking the whole, long brown hair thing even if Daphne had laughed at him. The Godric Gryffindor costume with its gold and scarlet lining and real fur cloak was also pretty neat.

His ‘date’ for the night also looked brilliant as Helga Hufflepuff. She was wearing a yellow and black ballgown and had her hair up in a styled bun. Susan managed to look the part almost as much as Harry did.

Lilly could have been Rowena Ravenclaw for all anyone knew. Her hair was back to the dark brown that he had always known it as, although she had promised Neville that it would be red again the next morning. The blue in her eyes matched the deep blue shade of her ballgown, and she looked the part more than any of the others.

Then there was Draco.

“You look every bit as slimy as the day I first met you.”

“Are we roleplaying here or are you just insulting me?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s scary how much you look like Slytherin,” Harry said in answer to the question.

“Hermione said I look foul with dark hair and that if I ever dye it, she’s going to leave me,” Draco said matter of factly.

The silver and green robes that Draco was wearing weren’t a million miles away from the kind of robes that Draco actually wore, but his hair was now a dark brown, so dark that it was almost black. It was also slicked back, which was what made him look so much like his old self.

“I don’t blame her,” Lilly said, “It does look awful.”

“At least my date for the night is as nice to me as my fiancé,” Draco joked.

Harry snorted in amusement, “You girls look great by the way. I mean Lil, you could be Rowena Ravenclaw for all anyone knew.”

Lilly smiled, “Thanks Harry, I can’t believe McGonagall actually asked me to play her.”

“It’s pretty exciting,” Susan agreed, “Although Percy weirded me out a little this afternoon when I was getting ready. He seems to really have a thing for me when I’m dressed up as Helga Hufflepuff.”

Harry and Draco guffawed and snorted with laughter, respectively.

“Thanks, Suse,” Harry grinned, “That’s going in the blackmail folder.”

“Harry!” Susan exclaimed.

“What do you expect when you give us a gem of information like that?” Draco asked while he chuckled.

“You, I expected it of, but I thought Harry was better than that.”

“You forget that two of my best friends are Slytherins and that my fiancé is a Slytherin,” Harry reminded Susan, “At some point, all of that sliminess had to rub off on me.”

Draco patted Harry on the back, “To quote that movie we saw this afternoon, I have trained you well young Padawan.”

Lilly shook her head in disbelief, “I can’t believe you managed to get him and Theo into Star Wars. I mean Neville, yeah I can believe that, but those two?”

Harry just shot her a grin. He didn’t have a chance to say anything further on the subject because the door opened, and McGonagall came in to tell them that they were required in the entrance hall.

All of the guests were already in the great hall, so all they had to do was walk in together and dance. Harry had done it so many times now that he didn’t feel nervous about it, not like he had that first time at the Yule Ball.

“Shall we get into character then, m’lady?” Harry joked as he held his hand out to Susan.

She laughed and took it, “Very well, my dear Godric.”

Draco shot Lilly an exasperated look, “We’re not doing that.”

“That’s fine by me,” Lilly said, she slipped her arm into his, “Because unlike my fellow bookworm, I never had an underlying longing for you. I genuinely thought that you were an annoying, smarmy prat.”

Draco snorted, “Fair enough. I was pretty annoying and smarmy, I suppose.”

“And a prat,” Lilly added, “Don’t forget that part.”

Before Draco could agree with her, not that he wanted to anyway, the doors to the great hall were flung open, and the show began. Harry and Susan walked in first with Draco and Lilly at their heels.

The students were at the back of the hall, and the guests of honour were at the front. Amongst them were Hermione, Percy, Daphne, Neville, Ron, Ginny, Bill and Charlie. There were other familiar faces too, but Luna was one that was notably missing. Harry supposed that she hadn’t been able to get over from South America with the short notice McGonagall had given them.

When the group of four reached the dancefloor, music began to play. Harry didn’t mind dancing these days, but he preferred doing it with Daphne. Dancing with Susan felt a little like a betrayal although he knew that Daphne didn’t view it that way.

“Who knew Godric Gryffindor was such a good dancer?” Susan joked.

Harry laughed, “Who knew Helga Hufflepuff was such a bad one? I thought purebloods were supposed to be good at this stuff.”

“We are, but my Aunt taught me, and she had two left feet,” Susan said, “My mother was the elegant one.”

“Oh,” Harry said, “I’m sorry, Susan, I was just having a joke with you.”

“I know you were,” Susan said, she smiled slightly, “But I was just giving you an honest answer. When did you get so good?”

“Daphne likes dancing,” Harry admitted with a smile, “So when I started going to balls and weddings with her, I had to learn to dance. Neville taught me…well, Neville and Draco really. Theo and Dean just laughed and took pictures.”

Susan saw the look in his eyes when he said Dean’s name, “You still miss him, don’t you?”

“I still miss everyone I lost in the war,” Harry said quietly, “But yeah, I miss some more than others, and Dean is one of them.”

Susan nodded and nearly tripped when Harry whirled her around, “What was that for?”

“It’s how the dance goes,” Harry said while he bit back his laughter. He didn’t think it would be in character for Godric Gryffindor to laugh at his wifes terrible dancing.

* * *

“He’s having too much fun,” Daphne said as she watched her fiancé with narrowed eyes, “Don’t you think Neville?”

“He’s probably just being friendly,” Neville said, “That’s what Harry does.”

“Friendly and flirty aren’t too dissimilar,” Daphne said.

“And Harry is totally clueless,” Neville pointed out, he handed her a glass of wine, “So friendly accidental flirting wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for him.”

“I don’t like it.”

“You agreed to it.”

“Dammit Neville, you sound just like him!”

Neville smirked, “Well, I am his Auror partner.”

Before Daphne could comment any further on the fact she didn’t like the fact that Harry appeared to be having too much fun, Hermione and Percy joined them.

“God, he looks awful.”

“Who does?” Daphne asked, without taking her eyes off of Harry and Susan.

“Draco,” Hermione said distastefully, “Dark hair just washes him out, he looks horrid.”

Neville sniggered, “Did you tell him that?”

“She told him that she’s going to leave him if he ever dyes his hair,” Daphne said with a slight smile.

“Some people just suit their look and shouldn’t change it,” Percy agreed, “I can’t imagine Suse as anything apart from a redhead.”

“She looks pretty good as a blonde,” Daphne commented.

“Oh yeah,” Neville remembered, “I forgot about that phase she went through in sixth year with the blonde hair.”

Percy looked at his girlfriend thoughtfully, “Hmm, I can’t see it personally.”

“Lil looked great with her dark hair when she dyed it,” Neville commented, “But I think she looks amazing with her natural colour.”

“You would do Neville, you like redheads,” Hermione said in amusement.

“How did you know that?” Neville asked.

“Everyone knows that Nev,” Daphne snorted, “You dated or had flings with about three within two years.”

“Okay Hermione, I get,” Neville said, “But how do you know about any of that Daph? And also it was two redheads and a blonde, just so you know.”

“She’s engaged to Harry Potter,” Hermione said with a raised eyebrow, “And everyone apart from you knows that he’s the biggest gossip in this friend group.”

Daphne shot Neville a smirk, “She’s right, I know because of Harry.”

Neville shook his head, “Honestly, this is totally against the Auror code of conduct.”

Percy snorted in amusement, “Code of conduct? Bounty hunters don’t have that; our code is attack first, ask questions later.”

“Go figure,” Daphne muttered under her breath.

Hermione shot her Slytherin friend an amused look but said nothing.

“Oh the dance is over,” Daphne noted, “I wonder if the great Godric Gryffindor will grace us with his presence now.”

“I’m not pretending that Draco is Salazar Slytherin all night,” Hermione said as her fiancé walked towards them, “He asked me to, and I started to wonder if he was into some weird roleplay about it.”

“If Harry thinks I’m going to pretend that he and Susan are married all night, he can jog on,” Daphne muttered under her breath so that only Hermione and Neville could hear.

“Hey Daph,” Harry said with a smile when he reached them, “How’s it going?”

“Fine,” Daphne said stiffly.

“How atrocious did my dancing look?” Susan asked them as she grabbed a glass of wine from the drinks table.

“From a distance, it didn’t look bad,” Percy promised her, “Even if my feet know how dreadful you really are.”

“She wasn’t that bad Perce,” Harry said.

“Wasn’t she?” Daphne muttered, again only Hermione and Neville could hear her.

Neville raised an eyebrow at Hermione behind Daphne’s back, and Hermione shook her head as if to say that she wasn’t getting involved.

“You hid how bad I was Harry,” Susan laughed, “I had no idea that you were such a good dancer.”

“Well you have me and Draco to thank for that,” Neville cut in, “We trained him up so that he could impress Daphne at the Yule Ball.”

“And it obviously worked,” Harry said, he shot Daphne a grin, “Since she’s marrying me.”

“Uh-huh,” Daphne said non-commitally.

Harry frowned at her and was about to ask her what was wrong. However, before he got a chance, Draco and Lilly reached them.

“Well,” Daphne said, “Hermione isn’t lying. You look awful with dark hair.”

“Seriously?” Draco asked, “Does anyone have anything nice to say about me?”

Almost everyone shook their heads, then Neville piped up, “Your robes look pretty cool.”

“Thank you, Nev,” Draco said in amusement, “Where are Theo and Sadie?”

“Not here yet,” Hermione replied, “I don’t know if they’re running late or just not planning on coming to be honest.”

“Maybe they’re just not coming because of the thing, you know?”

“What thing?” Susan asked.

“Uh…” Neville floundered, “This thing that’s going on with them.”

“You aren’t supposed to know about that thing,” Draco said, he narrowed his eyes at Neville.

“Yes,” Daphne agreed, “You aren’t.”

“Sorry,” Neville said quickly, “Does everyone else know about it?”

“Well, I know,” Harry said.

“So do I,” Hermione admitted.

“Well, of course, you know,” Neville said, “You four probably all found out at the same time.”

“Well, pretty much. But how do _you_ know?” Draco asked.

“Because Daphne knew and she told Harry, then Harry told me,” Neville replied.

“Harry!” Daphne exclaimed.

“He’s my Auror partner!” Harry defended himself.

Hermione shook her head, “I’m assuming that if you know, then Lilly knows?”

“Of course Lilly knows, I tell her everything,” Daphne remarked.

They all looked at her, and Daphne crossed her arms, “What?”

“Since when?” Hermione asked.

“Since we talk over floo every night because you guys are all cosy in your little quad now,” Daphne countered.

“It’s not a bloody quad,” Hermione muttered.

“It is though,” Daphne said under her breath.

“In Daphne’s defence, she was also pretty stressed the night she found out because there was a Boa Constrictor in her kitchen and I had to talk her out of killing her future husband,” Lilly piped up.

“What are you all talking about?” Susan asked as she scanned the group, “Do you know Perce?”

“I have no idea,” Percy admitted.

Neville frowned, “I don’t think it’s really my place to say.”

“Say what?” A new voice asked.

They all swivelled around to see that Sadie and Theo had arrived.

“Nothing,” They chorused.

Theo narrowed his eyes at his friends, “That was weird.”

“We were just talking about uh…how bad a dancer Susan is,” Harry lied.

“What? You said I was good earlier!”

“I lied, sorry, Susan,” Harry said.

Sadie narrowed her eyes at them, “Is that really what you were talking about?”

“Yep,” Draco said.

Neville nodded, “Yeah, she’s dreadful.”

“Wow, thanks guys,” Susan muttered irritably.

Sadie sighed, “You all know, don’t you?”

“Know what?” Susan asked again.

Sadie ignored her and scanned her friends, “You all bloody know! How the hell do you all know? I swore Theo, Hermione and Draco to secrecy!”

“I didn’t tell anyone!” Theo said quickly.

“Neither did I,” Draco promised.

“And I’ve kept it to myself too,” Hermione finished.

Sadie turned to Daphne, “So how did _you_ end up telling everyone else?”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Well, I told Lilly because Lilly is my Hermione, and I trusted her not to tell anyone. Just like I trusted my fiancé not to tell anyone, but he told his bloody Auror partner!” she glared at Harry for good measure.

“And no one told me, so please enlighten me, what the hell is going on?” Susan asked for the umpteenth time.

“Well since everybody else knows Susan, I might as well tell you too,” Sadie said irritably, “I’m pregnant okay? I’m 19, and I’m pregnant, and everyone is walking on eggshells around me because they think I’m going to have a mental breakdown about it but do you know what? I’m a married woman, and I am not ashamed so gossip about me all you want, but at least have the curtsey to do it behind my back!”

Before anyone could respond to that, Sadie stalked out of the hall.

Daphne shot Harry a glare, “Why did you tell Neville, you idiot?”

“I didn’t even tell Neville,” Harry muttered, “He had a hunch, and he knew he was right when he saw the look on my face.”

“Get better at disguising your facial expressions then, or you’ll be a terrible Auror,” Hermione retorted.

“Whose side are you on here?”

“At this point in time, not yours,” Hermione responded. She turned to Daphne, “Now, which one of us is going to follow her?”

“Better be you,” Daphne said. A hint of bitterness slipped into her voice, “You’re her girlfriend.”

Hermione shot her a dirty look and left the hall.

“Petty,” Lilly said from Daphne’s side.

“It was a bit,” Harry agreed.

“Hang on a minute,” Susan said with a frown, “Sadie is pregnant?”

“Yeah, catch up, Susan,” Lilly joked.

“Well if I wasn’t the last to find out then I wouldn’t have to,” Susan pointed out, “How long have you lot known about this for?”

“We only found out on Thursday,” Draco said.

“Yeah, that’s when I found out,” Daphne said, and Lilly nodded her agreement.

“I didn’t find out till Friday,” Neville chipped in.

Susan sighed, “So this is how it goes then? Those four have their little quad, and you're all in on it while I’m on the outskirts?”

“No, that’s not how it is at all,” Daphne said irritably, “Those four have their quad, and everyone else is on the outside.”

“It’s not a quad,” Theo said irritably, “That’s not even a thing anyway; it's just a word you invented.”

“And you’re being a right bitch,” Draco added, “This is like sixth year Daphne all over again.”

“Sixth year Daphne who was a bitch because her boyfriend turned out to be a fucking Death Eater?” Lilly cut in, “Cause sorry if its an unpopular opinion but that would make me bitchy too.”

Theo shook his head, “She’s acting like she did at the start of seventh year. Remember when she managed to divide our friend group in two all because she saw you kissing Pansy? She stalked off with her sidekicks, and I stuck with you.”

“Like you always do,” Daphne said irritably.

“You just can’t handle the fact that Sadie isn’t following you blindly anymore,” Theo snapped, “She has her own life and her own friends, and you aren’t the ‘It’ girl that everyone wants to be friends with anymore.”

“Guys,” Harry cut in, “This is getting out of-”

“That’s what you think, is it?” Daphne fumed.

“It’s the truth, isn’t it?” Draco interjected, “You loved it when Pansy died because you got to step out of her shadow. Daphne Greengrass, the ice queen with Tracey and Sadie in tow.”

“No,” Lilly cut in, “You don’t get to say that to her. Don’t you even _dare_ accuse her of being happy that Pansy died. She was the one that kept you alive all fucking summer after that. Do you think she wanted to spend the summer with you sleeping in her bloody bed? She had her own life, she was going to go travelling with Tracey, but she stayed for you, so you had better shut your goddamn mouth.”

Harry nodded, “Say another word against Daphne, and I will duel you.”

Draco turned to Harry and said, “She’s being a bitch.”

“That’s it,” Harry whipped his wand out, and Draco retaliated.

“Great, Godric and Salazar are re-enacting the moment their paths diverged,” Neville muttered irritably, “And I’ve lost track of why this argument even started.”

“Because Sadie and Daphne have grown apart,” Lilly said quietly, “And it’s shit when that happens. When someone is so important to you, but then all of a sudden, they don’t seem to care.”

She looked Neville in the eye, and he sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“I’m just saying, I get it,” Lilly said. She grabbed Daphne’s hand and said, “Come on, while my fake Husband is duelling your fiancé; let's grab a bit of fresh air.”

Daphne let Lilly pull her away, and Neville looked over at Theo, Susan and Percy, “I mean…am I the only one who doesn’t know what the fuck just happened?”

“Daphne’s jealous, and when Daphne gets jealous she gets petty,” Susan answered, “I’m still pissed that nobody told me Sadie was pregnant.”

“I just can’t be bothered with the drama,” Percy said with a roll of his eyes.

“I just want Sadie to be okay,” Theo said as he sank into a seat, “And I don’t understand why we can’t all be friends without this whole ‘quad’ drama, it’s not even a thing.”

“It is a thing, it’s just not a magical thing,” Susan said, “A magical triad is a thing, a marriage bond but between three people. A quad is more like two marriages, where everyone co-exists. Doesn’t that sound like what you four do?”

Theo frowned, “No…”

“Stop lying to yourself,” Susan said.

Percy nodded his agreement, “Accept it for what it is. None of us cares, so why should you?”

Theo was left to contemplate those words as ‘Helga’ dragged Percy over to help her break up the duel between her ‘husband’ and his arch-enemy.

* * *

When Hermione caught up to Sadie, she was sitting on a tree stump by the lake.

“Hey,” She said as she sat down next to her.

Sadie didn’t say anything.

“I’m sorry that it got out of hand like that,” Hermione said.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Sadie grumbled, “You didn’t tell everyone then get bitchy with me.”

“She misses you, and she didn’t mean to tell everyone,” Hermione said, “She told Harry because he’s her fiancé, we all would have done that. Harry was stupid for telling Neville.”

“What’s her excuse with Lilly then?” Sadie asked irritably.

“Look at it this way,” Hermione said, “If you found out a big secret you would tell Theo, but who else would you want to tell?”

“You,” Sadie admitted.

“Exactly,” Hermione said, “I know it’s not the same, Harry and Neville aren’t as close as Draco and Theo, but they are still best friends and Auror partners. Daphne and Lil talk almost every night via floo, did you know that?”

“No,” Sadie replied sheepishly, “I feel like I should have. She’s meant to be my best friend.”

“Best friends are overrated,” Hermione said with a shrug, “Why can’t we all just have lots of close friends, huh?”

Sadie sighed, “Is that what we are, close friends?”

“I don’t know,” Hermione admitted, “Two people who have become very close because their other halves are in love is too long-winded an explanation.”

“Close friends is easier,” Sadie chuckled.

“But Daphne feels pushed out,” Hermione said, “And I think you can understand why.”

“Yeah,” Sadie sighed, “I can.”

“And she gets bitchy when she’s jealous,” Hermione added.

Sadie rolled her eyes, “She always has done.”

“That’s why Lilly is good for her,” Hermione admitted, “She calms her down when she feels she needs to, but she backs her up when she needs to as well.”

Sadie looked out over the lake silently for a moment, and Hermione fell silent too.

“Theo asked me if I wanted to keep the baby last night,” Sadie said.

“What?” Hermione asked, her head snapping up, “Why? Does he want you to…you know?”

Sadie shook her head, “No, but he wanted to make sure that we were on the same page and we are. I just feel like I’ll be judged for the rest of my life.”

“No, you won’t be,” Hermione promised, she grabbed her friend's hand, “You’re young, but you’re married, and you’re sensible. You’ll be a brilliant mother.”

“Sensible?” Sadie laughed weakly, “I’m going to be a teenage mother.”

“Oh, hardly,” Hermione scoffed, “Your due date is the 4th of March and your birthday is the 19th of March. You’ll be a teenage mother for a few weeks then you will be 20.”

“True,” Sadie mused

“It’s going to be okay, Sadie,” Hermione promised her friend, “And if anyone judges you, if anyone says anything, Theo or Draco will set them straight.”

“Yeah,” Sadie said, she wiped her eyes, “But I need to apologise to Daphne…I’ve been neglecting her a bit.”

“I’m sure she’ll understand, once she cools down,” Hermione assured Sadie.

* * *

“I hate Sadie,” Daphne muttered irritably.

“No, you don’t,” Lilly said calmly.

“No, I don’t,” Daphne agreed as she leant against one of the stones in the stone circle.

“You’re jealous.”

“Yeah,” Daphne agreed, “I am.”

“You feel like you’re losing touch with your best friend,” Lilly said, “But that’s not actually what’s gotten you so upset. It’s not about Sadie so much; it’s about Tracey.”

Daphne looked up sharply, “What do you mean?”

“It was always you, Sadie and Tracey,” Lilly said with a sad smile, “The unholy trinity.”

Daphne smiled a little at this.

“Sure Pansy hung around with you sometimes but more often than not she was pining after Draco or leading Blaise on,” Lilly said with a roll of her eyes, “Nine times out of ten when I’d see you guys out and about at school, it was the three of you. You’re sad that you and Sadie are drifting apart because you feel like she’s your last link to Tracey.”

Daphne looked out at the village of Hogsmeade, lit by streetlights down below. She swallowed as her eyes focused on that dark hill where it had all happened…where Tracey had died.

“And the truth is, these things just happen, Daph,” Lilly said gently, “People drift apart, other people come together. Drifting is okay because you can always drift back together. Breaking apart is harder because when you break apart, there are shards and they cut you deep, so deep that you can never really get them out again. You think you can go back to normal, but those shards will always be there, poking you, niggling at you.”

Daphne pulled her gaze away from the village.

“But the worst way is when the bond is just severed,” Lilly said. She leant against the rock next to Daphne and looked up at the school, “When one minute its there and the next it's not, like a knife has just cut the cord and sliced that person out of your life forever. That’s the worst thing.”

Daphne looked up at the castle too. She grabbed Lilly’s hand, “I still miss her, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Lilly said.

“I really wish I’d gone on that trip.” Daphne said quietly, “I wish I’d had that last summer with Tracey. I wish I’d seen Paris with her…we loved Paris and it’s why…”

“Why you won’t visit me, I know,” Lilly said, “You don’t want to replace the memories you have of Tracey with memories of me and I get that. I understand why you regret not going with her, but you need to think of it a little differently. Tracey died young, but she saw the world and so many people who died in the battle of Hogwarts didn’t, Daphne.”

Daphne swallowed, but said nothing.

“And I know right now, you hate Hermione a bit, but look at how happy she is,” Lilly said softly, “She loves Draco, and Draco adores her. She changed his life and the four of them, somehow they are a family. Think of it from this point of view, if you had gone on that trip, what do you think would have happened to Draco?”

“I don’t know,” Daphne answered evasively.

“You do,” Lilly said firmly, “What would have happened to him?”

“He would have killed himself or gone dark,” Daphne whispered, “I don’t know which one.”

“Either way, it would have broken Theo’s heart,” Lilly said, “And Hermione would never have had the chance to fall in love with Draco. Theo would have spiralled into darkness or depression, maybe both. He would never have fallen in love with Sadie. All of the happiness you see around you, that’s because of you. It’s because you held Draco together when all he wanted to do was give up.”

In a rare moment of weakness, Daphne drew Lilly in for a hug and tried to pretend she wasn’t crying, “I’m sorry for being a petty bitch.”

“It’s not me you need to say sorry to,” Lilly said, “It's her.”

Daphne followed her line of sight to the spot by the lake where Hermione was sitting with her arm around Sadie.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“I know I am, come on.”

Lilly dragged Daphne down to the lake and said, “Hi Hermione, I have an apologetic, bitchy ice queen here. Would you mind escorting me up to the castle so I can find out if my fake husband who also happens to be your real fiancé won his duel against Godric Gryffindor?”

Hermione chuckled, “Yes, I think I can do that. See you back up there, Sadie.”

Lilly linked her arm through Hermione’s, and as the two girls headed up to the castle, Daphne sat down next to Sadie on the rock.

“I’m a bitch,” Daphne said.

“A jealous bitch,” Sadie added.

“And a petty one,” Daphne admitted.

“Yeah,” Sadie agreed, “Sounds like you.”

Daphne sighed, “I’m sorry. I don’t cope with change well, and everything is changing. You’re best friends with Hermione, and you’re having a baby, and you’re married. I’m getting married; I’m adopting Teddy, it’s all change.”

“And it's hard,” Sadie agreed. She turned to look at Daphne, “But it’s good change, Daph.”

“Yeah, it is,” Daphne remarked,

“And this will happen,” Sadie said. She grabbed her best friends hand, “We’ll change and drift apart, then change and come together again. But despite it all, despite who I turn to at different times, you will always be my best friend. We’re the survivors, we’ve been through so much together, and despite what happens in the future, nothing can ever change that.”

Daphne smiled, “You’re right,” she kissed her friend on the forehead, “And wise.”

Sadie chuckled, “So we’re friends again?”

“Of course we are,” Daphne promised her, “But don’t you think we ought to get up to castle? I need to thank Harry for duelling Draco in my defence.”

“He’s noble that way,” Sadie chuckled as she got to her feet and cast drying charms on their dresses.

“It’s a curse sometimes,” Daphne teased, hooking her arm through Sadie’s.

~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~

“Who won then?” Daphne asked when she and Sadie re-entered the great hall.

“I did, obviously,” Harry snorted.

“I let him win, for historical accuracy,” Draco argued.

“Yeah right,” Neville sniggered.

“Are we all friends again?” Sadie asked cautiously.

“They are,” Hermione said firmly, “But they have been informed that apologies are in order.”

Draco sighed, “Sorry for being rude to you, Daphne.”

“Sorry for calling you an ‘It’ girl,” Theo agreed.

“Sorry being a bitch,” Daphne shrugged.

“Excellent,” Susan said. She clapped her hands together, “Now, I hear congratulations are in order.”

“Are you _trying_ to be Helga Hufflepuff?” Percy snorted.

“No, she’s just _that_ much like her,” Lilly grinned.

Sadie chuckled, “Yes, I suppose so but-”

Theo cut in, “Can we keep this within the friend group? She’s only two months along, and we aren’t planning on telling our parents or siblings until after the next scan.”

“Of course,” Susan said while the others all nodded.

“Have you thought about how you’re going to tell her brother?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh shit,” Theo realised, “Oh…fuck…he’s going to kill me!”

“I’ll have a word with Clara,” Lilly said with a smile, “As annoying as you are Theo, I think Sadie’s going to need you over the next few months, so it’s in my best interest to make sure that Sorenson _doesn’t_ kill you.”

Harry smiled, “You already sound like the healer that’s going to keep us Aurors alive Lil,” he said somewhat proudly.

Lilly laughed, “Thanks.”

Daphne grabbed Harry’s arm, “Now come on, stop flirting with your fake wife and dance with me.”

Harry shot Susan a frown, “Was I flirting with you?”

“A little,” Susan admitted, “But I didn’t think it was intentional.”

“It wasn’t!” Harry said as Daphne pulled him towards the dancefloor. He looked at his fiancé, “It wasn’t, I swear.”

“I’ll believe you, even if thousands wouldn’t,” Daphne said, she raised an eyebrow at him.

“I was just being friendly,” Harry said, he pulled Daphne closer to him.

“Your idea of friendly looks an awful lot like my idea of flirting,” Daphne pointed out, “But I’ll let it slide if you promise to stop it.”

“Alright,” Harry said, “I’ll be horrible to Susan all night. I shouldn’t even be dancing with you anyway, so I’m already breaking the rules.”

“Ugh screw the rules,” Daphne said. Harry spun her out and then brought her back again, “Godric Gryffindor was a good looking, powerful man in the medieval period. I’m sure he had a mistress.”

Harry grinned at her, “Are you saying that for one night only, you are my mistress?”

“If it means you will dance with me all night, then yes,” Daphne said as Harry pulled her in closer as the song began to slow down.

“I can definitely get on board with that,” Harry said quietly, “As long as you keep up the act when we get home.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Well well well, sometimes you _do_ surprise me.”

* * *

Sadie and Theo didn’t stay until the end of the night. It had been a dramatic few days for Sadie, and naturally, she was exhausted. They said their goodbyes to Godric Gryffindor who had his ‘wife’ on one arm and his ‘mistress’ on the other. Then they said their goodbyes to Draco and Lilly who had maintained their, ‘we are so not roleplaying’ act all evening.

When they got home, Sadie just wanted to crawl into bed, but she knew there was a conversation that needed to be had first.

“Why did you ask me if I was going to keep the baby?”

Theo sighed, “I was waiting for you to bring that up.”

“Well I can’t believe you even considered doing anything apart from keeping it,” Sadie admitted irritably.

“I didn’t,” Theo promised, “I always wanted to keep it but I…I just wanted to make sure that you wanted it too. I love you, Sadie, and I couldn’t bear for you to resent the baby or me.”

Sadie looked up at him, “I could never resent you or the baby, Theo. This is a shock, that much is true, but this baby is a part of me, and it’s something that you and I created. It’s a gift; it’s something we worried we would never have because of pureblood inbreeding.”

Theo nodded, “It’s earlier than we wanted, but we’ll make it work.”

“We will,” Sadie agreed, and she smiled genuinely for the first time in a few days.

“So, what now?” Theo asked.

“I’ll tell Egypt tomorrow,” Sadie replied honestly, “And I know exactly how they will react so the sooner I can get it over with, the better.”

“That makes perfect sense,” Theo said, “And I don’t think you need to worry about me or my security. I mean I’m friends with Draco Black, Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom who are all pretty influential people, so the chances of me getting kicked out of Auror training are fairly slim. And even if I do get kicked out, we both have pretty sizeable inheritances to live off.”

“I know, but I don’t want to be a privileged pureblood living off my inheritance!” Sadie snapped, “I want to do more than that.”

“And you will,” Theo promised, “But all I’m saying is don’t panic about money because it isn’t something we need to worry about. Okay?”

“Okay,” Sadie said quietly, “It’s just…there’s so much to think about isn’t there? We’ll need to get a nursery ready. We’ll have to start thinking about names-”

“Yeah baby, we’ll need to do all of that,” Theo agreed, “But right now, you need to try and relax. Tell Egypt about the baby, drink water, get plenty of bed rest and try and stay calm. That’s all going to bring your blood pressure down, and then you can look at volunteering in the Apothecary in Diagon Alley for a bit, okay? Once everything is looking up, we can start thinking about names and a nursery.”

“Alright,” Sadie said, she blew out a breath, “Thanks Theo, I needed you to be the cool, calm one this time. I know it’s normally the other way around.”

Theo smiled and gripped her hand tighter, “It’s a good thing that I can do both the immature, silly prat husband and the cool, calm, collected husband quite well then. Isn’t it?”

Sadie smiled back at him, “Yes, it is,” she agreed.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	42. I Would Like to Thank You

“Please don’t make me do it!”

Sadie raised an eyebrow at her husband, “I’m not making you do anything. But we really ought to go over and say sorry to Daphne."

Theo opened his eyes and looked up at her from where he was kneeling on the floor, “Oh, I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Who were you talking to then?” Sadie asked incredulously.

“God,” Theo replied.

“You don’t believe in God,” Sadie reminded him.

“I know this,” Theo said with a nod, “But the thing is, I’m not looking forward to getting on my knees and apologising to Daphne Greengrass. May I remind you that Daphne Greengrass is the only girl who has ever turned me down and may I also remind you that she literally lives for my humiliation? I mean come on, she probably gets off on guys being on their knees-”

Sadie snorted.

“Sadie!” Theo scoffed, “I was going to finish with, apologising to her, honestly! You’re meant to be the innocent one?”

“The innocent one?” Sadie asked. She raised an eyebrow, “The pregnant innocent one who did what we did on graduation?”

“I did kind of goad you into that,” Theo admitted.

“I didn’t need much goading,” Sadie muttered under her breath, “Anyway, _you_ were the one who told _me_ that we should apologise because you were a dick to her-”

“I need to say sorry, and I know that,” Theo muttered. He pushed himself to his feet, “But I’m not looking forward to it. It’s just going to be her and Harry there isn’t it?”

“We’re going over at 10 am on a Sunday, who else is going to be there?”

“Well, you never know what kind of questionable relationship Harry has with Neville,” Theo joked, “Daphne might turn a blind eye, she’s a pureblood after all.”

Sadie snorted and threw her coat on, “So am I and I wouldn’t turn a blind eye if you started screwing Draco.”

“I know,” Theo said, he put an arm around her shoulder, “That’s why I do it behind your back.”

“Shut up, Theo.”

“Do you want me to side-apparate you there?”

“I’m pregnant, not terminally ill,” Sadie muttered as they stepped outside together.

“For the next few months, aren’t they basically the same thing?”

“Shut up, Theo!”

* * *

When Sadie and Theo stepped into the kitchen of Potter Manor, they both had to stifle laughs as they walked in on the occupants eating their breakfast.

“Morning guys,” Daphne said with a smile, “There are some bagels left, and there’s coffee in the pot. Oh wait, can you have coffee, Sadie?”

“As long as I don’t have too much, yes,” Sadie replied, “Morning, Harry.”

“Morning Sadie,” Harry yawned, he had a bagel halfway to his mouth and was holding a spoon near Teddy’s mouth. The little boy kept trying to grab it, and Harry was unsuccessfully trying to make sure that it was out of his reach.

“Morning Neville,” Sadie said, she shot Theo an amused look, “What are you doing here?”

“I force him to come over for breakfast when Lilly’s not around,” Daphne said as she poured out two cups of coffee, “Otherwise he doesn’t eat properly. Why did you think he was here?”

“Oh Theo was suggesting that you might be turning a blind eye to their _questionable_ relationship because you’re a pureblood,” Sadie retorted.

Daphne snorted, “Those two? No. Harry’s not the one in this relationship who has diverse tastes.”

Theo grinned, “Oh, now _that_ is interesting. If you and Lilly ever develop a relationship like the one you had with Ginny during the war, I would like to see the memories.”

“That’s never going to happen,” Daphne smirked, “Just like you will never see the memory of Ginny and me.”

“I’ve seen it,” Harry grinned.

“So have I,” Neville remarked.

“How have you seen it?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“Ginny showed me,” Neville grinned.

“It was the hottest thing ever, right?” Harry asked his best friend.

“See? Unbelievably straight,” Daphne said with a roll of her eyes.

“But you and Draco on the other hand?” Neville scoffed, “Less straight.”

Harry sniggered, “I mean you guys have a door in-between your houses.”

“Yeah, but I don’t eat breakfast with Draco,” Theo pointed out.

“That’s because you drink till 4 am with Draco and then sleep through breakfast,” Sadie whispered.

“Oh yeah…good point,” Theo mused, “Still, drinking till 4 am is more manly than eating breakfast together. Are you reading Witch Weekly by the way?”

“Yes, I am,” Neville said irritably, “They happen to have an excellent feature on magical herb gardens okay?”

“Merlin, you are so gay,” Theo said with a shake of his head.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Leave Neville alone, Theo. Why did you want to come over for breakfast anyway?”

“You don’t even eat breakfast,” Neville pointed out.

Before Theo could explain or begin to apologise to Daphne, a loud clatter distracted them all. Harry had fallen asleep while holding Teddy’s bowl of cereal, and Teddy had grabbed the bowl and thrown it halfway across the kitchen.

Harry woke up with a start and fell off his chair.

Neville laughed loudly and hi-fived Teddy, “You two have got one hell of a chaser in the making!”

Theo sniggered, and Daphne glared at him, “That will be you soon so I wouldn’t laugh if I were you. We were up half the night with this one because one of his canines is coming in and it’s bloody sharp too.”

“Werewolf baby,” Harry whispered jokingly as he picked himself up from the floor and dusted bits of muesli off of his dressing gown.

Theo shook his head in amusement, “I came over to talk to you, Daphne, in private if you don’t mind?”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “I don’t think I’ve heard you sound that serious for a long time.”

Theo smiled, “It does happen.”

“I know it does,” Daphne said, “Come up to the potions lab with me. I could use a second set of eyes on a new potion I’m trying to develop.”

“Alright,” Theo said, he stepped into the entrance hall with her, “What kind of potion?”

“The next step in the search for a cure for lycanthropy,” Daphne answered, “I’m using a couple of potions as a basis.”

“I’m guessing that one of them is wolfsbane?”

“Yeah,” Daphne nodded, “It represses the violent nature of the wolf and makes the transformation a little bit less painful, but it isn’t a complete cure. I’ve been studying the potion that we created to make Melody human again.”

Theo’s eyes widened, “I never even thought about that as a possible cure for lycanthropy.”

Daphne shrugged, “There are a few other elements to consider because of what becoming a werewolf does to someone’s genetics, but I think it’s possible. After all, that potion made it possible for Melody to become human again after a long time.”

Theo nodded, “It’s brilliant. Are you doing it for Teddy?”

“A little,” Daphne admitted, “There’s a little part of me that’s doing it for Teddy and Bill. But mostly I’m doing it because it might make the Ministry rethink the fact that werewolves are classified as beasts rather than humans.”

Theo wasn’t sure what to say to that.

“Anyway,” Daphne said, she opened the door to the potions lab and stepped inside, “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Theo nodded, “Thank you for saving Draco’s life after the war when I couldn’t. I avoided him all summer, I was bitchy and petty, just like you were when you saw him kissing Pansy when we came back for our seventh year. I should never have called you bitchy because I reckon I’m probably bitchier.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him.

“If you hadn’t been there for Draco that summer after the war, I dread to think what he might have done, so I’m sorry for being a dick,” Theo said, “And thank you for saving his life for me.”

“What did Lilly say to you?”

“Nothing…”

“Bullshit,” Daphne said.

“She called me an obscene word, like rude by _my_ standards and threatened me with a Chelsea smile which sounds horrific,” Theo admitted, “She said I was a dick, and she was right. You gave up a summer with Tracey to save Draco, and nobody ever gave you enough credit for that.”

“Thanks, Theo,” Daphne said, her tone laced with surprise, “It means a lot to hear a genuine apology from you.”

Theo grinned mischievously, “I know, it’s rare, right? But if Lilly is defending you so fiercely, does that mean you’re shagging her?”

“Oh for the love of Merlin,” Daphne muttered, “Say that again, I dare you.”

Theo looked like he was thinking about it.

“Need I remind you that when you and I first met, I was an 11-year-old girl with some homemade spells that I bet still make you squirm?” Daphne said calmly, “But now, I’m training to be a curse breaker under Bill Weasley and I know curses that would make you scream like a little girl.”

“Well I didn’t know that you were _under_ Bill Weasley, I wonder what Harry would have to say about – ahhhhhh!”

* * *

“Did you hear that?”

“Yeah, that was Theo screaming like a pussy.”

“Language Nev!” Harry exclaimed. He covered Teddy’s ears, and the little boy giggled.

“Sorry, Teddy,” Neville said sheepishly. He turned to Sadie and asked, “What do you think he said?”

“I’ve given up trying to work out how his brain works,” Sadie said. She picked a bagel up from the table, “But if they are arguing, that means that order has been restored to the world.”

* * *

“You know, we’ve focused so much on the adoption lately that we haven’t talked much about the wedding.”

Daphne glanced up at Harry, “It’s still a few months away, and there isn’t that much to plan since we’re going to have it here.”

“Can we do that? You know, have the whole thing here?” Harry asked cluelessly, “We don’t have to get married in a church or something?”

Daphne frowned, “Do you want to get married in a church?”

“No,” Harry replied, “Do you?”

“Nope,” Daphne said, “So let’s just do it all here with all of our friends and family around.”

“Alright,” Harry said with a smile, “But there are still things to plan aren’t there? Like food-”

“I’ve already worked out a menu with the elves. I’ll bring a few in from Hogwarts to help out,” Daphne cut in.

“And dresses and robes-”

“I’ll get my dress sorted out soon, I’ll have to tell Sadie because she’ll want to be there,” Daphne cut in, “I’ve already got Sadie’s dress sorted, I’ll have to expand it a little, but that’s easy enough done. As for you, I’ve made an appointment for you and Neville to go down in December and sort your robes out.”

“What about decorations?”

“Arranged, they just need to be paid for in December.”

“Wedding rings?”

“I’ve picked out ones that I like. We just need to try them on and buy them.”

“Entertainment?”

“Bill’s calling in a favour to get us the Weird Sisters for a good price.”

“The Weird Sisters?” Harry asked in disbelief, “Seriously?”

“Yep,” Daphne smirked, “Bill went to school with the lead singer.”

Harry shook his head slowly, “You amaze me.”

“I told you that I could throw a wedding together easily. The only thing we do need to work out is the honeymoon,” Daphne said, “You have to go back to work on the 2nd of January, so we don’t really have time for one.”

“I’ll ask Sumner if I can have a few days leave so that we can go somewhere,” Harry said, “Do you know where you want to go?”

“Not really,” Daphne admitted, “It will just be nice to go away for a few days.”

Harry nodded in agreement, “So you really have everything under control?”

“Mostly,” Daphne said, she sighed, “I need to talk to my Uncle Phineas about my inheritance. My mother said that he was in charge of the estate now, but I haven’t seen him for years. I don’t know if there is any money in that fund anymore and if there is, I don’t know if he will release it to me upon my marriage like he’s supposed to.”

“We can go and see him together if you want?”

Daphne shook her head, “No, Harry. I love you, which is exactly why I don’t want to drag you into my family drama. I’ll do it on my own a bit closer to the wedding.”

Harry opened his mouth to insist that he didn’t mind being dragged into her family drama, but before he could do so, Daphne added, “You’re late by the way, look at the time.”

“Bugger!” Harry cursed, he kissed her lightly, “Love you, Daph, see you tonight.”

* * *

Theo felt incredibly nervous as he stood in Sumner’s office on Monday morning. After flying practice, he had asked Sheppard if he would be able to have a quiet word with him and Sumner at some point, but he hadn’t expected Sheppard to say that right now would be a convenient time.

As he stood in the office, waiting for Sumner to arrive, Theo realised that he was nervous because he didn’t know what to expect. There was a part of him that was expecting to be judged or told off when he told his bosses his news, but he wasn’t a teenager who had knocked his girlfriend up. He was just here to inform them that his wife was pregnant.

Theo jumped when the door opened loudly. Sumner stepped in and frowned when he saw Sheppard sitting on one of the desks and Theo standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

“What’s going on here Sheppard?”

“Recruit Nott asked to have a quiet word with us,” Sheppard explained.

Sumner sat down behind his desk and looked at Theo, “Dropping out then are you son? I didn’t expect you to be the first and not so soon either.”

“I’m not dropping out sir,” Theo promised, “I’m just here because my personal situation has changed and I feel like you have a right to know in case it changes my mindset here at work.”

Sumner bowed his head, “That’s very mature of you Nott. Continue.”

“I found out a few days ago that my wife is pregnant, sir,” Theo said nervously, “With our first child.”

Theo really didn’t know what to expect, but he certainly didn’t expect Sumner to smile and stand up, “Congratulations Nott,” he said as he extended his hand.

Theo took Sumner’s hand and shook it, “Uh…thank you, sir.”

\

Sheppard chuckled and clapped him on the back, “Enjoy the next few months while you can, life changes completely when that first one comes along.”

Sumner nodded, “It certainly does. I suppose you will need this. It outlines all the benefits you are entitled to when you become a parent.”

“Benefits?” Theo asked in surprise.

“You don’t think we just leave you to your own devices, do you?” Sumner asked, “This job is demanding, and we recognise that it’s hard to be a parent when you do what we do. You will get free childcare at the creche on the east side of the base. Not to mention two weeks paid leave when your wife gives birth and two further weeks of optional unpaid leave.”

Theo looked down at the little information pack that he had just been handed, “Woah…thank you, sir. I never expected anything like this. I was actually pretty nervous about telling you.”

Sheppard smiled, “We aren’t as tough as we look, Nott. I thought you might have worked that out by now. What is your wife going to do, she was working in Egypt, wasn’t she?”

Theo nodded, “Yes, sir, but she’s going to have to drop out of her course. I’m not sure what she’s going to do now, but she will have to find something, or she’ll drive herself crazy until the baby is born.”

“Well I’ll get the HR department to get in touch with her,” Sheppard said, “They are always looking for temporary clerical assistants and research assistants up at the DMLE, and it would keep her busy for a few months without any heavy lifting.”

“That would be great sir, thank you.”

Sheppard shrugged and said, “Liz was an Auror so you can imagine how much she was climbing the walls with boredom when she was pregnant with our two boys. I had to find something for her to do.”

Theo hadn’t realised that Sheppard had been married to an Auror, but he supposed that made sense, “Sadie’s a bit like that too,” he admitted, “So I appreciate your help.”

“If we can do anything else to help out, let us know,” Sumner said, “And once your wife has seen a Healer for her 3-month review, make sure you get a note confirming the pregnancy. We’ll need a copy for our books.”

“Anyway, get yourself back to class before Auror Carter storms in here looking for you,” Sheppard added.

“None of us wants that to happen,” Sumner agreed.

Theo smiled and nodded, “I will, thanks again, sirs.”

* * *

“Why are you so late?” Draco whispered when Theo sat down next to him in Disguise class.

“I had to inform Sumner and Sheppard of Sadie’s pregnancy,” Theo whispered back as he grabbed his notebook and a pencil from his bag.

“How did that go?”

“Better than I expected to be honest,” Theo murmured under his breath, “Did you know that Sheppard is married to an Auror by the way?”

Draco shook his head, “No, do you think it’s Carter?”

Theo looked up at the Auror who was glaring at him from the front of the class, “Nah…I think it’s someone a bit nicer.”

Draco snorted in amusement as Carter barked out, “Nott! You do not show up to my class late and then get to sit and have a conversation with your partner. Get up here and demonstrate the three most obvious forms of disguise for me now!”

Theo rolled his eyes and muttered, “Definitely not her.”

* * *

“Did you guys know that Sheppard is married to another Auror?” Theo asked conversationally over lunch later that day.

Neville shook his head, “One who works here?”

“Probably,” Theo said, “They have two kids, so I doubt she’s an active Auror.”

“She might be,” Draco said, “Sheppard isn’t an active Auror anymore, and only one parent needs to have a stable job.”

“I suppose,” Theo reasoned, “But I just got the impression it was someone here.”

“Did you say that he has two kids?” Harry asked curiously.

“Two boys,” Theo nodded.

“Auror Weir has two boys,” Harry said thoughtfully.

“What’s her first name?” Theo asked, “Because Sheppard referred to his wife as Liz.”

Harry shot Theo an amused look, “So there’s every chance his wife is Auror Elizabeth Weir then, isn’t there?”

Theo rolled his eyes, “Shut up; I don’t know their first names!”

“If you ever looked at the staff board in the entrance hallway, you would,” Draco said after snorting in amusement.

“I wonder what other Aurors are together,” Draco mused as he looked over at the staff table. Sumner and Sheppard weren’t there, they very rarely were. The boys always assumed that the bosses just ate in their offices.

“Carter and Mitchell are definitely together,” Theo said, “Draco and I worked that out during our isolation week.”

“What are you boys gossiping about?” Ophelia asked as she and Blanche sat down at their table.

“Our Senior Aurors,” Harry said matter of factly, “We think some of them are together.”

“Well, I reckon McKay and Brown have got something going on,” Blanche said, “They are together all of the time.”

“Probably just because Potions and Herbology are interconnecting disciplines,” Neville reasoned.

“I’m with Neville here,” Ophelia cut in, “I think something is going on between McKay and Carson, I see him up at the hospital wing a lot.”

“Again, Potions and Healing, interconnecting disciplines,” Neville said.

Harry shook his head, “No, I see that actually Ophelia. I think Carson is gay and I’m not convinced about McKay.”

“My gay-dar definitely clocks Carson as gay,” Blanche agreed.

The others snorted in amusement.

“I thought McKay was up at the hospital wing because he had a thing for Keller actually,” Draco cut in, “Him and Carson come across as friends to me.”

“No way, Keller is way too good looking for him!” Harry objected.

“Well, look at you and your other half. You’re _you_ which I guess some straight girls find appealing. You killed a dark lord and all, even if you’re not as good with a sword as Neville,” Blanche said with a smirk, “Then there’s Daphne who is basically perfect.”

“She’s really not,” Harry chuckled.

“She’s super-model hot though,” Blanche said.

“Yeah, she really is,” Draco agreed.

Even Theo nodded, and Neville said, “And you get to shag her, no wonder you two are always at it.”

“Shut up fatbottom.”

“Oi!” Theo objected, “That’s my pet name for him!”

“I’m not your pet,” Neville snorted.

“And I call him fatbottom too,” Draco chimed in.

“Yeah, so find your own name,” Theo said with a mock glare, “Call him darling or something.”

“Isn't that what you call Draco in the bedroom?” Blanche retorted.

Harry and Neville burst out laughing, Blanche was becoming a staple in their work-based friend group.

* * *

When Theo came home on Monday night, it was to find Sadie curled up under a blanket with her favourite book.

“That bad, huh?”

Sadie looked up and nodded, “Yeah, it was about as bad as I expected.”

“Did they throw you out with immediate effect?” Theo asked, his eyes fell on the trunk at the foot of the bed.

“Yes, they did,” Sadie said, she shut her book and pulled Theo under the blanket with her, “They were very rude to me about the whole thing, to be honest. They told me that I was throwing away a promising career and that I was very foolish. When I told them that this was definitely what I wanted, they said if that was the case, then I should pack my things, leave immediately and never apply for the course again.”

Theo shook his head angrily, “I will march over there tonight and tell them what I think of that.”

“I know you would,” Sadie said quietly, “But please don’t, Theo.”

“After what they said to you?” Theo asked hotly, “You expect me just to leave it be?”

“Yes, because it’s over now,” Sadie said, “You going over there won’t make anything better. It won’t make them take me back, and it won’t make them apologise. All it might do is harm your career so please, just let it go.”

“Can you let it go?” Theo asked. He looked her directly in the eye.

“I already have,” Sadie said honestly, “I didn’t like it in the first place and the way they reacted just made me hate them and that place even more. I’m glad to be shot of them, to be honest.”

“Alright,” Theo said calmly, “In that case, I will let it go.”

“Thank you.”

“But I have to ask…if you’re glad to be shot of them, why are you so sad?” Theo asked his wife.

“Because I don’t know where I’m going to go now,” Sadie replied, “This baby is due in March, and it’s September. What am I going to do for the next seven months? I mean there’s the apothecary, but if I’m on bed rest I can’t do that so-”

“I might have an answer to that question,” Theo said with a smile, “Because I had a chat with my bosses today and they gave me lots of good news. Let me tell you all about it over a cup of tea?”

“Can I bring the blanket with me?”

Theo laughed, “Yeah, you can.”

Sadie smiled and wrapped the blanket around herself before getting to her feet, “In that case, okay.”

* * *

“So what’s on the cards this morning?”

“I’ll tell you when you tell me what’s in the bag.”

“A breakfast muffin for you and a coffee for me,” Daphne replied, she put the bag down on his desk, “Because I need to lose weight for my wedding.”

“You don’t need to lose weight,” Bill scoffed, “Honestly, you sound like my wife.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “So, do we have a case?”

“Oh yeah,” Bill said, he had become distracted by the breakfast muffin that he was stuffing in his mouth. He swallowed his mouthful and said, “Interesting case so we’re heading out as soon as I finish this.”

“Which won’t be long at the rate you eat,” Daphne said distastefully.

Bill swallowed another mouthful, “That sounded disdainful.”

“You reminded me of Ron for a moment there,” Daphne said, “And that isn’t a good thing.”

Bill shuddered, “No, it isn’t,” he agreed.

“When you say interesting case by the way, do you mean an old curse or just an interesting one?” Daphne asked while she sipped her coffee.

Bill finished his muffin and said, “Both. We are going to investigate a chair in a muggle museum. Apparently, a convicted murderer ate his last meal at his favourite pub then stood up and said that death would come to anyone who dared to sit in his chair.”

“And death has come to them?” Daphne guessed as they left the office together.

Bill nodded, “Yep, the murderer was hanged for his crimes, and since then, 63 people have died after sitting on the chair.”

“63?” Daphne asked in disbelief, “And nobody has thought to investigate it yet?”

“We don’t know how many of them actually died from natural causes though,” Bill pointed out, “We will need to work that out so we can have a look at our final number. Either way, the museum called in ‘specialists’, aka us, after a prank went wrong and the 63rd person died last night.”

“So someone sat in the chair then?”

Bill nodded again, “A couple of the apprentices were playing around in the museum at night, and one dared the other to sit on the chair. Apparently, it’s suspended 5 foot in the air to stop anyone else from dying. Early this morning, that apprentice dropped dead.”

“And in come the specialists,” Daphne said, she shot Bill a grin, “You’re right, it’s interesting.”

* * *

“Are you going to tell me why you’ve been so distracted this week?”

“I haven’t been distracted.”

“Daphne, you nearly sat on the death chair.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s a chair that causes death, what else would we call it?”

“I don’t know, something more original than the death chair,” Daphne muttered, “And I didn’t nearly sit on it, I was just having a closer look.”

“Until you fell,” Bill pointed out, “And you would have landed on it if it weren’t for my amazing reflexes.”

“I wouldn’t have landed on it,” Daphne muttered under her breath. They were currently holed up in a makeshift office, which was essentially a storeroom, in the depths of the museum.

“Seriously Daphne, what’s distracting you?”

Daphne knew Bill’s policy; they told each other everything as Auror partners would. She knew that meant that she had to come clean.

“My best friend just found out that she’s pregnant,” Daphne admitted, “That’s what’s been going on with me for the last few days.”

“Wow,” Bill said, “I didn’t expect that from Sadie…”

“Neither did I,” Daphne admitted, “She’s smart, career-minded, logical…it was completely out of character but I suppose, you only get one honeymoon.”

“Oh yeah, I can sympathise with that,” Bill said with a nod, “How is she feeling? She’s still young, isn’t she?”

“Everyone is having a kid young these days,” Daphne muttered, “Look at your family, war breeds babies, that’s what they say isn’t it?”

“Something like that,” Bill said, “But you can’t be judgemental about people having kids young, can you?”

Daphne frowned at him, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re adopting Teddy,” Bill pointed out.

Daphne scoffed, “That’s not the same.”

“How is that not the same?” Bill asked, “You will legally be a parent just like my sister and my brother and your best friend. Tell me how that’s different?”

“It just is,” Daphne said irritably, “I won’t have to give up nine months of my life to carry a baby for a start. I won’t have to watch what jobs I do or what cases I take because I’m pregnant. Then there’s the fact I don’t have the sleepless nights that come with a newborn baby or any of that stress. I get to come in at the good part, the part where we can do things together, where Teddy can talk to me and tell me what’s wrong with him when he’s crying.”

Bill nodded slowly, “Yeah, you’re right; it’s totally different.”

Daphne smiled a little smugly.

“But not necessarily any easier,” Bill added.

Daphne groaned, “Ugh, come on, Bill!”

“I’m serious Daphne,” Bill said sincerely, “Yes, you don’t have the sleepless nights, the screaming, the endless cycle of feed, change, sleep repeat but what you do have is a child who isn’t yours by blood. A child that you love but that you know will never be truly yours because one day when he’s old enough, he’ll find out about his birth parents. When he does, he will have to divide his love for you and Harry between you two and the birth parents that he never got a chance to know. That’s not easy Daphne; it’s not the easy way out that you seem to think it is.”

“I know that Bill,” Daphne snapped, “I know he will never truly be ours, but we can love him as if he is and I think that’s enough. Nothing about coming into Teddy’s life late and raising him has been easy. We were still in school when he started calling Harry Daddy for crying out loud, I never for a moment meant to imply that it was easier than having a child young. I know how hard it’s going to be for Sadie because I’ve been living it since Harry and I got together!”

“Do I need to tell you that-”

“I know it sounded bitter,” Daphne said quickly, “But I didn’t mean for it to sound that way. I’m just stressed because of the adoption and the wedding and…well, Teddy isn’t an average child to adopt.”

Bill frowned, “Because he’s Harry’s godson?”

“No, because his father was a werewolf,” Daphne sighed, she could feel one hell of a headache coming on, “And we have no idea how that’s going to affect him. I know that once he’s two years old, we need to start getting him tested at St. Mungo’s every year like some kind of lab rat so that they can work out if he’s going to be dangerous. I know that I got terrified when he got his first canine at the weekend because of how bloody sharp it was. I don’t know if my son is going to have to get registered if he starts showing too many werewolf traits and I don’t know if he’s going to be enough of a werewolf to be classified as a beast rather than a human, but the thought of that scares the shit out of me Bill.”

Bill got to his feet and gave her a hug, “Hey, if anyone knows how scary that is, it’s me,” he said quietly, “I had no idea what was going to happen to me while I waited for that first full moon and I think that was probably the scariest month of my life.”

“But you turned out fine,” Daphne said, she rubbed her eyes, “Geez, it’s bloody dusty down here.”

Bill knew she was covering up the fact that she had been crying, but he didn’t want to call her out on that, “I wouldn’t say that I turned out fine. Luckily enough, I had a partner who was willing to stick with me, even when she didn’t know the outcome. I might have become a full wolf for all we knew, but Fleur was adamant that she wasn’t going to leave me.”

“Harry always says that Tonks loved Remus even though he was a werewolf,” Daphne mused.

“Dora was a very kind person with a beautiful heart,” Bill smiled, “I was gutted when Charlie broke up with her to go chasing dragons in Romania because I thought she was brilliant, but Remus needed her, and I’m glad she made him happy in that last year… Anyway, the point I’m making is that I’m not fine. Once a month when the full moon is out, I change, and I don’t just mean that I get a bit cranky. We have that outhouse for a reason Daph; I get angry, scarily angry.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you scarily angry,” Daphne said, “I mean you got close when I told you about Fawley, but you didn’t lose it like Harry does.”

“Exactly, it’s not in my nature,” Bill said, “But when the full moon is out, I get angry and violent, so I lock myself away from the people that I love. Fleur and my family all joke about it, they say that I prefer my meat a bit rarer now but that I’m fine. The only people who know that I’m not fine are Fleur and Charlie.”

“Is this supposed to make me feel better about Teddy?” Daphne asked, “Because it’s making me feel worse.”

“It’s supposed to make you feel better,” Bill said sheepishly, “I’m trying to make you see that if the werewolf genetics in Teddy were going to affect him, you would have noticed it already.”

“But Harry says that the specialist at the hospital thinks that puberty might trigger it,” Daphne told him.

“I suppose it might, but I think it’s unlikely,” Bill said honestly, “Does he change at all at the full moon?”

“He gets cranky,” Daphne admitted, “And he wants to stay up and play all night instead of sleep.”

Bill laughed, “I think you’re going to be fine, but I know that won’t ease your worries about the future.”

Daphne shrugged, “I just wish it wasn’t so uncertain,” she admitted. She looked back down at her notes, “Anyway, don’t you think we should be getting on with this? Before someone accidentally falls onto the death chair?”

“I thought you said that was a terrible name.”

“It is, but I can’t think of anything better.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	43. The Stakes are High

“Uh…where do you think you’re going?”

“Out,” Draco said matter of factly, “I didn’t think that was illegal. We _are_ allowed to leave the premises during our lunch break.”

“Yes, but you never have,” Theo pointed out.

“We’ve only been here a few weeks,” Neville sniggered.

Draco rolled his eyes, “Either way, I’ll see you lot in an hour.”

“Seriously though, where are you going?” Harry asked; he was just as curious as Theo.

Draco slipped out of the hallway before anyone could ask him any further questions.

“What do you think he’s up to?” Harry asked the others as they entered the canteen.

“Well, I’m pretty sure he’s not a Death Eater,” Neville smirked, “So don’t worry Harry, you don’t need to whip out the invisibility cloak and watch him piss.”

“Oh for the love of Merlin, once!” Harry exclaimed irritably, “I followed him into a bathroom once, and nobody has ever let me hear the end of it!”

Neville and Theo grinned at each other and sniggered while Harry stomped off to eat lunch with Blanche and Ophelia.

“What do you reckon he’s up to anyway?” Neville asked Theo.

“I have no idea, but we’ll get it out of him when he comes back.”

* * *

“So where have you been?”

Draco rolled his eyes, “You three are the nosiest people I have ever met.”

“Harry wanted to whip out the invisibility cloak and stalk you, but he managed to control his urges this time,” Neville joked.

Harry glared at his best friend, “One day you will stop slagging me off for that and realise that I actually discovered some crucial things while stalk – I mean following – Draco that year!”

Draco snorted in amusement, “Like what bathrooms I preferred or how big my-”

“Black, Potter!” Frasier snapped, “Less talking, more reading!”

“I’m really glad I didn’t have to hear the end of that sentence,” Neville said under his breath as he shot a glance Lilly’s way. She had been busy having a very in-depth chat with Keller and Carson, which meant that she hadn’t even spoken to Neville in the half an hour she had been here. He was looking pretty miffed about the whole thing.

“Anyway, where did you sneak off to?” Theo asked.

“It’s none of your business!”

“The last time you did a lot of sneaking you were getting branded with a dark mark and doing bad shit for Voldemort, so I make it my business to know what you’re doing when you sneak off,” Theo whispered irritably.

“As nice as that is of you, Theo-”

“Nice?” Harry scoffed, “What he just said is basically the reason I followed you in sixth year, but when I do it it’s creepy stalking?”

“You did do it creepily,” Neville admitted.

“Come on, Nev!”

“Sorry, but it’s the truth.”

Draco shook his head in amusement and looked down at the notes they were supposed to be studying before practising first aid on a dummy, “If you really want to know, I was in Diagon Alley, but I wasn’t getting branded with a dark mark or doing bad shit for a dark lord.”

“What were you doing then?” Neville asked curiously.

“I was looking at kittens because Hermione’s birthday is next week,” Draco told them.

“Aww,” Theo cooed, “How cute and romantic!”

Draco smacked him around the back of the head.

“Did you see one that you think she’ll like?” Harry asked.

“I don’t know,” Draco admitted, “There were three kittens in the store, and I have no idea which one she would like best. There was a male ginger one, a female tabby and a female black kitten.”

“I think she would prefer a female cat,” Theo mused, “I don’t know why I think that, but it’s just a feeling that I get.”

“You’re probably right,” Harry said, “I would go for the black one. Hermione went into Eeylops saying that she wanted a black kitten because, in all the muggle books that she had read as a kid, a witch had a black cat as its familiar. She ended up with Crookshanks because he was so ugly that nobody wanted him and she felt sorry for him.”

“Typical do-gooder Gryffindors,” Theo said with a shake of his head, “Buying ugly cats and bringing lonely snakes home from the Amazon rainforest.”

“Would you leave Dave out of this?”

* * *

“Do you think I’m ready to adopt Teddy?”

“I think if you’re asking me that, then you aren’t 100% sure that you are,” Bill replied slowly, “These numbers are all just blurring together, we’ve been looking at them for so long…”

“Six hours,” Daphne said, she stifled a yawn, “Not that I’ve been counting.”

“Whoever this Busby guy was, he was a pretty powerful wizard,” Bill agreed. He rubbed his eyes and sighed, “I’m starting to think we should take a half-hour break to go and get some food and a coffee before we make a serious attempt at breaking this thing.”

“I think I have it.”

“I think I do too, but I’ve been looking at it for so long that I’m starting to doubt myself,” Bill said, he scribbled a lot of numbers and letters down in a notepad, “Come on, let’s grab something to eat and drink at the museum café.”

“Alright,” Daphne conceded. She and Bill stepped out of the dingy storeroom/office together and began to make their way up a narrow staircase towards the main museum.

“So what are your doubts about adopting Teddy?” Bill asked conversationally.

“I didn’t think that I had any, to be honest,” Daphne admitted, “But I suppose I do. I’m worried about how Harry and I will find time for each other once Teddy is living with us. I’m worried about the effect it will have on our relationship.”

“Well having a baby, whether it’s a newborn one or not, does put a strain on your relationship,” Bill reasoned, “Fleur and I aren’t the same people that we were before Victoire came along. Neither of us gets to go out and have fun like we used to, we don’t get as much sleep as we used to either, which makes us crankier and therefore prone to arguments. And yes, it is hard to find time for each other and ourselves.”

“Is there a but in there?”

Bill shot her an amused look, “Yes, smart arse. But, it’s worth it when we see Victoire learn to do something new. It’s worth it 99% of the time, but then there’s that 1% when I want to scream, storm out and go back to my old life. I suppose what I’m saying is that it’s fine as long as your relationship is strong enough to withstand it.”

“Do you think Harry and I have a strong enough relationship?” Daphne asked him, “And I need you to give me an honest answer, Bill, even if it isn’t what I want to hear.”

“I think that if you can stand by each other in your worst moments, then you can stand by each other through parenthood,” Bill said honestly, “Has he been there for you at your worst?”

Daphne thought back to those long weeks after Tracey’s death; she could still feel the deep depression that she had sunk into. She remembered Harry trying to cheer her up and bring her out of it gently, rather than forcing her to live her life the way that she had before. She was also transported back to the dark days after the ordeal with Fawley; Harry could not have been more supportive if he tried.

Daphne nodded, “Yes.”

“And have you been there for him at his worst?” Bill asked.

Daphne found herself thinking about the horrors in Harry’s past and how he couldn’t seem to escape them, no matter how fast or how far he ran. She remembered the Halloween Ball, how he had disappeared early and cried himself to sleep because he missed his parents. She thought back to Memorial Day when she had truly seen how deep his scars were. She thought about the nights that Harry would wake up screaming and soaked in sweat, terrified of the demons from his past. She was the one who told him that it was all going to be okay, who told him that he didn't need firewhiskey, he just needed a hug. She was the one who lay awake with him and soothed him back to sleep.

She nodded slowly, “Yes.”

“Then I think you two will do just fine,” Bill said, he smiled at her and clapped her on the back, “There’s never a right or wrong time to give that little boy the love and family that he deserves. I think you’re ready whenever you want to be.”

Daphne smiled over at him, “Yeah…you’re right. Thanks, Bill.”

Bill grinned at her, “Hey, if curse-breaking ever lets me down, I’ll make one hell of a psychiatrist!”

* * *

“Good morning.”

“You’re in an awfully good mood,” Neville noticed.

“So are you,” Harry commented.

“Well it’s the Paris weekend,” Neville said cheerfully, “I’m going to be romantic. I have this whole weekend planned with Lil to show her how much I miss her, you know?”

Harry snorted, “Are you gonna propose?”

“Yeah, right,” Neville said, “We’ve just managed to get things back on track. Never mind the fact I don’t have a ring. I just want to treat her like a princess, cause she deserves it.”

“Yeah, she does,” Harry agreed thoughtfully.

“What are you doing this weekend?” Neville asked.

“Oh, just spending time with Teddy,” Harry answered, “Like I do every weekend, to be honest.”

“Not that you ever complain,” Neville said with a smile.

Harry hummed thoughtfully, “Yeah, you know talking about Teddy and babies and all that. I always thought that Sadie and Theo would be the first to have kids, but I didn’t think they would start their family so young. Then again…I didn’t think that Daphne and I would either.”

“It’s not quite the same though,” Neville said, “Although it’s still a huge commitment.”

“Aside from the pregnancy, it is the same,” Harry argued, “In fact, in some ways, it’s harder. We don’t get to start anew; we have to come in halfway through and try to work out what we’re doing. We muddle through okay though so if we can keep doing that, I think it will all work out for the best.”

“I think it probably will,” Neville said, he patted Harry on the back, “You and Daphne have been through a hell of a lot together. If anyone can do this at our age, it’s you two.”

Harry smiled at his best friend, “That means a lot, Nev, thanks.”

From that point, their day progressed normally for a little while, but it was a Friday which meant that they had the simulation room in the afternoon. When they got there, Sheppard stood outside as usual. He always gave them a little brief before they went in, but this week, it was different.

“Wood and Zabini, Harper and Wilde,” Sheppard said, “You guys are going to be dealing with a serial rapist today. There will be a case file when you get in there, and I expect the four of you to work together to catch your guy. Understood?”

They all nodded, so Sheppard opened the door to the ‘Junior Trainee Simulation Room’, and they went through.

Sheppard shut the door behind them and clapped his hands, “So that means what you think it does boys. You have all gotten enough points to advance to the next room. From now on, you will be in the ‘Intermediate Trainee Simulation Room’, and I expect, like everyone else before you, that you think this means you get cooler, more dangerous cases.”

They couldn’t lie; that was what they had expected.

“But the truth is that the cases aren’t any harder, or any more dangerous,” Sheppard explained, “But the stakes are higher. Do you see these little lights above the simulation room doors?

They nodded. There was a light above each room. At the moment the only one which was lit up was the one above the ‘Junior Trainee Simulation Room’, and it was green.

“Green means the room is active,” Sheppard said. He waved his wand and the light above the ‘Intermediate Trainee Simulation Room’ turned red, “And red means the room is live. Do you know what that means?”

Draco nodded, “It means that anything that happens to us in there, really happens.”

“That’s right, to a degree,” Sheppard agreed, “You can’t die in the simulation room. A killing curse will knock you out for a good two days, though. But any cuts, bruises, burns, that you receive in there will remain on your body when you come out. That’s why this will be your first mission with a Healer.”

Neville looked up hopefully as a door opened, but his face fell when he realised that it wasn’t Lilly.

“Sorry to disappoint kid,” The dark-haired woman said, “But your girlfriend isn’t allowed on field missions just yet.”

Sheppard chuckled, “This is Clara Selwyn, she’s an STH which stands for Senior Trauma Healer. We have two grades of Trauma Healer here at the centre and in the Auror ward of St. Mungos. Anyone know the difference?”

Neville nodded and said, “STH and JTH. Junior Trauma Healers have got the same medical expertise as Senior Trauma Healers, but Senior Trauma Healers have completed an intensive year-long programme which also qualifies them as Aurors.”

“Correct, Longbottom,” Sheppard said, “When we send you out on a real mission, we send you with two Healers, an STH and a JTH. You’ll address Clara here as Auror Selwyn when you’re working with her in the field, and you’ll address Longbottom’s girlfriend as Healer Moon, that’s the difference.”

They all nodded their understanding.

“For the moment, until Moon is qualified, you’ll just have Selwyn with you in the simulation room,” Sheppard explained, “And this is the first time we’ve had this happen.”

Harry looked at him in surprise.

Sheppard smiled proudly and said, “We get our JTS’s shipped back from France in February, and normally, the Recruits aren’t ready to progress to the intermediate room until March.”

“Well we’re not your normal recruits, sir,” Harry admitted.

“Yes Potter, you aren’t,” Sheppard said, “And you have done more than enough to prove that but just remember, when you go into that room today, you _can_ get seriously hurt.”

“Yes, sir,” They all echoed.

“Alright,” Sheppard said, “Today you’re dealing with an attack on a muggle school. You have dark wizards and school children; you need to protect the kids while making sure you catch the guys responsible. It is based on a real attack that happened during the second wizarding war, so if anyone feels that they need to sit it out, for personal reasons, please say so.”

None of them said anything, so Sheppard nodded, “Alright then. Good luck, guys. Clara, keep them alive for me; they are the most promising recruits I’ve seen for years.”

“Yes, sir,” Clara said with a smile. She holstered her wand and looked at the four younger men, “You ready?”

They all nodded, but as they entered the room, Theo whispered, “Is it wrong that I find her hot considering she’ll be my sister-in-law when she marries Sorenson?”

“Is it wrong that I agree even though she's my girlfriends boss?” Neville whispered.

Harry snorted in amusement, “She’s pretty badass,” he agreed.

Their conversation came to an end as the door to the room shut, and the simulation materialised around them. They were inside a muggle school which was surrounded by Death Eaters.

“Why are Death Eaters attacking a muggle school?” Harry muttered with a frown.

“Because, towards the end of the war, Voldemort stared to seek out magical children so that he could train them up from a young age,” Clara replied darkly, “And he found one in this school, a pureblood who had been adopted and raised as a muggle. They besieged the school to get to the child.”

“So it's our job to get the kids out of here,” Harry said with a nod, “Alright then, first things first, let’s do a diagnostic charm. Theo, would you do the honours?”

“Of course,” Theo replied. He shut his eyes, whispered an incantation, performed a fancy wrist movement and thrust his wand upwards.

A golden dome shimmered around the entire school, “Anti-apparition wards,” Draco muttered.

“Of course, it would be too easy otherwise,” Harry said. Theo moved his wand in a circular motion, and as he did so, red spots glimmered in the playground. Each one was at a gate or exit.”

“Proximity charms,” Neville sighed, “So we either break down their defences and get the kids out sneakily, or we need to defeat the Death Eaters first.”

“We need to defeat the Death Eaters first,” Harry said with a frown, “Because some are in the school, I’m sure. Theo, can you do a life-form scan, but _only_ scan for magical signatures?”

Theo nodded. He cast the charm, and a silver number appeared in the air before them, “ _9.”_

“Five of them are us,” Neville said.

“So that means there are four Death Eaters in the building,” Harry said, “And I saw another three outside.”

“I hate to suggest the obvious then, but shouldn’t we split up?” Theo asked.

“If we split up, who does Auror Selwyn go with?” Draco asked.

“No one,” Clara replied, “I’ll find myself an empty classroom and set myself up in case anyone gets injured. I will give each of you one of these.”

She handed them all a box with a tiny beetle in it.

“Put it on your skin, and it will burrow in,” Clara instructed them. She pulled a stone tablet out of her medical bag, “All of your life signs will show up on here so I’ll be able to monitor you remotely. If you urgently need assistance, extract the bug with Accio, and I’ll be with you as quickly as possible.”

“That’s disgusting,” Theo said as he looked at the bug.

“But necessary, so do it,” Harry said. He took the beetle out and placed it on his arm, it burrowed in, and he winced at the sharp pain he felt as it did so. The others all did the same, although Theo did look a little green at the prospect.

“Okay,” Harry said, “Neville and I will go this way. You guys go that way. Take out Death Eaters without hurting the kids and be prepared for mass obliviation. If you need help, send a Patronus. Got it?”

“Yep,” Theo said.

Draco nodded, “Got it.”

“Great. Then let’s move out,” Harry said. He pulled his wand from its holster and jogged off down the corridor with Neville hot on his heels.

* * *

“Trust you to get injured in our first live simulation,” Harry said with a snort as he sat next to Neville’s bed.

Neville blinked his eyes, wearily, “Where am I?”

“Hospital wing,” Harry replied.

“What time it is?”

“7 pm. You were out for a little while,” Harry yawned, “How you feeling?”

“My skin hurts,” Neville groaned, “It feels tight and sensitive.”

“That might have something to do with the second-degree burns you got when you jumped in front of a flamethrower curse to save those little kids,” Harry said calmly.

“Shit, are we in trouble?” Neville asked.

Harry shook his head, “Sheppard called you stupidly noble, but we’re not in trouble. You might be when Lil finds out that Paris won’t be happening this weekend though.”

Neville’s face fell, “Fuck!”

“Clara’s gone back to France for the weekend,” Harry continued, “She said she would tell Lilly the bad news when she got back, but I’ll floo her when I get home for good measure.”

“Is there no way I can go?” Neville asked desperately.

Harry shook his head, “You’ve got raw skin, Nev. Frasier and Keller had to remove all the dead layers; it was brutal. You were in a right state when you came in, but they reckon you’ll be fine by Monday. You just need bed rest all weekend.”

Neville threw his head back against the pillow, “Lils going to be gutted.”

“She’ll just be glad you’re okay,” Harry assured him, “So rest, alright? And I’ll nip in and visit you on Sunday.”

“Fine, see you later, Harry.”

“Bye, Nev!”

* * *

“Hey.”

Lilly looked up from her cold cup of coffee as Clara walked into the break-room, “Hey.”

“Heard you lost your first patient today,” Clara said. She dropped down across from her and placed a brown bag on the table, “You feeling okay?”

Lilly shrugged, “I guess. It’s just…I did everything that I could, you know? But he still died, and I know it wasn’t my fault, but I still feel so helpless. The whole thing just reminds me of the war and this friend I had, Stephen, I trained him up to help me in my makeshift hospital wing then he died in the final battle and…I know I couldn’t have healed him of the killing curse, but that didn’t make me feel any better.”

“It happens to all of us,” Clara said with a sad smile, “We lose patients, but its what drives us on to keep healing people. We do it for the ones we couldn’t save, and we always remember them. I can tell you the name of every patient I’ve lost, and I can still see all of their faces in my mind.”

Lilly nodded but remained silent.

Clara opened the bag and placed a blueberry muffin in front of her, “That’s your favourite, right?”

“Yeah,” Lilly said with a weak smile, “Who died? You’ve never brought me cake.”

“Well, you know how I had that whole field assignment this afternoon?” Clara asked.

“Yeah…”

Clara launched into full lecturer mode, “Well, I was in England with the trainee Aurors today. You know how they have simulation rooms there?”

Lilly nodded.

“There are different levels of simulation room. Normally, the recruits move up to the intermediate room in March around a month after the Healer goes back there to work in the field with them,” Clara explained, “But your boyfriend and his friends are just too damn good. They have already been upgraded to the intermediate room. So this afternoon, I was with them in simulation, and it was their first live simulation, meaning that any injuries sustained remain when the simulation ends.”

Lilly’s eyes widened, “Oh God, is Neville okay?”

“That depends on your definition of okay,” Clara said with a vaguely amused smile, “He’s alive, but he’s in the hospital wing, and he will be for a couple of days which means he won’t be able to make it this weekend.”

“Great,” Lilly sighed, “I really needed our weekend in Paris after today…What did he do?”

“Something stupidly heroic,” Clara snorted.

Lilly scoffed, “Sounds like him. He needs to stop trying to copy Harry bloody Potter.”

“Yeah,” Clara said thoughtfully, “He surprised me, you know?”

“Who, Harry?” Lilly asked in surprise.

Clara nodded, “You describe him as quite goofy and funny, but he was intense. He just took charge, and he was a natural.”

Lilly shrugged, “Well, that makes sense. I see him at home with his snarky fiancé and his cute little kid, you know? But from what I’ve heard of how he was in the war, I guess he probably just snaps back into that sort of War Harry mode when he’s in the field. But how exactly did Neville get injured?”

“He jumped in front of a flamethrower curse to save some kids,” Clara replied.

Lilly looked at her, incredulously, “Why didn’t he just use a shield charm?”

“Oh don’t worry, he got those exact words roared at him by Harry while I was performing emergency first aid,” Clara snorted, “Then he apologised for yelling, and he was still sitting by Neville’s bed hours after he passed out. I reckon he’ll stay there until he wakes up.”

Lilly laughed, “Yeah…that’s just sums up their relationship perfectly.”

Clara smiled and said, “I know it’s shit, Lil, but there will be plenty of other weekends in Paris.”

“Yeah,” Lilly said with a sad smile, “I know. Thanks for telling me Clara, and for the muffin.”

“Anytime short-arse,” Clara said affectionately as a buzzer sounded.

Lilly moved to get to her feet, but Clara shook her head, “You’re off-duty for the day. I’ll see you bright and early on Monday.”

* * *

“What time do you call this?”

Harry shot his fiancé an amused look, “You got my Patronus then?”

“Yeah, of course, I did,” Daphne replied, “Foods in the oven for you if you’re hungry. Hows Nev?”

“He’s fine, he’s just gutted that he can’t go to Paris,” Harry said, “He had this whole romantic weekend planned.”

“Poor Lil,” Daphne sighed, “She was really looking forward to it.”

“I know, but his health has to come first,” Harry shrugged, “And he’ll be fine, but he needs bed rest.”

“How did he get hurt?”

“He threw himself in front of a flamethrower curse to save some little kids,” Harry replied as he threw some floo powder into the fire “In true Neville fashion. I mean shield charms are for amateurs obviously, you know?”

Daphne snorted, “Well, he’s okay. That’s the main thing.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed, “I’m just going to floo Lilly. I know Clara was going to tell her, but I thought she might want some reassurance that Neville’s okay.”

“Go for it,” Daphne said with a yawn, “Teds in bed by the way. And do you want me to get your dinner out of the oven?”

“Yeah, please do,” Harry said. He knelt in front of the fire and said, “Centre for Trauma Healing, Amiens. The dorm of Lillian Moon.”

There was a pause while the floo connected; it always took a while when going between countries. Then the flames roared green, and Harry put his head inside them. For another few minutes, he looked at a stone wall until Lilly granted him access.

The wall slid away, and he smiled at her, “Hey, Lil.”

“Hey, Harry,” Lilly said with a weak smile, “How's my heroic idiot of a boyfriend?”

“You’ve spoken to Clara then?” Harry chuckled.

“Yeah, she told me what happened. Is he alright?” Lilly asked.

“He will be, but there’s no way he’ll make Paris this weekend,” Harry admitted, “He had second degree burns all over his body. You can imagine how much new skin has to grow over the weekend.”

Lilly nodded, “And if he tries to get back to normal too early, he’ll have scars.”

“He knows that, but he’s gutted that he’s ruined your weekend,” Harry admitted,

Lilly sighed, “I’m disappointed, but there will be other weekends in Paris, I guess. It’s just been a hard week, you know?”

“How come?” Harry asked.

“Things are getting tougher here,” Lilly replied, “I assist in a lot more operations, and today, we lost our first guy. I mean, I’ve seen Clara lose a patient, but this was the first time that I did too.”

“I get it, Lil,” Harry promised, “And I know it must be shit, but I reckon you need to focus on all the ones you _have_ saved rather than the one person that you lost.”

Lilly smiled, “That’s very wise of you, thanks, Harry.”

Harry shrugged, “Try and have a good weekend anyway, okay?”

“I will. See you next weekend.”

“Yeah, see you, Lil.”

Harry pulled his head out of the fire and immediately got in trouble when the connection cut, “Hey! Do I not get to talk to her?”

“Sorry,” Harry said sheepishly, “She wasn’t really in the mood for talking. She lost her first patient today.”

“Oh shit,” Daphne said.

Harry nodded, “So I think she was looking forward to Paris.”

Daphne frowned for a moment, “I think…I have an idea!”

“What is it?” Harry asked.

“I’ll tell you later!” Daphne called, disappearing from the room in a flurry.

Harry shook his head in amusement and sat down at the dinner table with nobody to talk to apart from the portrait of Anastasia Malfoy, “Hey Ana, what’s up?”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	44. An English Pureblood in Paris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if my French is awful!

“Lilly! There’s a visitor in the common room for you!”

Lilly frowned and stepped out of her dorm room, “A visitor?” she asked as she walked towards the room, “But Neville is injured…”

When she stepped in, she was faced with the blonde bombshell that was Daphne Greengrass. She was wearing skinny black jeans, a white blouse and skyscraper heels. She raised an eyebrow at her friend and pouted her rouge lips, “Not good enough for you, huh? I mean I know I haven’t killed any snakes but who had your back in the final battle?”

Lilly grinned and hugged her, “I’ve missed you.”

“You saw last week,” Daphne chuckled as she drew back and flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

“I know,” Lilly laughed, “And for the record, I saved your arse in the final battle with my wand arrows. You just used glacius on everyone that you saw.”

“I’m the ice queen, it’s my signature spell,” Daphne said with a smirk, “And for one weekend only, I am your replacement Neville while the real Neville lies in bed feeling sorry for himself back in London.”

Lilly smiled, “Thank you.”

Daphne grinned, “Oh, don’t thank me yet, I have got _the_ best weekend planned for us. You are going to have a ball.”

“And who are you, beautiful lady?”

Lilly rolled her eyes as Marcel walked forward and took Daphne’s hand.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “My name’s Daphne. Yours doesn’t happen to be Marcel, by any chance?”

“Yes, you have heard of me?” Marcel asked with eager eyes, “Lillian does talk about me?”

“Oh, she talks about you alright,” Daphne said slyly, “How good are you at your job, Marcel?”

“I am the best.”

Lilly snorted.

“Ah. Are you good at fixing broken bones then?” Daphne asked curiously.

“Of course.”

Daphne smirked, “Fantastic because you are going to need to do just that.”

She twisted his wrist, and he cried out in pain as a soft ‘pop’ sounded. Daphne took a step back and smiled sweetly, “Little tip for you Marcel. When a girl tells you she has a boyfriend, take note.”

Lilly was trying very hard to stifle her laughter as Daphne hooked her arm through Lilly’s, “Come on, Lilly, we are going shopping!”

As they exited the common room, Marcel cried, “Who was she?”

“Harry Potter’s fiancé,” Lucille replied with a smirk.

“You idiot, Marcel!”

Lilly grinned at her friend, “You enjoyed that far too much.”

“Yeah, he’s a creep,” Daphne agreed, “And I learned after my own experiences not to give creeps an inch because if you do, they take a mile.”

“Is that how you knew to break his wrist like that?” Lilly asked curiously.

Daphne nodded, “I took a couple of self-defence classes after Fawley,” she said with a shrug.

Lilly tightened her grip on her arm, “Thanks.”

Daphne smiled, “He was French, I kind of enjoyed it.”

“I thought you liked French guys?”

“Says who?”

“Theo,” Lilly replied.

Daphne scoffed, “No, I went to the Yule Ball with a French guy to piss Draco off, and he didn’t even notice because he was too busy staring at Hermione and telling Theo how beautiful she had become.”

Lilly snorted, “So the saga began, huh?”

“Yeah, and I was still stupid enough to date him for two years after that,” Daphne said with a shake of her head as they emerged in the cool, sunlight outside the centre.

“Well, we can’t be perfect all the time,” Lilly said with a grin, “Are you staying with me all weekend?”

“Yep,” Daphne replied, “And look what I have…”

Lilly frowned at the pink keys, “A set of keys?”

“A set of keys to my mother's penthouse apartment in Paris,” Daphne said in a sing-song voice.

Lilly raised an eyebrow at her, “And does she know that you have those keys?”

“No, but Astoria owed me a favour, so I asked her to borrow them for me,” Daphne replied cheerfully, “You’re going to love it, come on.”

Lilly just shook her head in amusement and let Daphne side apparate her into Paris. Daphne grabbed her hand and led her into the building.

“Bonjour, Mademoiselle Greengrass ( _Hello, Miss Greengrass_ ),” A footman said with a smile.

“Bonjour, Monsieur Val Jean ( _Hello, Mister Val Jean),_ ” Daphne said cheerfully, “Voici mon amie Lilly. Nous resterons dans l'appartement ce soi ( _This is my friend Lilly, we will be staying in the apartment_ ).”

“Et ta mère est au courant ( _And your Mother knows_ )? ” The footman asked.

Daphne batted her eyelids at the footman, “Non mais tu ne sa diras pas, hein ( _No, but you won’t tell her, will you_ )?”

He smiled and shook his head, “Bon week-end, Mademoiselle ( _Have a nice weekend, Miss_ ).”

Daphne beamed and dragged Lilly into the lift.

“Did you just flirt and bargain with the footman?” Lilly asked with an amused smile.

Daphne grinned, “Yes, I did. I kissed him one summer and let me put it this way; one of us wasn’t legal. So trust me, he won’t tell my mother that we’re here.”

“Daphne Greengrass,” Lilly tutted, “That’s scandalous.”

“Only a little bit,” Daphne teased. The lift came to a stop, and Daphne pulled Lilly into the penthouse apartment. Lilly stood in the doorway for a moment as she stared at the grandeur. This was an old building, and the apartment was beautiful with its ornate fireplaces and artistic furniture.

“Daphné, ma petite fille ( _Daphne, my little girl)_!” A portrait of a beautiful, blonde woman above the fireplace said.

Daphne beamed at the portrait, “Bonjour Grand-mère. Ca fait tellement longtemps ( _Hello Grandmother. It has been so long)_!”

Lilly shook her head in disbelief, “Of course, your grandmother was French. I mean no wonder you’re so flawless.”

Daphne chuckled, “I’m not flawless. Lilly, this is my Grandmother, Aphrodite. She’s a Cornfoot, and the family lived in France for a long time until Aphrodite came back to England to marry Hyperion Crouch, my Grandfather.”

“Cornfoot,” Lilly frowned, “I had a friend called Stephen; he was a Cornfoot.”

Aphrodite smiled, “Parlez-vous français, ma chère ( _Do you speak French, my dear)_?”

Lilly nodded, “Oui, mais pas si bien ( _Yes, but not so well)_.”

Aphrodite’s smile widened, “Ah, then English is best. My brother, Atlas, is Stephen’s Grandfather.”

Daphne smiled at Lilly, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you sad. We are going to have a great weekend, I promise. But I just need to do something first…”

“Ma mère est-elle venue avec Phineas récemment, grand-mère ( _Has my mother been here with Uncle Phineas recently, Grandmother_?” Daphne asked the portrait.

“Oui, ils étaient là le week-end dernier ma chère ( _Yes, they were here last weekend my dear)_.”

Daphne made a face, “Scourgify Maxima!”

“I know enough French to gather that your mother was here with a guy called Phineas?” Lilly asked with a raised eyebrow, “So how does that constitute to you deep cleaning every surface in the apartment?”

“Phineas is my father's brother, and my mother has been screwing him since before I was born,” Daphne said distastefully, “And he lives in Paris. That’s why I didn’t take you to the chateau because he’ll be there, but this is a Crouch property.”

“Right, that sounds awkward,” Lilly agreed.

Daphne shrugged, “Anyway, we have a busy day so we should get moving,” she said as she dumped her bag on the floor, “What were you planning on doing with Neville this weekend?”

“We were going to go to a magical botanical garden and then a cathedral-”

“Okay, we’re not going to do any of that,” Daphne cut in, “But we are going to go to the wizarding quarter of Paris because I have an errand I need to run there anyway, and also _shopping_!”

“I hate shopping, Daph,” Lilly complained.

“Oh come on Lilly, there’s more than clothes shops in the wizarding quarter,” Daphne said with a smile, “You’ll love it, I promise.”

“Will I really, though?”

Daphne smiled at her, “I’ll take you to a bookshop.”

“Fine,” Lilly agreed reluctantly.

* * *

“Ah, here we are,” Daphne said. They stopped in front of a large old-fashioned bookshop, and Lilly looked up in awe.

If Daphne noticed she didn’t say anything, she just opened the door and led Lilly inside. There were books stacked from the floor to the ceiling, and in the centre of the room, there was a circular desk.

“Ah Mademoiselle Greengrass! Ca fait tellement longtemps! Êtes-vous ici pour recueillir votre robe de mariée ( _Ah Miss Greengrass! It’s been so long! Are you here to collect your wedding dress_ )?”

Daphne smiled, “Oui Monsieur vergne ( _Yes, Mister Vergne)_.”

“Magnifique! Vous ressemblerez à un ange, j'en suis sûr ( _Magnificent! You will look just like an angel, I am sure_ ).”

Daphne laughed and looked over at Lilly. The Ravenclaw smirked at her, “So if you’re here to pick up your wedding dress, that means you’ve set a date, and it’s sometime soon.”

“This is why I love you, Lilly,” Daphne chirped, “I don’t have to spend ages explaining anything to you. You are perfectly right, but I’ll tell you more when we get to the boutique.”

“Okay,” Lilly chuckled

“This is Monsieur Vergne; he guards the entrance to the wizarding quarter here. Sort of like Tom the Innkeeper is supposed to guard Diagon Alley. Only Monsieur Vergne isn’t a drunkard. He’s a very well-educated man. He just doesn’t speak any English.”

Lilly smiled and said, “Ravi de vous rencontrer, monsieur Vergne ( _Pleasure to meet you, Mister Vergne_ ).”

“Et toi ( _And you)_!”

He took a step back, and one of the bookcases behind him slid aside to reveal a stone spiral staircase. Daphne waved to Monsieur Vergne and pulled Lilly onto the staircase. It only led downwards.

“You speak French so well,” Lilly said in surprise, “I can only make out some of what you say.”

“I spent a large chunk of my childhood in France,” Daphne admitted, “After my father set fire to the house, my mother came out here to get away from him. It also wasn’t a coincidence that my Uncle Phineas lived here, but I didn’t work that one out until much later.”

“Well, you wouldn’t as a kid,” Lilly mused, “I didn’t notice that my mum's boyfriend changed every other day until I was about…eleven…”

Lilly stopped and stared in awe. She was reminded of the first time she had set foot in Diagon Alley. It had been like going back in time and seeing a little piece of history, and entering the Parisian wizarding quarter was no different. The narrow street was full of life, and it looked like it hadn’t changed since the renaissance. The white brick buildings stood high and proud, with their feature window frames and traditional slate roofs. Every shopfront had a covered stone porch with impressive archways opening it up to the street. The shop signs were all bright and colourful, each one with the shop title in pretty italicised writing.

“Wow,” Lilly whispered.

Daphne smiled at her friend, “That was what I said when I first saw it too. I think this is probably my favourite place in Europe, Lil. Let me show you some of the best bits.”

She pulled Lilly along the cobbled street and pointed out individual buildings like the very grand looking post office and the bank, which was more impressive than even Gringotts. Lilly found herself standing in front of the huge black and gold structure, staring up in awe.

“I always wanted to work there you know,” Daphne said conversationally, “When I decided that I was going to be a Curse Breaker I had my heart set on that bank, it’s called Banque Parisienne.”

“What made you change your mind?” Lilly asked.

“Harry,” Daphne answered honestly, “I met Harry, and I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to spend my training years in France when he would be in England. Then Teddy came into our lives, and I knew I couldn’t go that far afield.”

Lilly frowned, “Don’t you regret that? Or do you worry you’re going to resent Harry and Teddy for it later?”

Daphne shook her head, “For a start, I could never resent Teddy for anything. As for regretting it? Harry and Teddy are my family; I could never regret choosing them over some swanky French bank. Then there’s Bill, he’s becoming one of my best friends, and he’s an incredible mentor so no, I don’t regret anything.”

Lilly’s frown deepened as Daphne dragged her into some sort of café.

“Lilly, I know you don’t want to get married or have kids because you think you will regret it,” Daphne said, “But not everybody feels that way. I’m happy with what I have, I love my job, and I love my family. It isn’t all about ambition or career for me; I know other people don’t feel that way. Look at Hermione; she wants to get further in her career before she even marries Draco, let alone has kids.”

“So what you are saying is, it’s okay not to want any of that yet?”

Daphne nodded and ordered two coffees in French. She turned back to Lilly and said, “It’s okay not to want that yet. But before you do marry Neville, if that’s what you want to do, you need to work out if you are ever going to want kids. A good friend once told me that every couple should have that chat before getting married because you can love someone, but what you want out of life might not be the same as what they want.”

“Right,” Lilly said with a nod.

“So do you know what you want yet?” Daphne asked curiously.

Lilly sighed and shook her head, “No.”

Daphne smiled encouragingly at her friend and handed her a cup of iced coffee, “I think you want to watch me try my wedding dress on.”

“Do you?” Lilly snorted.

Daphne shot a grin over her shoulder, “Continuez, shorty ( _Keep up, shorty)_!”

Lilly shook her head in amusement, “Va te faire foutre, Daphné ( _Fuck you, Daphne)_!”

“Grossière ( _Rude)_!”

Lilly laughed and followed her across the narrow street, into a beautiful boutique. Lilly hung back while Daphne spoke animatedly in French with the woman who owned the shop. They were led into the back-room, and Daphne pushed Lilly into a comfortable armchair as she disappeared to be fitted for her dress.

“So when is the wedding then?” Lilly asked.

From behind the curtain, Daphne replied, “The 31st of December.”

“New Year?” Lilly asked in surprise.

“I did promise him that I would be there to ring it in with style,” Daphne’s voice said, “And I think a surprise wedding fits the bill. Don’t you?”

“Yes, I think so,” Lilly agreed with an amused smile, “Where are you having it?”

“Just at Potter Manor,” Daphne replied, “We don’t want anything too big or fancy. It will be better for Teddy if it’s somewhere that he knows as well.”

The curtain was drawn back, and Daphne stepped out, “What do you think?”

Lilly smiled genuinely, “I think you look every bit the perfect, flawless, pureblood bride.”

“I’m sure there was a compliment in there somewhere,” Daphne laughed as she did a swivel.

“You look beautiful,” Lilly said as she admired the dress that Daphne had chosen. It was floor-length and slim-fitting, so it flattered Daphne’s figure perfectly. The satin bodice was low-cut and decorated with diamantes, but the sleeves were made from lace. The dress was pulled in around her waist with a rose gold ‘S’ shaped clip, and the satin skirt clung to every one of her curves.

“That clip is real gold, isn’t it?”

Daphne scoffed, “Of course it is. Would I settle for anything less?”

“No,” Lilly said with an amused shake of her head, “No, I don’t think you would.”

Daphne smiled and turned around, “Tracey always told me that I was perfect apart from my arse. Does it look fat in this?”

“No, your arse definitely doesn’t look fat,” Lilly snorted.

“In which case, as long as I do not gain _any_ weight at Christmas, this will fit perfectly!” Daphne chirped.

“So Sadie will be doing last-minute adjustments on the morning of the wedding then,” Lilly said with a smirk, “Because I know what you’re like when Christmas pudding is on the table.”

“Okay, that is just bitchy,” Daphne remarked, “Oh, Madam Hugo? Pouvez-vous faire ressortir la robe de la demoiselle d'honneur?”

“Oui, Mademoiselle!”

“How are you with clothing adjustment charms?” Daphne asked Lilly curiously.

Lilly shrugged, “Fine, it’s just a branch of Transfiguration, and that was my best subject.”

“Of course it was, little miss smarty-pants,” Daphne remarked as a beautiful dress was hung up, “This is the Maid of Honours dress, what do you think?”

The dress was knee-length and pastel blue. It was adorned with diamontes, “It’s lovely. Sadie will look beautiful in it, even with the baby bump.”

“Hmm,” Daphne hummed, “She won’t. Do you want to try it on?”

“What?” Lilly frowned.

Daphne laughed, “Haven’t you worked it out yet, Lil? Sadie and I talked last week, and we both agreed that it would be better if she wasn’t my maid of honour. Partly because we’re drifting apart and partly because of her being pregnant. But I’m glad that it turned out the way it did because I want you to be my maid of honour.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you short-arse,” Daphne said with a grin, “If you want to, of course. You do want to, don’t you?”

“Of course I want to,” Lilly said a little tearfully, “I just…I’ve never had a close female friend before. I’ve always been a bit like Neville, I’ve had lots of friends from different walks of life but never a friend who would ask me to be her maid of honour or come to Paris just to cheer me up.”

“Well, you have now,” Daphne said with a genuine smile, “So will you try the dress on?”

“Yeah, I’ll try the dress on.”

“I even made it short for you because a long dress would just emphasis how tiny you are, and you are so incompetent in high heels-”

“Stop being mean to me just because you feel awkward for showing emotion,” Lilly said, shooting her a knowing look as she disappeared behind the curtain.

* * *

After the dress fitting, Daphne fulfilled her promise and took Lilly to the oldest wizarding bookshop in Europe. They spent an hour browsing and a further two hours under a blanket in the snug at the back of the shop as they argued about French history over a dusty old book.

“Come on. We need to get back to the apartment and get changed before we go out tonight,” Daphne said when she noticed the time.

Lilly asked where they were going, but Daphne refused to tell her. They got back to the apartment, and Daphne said, “It’s only a one-bedroom, but we can just share, that’s okay, isn’t it?”

“Considering the size of that bed, yeah that’s fine,” Lilly said as her eyes were drawn to the window.

“It’s only a king. You should see the size of Harry and I’s bed in the manor,” Daphne remarked as she began to pull clothes out of shopping bags.

“Why do you need anything bigger than that?” Lilly asked. She opened the window and leant on the ledge as she looked at the view over Paris, “And can I just say, I love you? I mean you can see the freaking Eiffel Tower from this window! Will this place be yours when you get married?”

“It will be fair game when my mother dies, but I’ll have to fight Astoria for it,” Daphne said with an amused smile, “She loves it here too, and in answer to your question, we have a huge bed because Harry has nightmares all the time, ever since he stopped drinking.”

“Of course,” Lilly said with a nod, “And he flails, I guess?”

“Like a fish,” Daphne said with a roll of her eyes, “Hurry and get changed or we’ll be late for dinner.”

“What’s wrong with what we’re wearing?” Lilly asked as she turned away from the window.

“It’s fine for shopping but not for where we’re going,” Daphne said simply.

Lilly looked at the outfit on the bed, “No way.”

“I know, beautiful right?”

“No, I mean there is _no way_ that I am wearing that,” Lilly said in disbelief.

“Why?” Daphne exclaimed.

“Because it’s so sexy and I am _not_.”

“Yes, you are,” Daphne scoffed, “You just hide it behind baggy jeans and jumpers. You are going to look stunning in this, so get dressed.”

“I won’t be able to walk in those heels,” Lilly argued.

“I know you won’t, I’ll hold you up,” Daphne promised.

The outfit in question was a simple black dress, but it was short and low-cut, which were two things that Lilly didn’t often look for in clothing. The heels were black, sparkly, and at least two inches higher than the only heels she could comfortably walk in.

“Just put it on, you’ll look great!” Daphne said as she disappeared into the bathroom.

* * *

When Daphne emerged from the bathroom, entirely made up and ready to go, she stared at Lilly in disbelief.

“It looks awful, doesn’t it?”

“Sweet Salazar girl, have some confidence!” Daphne exclaimed, “I swear, you have never looked hotter. Neville will be devastated that he missed this weekend.”

Lilly smiled sheepishly, “You’re just saying that because you’re my friend.”

“No, I’m not. You really ought to dress for your assets more often,” Daphne remarked.

Lilly snorted, “So you’re eyeing me up now? Great. Also, your outfit is just…wow.”

“I know, right?”

“Does Harry know you’re wearing that?” Lilly asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, but Harry loves this outfit.”

“I can see why,” Lilly stated. The dress was a silver sequinned body-suit with a floor-length white lace skirt that was almost completely see-through, “How does he feel about you wearing that around other guys?”

“He doesn’t care. I think he kind of likes it actually because he’s the one who gets to take me home at the end of the night,” Daphne said suggestively.

Lilly shook her head in amusement, “It’s a miracle you aren’t the pregnant one with the amount of sex you two have.”

“Oh like you can talk, half of your course-mates heard you screaming Neville’s name on your first night

in France,” Daphne chimed in with a smirk.

“I wasn’t _screaming_ ,” Lilly muttered.

“Moaning very loudly?”

“Yeah, we’ll go with that,” Lilly said evasively, “Where are we going tonight?”

“Only the most prestigious place in Paris.”

Lilly narrowed her eyes at Daphne, “Where?”

“The Moulin Rouge,” Daphne replied, “Come here and let me put some red lipstick on you and then you’ll be perfect enough to be my date.”

* * *

When Daphne and Lilly stumbled through the door of the apartment late that night, they were both very tipsy.

“Well, that was certainly an experience; you were right about that,” Lilly laughed.

“I told you that you would love it!” Daphne said, she kicked her heels off, “But good Godric, I need to get out of this dress!”

“Good Godric?” Lilly snorted, “Holy fuck, you’ve been with a Gryffindor for too long!”

“It’s a sin,” Daphne grinned, “What do you lot say anyway?”

“Us lot?”

“Ravenclaws,” Daphne said as she picked up her wand, “I mean there’s good Godric, Sweet Salazar and Holy Helga.”

“We don’t have a phrase,” Lilly said, “And you are so not transfiguring your clothes right now, you’re way too drunk. Just get changed like a normal human.”

“Why don’t you have a phrase?” Daphne asked, “Accio pyjamas,” she said then she dropped her wand.

Two pairs of pyjamas flew out of the bag, and Daphne threw the blue set at Lilly.

“Because we don’t believe in taking our founder's name in vain,” Lilly replied.

Daphne laughed out loud, “Don’t you? That’s cute.”

Lilly looked at the pyjamas, “What is this?”

“Pyjamas. I knew you wouldn’t have time to pack, so I packed some for you. They’re blue for your house, and they also match your eyes,” Daphne said cheerfully.

“Why does it matter if they match my eyes?” Lilly muttered, “Do you expect me to wear these?”

“I’ll be offended if you don’t!” Daphne retorted. She disappeared into the bedroom, and Lilly shook her head, “She’s going to be the death of me,” she muttered as she nipped into the bathroom to change.

When she came out, dressed in what Daphne called pyjamas, she could hear her friend clattering about in the kitchen. The pyjamas were very short silk shorts with a lace hem, and the top was a lacy crop-top that only covered up what needed to be covered. Daphne was wearing the same set, but hers were emerald green.

“See? You look great in everything,” Daphne said, putting a glass of wine in Lilly's hand.

“Who worries about looking great in pyjamas?” Lilly asked. She felt incredibly self-conscious.

“I do,” Daphne shrugged.

“Why? Nobody sees you!”

“Harry does.”

“And Harry would shag you if you were wearing rags,” Lilly pointed out, “I just wonder around wearing Neville's t-shirts.”

“That doesn’t surprise me, and also, guys _love_ that,” Daphne said as she flopped on the sofa and patted the spot next to her, “But it’s a lot easier for you than me.”

“What do you mean?” Lilly chuckled.

“Look at the size difference between you and Neville; one of his t-shirts would be like a nightdress for you. Harry’s t-shirts barely cover anything when I wear them,” Daphne snorted.

“No wonder he likes it then,” Lilly sniggered.

Lilly sat down and grabbed a blanket that was hanging on the back of the sofa. She threw it over them, and Daphne sighed happily, “I have had such a great day. I _love_ Paris, and I’m so excited for the wedding now that I’ve seen my dress on properly. I still can’t quite believe I’m actually marrying boy wonder. Actually, I can’t believe I’m getting married at all.”

“Uh, why?”

“Oh you know, the way my life was going,” Daphne said with a shrug, “I just wasn’t expecting to get married. I probably would have become a lesbian. Girls are so much less shallow…”

“What _are_ you on about?” Lilly laughed.

“Well,” Daphne said with a frown, “With everything that happened with Draco and Blaise, I was starting to give up on guys. I mean with Draco and me, there were feelings, but there was also a marriage contract. I think he thought he could do whatever he wanted and I would just sit there like a wallflower and let him because I was lucky enough to have a marriage contract with a Malfoy,” she rolled her eyes, “But then he took the dark mark, and I stood up for myself.”

Lilly nodded.

“Then during the war, there was Blaise who doesn’t even remember our thing because we obliviated him,” Daphne said with a wave of her hand, “You know the story, right?”

“He tried to kill your sister because he was under the imperius curse so you had Draco obliviate him and then you sent him away,” Lilly said with a nod.

“Exactly, but even with Blaise, I knew he wanted a relationship, but I was never sure if it was because he wanted _me_ or if he wanted a trophy wife,” Daphne said with a sigh, “I know guys think I’m hot and I was starting to think that all they wanted me for was my body. I kind of started to feel like that was all that I was worth to them.”

“I can kind of understand that,” Lilly said honestly, “Are you saying it’s a curse to be so hot?”

“I’m not like this all the time,” Daphne laughed, “This is me all made up. When you see me with a hangover in the morning, you’ll realise that I’m pretty plain underneath it all.”

“I’ve seen you first thing in the morning with a hangover before,” Lilly reminded her, “And you are still naturally beautiful unlike me.”

“Oh, stop putting yourself down,” Daphne scoffed, “You don’t make yourself up every single day which means on a night like tonight, everyone looks at you and goes woah, Lilly is hot as fuck!”

“People don’t think that,” Lilly sniggered.

“They do,” Daphne sang, “It’s too much effort to keep up my level of beauty all the time.”

“You don’t even need to,” Lilly said as she sipped her wine.

“Anyway, that was why it took so long for Harry to break me down and convince me to be in a relationship with him, you know? It took me a long time to realise that he was different,” Daphne admitted.

“I get that,” Lilly agreed, “I mean, I kind of thought I was gonna be a spinster.”

“A spinster?” Daphne scoffed, “Lil, you’re only 19 now!”

“I know, but it was just the way my life was going,” Lilly shrugged, “I’m from a rough part of London, and my dad left my mum when I was a kid. He was in and out of my life, but every time he was at the flat, they were screaming at each other. It was like…my mum lost all of her self-worth because her husband left her for another man. She dated loser after loser, and I swear, I started to lose track. I would go away to school in September and say bye to Steve then when I got back for Christmas she was shagging David.”

Daphne snorted, “My mother was kind of like that. There were a few guys, one of them was her own brother which was just the worst. I mean my Uncle Julian is a freak, that’s pretty much why we don’t see him. That and he’s in and out of Azkaban.”

“You’ve gone so far off-topic,” Lilly said through her laugher, “Can you even find your way back to the point?”

“Shh, of course I can,” Daphne hushed her friend, “The point was that the one she kept going back to was my Uncle Phineas. The thing is, I don’t like to admit that I’m like my mother, but I am. I fall hard, and I hate it because I see what falling hard did to her.”

“Harry isn’t an abusive bastard like your father was,” Lilly reminded her.

“I know. That’s why I finally stopped being stupid and said yes when he asked me out,” Daphne said with a smile, “But carry on with your story about your mum.”

Lilly chuckled, “The point I was making was that I figured I was doomed to be like my mum. I thought I’d just date losers and if that was the case, I’d probably be happier on my own, you know?”

Daphne nodded.

“I mean I dated Michael Corner in sixth year and then had this on/off thing with him in the war,” Lilly said with a roll of her eyes, “But I just feel like he was beneath me, you know?”

“And was he beneath you?” Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He was more behind me, to be honest,” Lilly said, shooting Daphne an amused grin.

“And to think _you_ insulted me for all my broom closet sex?” Daphne tutted, “Lillian Moon, your true colours are coming out!”

Lilly just laughed, “You get the point though, right? There was Michael then Ron-”

“Ron treated you like shit, and you are so much better than him,” Daphne agreed quickly, “Let’s just not go into that in any more detail.”

“Deal,” Lilly agreed, “So I thought I’d end up alone with a bunch of cats.”

“You hate cats.”

“Exactly!” Lilly said with an amused grin.

Daphne laughed, “So what we’re saying is that if I hadn’t started dating Harry, and you hadn’t fallen head over heels for Nev, we’d both be lesbians?”

Lilly remarked, “I didn’t say that you said that. Why did you jump straight into being a lesbian?”

“Because I’ve always been on the fence, to be honest,” Daphne said with a shrug, “I don’t really care about gender, just if I like the person and find them attractive. You know the girls and I were talking about our ratios a few weeks ago while you were still over here and mine is definitely 50:50.”

“You could just say you’re bisexual,” Lilly pointed out.

“My way was more dramatic,” Daphne grinned, “What’s your ratio?”

“I don’t know,” Lilly admitted.

“Oh come on, you must know,” Daphne said, “Even Sadie and Hermione know their ratio. They are both 70:30. The 30 is for each other.”

“Sadie and Hermione?” Lilly asked in disbelief.

“Oh, you didn’t hear about that then?” Daphne asked, “They had a foursome after graduation.”

“What?”

“Yep,” Daphne smirked, “That’s why they are so close these days.”

“Holy shit.”

“So what’s your ratio?”

“I genuinely don’t know,” Lilly admitted, “There’s not any hot lesbians in the estate I grew up so I can’t say I thought about it much. I mean I’ve never even kissed a girl so-”

“You’ve never even kissed a girl?” Daphne echoed, “How boring is the Ravenclaw common room?”

“How interesting is the Slytherin one?” Lilly countered.

“I don’t think you’ll find a single girl in Slytherin whose ratio is anything less than 70:30,” Daphne sniggered, “I mean how can you have gone through _eight_ years at Hogwarts without kissing a girl?”

“Because there wasn’t much choice in Ravenclaw,” Lilly snorted, “I mean the only decent looking girl I spoke to was Luna.”

“Oh so into blondes are you, Lilly?” Daphne joked.

Lilly shook her head in amusement, “Shut up,” she retorted.

“I would offer to kiss you so you could work out what your ratio is,” Daphne said with a grin, “But the last time I did that, I turned the girl gay.”

“Who the hell did you turn gay?” Lilly asked through her laughter.

“Ginny Weasley,” Daphne said proudly, “Her ratio is 90:10 because she wants to shag Blaise’s sister. I don’t even blame her, Blanche Zabini is _stunning_. I mean, I would so go there if I was single.”

“How many girls have you kissed, exactly?” Lilly asked in amusement.

“A few…” Daphne remarked, “Tracey was the first, then there was Sadie. More recently, Susan and Ginny.”

“Susan _and_ Ginny?” Lilly snorted, “Got a thing for redheads, have you?”

“Maybe I do, watch yourself, Lil,” Daphne joked.

“Oh, come on then,” Lilly said, putting down her wine glass.

“What?” Daphne asked.

“If it’s such a tragedy that I’ve never kissed a girl before, then come on,” Lilly teased.

“Oh no, I mean I wasn’t trying to pressure you into anything,” Daphne cut in, “I was just winding you up.”

Lilly sniggered, “So you’re a typical Slytherin then? You talk the talk, but you can’t walk the walk.”

“Oh no, no, you’re not getting away with that one.”

“Well come on then,” Lilly joked.

Daphne put her glass of wine down and leant across to close the distance between them. She held Lilly’s face with both hands, and tentatively pressed her lips against Lilly’s. She was expecting Lilly to laugh and pull away after a peck, just to say that she had done it.

It was Lilly who surprised Daphne by shuffling closer to her on the sofa, putting her arms around Daphne and deepening the kiss. She parted her lips slightly, and Daphne took this as encouragement. She ran her tongue along Lilly’s upper lip and smirked involuntarily when Lilly gasped, almost inaudibly.

When Daphne’s tongue slipped into Lilly’s mouth, it became a heated battle for dominance with both their tongues tangling together. Daphne eventually won the battle and then decided to end the kiss before she became too tempted to take things any further. When they broke apart, Lilly’s cheeks were a little pink, and they were both breathing heavily.

“Please tell me I didn’t turn you gay, because I think Neville will kill me if I did.”

Lilly laughed and took a deep drink from her wine glass which broke the tension in the air. She shook her head and said, “No, as great as that was, I have no desire to run off with another woman.”

“But your ratio definitely isn’t 100:0. Is it?” Daphne grinned as she sipped her own wine.

“No,” Lilly admitted, “70:30.”

“Am I the 30?” Daphne asked smugly.

“Is my best friend, who made me cry by asking me to be her maid of honour then snogged the life out of me, the 30% of me that’s into women? Yeah, I think she probably is,” Lilly replied with an amused chuckle.

Daphne laughed and wrapped her arms around Lilly, “Thank you.”

“For kissing you?” Lilly snorted.

“No, you pain in the arse,” Daphne said, she whacked Lilly with a pillow, “For being my friend. I just want you to know that you’re not like a back-up Sadie or anything. It’s just been hard for me to let you in because you really remind me of Tracey.”

“I know I do,” Lilly admitted as she leant into Daphne’s embrace.

“I love Sadie, but she doesn’t stand up to me. Tracey always did, and you do as well. When I’m being a bitch, you tell me,” Daphne admitted, “And I need that because I can be a right foul bitch.”

“You can be,” Lilly chuckled.

“And you tell it to me how it is,” Daphne said quietly, “You’re blunt and straight-forward and funny, and sometimes you’ll say something, and it’s just what she would have said and that…hurts.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say sorry for being yourself,” Daphne murmured, “I’m just sorry that I kept you at arm’s length for so long. You’re brilliant, and I love you.”

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m totally sober.”

“Bullshit,” Lilly snorted.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	45. Your Life Could Have Gone One Way or the Other...

“How's the invalid doing?”

“I’m fine,” Neville said with a tired smile, “Just not sleeping much with the discomfort. Hey little man!”

Teddy grinned and made incoherent noises.

“He says hey Uncle Nev,” Harry said with a grin.

“So you speak baby as well as snake now, huh?” Neville snorted.

“Speaking snake is easier,” Harry joked, “And he’s my responsibility this weekend because Daphne is gallivanting around Paris with her best friend.”

Neville’s eyes lit up, “She went to Paris?”

“So that Lilly could still have a weekend of fun and relaxation,” Harry said with a smile, “Lil lost her first patient on Friday so Daphne figured she would need it.”

“Oh, sh – sugar plum fairies,” Neville corrected himself as Harry prepared to cover Teddy’s ears, “I’m the worlds worst boyfriend.”

“No, you’re not; you’re just a heroic idiot,” Harry sniggered, “Lilly’s words not mine.”

“Yeah, I can believe that.”

“Neeeeeeeee!”

“You can’t hug Uncle Nev, little man,” Harry said as he shuffled the baby boy on his hip, “He’s all ouchy because he’s a big silly boy!”

“You sound like such a prat when you do that baby voice.”

“You do it too when you think I’m not in the room,” Harry said, shooting his best friend a grin, “Isn’t Uncle Nev a big silly eejit, Teddy?”

Teddy chuckled and clapped his hands, and a new voice said.

“Oh my gosh! Is this Dora’s little boy?”

Harry turned around and smiled at Keller, “Yeah, this is Teddy.”

“I knew you looked after him,” Keller said with a smile, “But I didn’t realise he was so darn adorable. Hi there little guy!”

Teddy giggled and reached out for her.

“Oh, can I have a cuddle with him?”

“Sure,” Harry said with a smile as he handed Teddy to Keller, “He likes blonde women because they remind him of Daphne, my fiancé. She’s been around since he was months old and soon, we’ll be adopting Teddy officially.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful news, Harry,” Keller said, “Hello, little guy!”

Harry sat down on the edge of Neville’s bed, and Neville raised an eyebrow at him, “Harry? Since when are you Harry, not Recruit Potter?”

“Since I brought a cute baby in. Women love guys with babies, they think they are responsible, and it makes them want them,” Harry said with a smug grin.

“I’m sure Daph would be thrilled if she knew you were using Teddy to attract women,” Neville said sarcastically.

“Shut up, or I’ll poke your sore bits.”

“I’m sore everywhere.”

“Exactly, so it won’t be hard, will it?” Harry retorted.

Neville snorted, “Did you come here to slag me off?”

“Nah I came to flirt with Keller,” Harry joked in a whisper.

Neville sniggered.

“And to tell you that you better start preparing a best man speech because I’m getting married on New Year's Eve,” Harry added.

“This year?” Neville asked in surprise.

“Yep, but it’s a surprise. Only the best man and the maid of honour know, oh and Astoria because Daphne couldn’t keep her mouth shut,” Harry added.

Neville sniggered, “So me, Astoria and Sadie then?”

“Nope, you, Astoria and Lil,” Harry said with a smile, “Daphne combined visiting Lil with her first fitting for her wedding dress. She asked Lil to be the maid of honour, she and Sadie talked about it last week and decided that it was for the best.”

“Lil will cry.”

Harry snorted, “I’ve never seen Lil cry. Well, apart from one but that was angry, I hate Ron tears.”

“I’m telling you, Lilly has never had a female best friend,” Neville said with a smile, “She’ll definitely cry.”

“You’d know better than me,” Harry said with a smile, “But either way, it’s a secret so you can’t tell anyone, okay? Just like you can’t tell anyone that the adoption is going official _really_ soon.”

“I won’t,” Neville promised.

“Awesome, because as my best man and Teddy’s godfather, those are your two main jobs,” Harry chirped.

“Teddy’s godfather?” Neville asked in shock, “But you’re his godfather.”

“Yep,” Harry agreed, “I am, but when I adopt him, I will be his father, legally.”

Neville frowned.

“Which means Daphne, and I can choose new godparents for him, and we discussed it the other night,” Harry said with a smile, “We decided that you and Lilly ought to be his godparents.”

Neville swallowed and grabbed Harry’s hand, “Thank you.”

“Don’t sweat it, Nev,” Harry said as he squeezed his best friends hand gently.

“Oh, and who is this little man?”

Neville let go of Harry’s hand as Frasier stepped out of her office.

“This is Teddy, Dora’s little boy,” Keller explained.

“Oh he’s just so sweet!” Frasier said, “Did you bring him in to visit Longbottom, Harry?”

Neville rolled his eyes, and Harry grinned at his Auror partner, “Yeah, I thought it would lift his spirits.”

“Oh he’s lovely. Carson!”

The male Healer stepped out of the office, “Oh, he’s a lovely wee lad, isn’t he? Is he yours, Harry?”

“No Carson, this is Dora’s little boy.”

Harry’s grin widened as he mouthed, ‘Harry’ at Neville.

Neville gave him the middle finger and mouthed, ‘Fuck you’ back.

* * *

“Good morning!”

“Why are you so happy about my imminent death?”

Daphne laughed and said, “Open your eyes, and I’ll give you a magic potion to make it all go away.”

“Including that embarrassing kiss?” Lilly asked as she opened an eye.

Daphne handed her a vial of potion and smirked, “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of letting you forget about that.”

Lilly downed the potion and rolled onto her back, “Did you just wake up?”

“No, I’ve been up for hours, but you were comfy, so I stayed in bed,” Daphne said. She stretched and opened the window, letting the bright sun shine into the room, “Why do you ask?”

“Oh just like you said last night, you do look shit in the morning,” Lilly joked.

Daphne laughed and threw a pillow at her, “Morning? Lillian Moon, it is nearly midday.”

“ _Why_ are you so happy?” Lilly yawned, “We went to bed at 4 am last night.”

“I’m used to the early starts,” Daphne said simply. She picked up a cup of coffee that had been resting on the sideboard and sipped it, “I have a toddler every weekend, and soon, I’m going to have him every day.”

“It’s going to be official soon then?” Lilly asked.

“Very soon,” Daphne said with a smile, “Which is a secret, just like my New Years wedding is a secret. Everyone will think they are coming to a party, but they will actually be coming to our wedding.”

“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed on both fronts,” Lilly promised.

“Good!” Daphne said as she pushed a cup of coffee into Lilly’s hands, “Because as my maid of honour, and Teddy’s future godmother, that’s all I ask of you.”

“Godmother?” Lilly asked.

Daphne nodded. She sat down on the edge of the bed and explained. “At the moment, he only has a godfather which is Harry, of course. But once the adoption goes through, in legal terms, Harry and I will be his mother and father, which means that he no longer has a godfather. We both have dangerous jobs, so if Andromeda were to die, and then something happened to Harry and me, we need the security of godparents.”

“And you want me to be his godmother?” Lilly asked in surprise.

“You and Neville,” Daphne said as she met Lilly’s eye, “If you consent, of course.”

“I mean…Daph, I’m honoured,” Lilly said honestly, “But I’m no good with kids.”

“Oh, Neville is good enough for the both of you, and you’ll get used to it the more you spend time with Ted,” Daphne said offhandedly.

Lilly nodded, “I really am honoured, Daph. This whole weekend has just been an emotional trip.”

Daphne put her coffee down and hugged Lilly gently, “I know,” she said. Then she pushed herself to her feet and added, “But it’s not over yet so drink up and get dressed. We’re going to the circus!”

* * *

The circus actually turned out to be a fairground, but Lilly didn’t mind. She had fun taking Daphne on the big wheel. They pointed out various sights to each other as they sat close together, keeping warm in the chillier air up there. When the wheel jerked, Daphne shrieked and grabbed onto Lilly’s arm, complaining that she didn’t trust ‘muggle’ contraptions.

They ate waffles and strolled along arm in arm until something caught Daphne’s attention, “Oooh, look!”

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Real seer? As if; it will be a charlatan.”

“Oh it will be fun anyway, won’t it?” Daphne asked, “Come on!”

Lilly let herself get dragged into the smoke-filled tent, coughing all the while.

“Divination is a woolly form of magic,” Lilly muttered.

“A-ha! A witch and a non-believer!”

Daphne shot Lilly a pointed look, “Is it?”

Lilly made a face at her as Daphne pulled her through the smoke to a small circular table. Behind it, a blind woman with wild, grey hair sat.

“You sensed our magic?” Daphne asked.

“And this ones lack of faith,” The blind woman said. She rose her finger and pointed it at Lilly, “I can make her believe for the right price.”

“What is your price?” Daphne asked curiously, “A memory? An item?”

Lilly frowned, and Daphne murmured, “Old-fashioned seers don’t take payment in money. They take things that are valuable to a person; it helps keep them powerful. Seer magic runs on memories, nostalgia, deep feeling, you know?”

Lilly shook her head, she didn’t know, and she didn’t quite get it either.

“Your earliest memory, my dear.”

“Done,” Daphne said. She sat down across from the woman and extracted a memory from her head. The woman held out a pensieve, and Daphne placed the silvery strand into it. It swirled, and a watery image of a little blond-haired girl laughing as she sat on her father's lap shimmered on the surface for a moment.

“I tell fortunes to the muggles,” The old woman said, “But I think I shall show you something even more valuable.”

Daphne patted the seat next to her, and Lilly reluctantly sat down.

“Your hands, my dear?”

Daphne held her hands out, and the old woman took them in her own. She placed her thumbs on the palms of Daphne’s hands and took a shuddering breath, “Oh, aren’t you just mesmerising? I can see so much in your head..…ah, and I see a man…the most remarkable man.”

Daphne shot Lilly a look that said, ‘I told you so’.

“How did you meet him? At school…yes, but you did not know him then. When did your lives cross?” The older woman asked.

As she spoke, memories flashed in the forefront of Daphne’s mind, and the seer used a low-level legilimency charm to see them.

An image of her and Harry in a broom closet together in their eighth year was what was at the forefront of Daphne’s mind.

“What choices led you there?” The old woman asked.

Daphne frowned and thought about how she had chosen to go back to school.

“Before that, my dear.”

Daphne thought about how she had chosen to stay in England for Draco, rather than going travelling with Tracey.

“Ah, yes!” The old woman cried, “Your life could have gone one way or the other? What made you decide?”

“I don’t know,” Daphne admitted, “I just did.”

“What if you had chosen to go travelling?” The elderly woman said as she dropped Daphne’s hands, “What if there had been no final year at school? Your future would be very different.”

“I suppose it would be,” Daphne agreed. She opened her eyes and glanced over at Lilly, “Take my hand.”

“Why?”

“Because what’s about to happen will freak you out,” Daphne said simply.

Lilly grabbed Daphne’s hand warily, and the room was engulfed in smoke. They both coughed and choked for a moment until the smoke cleared and they found themselves standing in front of a house.

“What the – where the – _what_?”

“This is happening inside our heads,” Daphne promised, “It’s like an induced dream-state. The last memory the seer saw was of me at home, so it brought us here.”

“This is where you grew up?” Lilly asked.

Daphne nodded, “Unfortunately. Anyway, this is an alternative future. The seer is showing us what would have happened if I had gone travelling with Tracey and if none of us had gone back to school. Look.”

It was pouring down with rain, and Draco Malfoy was dragging himself to the door of Greengrass House. He battered on the door, and an elf answered it. He leant in the doorway under cover of the porch and Astoria appeared at the door. She smiled sympathetically at him and drew him in for a hug, ushering him into the house.

“Astoria?” Lilly asked in disbelief.

“If I hadn’t been there, Astoria would have taken him in which would have led to a very different future,” Daphne said as the world around them turned to fog then rematerialised. They were standing in front of Malfoy Manor.

“He would still be a Malfoy,” Lilly realised.

Daphne was still holding Lilly’s hand. She said, “Come on, I think we can probably walk through walls like ghosts.”

She took a step forward, and they did indeed walk straight through the wall into the house.

“Scorpius!” A female voice yelled.

A blond boy with slicked-back hair called, “Yes, Mama?”

An older Draco stepped into the entrance hall and said, “Go upstairs Scorpius. Your mother and I need to talk.”

“You mean fight,” The boy said, he looked around six or seven.

Draco gave him a pointed look, “Up to your room, go on.”

“Yes, Father.”

Scorpius disappeared, and Astoria walked out of a side door looking glamorous and beautiful, “I shall be going out for the evening.”

“Give up the act,” Draco said coldly, “Are you off to fuck my former best friend again?”

Astoria smiled sweetly, “Yes, darling, I am. Because unlike you, Theo still fucks me. Have a lovely evening, you bitter piece of shit.”

Without another word, she stalked out of the door, and Draco cursed at her back, “Fucking bitch,” he hissed as he stalked out of the entrance hall.

“Wow,” Lilly said once that had all transpired, “They got married.”

“Because Draco never changed his name to Black which means the marriage contract was still valid,” Daphne nodded, “And she comforted him instead of me that summer after Pansy’s death. It probably also means he didn’t ever properly get over Pansy, hence the bitterness.”

“And she’s fucking Theo,” Lilly said, “Which means he’s not with Sadie, right?”

“I don’t know; he might still be,” Daphne shrugged, “I want to see what happens to me in a future where I don’t fall in love with Harry Potter.”

As if on cue, the scene around then changed once more, and they were standing in an office.

“Is that Susan?” Lilly asked as the smoke cleared.

“Yep,” Daphne said with a smile, “Look.”

There was a plaque on her desk which said, “Susan Bones – Assistant Head.”

Daphne had a look around, “She’s Assistant Head of the DMLE.”

“Zabini. Get the fuck out of my office unless you’re here to tell me that you finally persecuted that psycho who was decapitating girls last month,” Susan said as Blaise appeared in the doorway.

“I did,” He said, putting a file on her desk.

“Excellent. Take a pay rise in April, you wonderful man,” Susan said. She kissed him on the cheek, “Now get home to your girlfriend, she’s due any day now, isn’t she?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Blaise said, “Don’t work too late.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t,” Susan grinned, “It’s date night.”

Blaise laughed and left the office. Then Harry swept in, and god, he looked different. He was older, but it was more than just the usual lines of age. He was stressed, and he looked tired.

“Harry!” Susan chirped, “What can I do for the Head Auror today?”

“Give me a case, so I don’t have to go home?” Harry joked.

“I’m sorry, I can’t wish death upon someone just so that you don’t have to deal with your wife,” Susan said with a smile, “Why are you actually here?”

“I’ve got the weekly stats,” Harry said as he placed them on her desk, “Crime is up again, Suse. I’ve done my best, but I know there are still corrupt Aurors working underneath me and rebellion is strife. People are rising against the purebloods more than ever.”

“Harry Potter marrying a pureblood must help our case,” Daphne murmured, “In this alternative future, I expect he marries Ginny.”

“What does any of this have to do with you then?” Lilly asked.

“I have a hunch,” Daphne admitted.

Back in the office, Susan sighed and said, “It’s on the rise every week, Harry.”

“I know, for the last two months,” Harry agreed, “It’s only a matter of time until they start targeting purebloods for assassination Susan and you know who they will go for first.”

“The one I’m in love with,” Susan agreed with a sigh as her eyes flicked to the clock.

“Can you send her to France for a while? Until it all dies down?” Harry asked.

The floo roared to life, and Susan shot Harry an exasperated look, “Send her to France? Have you met my girlfriend? I can’t tell her to do anything that she doesn’t want to do.”

Harry smiled in amusement as the flames turned green and another version of Daphne stepped out of them. She was wearing dragonhide trousers and a kaftan vest which was tucked in at the waist. She wore biker boots with a platform heel, and she had a brilliant tan.

“You better not have floo-ed straight from Egypt.”

Daphne smirked, “Would I?”

“It’s illegal,” Susan reminded her.

“My girlfriend is the Assistant Head of the DMLE,” Daphne countered, “I’m pretty sure I’d get away with it.”

Susan chuckled and walked towards her. She wrapped her arms around her, then drew back and kissed her lightly, “I missed you. It’s been a tough week.”

“I know,” Daphne said, “Purebloods seem to think that they are on the firing line. It’s a good thing I spend most of my time in Egypt with Bill, huh?”

Susan just nodded, and Harry turned to leave the office, “Harry?”

He paused in the doorway and turned around, “If you really don’t want to go home, I can find work for you.”

Harry smiled gratefully, “Would you?”

Susan nodded, “But you need to get a divorce.”

Harry shrugged, “The Weasley’s don’t do divorces, Suse and I’ve got three young kids. I’ve made my bed, and now I need to lie in it.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t lie in other peoples beds too,” Daphne said, her eyes flashed playfully, “We’re going to Paris for the weekend if you want to find a big ‘case’ to keep you at work?”

Guilt flitted through Harry’s eyes, “As tempting an offer as that is, and I mean you have _no_ idea how tempting it is, I have to pass. She’s my wife, even if we are unhappy.”

“You’re too noble,” Susan said with a smile, “It’s rare in a man.”

“That’s why I gave up on them a long time ago,” Daphne said as she pulled her long hair out of her bun and shook it out.

“I second that,” Susan laughed, “But Harry? The new recruits just came in, and Shep said this bunch are weak. Why don’t you take them on a retreat for the weekend? Put them through their paces; it will take you through to Sunday night.”

“Thank you,” Harry said. He breathed a sigh of relief and kissed Susan on the cheek, “Thanks Suse. I just can’t face going home to another fight.”

“What are friends for?” Susan countered.

“Come on, Paris awaits,” Daphne said, tugging Susan towards the fireplace.

“I’m coming,” Susan laughed, “See you on Monday, Harry.”

Lilly snorted and said, “Okay…so you’re a lesbian.”

Real Daphne nodded, “With Susan. I did tell you this was how my future would have gone.”

“Well, you were right,” Lilly said thoughtfully, “And Harry is married to Ginny, he’s miserable.”

“And he said no to a threesome with Susan and me,” Daphne scoffed, “What is wrong with this version of Harry?”

“No Slytherin influences,” Lilly replied, “He’s just as noble as ever, probably more so.”

“So much so that he’ll stay in an unhappy marriage,” Daphne sighed, “I want to see what it’s like, his relationship with Ginny.”

The scene changed, and they found themselves standing in front of 12 Grimmauld Place.

“He never restores Potter Manor,” Lilly frowned.

“Obviously not,” Daphne agreed. She and Lilly stepped into the house.

“Lily!” A voice yelled.

Lilly jumped.

“I don’t think she’s talking to you,” Daphne said as Ginny stepped into the hall. She, like Harry, looked older than her years.

“Lily! Get down here! Dinner is going cold!” Ginny shouted up the stairs.

“Coming Mum!” A voice called.

A little ginger girl ran down the stairs, past her mother into the kitchen. Then Ginny opened a door at the back of the hall and called, “James! Albus! Dinner is ready, come inside!”

“Lily, James and Albus?” Daphne muttered, “That’s so not happening.”

“But in an alternative future he doesn’t have you to veto the names of dead people,” Lilly pointed out with a smile.

“True,” Daphne agreed. Two boys ran past their mother and went down the stairs into the kitchen. They both had jet black hair, but only one had Harry’s signature green eyes.

Ginny shut the door and sighed. Then the front door opened, and Harry stepped in. Ginny glared at him, “What fucking time do you call this?”

“I had to work Ginny-”

“You had to work?” Ginny hissed, “You _always_ have to work, Harry!”

“I’m Head Auror, I’ve got a high-stress job-”

“High-stress job?” Ginny scoffed, “Is that why you fuck your best friend every Friday morning when you’re supposed to be in therapy?”

Harry’s eyes widened.

“Ron knows,” Ginny said coldly, “He’s throwing her out.”

Harry swallowed, “I’ll go up and pack my things then.”

“Yeah, I think you ought to,” Ginny agreed, “ _Therapy_ ,” she scoffed, “It’s not much better than going to a whore for therapy.”

“She’s not a whore,” Harry said under his breath, “Don’t you _dare_ call Hermione that again.”

“What is she then?” Ginny asked, her eyes flashing menacingly, “Your mistress? Your lover?”

“I don’t know, but do you know what I _do_ know?” Harry asked coolly, “I know that she helped me through my alcoholism when you didn’t give a shit, Ginny.”

“I was pregnant with our first child!”

“And I was falling to fucking pieces!” Harry hissed, “And it was Hermione who got me on the straight and narrow. It was _Hermione_ who made me whole again and stuck with me; it has always been Hermione.”

“Well, maybe you should have realised that before you had children with other people!” Ginny snapped, “Pack your bags and get the hell out! And I sure hope that you like Hermione’s kids because you’ll be seeing far more of them than your own if I get my way.”

“You petty, fucking bitch,” Harry hissed as he shoved past her up the stairs.

“Holy shit,” Lilly breathed, “Harry and Ginny hate each other.”

“And Harry’s been having an affair with Hermione,” Daphne said, frowning at that.

“Just because it happens in an alternative future, doesn’t mean it will happen in our future,” Lilly said. She tightened her grip on Daphne’s hand, “He has an affair because Hermione is there for him when Ginny isn’t. In real life, you were there for Harry through all of that, you and Nev.”

Daphne swallowed and nodded, “I feel like we ought to see how bad things are for Hermione. Don’t you?”

Lilly nodded, and smoke obscured the scene once more, “I guess she’s married to Ron from what we just heard.”

The scene materialised, and it was complete carnage.

“You fucking cheating bitch!”

“Ron!” Hermione cried, “Don’t do this! Not in front of the children!”

Two kids stood in the doorway of a small kitchen. They both had curly hair, the little girls was brown, and the little boys was red. Hermione was in tears as Ron threw bags and clothes at her.

“Muffliato!” Hermione said tearfully, pointing the spell at the doorway to save the kids from hearing this conversation.

“You don’t want your kids to know why I’m kicking out?” Ron seethed, “You don’t want them to know that you’re a whore who's been fucking her best friend for fucking _years.”_

“Ron, please-

“How long?” Ron asked coldly, “How long have you been screwing him behind my back?”

Hermione took a step back and dried her eyes on her sleeve, “Since he had the breakdown, and we decided he needed help to cope with his addiction.”

“The breakdown?” Ron roared, “Hermione that was years ago! I mean…is Rose even my fucking kid? Look at her! She’s not got red hair, has she? Is she even my fucking kid?”

“I don’t know,” Hermione replied in a whisper.

“You don’t fucking know?” Ron practically screamed, “Do you…I just…why the fuck did I forgive you after the war, huh? You shagged him while I was gone once, why did I think it would be different now? But I’m done caring.”

Ron stalked the kitchen in his rage, “He doesn’t even love you. He loves Ginny. He always has done. He just uses you; you’re just an outlet for him, a way for him to channel all the stress of his job into something else.”

“I know,” Hermione said.

“You _know_? And you still fuck him?”

“I know that he doesn’t love me,” Hermione said. She cleared her throat, “But I love him.”

“Well that’s great,” Ron said icily, “Because you’ll be seeing an awful lot more of him now. So get the fuck out of my house!”

“I don’t want to see any more of this,” Daphne said. She shut her eyes and squeezed Lilly’s hand, “I hope you and Neville get a happy ending.”

“You kind of got a happy ending, with Susan,” Lilly pointed, “A damn sight happier than anyone else we’ve seen so far.”

“I suppose,” Daphne said, “But the whole thing with Harry and Hermione just makes me feel uncomfortable.”

“I can understand why,” Lilly said. She frowned up at the building in front of them, “The Leaky Cauldron? Why are we here?”

“I don’t know,” Daphne said. They walked inside and saw a familiar-looking woman laughing and chatting at the bar.

“Is that Hannah?” Daphne asked.

Lilly nodded, “Wow, what a future.”

Daphne followed her line of sight to a plaque on the desk which said, “Landlady – Hannah Longbottom.”

“He marries Hannah?” Daphne asked in disbelief.

“Apparently so,” Lilly said as she scanned the pub for Neville, “And he’s not an Auror.”

“How do you…” Daphne trailed off as Neville walked in. He was as handsome in this future as he was in their real world. He was a bit musclier and dirtier; he was clearly a Herbologist, and from his tan, he had been abroad.

“Neville!”

Hannah dashed across the pub to him. He grinned and lifted her to kiss her, then set her back down, “Did you miss me?”

“Of course I did, you’ve been gone weeks! How was France?”

“Brilliant,” Neville said with a grin, “Bloody Brilliant Han, oh the stuff I found. I can’t wait to tell you about it. I bumped into an old friend too.”

“Did you?” Hannah asked, “Who?”

“Do you remember Lilly Moon?”

“Lilly Moon…the short girl who ran the hospital wing with us during the war?” Hannah asked.

“Yeah, she lives in Paris these days,” Neville said conversationally.

“Is she married?” Hannah asked.

“Nah, she’s just a crazy cat lady,” Neville joked, “That’s the way we’re going to go now that kids are off the cards. We’ll just have a zoo in the yard instead.”

Hannah smiled sadly, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Neville said, he kissed her on the forehead, “You can’t have kids, that’s not your fault. If we’re desperate, we can always adopt.”

Hannah nodded, “Still, I know you wanted a family.”

“What we want changes,” Neville said as he hugged Hannah, “I have you and a job that I love. Not to mention Dean, he’s my real best friend.”

Hannah smiled in amusement, “Has anyone told you that it’s creepy to name your kneazle after your dead best friend?”

“Ah maybe it is, but it keeps him alive, doesn’t it?” Neville said as he drew back from the hug, “Now. Is there a free pint on the cards? Because I’m in need of one.”

“Course there is,” Hannah laughed.

“So I’m a crazy cat lady,” Lilly said miserably.

“And Neville and Hannah can’t have kids,” Daphne said glumly, “This future sucks. Did you hear what he said about Dean?”

Lilly nodded, “He still died.”

“Do you think Tracey did too?” Daphne asked.

In answer to her question, the scene changed, and they found themselves standing in front of a grave which had the exact same dates on it as Tracey’s grave did in real life.

“How does that work?” Daphne asked sadly.

“Because when it’s someone's time, there's nothing that you can do about it. You could save them, but then they would just die in a different way the next day,” Lilly replied softly, “Death will always find a way, Daphne and unless you have the hallows, you can’t escape him.”

“Yeah,” Daphne sighed, “Let’s have a look at my crazy little cat lady then.”

The scene began to change, and Lilly groaned, “Do we have to?”

They found themselves in a small, ground floor apartment in Paris.

“Well, you’re successful,” Daphne said. She pointed to the certificates that lined the walls.

“I must have stayed in France after finishing my healing course,” Lilly realised.

“Because you didn’t have Neville to go home too,” Daphne agreed, “And you have four cats…”

Lilly watched as an alternate version of herself stood on the veranda, humming and planting things in a magical herb garden.

“Hey Mr Pickles,” She said as a cat purred around her feet.

“Oh no, I’ve seen enough. I’m a spinster, and Neville thinks I’m crazy,” Lily said with a shake of her head, “Can we see Sadie and Theo’s future in the hope that one of them got a happy ending?”

Daphne nodded and focused on Sadie and Theo. As she did so, smoke obscured the scene, and it changed once more.

They were in Nott Manor.

“Holy shit,” Lilly muttered, “I never envisioned a future in which Theo stayed here.”

“Me either, but in this future, I don’t think Draco and Theo are friends anymore,” Daphne admitted, “Without me there to push them back together that summer after the war, and without eighth year to heal the wounds, I think that would have been the end for them.”

They walked into the drawing-room and saw Sadie, who was heavily pregnant, sitting in an armchair by the fire.

Theo was putting his coat in.

“Are you going somewhere?” Sadie asked.

“Yeah, I’m going out,” Theo replied.

“To get drunk or to fuck Astoria Malfoy?” Sadie asked dryly.

“Want an honest answer, love?” Theo asked dryly, “If I’m lucky, both.”

Sadie scoffed, “You disgust me.”

“Oh because you’re so fucking saintly,” Theo laughed, “The minute I’m gone, Blaise will be round here putting your feet up and fetching you tea.”

Sadie glared at him, “That’s more than you have ever done for me. You hate me.”

“You hate me just as much,” Theo said as he shoved his shoes on, “And you’ve no fucking clue whose baby that is.”

“No, I don’t,” Sadie agreed, “It’s far more likely to be Blaise’s than yours because you only fuck me when you’re drunk and sad.”

Theo’s eyes flashed angrily.

“You can’t beat a pregnant woman, Theo,” Sadie said calmly.

“Keep pushing me, and I’ll challenge that,” Theo hissed.

Sadie rose to her feet and stared at him, coldly, “Do you know something? I _hope_ the baby is Blaise’s. I want more than anything for it not to be yours. I can understand _exactly_ how Pansy felt now.”

“Oh, Merlin,” Daphne uttered as they watched this unfold.

“You are nothing more than a cheap whore, Sadie,” Theo scoffed, “If it is Blaise’s baby, I’ll be casting you out, and you can see what it’s like to live with next to nothing as a fallen woman. Astoria has more class in her little finger than you have in your whole body,” he spat as he left the room.

“This is horrible,” Lilly agreed.

Daphne swallowed and shook her head, “I think going back to school changed everything, for all of us.”

“I think you’re right,” Lilly remarked, “And I think we’ve seen enough of this place.”

“We have seen far too much of it,” Daphne acknowledged. She gripped Lilly’s hand tightly as the smoke-choked them once more. They coughed and spluttered until their eyes streamed. As the girls blinked the moisture out of their eyes, they looked around and found themselves back in the empty, smoke-filled tent.

“Oh, Merlin,” Daphne said. She cleared her throat, “I don’t know about you, but I need a coffee after that.”

“Me too,” Lilly said, and they made a quick escape from the tent.

Daphne bought them coffee from a street vendor, and they sat down on a bench a little way away from the hustle and bustle of the fairground.

“I want to marry Neville,” Lilly said.

Daphne shot her friend an amused look, “Where did that come from?”

“That vision,” Lilly shrugged, “Of how things could have been…it made me grateful for what I do have. I love him, I love him so much, and I think I’d do anything if he asked me for it with those big puppy dog eyes of his.”

Daphne put her arm around Lilly and sipped her coffee, “Want me to start dropping hints?”

“Do you think he needs them?” Lilly countered.

“It’s Neville, of course, he does,” Daphne said with a snigger.

“True,” Lilly laughed, “Yeah…start dropping hints.”

Daphne sighed and said, “Do you know something? I feel so relieved, having seen that. I’ve always regretted not going with Tracey but now…I’m so glad that I didn’t.”

“You can’t complain too much, you had the happiest ending out of all of us in the alternate future,” Lilly scoffed.

“Yeah, Susan and I would have had fun,” Daphne agreed, “We would have travelled, had weekends in Paris, I would have sought adventure with Bill in Egypt. But I wouldn’t have Harry, and I would never have kids so although I’d have been happy…I’d never be as happy as I am now.”

Lilly smiled, “Very well put. But on the bright side, you now know that you look hot in dragon hide trousers.”

Daphne grinned at her best friend, “Lillian Moon, what have I done to you?”

* * *

“Good evening Harry.”

Harry smiled but said nothing on account of the sleeping child in his arms. He nudged his head in the direction of the stairs, and Andromeda nodded. He snuck upstairs and lay Teddy down in his cot gently then slipped out of the room.

“I don’t know what you do with that boy but whatever it is, tires him out,” Andromeda said with a fond smile, “Every Sunday night he sleeps more sound than ever.”

Harry chuckled, “It was a combination of attention at my work, and the Weasley’s today. The Aurors and the Healers in the hospital wing all recognised him as Dora’s son and wanted a hug; he loved the attention of course. Then Charlie decided to tire him out by playing dragons with him.”

Andromeda laughed, “Are you staying for a spot of tea and supper?”

“I would love to,” Harry admitted, “It’s better than going home to an empty house.”

“When is Daphne coming home?” Andromeda asked conversationally as they slipped into the parlour.

“Good evening Narcissa.”

Narcissa smiled at the young man, “Good evening Harry.”

Having acknowledged Narcissa, Harry turned back to Andromeda, “She’s getting back later tonight.”

“I am sure she has had a lovely weekend in Paris,” Andromeda said.

“Oh, she will have done,” Narcissa agreed, “Paris is like a home away from home for Daphne.”

Harry frowned, “Daphne lived in Paris?”

“Of course,” Narcissa said, “For a good while too, how many years was it Dromeda?”

“Three or Four,” Andromeda replied, “I would have thought Daphne might have mentioned it to you, Harry. The Greengrass’s own a chateau just outside Paris and the Crouch’s have a beautiful little apartment in the centre of Paris.”

“It was the chateau they stayed at, after that dreadful house fire,” Narcissa remarked, “They spent the best part of the year there and only came back here for holidays.”

“Did her father live out there too?” Harry asked curiously.

“No, no. They went there to escape him. He still visited of course,” Narcissa answered, “But they lived in Paris until Daphne got her Hogwarts letter. Lareina considered sending her to Beauxbatons, but after a tour of the school, Daphne decided that she would rather go to Hogwarts.”

Harry felt a sting of betrayal, a sharp sting. This was a massive part of Daphne’s life, but she hadn’t told him about it. He knew the fire had happened when she was seven and if she had lived in Paris until her Hogwarts letter came, that meant she must have spent between three and four years there.

“She still loves it,” Narcissa said, “The wizarding quarter in particular. The last time I checked, she knew all of the guardians by name.”

“How do you know so much about her time there?” Harry asked. He tried to keep his tone neutral.

“Oh Draco and I used to visit,” Narcissa said, “When we needed a break from Lucius, we would go and spend a few weeks at the chateau Daphne and Draco used to love exploring together, poor Astoria always wanted to tag along but they never really wanted her there.”

“I guess Draco really was her childhood sweetheart,” Harry said.

“Oh yes,” Narcissa mused, “They were so close back then…”

Harry nodded. Why hadn’t Daphne ever talked to him about then? She knew everything about him. She knew all about his war drama, his abusive guardians…

“Harry?”

Harry pulled himself out of his daze to look at Andromeda. She pushed a cup of tea into his hands and said, “Did you hear what I just said?”

“No, sorry, I was dreaming,” Harry said stiffly.

“I just said that my solicitor floo-ed this morning to tell me that the paperwork for the adoption has all been finalised. You can go ahead with it whenever you want to,” Andromeda explained.

Harry couldn’t think about adoption now, not after discovering that Daphne had kept such a massive part of her life from him. He nodded, “Do you mind if we give ourselves a little longer to talk it over? I want to be sure that it’s the right decision.”

Andromeda shook her head and smiled, “Of course not, I completely understand.”

* * *

When Lilly got back to the training centre on Sunday night, she was bombarded with questions.

“Who was that?”

“Is she really Harry Potters fiancé?

“Did you _see_ what she did to Marcel's hand?”

“Is she like your best friend or something?”

Lilly laughed and said, “Guys! One at a time, please.”

They fell silent, and Lilly said, “Charlotte, that was Daphne Greengrass. Yes Michael, she really is engaged to Harry Potter. I did see what she did to Marcel’s hand, Lucille and oh my god, did he deserve it?” Lilly grinned, “And yes, Savannah, she’s my best friend.”

“She’s so hot,” Michael said longingly.

Lilly snorted, “She is. How is Marcel?”

“Still whining like a baby about it,” Lucille grinned.

“He’s going to tell Clara,” Savanah added.

“I don’t care,” Lilly admitted with a grin, “It was worth it.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	46. Family is Family

Daphne got home late on Sunday night, so Harry was asleep. She climbed into bed with him and fell asleep pretty quickly herself. But when she woke up the next morning, a fight broke out over the breakfast table.

“Hey baby,” Daphne said as she flounced into the room, shoving her feet into high heels, “How was your weekend with Teddy?”

“Brilliant. How was your weekend back in your second home?” Harry asked dryly.

Daphne frowned, “Who told you?”

“Narcissa and Andromeda,” Harry said, he had yet to make eye contact with her.

“Harry, let me explain-”

“Explain what?” Harry snapped, “Explain why you neglected to tell me about four years of your life?”

“Harry-”

“You spent four years in France, gallivanting around with Draco. Your Mothers probably drank wine and talked about how you were going to get married one day like that fucking contract said you would,” Harry said irritably, “And I’m not insecure about it. I don’t think you still love Draco, I don’t think you’re going to run off with him, but I’m hurt, Daphne. I’m hurt that you didn’t tell me about any of that.”

Daphne bit her lip.

“I had to find out from Andromeda and Narcissa that you had nearly gone to Beauxbatons!”

Daphne sighed quietly behind him, but Harry didn’t turn around to look at her.

“So it begs the question, what the hell happened in France that needs to be kept such a big secret?”

“There is a big secret,” Daphne admitted, “But it isn’t mine to tell which is why I haven’t mentioned it. I was going to have to tell you before the wedding, but I was putting it off because my mother doesn’t want you to know.”

Harry still didn’t turn around, “And you couldn’t have mentioned in conversation that you had lived in France? You couldn’t have told me the basics without telling me the secret?”

“I could have,” Daphne admitted, “But should we be discussing this now? You’re late for work.”

“I don’t care,” Harry said shortly, “What’s the secret? Is it about you and Draco?”

“No, but if I’m honest, it was during that time that the marriage contract was written up,” Daphne said, “While we were in France, our mothers saw a connection and asked our fathers to write the contract.”

Harry just nodded.

“You know that he was my first love,” Daphne said quietly, “I know I don’t talk about it that much but from the age of eight, I knew I was going to marry him one day. It’s a burden, growing up knowing that because you feel obliged to love somebody. And I would have kept trying, but he took the dark mark, and I couldn’t marry him after that. I loved him, but there are just some things that you just can’t see past and seeing the boy that I loved murder a muggle to become a dark lords bitch was one of them.”

Harry glanced down, awkwardly, “I know, I’m sorry.”

“And I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about France, I am,” Daphne continued, “But trust me, the reason that I didn’t tell you has nothing to do with Draco.”

“Then, why?” Harry asked, he looked up and caught her eye, “What was such a terrible secret that you kept something so huge from me?”

“When we were in France, we stayed at the family chateau,” Daphne said, “The Greengrass family chateau which was owned by the eldest Greengrasss sibling.”

“Your uncle,” Harry realised

“My Uncle Phineas,” Daphne said with a nod, “He basically lived with us. He was my mother's lover, despite what my father had done to us because of her betrayal, she still couldn’t let him go. My mother…she made me swear not to tell anyone, and she drummed it in so much that even now, it isn’t something I’m comfortable talking about.”

Harry frowned, “I thought your mother vowed to stay loyal to your father after the fire?”

“She did,” Daphne said quietly, “But she lied. She was in love with my uncle; she just couldn’t let him go. When we lived in the chateau in France, my Uncle Phineas worked in Luxembourg, and he was there every weekend, sometimes through the week too. That was how I found out the truth about…”

“What?” Harry asked, his tone was far less harsh now, “What is so bad, Daphne?”

“My sister,” Daphne said, she cleared her throat, “That was how I found out that Astoria is only my half-sister.”

Harry’s eyes widened, “You mean…”

Daphne nodded, “My Uncle Phineas is her father. Astoria doesn’t know, and I don’t want her to find out, ever. That was why I kept the whole thing a secret; it was all a big complicated mess. I knew I couldn’t start telling you about it without telling you the whole story.”

Harry nodded slowly, “I understand that now but…”

“It’s a big shock, I know,” Daphne said, “I had years to come to terms with it, and it took me a long time. The thing is…it’s all going to resurface soon because I need to get my Uncle Phineas to okay my inheritance before the wedding. When I find him, he’s probably going to want an invite to the wedding then my mother will let herself fall for him all over again and now Astoria is older-”

“- She might work it out,” Harry finished with a nod, “I get it, that’s been praying on your mind, but you should have just spoken to me about it.”

“Coming from the master of bottling things up and then exploding?” Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry grimaced, “That’s a fair comment.”

“You’re really late for work,” Daphne pointed out.

“I know,” Harry slung his bag over his shoulder, “But we are going to continue this conversation tonight. I want to hear about those missing four years.”

“Okay,” Daphne promised.

* * *

“RECRUIT POTTER! WHAT TIME DO YOU CALL THIS?”

Harry grimaced, he had been trying to sneak into the showers in the hope that Sheppard hadn’t noticed that he wasn’t there.

“Uh, I’m sorry, Sir. It was just…I…well…”

“Spit it out, Potter,” Sheppard barked.

“I got in an argument with my fiancé,” Harry muttered under his breath.

Sheppard laughed and hit Harry on the back, “Did you hear that Recruits? Potter is 40 minutes late because he got into an argument with his fiancé. Poor little Potter! How do you think we should punish him for that?”

“Laps!”

“Laps!” Sheppard agreed loudly, “Potter, run around that pitch 40 times, once for every minute that you were late! You have 20 minutes, move your arse!”

Harry made a mental note never to fight with Daphne in the morning again.

* * *

Neville was allowed back to classes at midday on Monday, and he got plenty of ribbing from his friends for jumping in front of the flamethrower curse rather than just using a bloody shield charm. The phrase of the day was, ‘Are you a wizard or not?’ which Draco warned Theo _never_ to tell Hermione about because she would kill him if she knew he had been telling everyone that story.

When Neville got home that night, he changed into comfortable clothes, had his elf make him some dinner and then floo-ed Lilly.

She answered straight away and smiled at him, “Hey, hows the invalid?”

“All healed up,” Neville replied, “I’m sorry for ruining our romantic weekend.”

“It’s alright, I kind of had a romantic weekend of my own with Daphne,” Lilly joked.

Neville’s eyebrows shot up, “Explain.”

“Well, amongst other things, Daphne kind of kissed me,” Lilly said sheepishly.

“Kind of? How can someone kind of kiss you?”

“Okay so she didn’t kind of kiss me, she totally snogged my brains out,” Lilly conceded, “We were drunk. Well…I was drunk; she was pretty tipsy. I feel kinda bad, like I sort of feel like I cheated on you. Are you mad?”

“No, the only thing I’m mad about is the fact I didn’t get to see it,” Neville said honestly, “You’re not gonna run off and leave me for a girl now, are you?”

“No,” Lilly laughed, “My ratio is still predominately straight.”

“What?” Neville sniggered.

“Oh Daphne reckons everyone has a ratio of how straight they are,” Lilly said with a shrug, “Hers is 50:50 and mine is 70:30.”

Neville laughed, “Was your ratio 70:30 before this weekend?” he chuckled.

“Well, I don’t know because, before this weekend, I’d never kissed a girl before,” Lilly said with an amused smile, “Do you have a ratio?”

“Oh, I’m probably 99:1. Everyone is a tiny bit curious, I suppose,” Neville shrugged.

“Is that your excuse for kissing Justin in sixth year?”

“I didn’t kiss him; he kissed me!” Neville exclaimed, “I was not a participating party in that event.”

“You were in your sex dreams about Theo during sixth year though,” Lilly smirked.

“What? Did Harry tell you about that?”

“No, Harry told Daphne about that and Daphne told me,” Lilly chirped.

“Well…do you think Daphne knows about Harry’s sex dreams about Draco?”

Lilly scoffed, “Neville, everyone knows about that. _Draco_ knows about that. Harry followed him into bloody bathrooms for the love of God.”

Neville laughed, “Anyway, apart from snogging Daphne Greengrass, what did you do this weekend?”

“We went shopping,” Lilly said, “Which was bearable because Daphne showed me her wedding dress and asked me to be her maid of honour, and I totally cried, which was embarrassing. But then she took me to this amazing bookshop, and we sat there for hours until we had to go back to the apartment to get ready. Then she made me wear this ridiculously sexy dress and heels I could barely stand in, and we went to the Moulin Rouge.”

“I am gutted I missed this weekend,” Neville admitted.

“Next time, don’t jump in front of a flamethrower curse,” Lilly said with a smirk, “And you might get to come with us.”

Neville laughed, “Yeah, I supposed I deserved that one.”

Lilly continued, “Anyway, we went to a fairground yesterday, and Daphne dragged me in to see a seer which was awful.”

“Because you don’t believe in all of that nonsense?” Neville guessed.

“No, I kind of do now,” Lilly confessed, “Because this seer showed us an alternative future. It was what would have happened if there hadn’t been an eighth year.”

“Oh, Godric. From the look on your face, I’m guessing it was bad?” Neville said.

“Well, you and I are weren’t together. You were married to Hannah who was the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron, and you were this hotshot Herbologist,” Lilly explained, “You had just gotten back from a trip to France where you had bumped into an old friend, who Hannah referred to as the girl who helped run the hospital wing during the war.”

Neville grimaced.

“Yeah, you called me a crazy cat lady,” Lilly added, “Which I was to be fair. I lived on my own with four cats in Paris.”

“But you don’t even like cats,” Neville pointed out.

“Well they were obviously better company than men in my alternate future,” Lilly snorted, “We weren’t even the worst though. I mean hardly anyone was happy in that future.”

“What about Harry?” Neville asked curiously.

“Harry was a workaholic Head Auror who hated Ginny but had three kids with her and was cheating on her with Hermione. Hermione was with Ron, and she didn’t even know if her oldest kid was Ron’s or Harry’s because she’d been sleeping with Harry for years,” Lilly replied.

“Wow…”

“Yeah. Daphne was a hot lesbian curse breaker who was dating an equally hot lesbian Susan, who was the Assistant Head of the DMLE.”

“Do I need to be worried about the number of times you just said hot?” Neville snorted.

“Trust me, if you had seen Daphne in dragon hide trousers, kissing Susan in a pencil skirt, you would have said the same thing,” Lilly said with an amused grin.

“One kiss with Daphne Greengrass and all of a sudden, you're bisexual?”

“Shut up, or I’ll tell Harry you snogged Justin Finch-Fletchley.”

“You’re an evil wench, Lillian.”

Lilly just grinned, “Guess what Draco did in the alternate future.”

“Went back to being a greasy slimeball?” Neville guessed.

“You are remarkably right. He married Astoria, who was cheating on him with Theo. Oh and Theo and Sadie were married, but she was having an affair with Blaise. She was also pregnant and had no idea whose baby it was,” Lilly summed up.

“So it was a fucking shit future then?”

“Basically, yeah,” Lilly replied.

“I feel like you need to show me that memory of you and Daphne now, just to cheer me up,” Neville joked.

Lilly chuckled, “I can’t show it to you through the floo, but if you promise not to get yourself hurt in simulation next Friday, I’ll show you it next weekend.”

“Deal!”

* * *

“I’m home!” Harry called when he stepped into the entrance hall.

“I’m in the kitchen!”

Harry kicked off his shoes and stepped into the kitchen where Daphne looked like she had been slaving away. She had her hair pulled back into a bun and her perfectly put on face wasn’t quite as perfect as usual.

“What have you been cooking?”

“Bouillabaisse.”

“Bless you.”

Daphne shot Harry an exasperated look and waved her wand. The food instantly began to pour itself into bowls, “It was the first meal that I learned how to cook. My mother taught me when we lived in Paris. We used to have this every Friday night.”

“Ah, I see what you’re doing,” Harry said with a slight smile, “Opening up, sharing your experiences. You feel bad for not telling me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do, you idiot,” Daphne said shortly, “Now would you sit down and eat please?”

Harry sat down and looked at the food in front of him, “And what am I eating exactly?”

“I told you-”

“Yeah, that French word you said,” Harry said with a wave of his hand, “I still have no idea what this is though.”

“It’s a stew with lots of different fish in it,” Daphne explained, “This one has red rascasse, European hake and turbot. There’s also shellfish, mussels and octopus. It’s an old French recipe; fishermen used to make it from the scraps they couldn’t sell on.”

Harry wasn’t overly keen on seafood, but he didn’t want to disappoint his fiancé, especially after all the effort she had gone to. So he nervously tasted the dish and was pleasantly surprised.

“Wow, this is amazing!”

Daphne smiled, “Really? I haven’t made it in years. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever made it without my mother hovering behind me.”

“Well, trust me, this is delicious,” Harry said, he smiled up at her, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Daphne said as she tested the stew herself, “Mm, it is good but not as good as my mothers.”

“You shouldn’t expect it to be,” Harry pointed out, “She’s been making it for years, and this was your first time doing it on your own.”

“True,” Daphne said, she looked into the depths of the bowl, “We used to eat a lot of French food when we lived in Paris. I enjoyed most of it, but the frog's legs were pretty horrific, I don’t think people should eat something that is also a potions ingredient.”

Harry laughed, “Did you like it, though?”

“What, France?”

He nodded.

Daphne thought about it for a moment, “I loved it in some ways but not in others. The chateau was beautiful…I’m sure my mother would love to take you on holiday there sometime. It’s this beautiful three-story manor house with this huge balcony on the second floor where all of the bedrooms are. It’s right on the banks of the Seine, and it is just the most beautiful place…”

Harry watched as a smile slipped onto her face while she remembered.

“The family business has completely gone to shit,” Daphne continued, “But my Uncle Phineas still hasn’t sold that house. He hasn’t hassled my mother once about it, which goes to show how he feels about our time there.”

“Was it weird? Him being your uncle and your mother’s lover?”

“Sometimes,” Daphne admitted, “But most of the time it was just nice. He did the things a father should have done but that my father didn’t. He worked away a lot because he was the business developer for the shipping company, and every time he came home; he would bring Astoria and me a present. Astoria always got a better present obviously because she was his daughter and I was just his niece, but it was still more than my father did for me. He and my mother would take us out on the weekends when he was free. My Uncle Phineas came up the Eiffel Tower with me while my mother waited with Astoria because she was scared of heights.”

“So in a lot of ways, he was the father you always wanted,” Harry realised.

“Like you will be to Teddy, I hope,” Daphne said with a nod, “I think you would like him, you know? My Uncle Phineas…he’s a nice man, just a little…misguided, I guess.”

“Why don’t you see him anymore?”

“When I went to Hogwarts, we had to move home,” Daphne said, she glanced down at her food, “And when we moved home, the affair had to stop because my mother knew that my father would kill her if he found out.”

“That doesn’t make it your fault,” Harry said, he could see the direction she was going with that one.

“My mother thought it was for a long time,” Daphne admitted, “That was why I didn’t have a great relationship with her when you and I met. She wanted me to go to Beauxbatons so badly; she even took me up for a tour of the school. When I told her I wanted to go to Hogwarts, she was devastated.”

“Why did you decide to go to Hogwarts?” Harry asked curiously, “Don’t get me wrong; I’m so glad you did because otherwise, I would never have met you. But it sounds like you loved France, so why didn’t you want to go to Beauxbatons?”

“Honestly, I was scared,” Daphne said, she looked up and caught his eye, “I had been in France since I was seven. I had missed birthday parties, and I missed my friends, I didn’t want to be the one English kid in a French school. I wanted to go to school with Sadie and Draco and Susan, the kids that I had grown up with. You know?”

Harry nodded and smiled at her, “I do get it, but I did the complete opposite. I got on a train, and I knew no one. I left everything that I did know for Hogwarts, and I came out with everything that I could ever have wanted.”

Daphne smiled, “And I came out of Hogwarts with everything that I had ever wanted too, so we both made the right choice.”

“Yeah, it’s funny to think how different things would have been if we had made that one decision differently,” Harry mused.

“Yeah…you know talking about that,” Daphne remarked, “Lilly and I saw this seer in Paris yesterday. She was the real deal, she demanded my earliest memory as payment, and she showed us an alternate future.”

“An alternate future?” Harry frowned.

Daphne nodded, “How the future would have panned out if there had been no eighth year.”

“Oh god, did I marry Ginny?”

“Yeah, you did,” Daphne said with a nod, “And you were so unhappy you asked your boss, who was Susan by the way, to give your extra work, so you didn’t have to go home. You were the Head Auror, Susan was Assistant Head of the DMLE.”

“That sounds accurate,” Harry said thoughtfully.

“You were cheating on Ginny with Hermione,” Daphne added, “You had been for years, Hermione didn’t even know if her oldest kid was yours or Rons.”

“No,” Harry said simply.

Daphne frowned up at him, “What do you mean?”

“I mean no, don’t you even dare go down that route in your head,” Harry said firmly, “You went to some crazy seer in Paris who showed you an alternate reality. What you saw there doesn’t matter because it's not real. I probably barely knew you in that reality, I probably thought that I didn’t have a chance with you, but in _this_ one, I had the guts to ask you out, and it was the best decision of my life. I love you, and I don’t need anything more than that, I’ll never want more than you.”

Daphne smiled at him, “I was just telling you what happened.”

“You were getting insecure,” Harry argued, “And you have nothing to be insecure about. Look at you.”

“You should have seen me in the alternate future,” Daphne laughed, “I wore dragonhide trousers and worked with Bill in Egypt.”

“Were you and Bill together?” Harry asked.

“Who’s insecure now?” Daphne countered.

“Just curious,” Harry objected.

“No, I was with Susan,” Daphne said as a smile played on her lips, “And I asked you to join us in Paris for the weekend, and you said no.”

“Well, alternate future me sucked then,” Harry said as he drew her in for a hug, “And I have good news for you, you know?”

“Do you?” Daphne asked as she kissed him lightly.

“Mm-hmm,” Harry murmured against her lips, “The adoption papers were finalised. We can adopt Teddy whenever we like.”

Daphne’s eyes widened, “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Harry grimaced, “That kind of terrified surprise was my first reaction too. It got me thinking, are we really ready for how much this is going to change our lives?”

“Harry-”

“I know we love Teddy more than anything, but this is scary, Daphne,” Harry cut in, “It’s going to change everything, especially the way our relationship works.”

“Stop,” Daphne said sharply, “I know that it’s scary, but I’m not going to let you pull out of this just because you’re scared. I understand where you’re coming from, so why don’t we try a dry run?”

“A what?”

“A trial,” Daphne answered, “We can talk to Andromeda about it. Teddy can come and stay here for a week. He can stay here while we work and go about our lives and we’ll see how it works out.”

Harry nodded slowly, “I love you.”

“I know.”

“You’re a genius.”

“I know.”

Harry beamed and kissed her, “We’ll suggest it to Andi at the weekend.”

Before they could say anything further, the floo whirred to life.

“ _Floo signature: Lillian Moon.”_

They both moved towards the fireplace.

“Hey, I want to talk to her,” Harry objected.

“So do I,” Daphne complained

“But you just spent the whole weekend with her!”

“So? You’re not talking to her before me.”

“Why?” Harry asked cautiously.

“Just…because!” Daphne remarked, “We need to grant her access or she’ll hang up.”

“Fine,” Harry smirked, “Access Granted.”

The floo turned green, and Harry said, “Now her face will appear in the flames, and we can _both_ talk to her.”

Daphne rolled her eyes as Lilly’s head materialised in the fire.

“Hey Lil,” Harry chirped, “Is there a reason why Daphne wouldn’t let me talk to you before she did?”

Lilly looked over at Daphne, “Does he know about…”

“No,” Daphne admitted.

“Are you going to tell him?”

“Yes, I suppose I better,” Daphne said. She fixed Harry with an amused look, “Lilly and I kissed at the weekend.”

Harry snorted, “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Lilly muttered.

“Honestly Daphne, are you capable of having a female friend and _not_ kissing them?” Harry retorted.

“I don’t kiss all my friends, and I haven’t kissed Hermione!”

“That’s just because she’s not your type,” Harry said with an amused shake of his head, “I knew this was going to happen. As soon as Lilly went back to being a redhead, I wondered how long it would take for you to kiss her.”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “You’re just pissed off that you weren’t there. Aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Harry said, “You had better show me the memory.”

“I will if you’re a good boy,” Daphne said, smirking at him.

“I’m not a bloody dog,” Harry muttered under his breath.

Lilly bit her lip in amusement, “Did you tell him about the alternate future?”

“Some of it,” Daphne admitted.

“Were you and Nev happy, Lil?”

“No,” Lilly scoffed, “I was a crazy cat lady, and he was married to Hannah, it was a shit future.”

“Which is why you and I are now on, operation drop hints to Neville that Lilly wants a diamond ring,” Daphne said with a grin.

Harry grinned too, “Are we? That’s brilliant, Lil!”

Lilly rolled her eyes, “It’s no big deal, and I’d rather a sapphire anyway,” she joked, making the other two laugh.

* * *

“Morning Bill.”

“Don’t bother sitting down, we’re heading straight out,” Bill said the moment Daphne walked into the office, “One latte to go, I need your brain in gear.”

Daphne frowned as she accepted the coffee, “What’s happened?”

“We have a case,” Bill said, he locked the office door with a wave of his hand, “Welcome to your first blood magic curse case.”

Daphne’s eyes widened, “Blood magic? That’s dark.”

“I’ve seen darker,” Bill promised, “But generally speaking yes; when blood magic is used to create a curse, it is normally pretty bad.”

“Has anyone died?” Daphne asked.

“No, it doesn’t seem to be that kind of curse,” Bill replied, “We were contacted by a man who claimed his home had been experiencing paranormal activity after he acquired a painting. I did a little bit of research into that painting and discovered that the artist committed suicide, but before he took his life, he mixed his blood with the oil paint that he used for the painting.”

“Right,” Daphne said slowly, “Hence where the blood magic comes in, but what’s going on in this house then?”

“The usual stuff muggles associate with ghosts,” Bill said offhandedly, “Doors opening in the middle of the night, blood-curdling screams etc. The weird thing is that every member of the family has had nightmares every night since the painting was acquired.”

Daphne hummed thoughtfully, “And a poltergeist has been ruled out?”

“Yep, the Spirit Division sent a couple of people over last week,” Bill replied, “Their report came back clear.”

“Which leaves the painting as the only recurring factor in all of this,” Daphne realised, “Hence, it must be cursed.”

“Exactly,” Bill agreed. He told Daphne the co-ordinates, and they apparated to Cumbria to see what all of the fuss was about.

When they stopped spinning, they found themselves at the end of a long gravel path leading up to a rather nice house.

“So,” Bill said conversationally, “Now that I’ve briefed you, are you going to tell me what’s up?”

“It’s nothing really,” Daphne promised, “I just kept some things from Harry that I really shouldn’t have and we argued about it. I had to tell him all about the time I spent in France in the end and about Astoria’s true parentage, I don’t know why I didn’t tell him in the first place, to be honest.”

“If I know Harry, which I think I do, I’m guessing he was fine about it in the end.”

Daphne nodded, “He normally is once he’s cooled down and we’ve talked it over. We talked about Teddy again too because the adoption papers are finalised now.”

Bill glanced over at her, “Which one of you backed out?”

“Neither of us, although Harry was freaking out a lot,” Daphne admitted, “If Andromeda agrees, we’re going to do a trial run. I just thought you should know in case I show up knackered at some point next week.”

Bill laughed, “Noted. Hey, talking about France and stuff, Fleur wants to get to know you better, so she asked me to invite you over to Shell Cottage. You guys can stay for the weekend; you can sleep in the doghouse.”

Daphne snorted, “No thanks, Bill, I don’t fancy sleeping in your kennel.”

Bill shot her an amused look, “It isn’t a kennel. It’s a summerhouse with a sign on it saying “The Doghouse”. Fleur thought it was an appropriate name for it since I go there when I get angry during the full moon.”

“Right,” Daphne chuckled, “Well assuming Harry is okay with it, sure.”

“You can bring Teddy too if you happen to have him that weekend,” Bill added.

She nodded, “I don’t envision Harry having a massive problem with it,” Daphne admitted as she raised her hand and knocked on the door.

* * *

“Teddy! Honey, you need to come in for your bath!”

Daphne was standing by the patio doors watching Teddy on the playset in the back garden. They weren’t supposed to have him tonight, but Andromeda had been taken ill, and Narcissa was with her at the hospital. Harry had no idea that Teddy was here because he was staying late to revise for his first Disguise test.

Teddy shook his head at her from the top of the slide.

“I know you want to play honey, but it’s bath time,” Daphne said again.

Teddy slid down the slide and ran over to Daphne, he wrapped his arms around her legs and looked up at her with puppy dog eyes, “One more slide Mumma.”

Daphne’s eyes widened and simultaneously welled up. She had heard him call Harry “Dada” several times, but Teddy had never referred to her as anything other than Daphne.

“Alright, one more slide,” Daphne said softly.

The little boy ran back to the playset, and a familiar voice said, “You are a natural, my love.”

Daphne jumped and spun around, “Mother! How did you get in here?”

“The house-elf let me in,” Lareina Greengrass said, “I am your mother after all, even if you only visit me twice a year.”

Daphne sighed and turned away from her mother so that she could keep an eye on Teddy, “You know why that is Mother.”

“I know we have a troubled relationship Daphne, but you could have told me that you were planning to get married in December,” Lareina said, “I had to hear it from your sister, and even she did not mean to tell me.”

Daphne resisted the urge to roll her eyes, “You will be invited, but barely anyone knows so don’t take it personally.”

“Daphne, please do not get tetchy with me,” Lareina said, she sounded tired, “I did not come here for an argument.”

“Then why did you come here?” Daphne asked, “Because yes, I don’t visit you, but you don’t visit me either.”

Lareina sighed, “I would visit every Sunday if I felt that you wanted me here, Daphne, but you have your own life and your own family.”

Daphne swallowed hard and asked, “Why are you here, Mother?”

“I only came to inform you that the house is to be sold.”

“What?”

“The house,” Lareina repeated, “I doubted that you would be sad about that, I know how much you hate that place.”

Daphne frowned and turned to look at her mother, “Why are you selling it?”

Lareina swallowed visibly and looked away from Daphne, “Your Uncle Phineas and I recently got back in contact and-”

Daphne scoffed and shook her head, “Of course. It had nothing to do with you making a decision of your own volition.”

“Daphne, please,” Lareina said desperately, “Let me finish. Phineas thinks he can save the business, but he needs more funding, and I do not need that house. I hate it as much as you do, if not more. I will use some money from the sale to buy Astoria a flat, and I may well move to the chateau in France, but I have no qualms about selling the house.”

“I don’t care that you’re selling the house,” Daphne said quietly, “I care that you’re back in contact with him.”

“Daphne, Phineas was always good to you-”

“Mother, if you have said what you came here to say, then please leave,” Daphne said stiffly, “I need to get Teddy in the bath and ready for bed.”

Lareina sighed again, in that same tired way. She wanted to stay, but she respected her daughter's wishes, so she left without another word.

* * *

“Be quiet when you go upstairs, Teddy’s asleep.”

Harry frowned as he shut the door behind himself, “Teddy’s here?”

“Andromeda isn’t well,” Daphne said without looking up from her book, “Narcissa took her into St. Mungo’s and they suspect that it’s a case of dragon pox. She never had it as a child, so she doesn’t have the immunity.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Harry asked anxiously.

Daphne nodded, “Narcissa floo-ed and said she’s responding well to the potions so yes, she should be okay after a few days in the hospital.”

Harry sat down next to her on the sofa, “If Andromeda is going to be okay, what has you so worried?”

Daphne sighed and replied, “I had to change the wards on the house today.”

“Why?” Harry asked sharply; his first thought was to panic that Fawley had come for his revenge.

“Because my mother showed up and the elves just let her in,” Daphne replied.

Harry frowned, “I didn’t put her on the list of people that the wards and elves shouldn’t let in, so that’s my fault, not the elves. I thought you would want her to be able to visit.”

Daphne swallowed, “I may act civil with my mother for appearances, but that is all that it is, Harry. There is nothing more to that relationship, especially now that my Uncle Phineas has her back in his grasp.”

Harry was in his usual clueless way, perplexed, “I thought you said you liked your uncle, that he was like a father to you?”

“When I was young, he was,” Daphne agreed, “But then I went to Hogwarts and ruined their whole epic love story, and he never let me forget that. Now that he has my mother back, it’s only a matter of time until my sister finds out the truth.”

Harry sighed and wrapped his arm around her, “Don’t panic Daphne, we’ll make sure that never happens. I promise you.”

Daphne didn’t look convinced, but she leaned into his embrace all the same.

* * *

“I hate this stupid painting.”

“So do I, but you hate it because you aren’t properly engaged today.”

Daphne glared at Bill, “I told you, I’m fine.”

Bill raised an eyebrow at her, “You did tell me you were fine, but I still don’t believe you. Don’t get me wrong, this is the toughest curse we’ve faced together, and the added element of blood magic isn’t helping. But you aren’t at your best today, Daphne.”

“I just hate this painting, and I can’t stand my mother and her stupid lover and that goddamn house,” Daphne said through gritted teeth, at the end of her sentence the piece of chalk that she was holding snapped in half, “Ugh!”

“Daphne, I’m calling a coffee break. You need to tell me what the hell is going on before you get too angry at that curse and get us both killed,” Bill said. He had lost his usual jesting tone and looked more solemn than Daphne had ever seen him.

Daphne knew that she couldn’t argue this time. She just nodded and looked down at her hands, “My mother is selling our house because her lover, who is my uncle, needs the money to try and save the family business. I don’t know why I’m upset about the house; I hated that house. I mean, my father tried to kill me in that bloody house! But for some reason that I can’t explain, I’m upset that she’s selling it. And I’m annoyed that she’s talking to my uncle again because she’s just going to fall in love with him all over again and if that happens, Astoria is going to find out the truth, and she can’t handle that Bill, she just can’t.”

Bill nodded calmly, “Daphne, I understand why you are upset about the house. The Burrow is by all accounts and purposes a shithole, but I’d be sad if my parents moved away because of all the little things in that house like the markings on the kitchen door with all of our names, showing how much we grew every year. Like the posters that Char and I attached with permanent sticking charms to our bedroom walls, those little things make a home and even if you hated that house, there must have been little things that you loved.”

“The room at the top of the tower,” Daphne said quietly, “Astoria and I’s escape from our screwed-up family.”

Bill nodded again, “It’s okay to feel upset about it, and as for your sister, maybe she’s stronger than you know. We view our younger siblings as children who need protecting, but at some point, they grow up, and they don’t need us to protect them anymore. You can’t protect Astoria from the truth forever.”

“I know,” Daphne said, she had her eyes shut tight as she felt a headache begin to come on.

“Do you want to take a half-day?”

Daphne shook her head, “I’ll have a walk outside and get my head back in gear.”

“Alright,” Bill conceded, “When you come back, be ready because I think I’m pretty close to cracking this thing.”

* * *

“Miss Greengrass?”

“Yes, Kreacher?”

“Your Mother be at the door. Master says she not come in if you not say so.”

Daphne sighed, at least this time, Teddy was in bed, “What does she want Kreacher?”

“She says she has a box of things for you,” Kreacher replied.

Daphne had a feeling that she might regret it, but she said, “Let her in.”

Kreacher disappeared with a crack, and Daphne heard the door open. Kreacher led her mother into the kitchen then disappeared once more.

“You had your fiancé change the wards,” Lareina stated.

“No, I changed the wards,” Daphne corrected her, “Even if we are not married yet, I have as much power over this house as Harry does. This is a modern world that we live in Mother. I assume that is why I will not be receiving any of the money from the house.”

Lareina sighed, “You are set up for life Daphne. When you marry, you will get your inheritance, and you will become the wife to Lord Potter. You will not want for money or status; it is the life that I always wanted for you.”

Daphne scoffed, “I’m not marrying Harry because I want to be set up for life. I don’t care that he’s going to become Lord Potter and I very much doubt that he does either. Yes, he wants the power to be able to push reforms through the Wizengamot, but he doesn’t care about status, neither of us do. I am marrying Harry because I love him, Mother, I know that concept might be difficult for you to understand-”

“No!” Lareina snapped.

Daphne actually jumped because she could count on one hand the amount of times she had heard her mother raise her voice and none of those times, had it been against her.

“I understand that concept perfectly Daphne! I would have married for love if I had been able, I would have married Phineas, but instead, I was married off to his younger brother. When I said that you had the life that I wished for you, I meant that I was happy that you were free to marry for love. The fact that man happens to have money and status is an added bonus for you, that was all that I was trying to say.”

Daphne wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, she certainly couldn’t look her mother in the eye though. With a loud thump, she deposited the box in her arms on the table, “I only came to bring you this. I found it in your father's study while I was clearing out the house and it was labelled, “For Daphne”. You are welcome to come and clear out your bedroom, but I shall not be coming to this house again without your explicit invitation.”

“Mother-” Daphne began to say, but it was too late. Her mother had already spun around on heel. Daphne sighed and listened to her stalk out of the house and slam the front door behind her. She had argued with her mother many times, but this time she had hit a nerve, and she wasn’t sure if that damage was going to be reparable.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	47. Happy Birthday, Hermione

“Hey, Harry.”

“Hey, Harry?” Neville retorted.

Lilly raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry, is there something wrong with that sentence?”

Neville snorted, “Uh yeah. How about hey Neville, who I haven’t seen for a week and a half now?”

“And whose fault is it that I didn’t see you at the weekend?” Lilly quipped.

Harry sniggered at their domestic, “I didn’t hear you complaining much while you were snogging my fiancé.”

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Could you have said that any louder?”

“Oh, I could have yelled it,” Harry grinned.

Lilly snorted, “Has Daphne shown you the memory yet?”

“Yep,” Harry smirked, “Neville is very jealous because I’ve not been giving him the saucy details.”

“Saucy details,” Lilly snorted, “It wasn’t that saucy. Give me your hand, so it looks like we’re working.”

Harry held his hand out, and Lilly slowly began to move her wand in circles above the small burn wound he had inflicted on himself.

“It was saucy,” Harry said in a whisper, “You were wearing next to nothing.”

“We were wearing pyjamas,” Lilly said, shooting Neville an amused look.

“Daphne’s pyjamas,” Harry added.

Neville’s eyes widened, “In which case you _were_ wearing next to nothing. Please show me the memory.”

“Right now?” Lilly snorted.

“Why not? We’ve been practising that mind magic thing,” Neville said.

Harry sniggered, “Are you any better at it than the two of us are? Cause we just keep projecting our sex lives onto each other and I mean Lil…you are flexible.”

Lilly rolled her eyes, “You’re disgusting.”

Neville nodded his agreement while hiding an amused look. He turned back to his girlfriend, “Just project the memory to me.”

Lilly finished healing Harry’s hand and smirked at Neville, “Fine, if you’re sure you can handle it.”

“Like Harry said, it’s not that saucy,” Neville shrugged.

Harry had to pretend to look at his textbook to hide the grin on his face. Lilly had a much better poker face than he did. She held Neville’s hand and looked into his eyes for a few seconds. Then she pushed herself to her feet as Neville’s cheeks turned pink.

“Harry!” Neville hissed, “You said it wasn’t saucy.”

Harry sniggered in amusement, “Want a pillow, Nev?”

Neville muttered a charm under his breath which made both Lilly and Harry chuckle.

“You’re a dick,” Neville whispered.

“Saucy enough for you?” Lilly smirked.

“Fancy doing it again while we’re around?” Harry joked.

“As I’m sure Daphne has already told you, _no_ ,” Lilly said matter of factly, “Now that Neville is incapacitated for at least a few minutes though, I do need to talk to you about Daphne.”

“Okay?” Harry said.

“She misses Tracey, a lot more than any of us realise,” Lilly admitted, “So I thought you ought to look into getting a portrait commissioned. You could do it as a wedding gift, and we could all put our memories of Tracey into it. Then Daphne could put her memories in too after you have given her the portrait so it will be a great likeness.”

“That’s brilliant, Lil,” Harry breathed, “That is a _bloody_ ** _brilliant_** idea.”

“I know,” Lilly said with a smile, “But, I also need to tell you off.”

“Why?” Harry asked.

“Because you need to take Daphne to Paris more often,” Lilly said, “You should have seen her this weekend, Harry. She was just in her element; she _loves_ it there.”

“I know she does,” Harry said with a smile, “And I may have something up my sleeve.”

“What?” Lilly asked curiously.

“It’s a surprise,” Harry said with a grin.

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Whatever. Neville, are you functional again?”

Neville raised an eyebrow at her, “I was functional the whole time. I just figured you would rather talk to my best mate than me.”

Harry snorted and shot Lilly an amused look, “Reckon he’s paranoid cause you kissed Daphne?”

“Oh, definitely,” Lilly agreed,

“Probably thinks we’re going to have a threesome without him,” Harry sniggered.

Lilly grinned at her boyfriend.

“Fuck you, Harry,” Neville chuckled.

“As if we’d do that,” Harry said, patting his friend on the back.

“Yeah baby,” Lilly agreed, “Of course we’d invite you.”

Neville’s face was a picture, and Harry and Lilly both burst out laughing.

“Moon! Stop flirting and start teaching these idiots how to heal!”

“Sorry, ma’am!” Lilly said. She shot a sheepish look at Harry and Neville then said, “I better do some work. Talk to you later.”

With a wink, she headed over to Draco and Theo.

“She was joking about the threesome thing, right?” Neville said as he looked to his best friend.

“I hope not,” Harry joked.

Neville whacked him around the head for good measure, “Oi! She’s my girlfriend, you’ve got your supermodel wife, back off.”

“She’s not even my wife yet,” Harry said through his laughter.

“Shut up.”

“Potter! Longbottom!” Frasier barked, “Quit messing around.”

“Sorry, ma’am!” They both called across the hospital wing.

* * *

“Were you flirting with Neville or Harry?” Theo teased when Lilly reached them.

“Both. That’s terrible by the way Draco, who taught you how to heal burns?”

“I taught myself,” Draco admitted, “And did you just say both?”

“Yep, give me your hand Theo,” Lilly demanded.

Theo raised an eyebrow at her but held his hand out anyway, “Both?”

“You four all flirt with each other all of the time. I mean you and Hermione even do it and your cousins,” Lilly snorted.

“We’re different, though,” Theo said with a grin, “We’ve got a more profound bond.”

“What because you’re a foursome? Or is it a quad now?”

Draco rolled his eyes, “None of the above. We’re all just very close friends.”

“ _Very_ close from what Daphne told me this weekend,” Lilly said as she finished healing Theo’s burn.

“How does she know about that?” Draco asked in an undertone.

“Probably because Sadie or Hermione told her,” Theo remarked matter of factly.

“Was Daphne in Paris this weekend?” Draco asked as an afterthought.

“Uh-huh,” Lilly replied, “Hand, Draco?”

Draco held his hand out, and Daphne inspected the burn, “Healed perfectly, well done, Theo.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Theo joked with a wink.

Lilly shot him a vaguely amused look, “Watch who you flirt with, I’m not in your quad, and you’re not in mine.”

Theo snorted, “You’ve got nothing on us. You lot are positively vanilla.”

“Not that its competitive weird-relationships but if it was…how’s this for vanilla?” Lilly asked. Then she murmured a low-level legilimency charm, similar to the one she had seen the seer use at the weekend. She used it to project the image at the forefront of her mind, and it left both the Slytherins gaping at her.

“Lilly!”

Theo tutted, “Now Daphne… that doesn’t surprise me. But you, sweet, innocent Lillian Moon.”

Lilly barked out a laugh, “Innocent? That’s cute. Theo, burn yourself again and Draco, heal it properly this time.”

“Yeah,” Draco said as Lilly stalked off.

“She kissed Daphne.”

“She made out with Daphne,” Theo corrected his best friend.

“Please never tell my fiancé that I’m moderately turned on by that,” Draco whispered.

“Don’t tell my wife that I got a bit of a hard-on in the middle of the hospital wing, and it’s a deal” Theo whispered back.

* * *

“Baby?”

“Yeah,” Harry called as he stepped into the kitchen.

“Are you having a coffee before bed tonight?”

“It’s going to be a late one for me tonight because I’ve got a test coming up,” Harry said, “But I’ll have a coffee with you before you go to bed.”

Daphne poured two cups out and handed him one, “I wanted to ask you about something that Lilly brought up at the weekend.”

Harry had to bite back a snigger when she mentioned Lilly, and Daphne noticed.

“What?”

“Just something Lil did today in class,” Harry admitted, “I was winding Neville up about how I’d seen the memory, and he hadn’t. I told him it wasn’t saucy, so he asked Lilly to show it to him in the hospital wing.”

“Did she do it?” Daphne asked in surprise.

Harry grinned, “Yep. Left him with a bit of a problem afterwards.”

“Oh you better not have slagged him for that,” Daphne said, shooting a suggestive look over her shoulder, “I had to sort out your problem after I showed you the memory. Did you tell him that part?”

“No, and please don’t tell Lilly that when you floo her later,” Harry pleaded.

Daphne laughed, “Anyway, before we got off-topic, I was going to ask if the Potters have any properties?”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.

“Oh, you know like properties abroad,” Daphne explained, “The Crouch’s have died out in the male line now, so all that’s left is that apartment in Paris that I took Lil to. But the Greengrass’s used to have houses everywhere until my uncle ran the business into the ground. When it looked like we were going to go into administration, he sold everything apart from the chateau in France.”

“Oh,” Harry frowned, “Well…no, I don’t think the Potters have anything like that. I would have found it when I went through the paperwork from the vault, wouldn’t I?”

Daphne nodded, “Yeah, I expect so. There was nothing in there at all then? Not even the ranch in Texas that they got when they married into the Cauldwell family?”

“What?” Harry asked cluelessly.

“Nicholas Potter, married Cordelia Cauldwell,” Daphne said slowly, “You know, Cordelia Cauldwell, the daughter of Quentin Cauldwell who brought the family over from Texas? You don’t know any of this, do you?”

“I knew the Potters had married into the Cauldwells,” Harry said sheepishly.

Daphne snorted, “Well, your family were rather good at that. They married into every prominent family in Britain, and with a lot of those families, the property was part of the woman’s dowry.”

“Oh, I wonder what happened to all the houses then,” Harry said with a frown, “Do you reckon they got sold when my parents died?”

“Maybe they did,” Daphne mused, “It can happen sometimes. When there is no heir to pay the debts…I always thought the Potters were quite cash-rich, but maybe one of your relatives had managed to rack the debt up.”

“Maybe,” Harry agreed, “Anyway, when are you floo-ing Lil tonight?”

As if on cue, the floo roared to life.

“Fucking hell, has she got the house under surveillance or something?” Harry muttered as Daphne sat down in front of the fireplace.

“Hey, Lil. I heard you left Neville in an awkward position this afternoon.”

“Oh, he had it coming,” Lilly grinned, “How are you?”

“I’m okay. I do need to talk to you about a box.”

“A box?” Lilly echoed.

“Yes,” Daphne said, “My mother is selling Greengrass House, which is fine because I hate it,” she shrugged.

“No, you don’t,” Lilly countered.

“I do though,” Daphne said with a frown, “I love that one room that I associate with Astoria, but mostly, I hate it.”

“You’re still a bit sad, though, aren’t you?” Lilly asked.

“A little bit, I guess,” Daphne replied, “I don’t know, I feel kind of conflicted. I’m going to rescue the portraits before my mother sells the place. But the issue is with this box that she gave me from my father's study. It just says ‘for Daphne’ on it.”

“Don’t open it,” Lilly warned her, “You should never open a mysterious box. Pandora did and look what happened to her.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow, “Pandora?”

“Yeah, the stupid girl who unleashed all evil on the world,” Lilly said offhandedly, “Bad shit happens when you open mysterious boxes. Take Jumanji, that’s another one.”

“I have no idea what you are on about,” Daphne said with a fond smile, “Are you coming home this weekend for Hermione’s birthday?”

“Of course,” Lilly replied. There was a loud click behind her, and she rolled her eyes, “That’s lights out. See you at the weekend. Bye!”

The floo disconnected abruptly, and Daphne shook her head in amusement as she pushed

herself to her feet and asked Harry, “What the _hell_ is Jumanji?”

Harry snorted in response, “A movie, we’ll watch it at Nevs sometime.”

* * *

“Happy Birthday Hermione.”

Hermione smiled and opened her eyes, “You don’t have to wake me up with a foot massage just because it’s my birthday.”

Draco smirked at her, “That isn’t me. That’s your birthday present.”

Hermione jumped up in surprise, and an undignified meow answered her. Her eyes widened as she looked to the foot of the bed where an adorable black kitten was watching her.

“Oh my gosh! A kitten! You got me a kitten!”

Draco smiled, “She doesn’t have a name yet, but she’s not an ordinary muggle cat. She’s a witch’s familiar, so she will be able to understand what you say, and she’s far more intelligent than your average cat.”

“Like Crookshanks,” Hermione said softly.

“But less ugly.”

“Draco!”

Draco was still smiling, despite being told off, “Do you like her?”

“I love her!” Hermione said. She picked the kitten up, and it meowed contently, “I just need to come up with an appropriate name for her before I introduce her to everyone at my party tonight…”

* * *

“Try and cheer up, it’s a birthday party,” Harry whispered to Daphne as they walked through the park towards Grimmauld Place.

“I know,” Daphne said, “I just don’t know how to feel at the moment with everything going on.”

“You should open the box,” Harry said, “It might give you some closure.”

“Or it might not,” Daphne combatted, “Lilly’s right. Pandora should never have opened the box.”

“You’re basing your decision on a myth?” Harry snorted.

Daphne gave him an irritated look.

“You should also apologise to your mother, that would definitely give you some closure,” Harry added.

Daphne glared at him, “What are you, my therapist?”

“I’m just telling you the harsh truths that you don’t want to hear,” Harry said honestly as they reached the door of 12 Grimmauld Place.

“Well if you want me to put on a smiley face for Hermione’s birthday, then don’t,” Daphne muttered under her breath as she knocked on the door.

“Alright,” Harry promised, and the door swung open of its own accord. The couple made their way inside and headed up to the drawing-room.

“Guys! Look what Draco got me for my birthday?”

Daphne smiled when she saw Hermione holding her little black kitten, “I’m more of a dog person myself, but she is adorable. Has she got a name yet?”

Hermione nodded eagerly, “Octavia.”

Harry snorted.

Hermione glared at him, “What was _that_ for?”

“I just think it’s amusing that you named your cat Octavia after spending your whole life complaining about _your_ Shakespearean name,” Harry pointed out.

“Theo said the same thing,” Draco informed him.

Harry glanced around the room, he saw Sadie but not Theo, “And where is Theo?”

“Exactly,” Draco said.

Harry swallowed and looked at Hermione, “I mean, it’s a nice name though, and the cat is cute.”

“Harry,” Hermione said irritably.

“And I helped Draco by telling him that you liked black cats so please don’t do to me whatever you did to Theo,” Harry added.

“Harry James Potter,” Daphne tutted, “Here was me thinking that you were scared of nothing. I mean, I even told Bill Weasley that he was a pussy compared to you. Yet here you are, scared of your best friend.”

“With good reason,” Draco pointed out, “She’s scary when you get on the wrong side of her.”

Hermione smirked, “I know I am, but I’m not going to curse you, Harry.”

Sadie chuckled, “Theo is downstairs getting drinks.”

“You just got punk’d,” Lilly grinned.

Harry looked at her blankly, “What?”

“Yeah, I don’t get it either,” Neville shrugged, “Anyway, since you guys are the last to the party _again_ , what’s your excuse this time?”

“We were arguing about a box,” Harry said, he clapped Neville on the shoulder, “Very long and complicated story which nobody wants to hear. What everyone does want to do is sing Happy Birthday to Hermione and embarrass the hell out of her!”

“Harry!” Hermione groaned.

Harry just grinned at his best friend and began, “Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you…”

* * *

“Lilly.”

Lilly glanced up, and Daphne pointed at the balcony then disappeared.

Lilly chuckled and followed her out to the balcony, “Were you trying to be subtle?”

“I thought it was pretty subtle.”

“It wasn’t,” Lilly assured her as she sat on the railing, “What’s up?”

“Lilly,” Daphne said, grabbing her friends hands, “You’re going to fall to your death.”

“No, I won’t. I’d use a cushioning charm,” Lilly said, “What’s up?”

Daphne could have let go, but she didn’t. She stood in front of Lilly with her hands in the shorter girls.

“I’m going to open the box tomorrow.”

“Do you want me to come over?” Lilly asked.

“Yeah,” Daphne replied, looking up at Lilly, “Would you?”

“Course I will,” Lilly replied, “What are you so worried about?”

“I don’t know,” Daphne admitted, “It’s probably nothing, but there could be anything in there. There could be a curse, you know?”

“And if there was a curse I reckon you’re the best person in our friend group to deal with it,” Lilly pointed out with a grin, “Curse-Breaker Greengrass.”

“Did you mean to make that flirty?”

“No,” Lilly laughed, “But I can’t think of you as a curse breaker without remembering those dragonhide trousers.”

Daphne snorted in amusement and pulled her off of the railing, “Get down before you give me a heart attack.”

Lilly landed softly and shot a smile over Daphne’s shoulder, “Hey, Suse.”

“Hey girls,” Susan said, smirking at the two of them, “You look very friendly.”

“Not as friendly as you two did in the alternate future,” Lilly sang.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Lil, did you have to say that?”

Susan grinned, “Do tell.”

“I went to Paris this weekend because Neville threw himself in front of a flamethrower curse and poor little Lilly, had no one to go to Paris with,” Daphne explained, “We went to the fairground and saw this seer who showed us an alternate future.”

“Okay,” Susan said as she leant against the railing, “I’m intrigued. What was the ‘what if’ that created this vision?”

“What if I had gone travelling with Tracey, and there had been no eighth year,” Daphne answered.

“And most of us had a miserable life,” Lilly said, “I was a crazy cat lady who lived alone in Paris and Neville married Hannah.”

“Harry married Ginny but was screwing Hermione,” Daphne rattled off, “Draco married Astoria, and she was sleeping with Theo. Oh and Theo was married to Sadie, but Sadie was pregnant and didn’t know if the baby was Theo’s or Blaises.”

“Wow, it sounds depressing,” Susan snorted, “What was I doing?”

“Daphne,” Lilly replied with a smirk, “Daphne in dragonhide trousers because she was a hotshot curse breaker who worked in Egypt.”

“We were together?” Susan laughed.

“Yep, and you were Assistant Head of the DMLE,” Daphne replied.

“So if it hadn’t been for eighth year, we’d both have given up on guys,” Susan sniggered, “Go figure.”

“Well we are the most flexible in our sexuality,” Daphne shrugged, “Lil and the rest of them are all 70:30. What would you put yourself at?”

“Oh 50:50, definitely.”

“Same as you then, Daph,” Lilly mused.

“Since when are you 70:30 anyway?” Susan probed Lilly, “The last time we had this chat you said you’d never even kissed a girl.”

“That would be because it was a recent development,” Lilly said evasively.

Susan barked out a laugh, “Oh, really? Honestly Daph, she’s had red hair for two weeks, and you’re already snogging her?”

Lilly burst out laughing at that while Daphne rolled her eyes and told them both where to fuck off to.

* * *

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Draco said in an undertone, “Why are we whispering in the corner of the room?”

Daphne sipped her wine, “Because I need to talk to you about something that happened last weekend.”

“Is this the point where you tell me that you’re a raging lesbian and you’re going to run off with Lilly?” Draco joked.

“No,” Daphne chuckled, “But did Harry or Nev mention anything about the seer that Lilly and I saw in Paris?”

“No, they were pretty fixated on that kiss.”

“Go figure,” Daphne joked, “We saw a seer who showed us an alternate future.”

“You bought into an act by an old charlatan, you mean?” Draco scoffed.

“She was the real deal, Draco. She took my earliest memory as payment,” Daphne murmured.

“So she’s a fraud then, but a good one,” Draco said dryly, “It’s a piece of piss, Daphne. They scan you with a low-level legilimency charm then show you what you want to see.”

“Well, it wasn’t what I wanted to see because it was a shit future,” Daphne remarked, “It was how the future would have looked if I had gone travelling with Tracey instead of staying to help you through Pansy’s death.”

Draco swallowed.

“Yeah, it was as grim as you think it was,” Daphne whispered, “You went to Greengrass House, but I wasn’t there so my sister took you in and you married her.”

“I married Astoria?” Draco remarked.

Daphne nodded, “You had a kid called Scorpius, and you hated each other. She was sleeping with Theo, who you seemed to hate.”

“Probably because we wouldn’t have made up that summer if it hadn’t been for you,” Draco said honestly, “Was he with Sadie?”

Daphne nodded, “He was cheating on her with Astoria, and she was cheating on him with Blaise. It was fucked up Draco, she was pregnant, but she didn’t know whose kid it was. But…something I saw in that vision scared me.”

Draco sighed, “Daph, it wasn’t real.”

“Just hear me out,” Daphne said sternly, “What if it was? If that was a true vision of how things might have been then that implies that you are the stabilising factor in Theo’s life. _You_ are what keeps him good and keeps his magic pure.”

Draco frowned, “But Sadie-”

“Sadie might be the love of his love, but that doesn’t mean she’s the stabilising factor,” Daphne cut in quietly, “The Theo in that vision was scary, Draco. He was an alcoholic who was threatening to beat his pregnant wife, and it just…scared me a little.”

“Yeah but that’s not Theo,” Draco frowned, “That’s not _our_ Theo. Maybe that’s how he could have been, but I could have been an arsehole Death Eater if it hadn’t been for all of you keeping me good during the war. Theo has all of us, and we’ll always have his back. _I’ll_ always have his back.”

“And what if something happens to you?” Daphne whispered, “Then what’s going to happen to Theo?”

“Then he’ll still have Sadie,” Draco replied, “He’ll have Hermione, he’ll have you and Harry and Neville. Don’t forget, in the universe that you saw, Theo only had Sadie and me. But here, he has so much more, and he’s going to be a Dad to a kid he knows is his.”

“Okay,” Daphne conceded, “But I just wanted you to be aware of it.”

Draco put an arm around her, “I appreciate the heads up, but this is Theo we’re talking about. I mean, look at him.”

Daphne looked across the room to where Theo was sitting on a sofa with Sadie snuggled in next to him while he threw peanuts in Hermione’s hair to see how long it would take her to notice.

“He’s not going to go dark,” Draco finished.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	48. Pandora's Box

Harry had to work on Saturday morning, it didn’t happen often, but sometimes the Auror trainees were asked to come in to do extra training. Usually, it irritated Daphne because it messed with their weekend plans with Teddy. However, they hadn’t had Teddy overnight the night before because Andromeda had gotten out of the hospital on Friday morning. As such, Harry and Daphne weren’t due to pick him up until Saturday afternoon.

This meant that Daphne found herself pacing nervously on Saturday morning while she waited for Lilly to arrive. Eventually, the floo whirred to life, and Daphne granted her access.

“How long have you been wearing a hole in the floor for?” Lilly asked perceptively.

“A good hour,” Daphne answered, “Come on, I need to find out what’s in this box.”

Lilly followed her friend into the study and shut the door behind them.

Daphne took a breath and sat down on the ground with the box in front of her, “I’m going to do it.”

“Go for it, Pandora.”

“Quit calling me Pandora,” Daphne muttered as she opened the box.

“Well,” Lilly mused as she sat down cross-legged opposite Daphne, “That was underwhelming.”

“It’s just letters,” Daphne said as she reached into the box, “And…photographs.”

Lilly noticed that Daphne’s hands shook as she pulled out a bundle of photographs.

Every single one was of her. There were baby pictures and photographs of her father with her as a toddler. He looked happy in all of them; she almost didn’t recognise him as the man she had grown up calling father. Daphne felt a lump rise in her throat as she looked at photographs of a happier time that she couldn’t recall. She realised that the photographs came to a stop a year or so after Astoria was born, the moment when her father had learned of her mother's betrayal.

“They are all of me,” Daphne whispered.

Lilly shuffled to sit next to her best friend.

For a moment, Daphne allowed herself to believe that it was that betrayal that had turned her father into the cold, bitter man that she had known. But before the thought began to take hold, she shrugged it away. Her mother wouldn’t have lied to her about that.

Daphne swallowed and pulled out the next item that came to hand.

“Oh sweet Salazar,” Daphne breathed, “This is my marriage contract. The one that betrothed me to Draco before he was a Black.”

“There’s a note on the front,” Lilly frowned.

Daphne pulled the piece of parchment off and frowned as she scanned her father's words.

_“Daphne, a beautiful girl with a beautiful name. What does the name Daphne mean? Well, everyone knows that it has Greek origins, but it actually means laurel or bay tree. In Greek mythology, Daphne was a nymph who was saved from an over-amorous Apollo by her father, the river god. As the father of this Daphne, I am certainly no river god, but I am protective. Daphne is my only daughter, and she is strong, intelligent and has the sharpest wit. The man who marries her is going to be very lucky, but he had better keep his eyes open because I will warn him, I have taught her some wicked home-made curses over the years._

_I hope when I give this speech, my daughter will be a Malfoy because I trust Draco to look after Daphne. But I cannot will Daphne to love someone if she does not feel it in her heart. In that way, she is entirely her mother’s daughter. I just hope that whoever she marries is a man worthy of her. When I finally get around to giving this speech, I will be able to judge that.”_

Daphne handed the piece of parchment to Lilly whose eyes widened, “It was his father of the bride speech.”

Daphne nodded and silently wiped away the tears that had stung at her eyes. The father that she had felt did not care a jot about her, had started to write his father of the bride speech when he had written up her marriage contract.

“I would have been eight or nine when he wrote that,” Daphne said quietly, “And I hardly saw him. We were living in France at the chateau. We came home for the holidays, and he sometimes visited but…I don’t know; this just doesn’t sound like the man I called father.”

“Maybe he just kept the better parts of himself private,” Lilly suggested, “A lot of businessmen were like that, and he was one of the best.”

Daphne swallowed a lump that had risen in her throat and sighed, “Maybe. I just…I always thought he’d be turning in his grave because I’m marrying a half-blood but what he wrote there…”

“It sounds like he doesn’t care much, as long as the man you marry is worthy of you and Harry definitely is,” Lilly said softly.

Daphne cleared her throat and searched through the box for more clues to who this man had been and how he had become the embittered father that she had known. At the bottom of the box, there was a bundle of letters, dated from the oldest to the newest. Daphne opened them and realised that they were letters that had gone back and forth between her father and his cousin.

“Who is Gus?” Lilly asked as she peered over Daphne’s shoulder.

“My father's cousin,” Daphne replied, “Augustus Greengrass. His father, Malachai, was disowned for marrying a muggle, so Augustus was raised in the muggle world before he went to Hogwarts.”

“But your father stayed in touch with him?” Lilly asked.

Daphne nodded, “He was killed during the war, either just before or just after my father was.”

“Why did your father write to him?” Lilly asked.

“I suppose he felt it was safe to do so,” Daphne mused, “Uncle Gus hated the Death Eaters as much as my father did. He never wanted to join them…”

_May 1997._

_My dear Gus,_

_I regret many of the decisions that I have made in my life. I often wish I had allowed Lareina to marry for love rather than forced her into the contract our parents had arranged. Then again, if Lareina and I had never married, my darling Daphne would not have come to exist. She and I have had a complicated relationship these past few years, but she has grown into a beautiful and strong young woman. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named grows stronger by the day, and I do not doubt that he will soon come for me. When he does, I must protect Daphne above all else. My own life seems insignificant in comparison to hers. I pray that you remain safe. Do not come out of hiding until I explicitly tell you that it is safe to do so. You are a half-blood whose father was a blood-traitor; the snatchers that are roaming these parts will not treat you well._

_Yours,_

_Cygnus._

Daphne handed the letter to Lilly and said, “This was sent just after everything that happened at the end of our sixth year.”

“The Battle of the Lightning Struck Tower and Dumbledore dying,” Lilly said with a nod.

“And this was Augustus’s reply,” Daphne said, handing her friend another letter.

My dearest Cygnus,

I fear for my safety also. I have, of course, gone into hiding and I shall remain here until the danger has passed. As the half-blood son of a blood traitor, I am most certainly in the firing line. My choice of partner also does not bode me well against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named who wishes to rid the world of the ‘impure’. Wes and I will weather this storm as we have endured all that have come before this one.

Regards,

Gus.

“Who is Wes?”

“Wesley Bones,” Daphne replied, “Susan’s uncle. He and my Uncle Augustus were together. It’s kind of how we met as kids in a round-about way. He was killed during the war, at the same time as my uncle.”

“Is everyone in our friend group related somehow?”

“There aren’t that many wizarding families in Britain, so yes,” Daphne replied simply as she moved onto the next letter.

_June 1997._

_Gus,_

_I write again to tell you that my strength grows weaker with every day. They found me and they continue to ask me to join them, but I do not want that life. It is the life that my brother-in-law, Alfred Nott, leads and I cannot have that for myself and especially not for Daphne. I must protect her from what will come; it is the only way I can find redemption after the fire. I pray you remain safe._

_Yours,_

_Cygnus._

Daphne handed the letter to Lilly and picked up Augustus’s reply, “The fire he’s referring to is the one he set in my house that almost killed my mother, my sister and I.”

Lilly frowned down at the letter, but Daphne was too busy reading her uncle’s reply to notice the expression on her best friend’s face.

_Cygnus,_

_You must continue to resist them. I know that you possess the strength to do so. The only way you shall ever have your redemption is if you can show both of your daughters that you love them. I know you only regard Daphne as ‘yours’, but you have raised Astoria well. They are both fine young women, and you ought to be proud. Many men could not raise another man's child as you have, especially given the circumstances around Astoria’s conception._

_Regards,_

_Gus._

Daphne snorted, “Raised her well?” she handed the letter to Lilly, “He hated Astoria growing up. He never treated her the same way that he treated me.”

Lilly took the letter and scanned it, “Well perception is a wonderful thing. Almost as good as hindsight,” she remarked.

Daphne sighed as she read yet another letter,

_July 1997_.

_Gus,_

_They come calling every day. I do not know how much longer I can last. They will either force me to join them, or they will kill me for resisting. I know which way I would rather it went, he grows stronger with every follower that he manages to amass. I worry about Daphne returning to Hogwarts now that it is publicly known that Severus Snape will be the Headmaster of the school. He is a known Death Eater after all. Stay safe, dear Augustus._

_Yours,_

_Cygnus._

Daphne flicked through Augustus’s reply and handed it to Lilly. Then she read the next letter that her father had sent to his cousin.

_September 1997_

_Gus,_

_Daphne has gone back to Hogwarts. Lareina did not want her there, but I suspect that she will be safer if she is away from me. When they come for me for a final time, I do not want them to take her. I have gone into hiding so my letters may become less frequent, I am a coward Gus, and I do not want to die. I pray you survive this war for I surely shall not._

_Yours,_

_Cygnus._

“I didn’t realise how scared he was,” Daphne admitted, She sighed and looked down at Augustus’s reply which re-iterated that Hogwarts was probably the safest place for her.

“He wouldn’t have wanted to let on,” Lilly said softly, “Fathers always want to stay strong for their daughters.”

“He never acted like a father,” Daphne sighed, “Not in the way that a father should act, anyway.”

“Not to your face,” Lilly corrected.

Daphne ignored this comment and read the next letter.

_December 1997._

_Gus,_

_I hear very little news from outside my safe house, but I understand that our cousin James’s son is still alive and fighting to destroy He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I hope that he has success, they have not found me yet, but I can feel that they are getting close._

_Lareina keeps slipping out, and I fear that she is informing on our location, she wants me dead so that she can run back to my brother. I only keep her safe here as a courtesy to my daughter. I do not think Daphne would ever forgive me if I let her mother die._

_I also heard the sad news that Septimus Cauldwell turned to the side of darkness. I very much doubt that he did this of his own accord, but his family were undoubtedly used against him. The Death Eaters will not try this trick with me because I suppose they doubt that my family mean much to me. They are aware of what I did all of those years ago. They need not know that the fire was an accident; it will only give them something to use against me._

_Stay safe, dear cousin. Undoubtedly one of us shall survive this dreadful war._

_Yours,_

_Cygnus._

“Your dad and Harry’s dad were cousins?” Lilly snorted.

“Yeah, Harry and I are second cousins,” Daphne said with a weak smile, “He’s a pureblood now, he’s giving in to the whole pureblood in-breeding programme.”

Lilly laughed, “What do you make of what he said about your mother sneaking out?”

“I don’t want to believe it,” Daphne said honestly, “But the thing I really don’t like is that he called the fire an accident. My mother always led me to believe that he set it with the intent of killing all of us.”

Lilly frowned and looked down, “There’s one more letter.”

Daphne swallowed when she saw the date.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s dated February 1998,” Daphne said quietly, “And that’s when he died.”

“Oh shit,” Lilly whispered, “Do you want me to read it to you?”

Daphne nodded and held the letter out. Lilly took it, cleared her throat and began to read aloud,

_Gus,_

_I fear that this will be my last letter. Lareina had one too many glasses of wine last night, and she told me the truth, she has been meeting up with my brother in secret as I feared. My brother has informed the Death Eaters of our location. They are coming to kill me; they will spare Lareina so that she and Phineas can continue their sordid affair, only it will no longer have to be behind my back._

_If I cannot escape them, please tell Daphne the truth. Tell her that I did not intend for her or her sister to be hurt in the fire. They were supposed to be at Malfoy Manor, but Draco got dragon pox, and the plans were changed at the last minute. Lareina did not inform me, and I did not know that they would be there. When I set the fire, I thought that the house would be empty. I intended to claim on the insurance, buy a smaller home and save the business by injecting the insurance money into it. I never meant to hurt my daughter. If Lareina or my brother had been caught up in it, I would have felt no remorse, but the girls were innocent._

_It is, after all, my brother and Lareina’s fault that my death is so imminent. I tried Gus, I tried so hard to please her, but nothing that I did was ever enough. She wanted my brother, and nothing would convince her that I could give her just as much love as he could._

_Please, Gus, make sure that Daphne learns the truth. I could not bear it if she hated me for the rest of her life. This is my last wish. Stay safe and survive this bloodshed._

_Your dearest cousin,_

_Cygnus.”_

Daphne let her tears fall freely as she read the last letter over and over again.

Lilly read the letter over her shoulder then wrapped her arms around Daphne.

“She lied,” Daphne said quietly, “My whole life…my mother _lied_ to me.”

She pushed Lilly away and got to her feet, “She made me think that my father was the villain for years! She made me _hate_ him!”

“Daphne-”

“My whole life has been a lie, Lilly!” Daphne practically screamed.

The curtain rail began to shake and clatter. The books on the bookshelf swayed precariously as a warm wind rushed through the room.

“No!” Lilly exclaimed, “No outbursts of magic! You are a fully grown woman, not an immature little girl. Take a breath and calm the hell down.”

Lilly wasn’t sure if it would work, so she had her wand hovering over her wand just in case she had to conjure a quick shield charm.

However, Daphne took a breath and then let Lilly step forward and pull her into a hug.

“She turned me against him,” Daphne said tearfully, “And it worked! I mean, I was stupid enough to buy into it. We went to France because _he_ kicked her out not because he beat the crap out of her like she told me. We went to France so she could be with Phineas and he knew that, he knew she was screwing his brother and he just let her take his kids away from him to go and live with their mother and her bloody lover!”

Daphne took another breath as she sat down slowly and let her head rest in her hands, “My mother kept feeding me lies to paint him as the bad guy when she was the one in the wrong the _whole_ time.”

“And if it wasn’t for those letters, I’d never have known,” Daphne continued, “Because I think my Uncle Augustus died two weeks before or after my father did so he had no way of getting that news to me.”

“Your mother must not know,” Lilly said, “If she had looked into the box, she would have burned it.”

Daphne nodded, “Yeah, she would have.”

“Why didn’t he just write to you?”

“Because he was stubborn,” Daphne muttered irritably, “And because everything going in and out of Hogwarts was intercepted, whether that was mail or Patronus’s.”

“True,” Lilly agreed. She surveyed Daphne with concern, “But I mean…what do we do now? Where do we go with this information?”

“I don’t know,” Daphne said helplessly, “I just… I have to rewrite my own brain. I’ve spent so long believing that my father was a monster and now…I realise that the monster was always my mother, and I was too blind to see it.”

“You were a kid, Daph,” Lilly said gently, “We don’t notice stuff like that when we’re young, and parents exploit that. They do shitty things all of the time. I know it’s nowhere near the same, but my mum and dad were always trying to turn me against the other one after they split up.”

Daphne wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her jumper, “He died thinking that I hated him, Lilly.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Lilly said. She knelt in front of Daphne and grabbed her hand, “Your mother lied to you and manipulated you, and by the time you were old enough to hear the truth, you wouldn’t have listened to it. That was why your father didn’t tell you; the damage was done; you would have just assumed that he was lying.”

Daphne couldn’t argue with that logic.

“Ugh, why are you always so right?” Daphne asked tearfully, “I can’t argue with you when you’re right!”

Lilly smiled sadly, “I know, sorry but I think we ought to go and get a cup of tea-”

“Why do you always suggest tea when someones sad?” Daphne asked. She sniffed and pushed herself to her feet.

“Because I’m awkward around upset people and my mum always said that tea was the answer when someone needed to calm down,” Lilly admitted sheepishly.

Daphne laughed weakly, “She sounds nice, your mum.”

“She’s a riot,” Lilly chuckled. She stepped forward and grabbed Daphne by the wrist, “But every so often she came out with a pearl of wisdom. So come on, let’s have a cup of tea.”

“Okay,” Daphne said, blowing out a long, steadying breath, “Let’s try it your way and see if tea makes all of the worries of the world disappear,” she said with a weak smile.

“It doesn’t make them disappear,” Lilly said softly, “It just gives you some time to catch your breath and help you come to terms with them.”

“You know, just sometimes, rarely, when the moon is in the right place, I see that wise old soul inside you and realise why you were a Ravenclaw,” Daphne teased.

“I’m sure there was a compliment in there somewhere,” Lilly snorted.

“Figure it out, you’re the smart one.”

“And you’re doing that thing again.”

“What thing?”

“That thing when you act all bitchy to cover up the fact you’re upset,” Lilly said matter of factly.

“ _Va te faire foutre (fuck you)_ , Lilly!”

“Is this our thing now? Do we have a thing?” Lilly joked.

“Well, you’re a thing.”

“Daphne, you can’t just call people a thing when you’re pissed off with them,” Lilly sniggered. “It might have worked on Harry, but it won’t work on me so _arrête d'être une grace (stop being a bitch)_!”

* * *

When Harry got home just before lunchtime on Saturday. he was surprised to find the house empty and quiet. At first, he thought that Daphne had gone out, but then a quick spell told him that two magical signatures, excluding his own, were still present in the house.

He knew something was wrong from the feeling that settled in the pit of his stomach, so he rushed into the kitchen where he found Daphne nursing a cup of tea while Lilly sat next to her, with her hand resting on Daphne’s back.

“She opened the box,” Lilly said by way of explanation.

Harry looked at his fiancé warily, “And? Do you wish you hadn’t?”

Daphne shook her head, “I’m happy that I know the truth, but I want to kill my mother for hiding it and for lying to me.”

Harry frowned, “Daphne…what, do you mean?”

Daphne shoved the bundle of letters into his hands, “Read those, and you’ll see.”

Harry flicked through the letters, scanning the critical parts and omitting the rest. When he looked up at Daphne, his eyes were wide, “Do you think he’s telling the truth?”

“Why would he lie?” Daphne asked coolly, “He has no reason to do that. My mother, on the other hand, her and my Uncle Phineas, they have a lot of reasons to lie.”

“Daphne,” Harry said quietly, “If what your father wrote in these letters is true…your mother and your Uncle Phineas could go to jail.”

“For manslaughter, if not premeditated murder, I know,” Daphne said, “Funnily enough, Lilly and I worked that out while she was trying to calm me down with fucking peppermint tea.”

Harry looked at Lilly, “I’m going to hazard a guess and say that it didn’t work.”

Lilly smiled slightly, “That’s one way of putting it, yeah.”

“You can take it to the ministry but then…other secrets might…come out,” Harry said, he was being careful what he was saying because Lilly was present.

“You can talk freely, I told Lilly everything,” Daphne sniffed, “She knows about Astoria.”

“Right,” Harry said, “So if you hand the evidence over, there will be a trial, and there’s a chance that during the trial, Astoria would find out that Phineas is her father.”

“I’ve tried to tell her that regardless of the stakes, she ought to take it to the ministry,” Lilly chipped in, “Surely you can keep it all on the down-low?”

“I do have contacts,” Harry admitted, “But I’m only a trainee. I could do my best, but I couldn’t guarantee that it would be good enough.”

“You’re Harry Potter,” Daphne said dryly, “It would be good enough.”

Lilly sighed, and Harry frowned, “But Daphne, it’s more than the practicalities. You have to think of this from a practical point of view…do you really want your mother and your uncle to go to jail?”

“Harry, they killed my father,” Daphne hissed, “All so they could keep fucking each other!”

Harry cringed at her vulgar language. Daphne rarely lost her temper like this, she was usually the cool, calm one in an argument and _he_ was the hothead.

“I know Daphne, but we’re talking about severe sentences here. How would Astoria take it?”

Daphne swallowed, “Don’t you dare use my sister against me. They deserve to rot for this.”

“She’s right, you know?” Lilly said quietly.

“I know she is,” Harry snapped, “And I am not trying to use Astoria against you Daphne, but you need to consider everything before you rush to the ministry and make a rash decision. Trust me, I did that once and I lost my godfather. I’m not telling you not to do it, I’m just saying that you need to be _sure_ first or you could end up regretting it for the rest of your life, and I don’t want that kind of bitterness to taint you.”

“So you’re doing what then? Saving my soul?” Daphne scoffed.

“Yes,” Harry replied simply, “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

Lilly nodded, “That is what he’s doing, Daph.”

“I just want to go over to that house and give my mother a piece of my mind,” Daphne muttered under her breath.

“And give her a head start? Come on, Daphne, you are far smarter than that,” Lilly said softly, “You know that’s not the logical thing to do.”

Harry nodded, “Lil is right. If you confront her then she’s going to run off with your uncle so that when this does go to trial, they can’t pull her up for it,” Harry pointed out, “I know you’re angry, and I don’t blame you for being angry at all but think about this logically.”

Daphne sighed, “I want her to be punished.”

“I know you do,” Harry said softly, “But you have to ask yourself this one question. Is the collateral damage just going to be too much?”

“I don’t know,” Daphne admitted.

“And you need to know,” Harry said firmly, “You need to be 100% sure before you act on this so give it a little bit of time and thought Daph, trust me on this one.”

“Okay,” Daphne conceded, “But until I decide what to do, we keep this completely quiet. Okay? You can tell Neville, but you do not tell _anyone_ else.”

“I understand,” Harry nodded, “And I promise, I won’t tell anyone.”

Lilly nodded, “I’ll tell Neville, but no one else, I swear,” she promised Daphne.

Daphne nodded and looked into the depths of her tea. Without warning, she picked the cup up and threw it into the sink.

“What the fuck?”

“What did you do that for?”

“I didn’t like what the tealeaves said,” Daphne said irritably.

“So you decided to break an 18th-century teacup?” Harry asked in disbelief.

Lilly looked at Harry and raised an eyebrow, “Right now I can’t be sure what’s worse. You being upset about a broken antique _teacup_ or Neville crying over the death of a baby venomous bloody tentacula. No wonder you two are best friends.”

“Reparo!” Daphne said, far too sassily. The cup repaired itself and she remarked, “Are you a wizard or not?” before stalking out of the kitchen.

“It doesn’t matter if you repair it with magic,” Harry muttered after his fiancé, “You can still see the cracks. King George II drank out of this teacup, Lil! The bloody King of Britain!”

“Harry, since when do you care so much about teacups?” Lilly asked dryly.

“Since I found out how old some of the stuff in my family home was,” Harry replied.

“And you care more about a teacup than Daphne, do you? Because I think you need a bit of perspective right now. She just found out that her mother is psychotic murderer then her tea leaves said that she’s going to go through an anxious period of change, like she doesn’t already bloody know that,” Lilly snapped, “So forget about the fucking cup and go make sure she’s okay.”

Harry nodded, “Right, sorry. I will. But since when can you read tealeaves? I thought you hated Divination.”

“I do, but I was a Ravenclaw. I like to know about all areas of magic, even the bits I don’t like or believe in,” Lilly replied sensibly.

* * *

“Do you really want to do this today?” Harry asked under his breath as he and Daphne walked up the path towards Greengrove House.

“Life can’t stop just because of my ground-breaking discovery that my mother is a homicidal slut,” Daphne muttered bitterly.

“Okay,” Harry said calmly, “I just want to make sure your head is in the right place, this is a serious thing we’re thinking about doing.”

“I am aware of that,” Daphne said sincerely, “And I really am fine. As long as you don’t bring up my mother all week, we won’t have a problem.”

Harry sighed, “Daphne, we have to talk about it at some point. You can’t just decide to run to the ministry one day and get your mum a life sentence in Azkaban.”

“Actually, I can,” Daphne reminded him, “And I will, once I’ve had a week to think it over like you and Lilly want.”

Harry had a feeling that he wasn’t going to win the argument with her because of the mood she was in, so he decided to drop it. But it was still very much an unfinished conversation.

By the time they stepped into the drawing-room, the awkward air surrounding the conversation had dissipated. Andromeda smiled over at them, “Harry, Daphne, how lovely to see you again.”

Harry smiled at the older woman, “How are you feeling, Andi?”

Andromeda looked a little frailer than she had before she had been struck down with dragon pox, but she smiled all the same, “Very tired if I am honest Harry, but I am grateful to be home.”

“Well,” Daphne began cryptically, “You might be grateful of the proposition that we have for you then.”

Andromeda raised an eyebrow at them, “A proposition?”

Harry nodded, “We wondered how you felt about us trialling looking after Teddy full-time. Not like when we took him on holiday, but to see how he would fit into our everyday lives.”

Andromeda watched with interest as Daphne added, “He could live with us for the week, and we could trial our plan for you to look after him during the day while we’re at work.”

After a contemplative moment, Andromeda nodded slowly, “I think that is a very sensible idea. I just worry that it might confuse him, but then again, so will the adoption when the time comes.”

Harry nodded, “So you think it’s a good idea?”

“I do,” Andromeda said, “When would you like to start it?”

“Well,” Harry said sheepishly, “We thought since we have him this weekend, we could just continue that into the week.”

Andromeda didn’t seem overly surprised by the suggestion. She thought about it for a moment then said, “Yes, I suppose that would make sense. He is in his bedroom if you want to help him pack for the week and explain what is happening?”

“Wouldn’t you rather do that?” Harry asked.

Andromeda shook her head, “I think it will be better if it comes from you.”

“Okay,” Harry said, he turned to Daphne, “Are you coming up?”

“Of course,” She replied.

They ascended the stairs silently, but the awkward air was gone at least. When they stepped into Teddy’s room, the little boy was playing away happily with his toy dragons.

He greeted them with a shout of, “Daddy!” and a hug. Harry’s face lit up with the smile that he reserved for Teddy, and he knelt in front of the little boy, “Hey buddy, we have something to tell you.”

Teddy looked up with interest.

“You’re going to come and stay with Daphne and me this week,” Harry said kindly, “Do you think that will be fun?”

Teddy’s eyes lit up, “Yeah!”

Daphne laughed, “Good because we think you’re going to have a great week,” she ruffled the little boy’s hair, and he grinned at her.

“We’re going to go to the seaside,” Harry added as he grabbed Teddy’s little suitcase out of the wardrobe, “You love the beach, don’t you?”

Teddy grinned and nodded at them. Daphne smiled warmly at him, “Then you are going to have so much fun! Come on, what clothes shall we put in here for you?”

“This!” Teddy said, he pulled his Puddlemere strip out of the wardrobe, “An’ this!” he said as he found his favourite jumper, it was dark grey and decorated with multi-coloured dragons.

Daphne shot Harry a smile, and he returned it warmly. Somehow, at that moment, they knew that regardless of the trials the week would bring, it would all be okay in the end.

* * *

“This is going well so far,” Daphne commented.

Harry shot her an amused look, “Daph, it’s only Sunday. We both know that the hard part starts tomorrow when we have to come home from a hard day's work to look after a toddler.”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Yes, I know that. I just meant that Teddy didn’t seem to be showing any signs of separation anxiety from Andromeda, which is good. The confusing part, of course, will be throughout the week because he will see her during the day but then come home to us at night.”

“Let’s face it, we always knew that having him through the week would be the biggest struggle, that’s the whole point of this test of yours,” Harry reminded her.

“We had him through the week when Andromeda was in the hospital,” Daphne pointed out.

“For a couple of days, not for the whole week,” Harry said as he observed her.

“Why are you so sure that it’s going to be hard?” Daphne asked under her breath; she didn’t want to raise her voice because Teddy was playing on the floor just a few metres away, “Why are you so convinced that we can’t do this?”

Harry’s eyes softened, and he sighed, “That’s not what this is at all,” he promised her, “I just don’t want you to assume that this week is going to be easy because I worry that if you do, you’ll get a real shock when you realise quite how tiring it is to have two full-time jobs.”

Daphne glanced over at Teddy, “It’s hard to think of him like that,” she admitted.

“Right now it is, let’s see what you’re saying at the end of the week,” Harry said gently, he smiled at her in that boyish, amused way that never failed to make her smile back.

“We’ll see,” She challenged.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	49. Rumour Has It

“Hey, Hermione! Have you heard the rumour?”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Sarah, one of the girls who worked at the DMLE reception, “I generally tend to steer clear of all rumours, so no.”

“Well,” Sarah said eagerly, “Rebecca from HR just told me that Viktor Krum has landed a _big_ job here at the ministry.”

That actually did catch Hermione’s attention, “Really?”

“Uh-huh,” Sarah replied, “Wouldn’t it be great to have such a heartthrob working in the same building as us?”

That made Hermione laugh, “Sarah, it’s a big building, and I highly doubt he’ll be working in the DMLE.”

Sarah’s face fell, “Why? We have vacancies, don’t we?”

“Yes, we have vacancies but none that a former Quidditch player would qualify for,” Hermione pointed out.

“You don’t know him; he might have really good grades too!” Sarah argued.

Hermione couldn’t help the Draco-like smirk that came to her lips then, “Actually, it’s because I know him that I know he did get good grades at school, but he will never work for the DMLE.”

“How do you know him?” Sarah asked in disbelief.

“He’s my ex,” Hermione said calmly.

Before Sarah could say anything else or pick her jaw up off the floor, Hermione had scanned her wand and walked through the security gate towards her makeshift office. For some reason, that had felt very good, and she was intrigued to hear that Viktor was considering a job at the British Ministry. She knew that he had given up his Quidditch career, but she couldn’t see the appeal of moving to Britain to retire.

“Morning, Hermione.”

“Morning Bob,” Hermione chirped as she stepped into the Auror office where she was serving her latest stint. She said good morning to at least ten more Aurors on her way to the desk she shared with Rachel in the back corner of the bullpen.

“Good morning, Rachel,” Hermione said cheerfully as she sat down on her side of the desk.

Rachel, a mousy haired woman in her early-30’s, looked up at Hermione sheepishly, “You’re in an awfully good mood this morning.”

“I had a good birthday over the weekend,” Hermione said by way of explanation, “Draco bought me a kitten.”

“God, that is so romantic,” Rachel said bitterly, “It makes me want to vomit.”

Hermione bit back an amused smile, Rachel had a dry sense of humour and was incredibly sarcastic, but Hermione thought she was brilliant.

“I called her Octavia,” Hermione added as she slid a cardboard cup of coffee across the desk.

Rachel caught it without looking up and said, “Jesus Christ, I hope you don’t get to name any children in the future.”

“You should hear the baby names Draco likes,” Hermione muttered under her breath, “Bloody Malfoy’s and their star sign obsession.”

Rachel ignored this comment and sipped her coffee loudly, “Well, since you are so cheerful this morning, you can do the rota,” she said with a sarcastic grin, “Have fun!”

Hermione groaned as a heap of parchment, was dumped in front of her. The rota consisted of scheduling four pairs of Aurors for night-shift every night of the week. It was almost impossible to organise because virtually every Auror had some night that they couldn’t work for one reason or another, so scheduling everyone in could quite easily take her up to 2 pm.

However, there was one positive, Rachel was now in a great mood.

* * *

“I need to tell you guys something.”

“That sounds way too serious for first thing on a Monday morning,” Theo joked weakly.

“Coming from the guy who looks like he’s had no sleep,” Neville said, he shot Theo a sideways glance.

Theo rubbed his eyes, “I’ve been worried about Sadie, so I haven’t been sleeping much. She’s still really ill, and the healer who comes out to check her blood pressure is thinking about admitting her to St. Mungo’s if the sickness doesn’t get any better.”

“Try not to worry too much,” Draco said supportively, “It’s probably just hyperemesis gravidarum.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco, “Fancy saying that in English mate?”

“Extreme morning sickness,” Draco said, he glared in Harry’s direction, “To put it in layman’s terms.”

Theo ignored the banter between them, “Is it bad?”

“No, it just means she might need to stay in the hospital for a bit to rehydrate herself. It shouldn’t last much longer than morning sickness so it will taper off in a couple of weeks with any luck.”

“How do you know so much about pregnancy, exactly?” Neville asked Draco, “I mean, you’re an Auror, not a bloody Healer.”

Harry shot Draco a knowing look, “You might as well tell him, Theo and I both know, and it's going to come out eventually.”

Draco stiffened up slightly, “Fine,” he said reluctantly. He looked away from Neville and said, “Pansy was pregnant when she died.”

“Oh,” Neville realised. His eyes widened, “That…that makes sense…that’s why you acted so strange towards the end of the war.”

Draco nodded, “Yeah, I was trying to protect her and the baby.”

“Shit,” Neville sighed, “I’m sorry man.”

Draco shrugged, “It’s in the past. Anyway, Harry, what were you going to say?”

“Oh yeah,” Harry recalled as they came to a stop outside the lecture hall, “Daphne and I are doing a trial run this week to see if we can cope with looking after Teddy full-time. He’s staying with us all week, and if it goes well, we’re going ahead with the adoption. I just figured you guys should know in case I’m tired or I seem distracted.”

“Wow,” Theo said, “That’s big news. I mean, I knew you were planning on adopting Teddy, but I didn’t realise you were thinking about doing it now.”

Harry shrugged, “You don’t really think about when you’re going to become a parent, it just sort of happens.”

“You’ll find out all about that soon, mate,” Neville joked as he patted Theo on the back, “All the sleepless nights.”

“And screaming sessions,” Harry added in amusement.

“Before he gets there, he has to get through Sadie’s cravings first,” Draco joked, he smirked in Theo’s direction.

“Don’t even get me started on that,” Theo muttered as they walked into the lecture hall together, “On Saturday night she sent me to something called a Tesco Extra at 3 am to get her a jar of pickled onions, seriously guys, it was _3 am_!”

* * *

“So what do you have for me today?”

“A cursed mirror, we’re heading up north today. Do you like the north?” Bill asked conversationally as he swept Daphne out of the door she had just come in.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Well that depends on how far north. I guess the lake district is okay if you like white water rafting and that sort of thing.”

“Oh no, much further north than that,” Bill said cheerfully, “So far north it will take a ferry to get us there, it might even be an overnight trip.”

“Well, that might be an issue because we’re looking after Teddy this week. I’ll need to check that Harry’s okay to watch him on his own if this needs to be an overnight trip,” Daphne said, “And if it’s that far, are we even staying in Britain?”

“Yep, we are going to the lovely Shetland isles,” Bill said happily, “Clear air, beautiful scenery, ah…what a wonderful place Lerwick is.”

“Right,” Daphne said slowly, “I can tell you’re really in love with the whole quaint Scottish charm thing, but can I send Harry a message before we go please?”

Bill was pulled from his reverie, “Oh yes, of course. I’ll meet you out back by the apparition point.”

As he started to walk away, Daphne conjured up a Patronus and sent a message to Harry with it, “Hey Harry. Bill and I have a case in Lerwick up in Shetland, and I might have to stay overnight to break it. Just let me know if you’re going to be okay on your own with Teddy because I can come back and leave Bill to deal with it if you aren’t. Speak to you later. Bye.”

Once the message was recorded, her Patronus shot away in a burst of light and Daphne rushed to catch up with Bill outside.

“So, a cursed mirror?”

“Uh-huh,” Bill mused, “It is an ancient, fascinating case. I can’t wait!”

“Do you want to give me the cliff notes?” Daphne asked.

Bill shot her a grin, “Oh, don’t worry Daphne, we have a 6-hour ferry trip to discuss the nitty, gritty details!”

Daphne rolled her eyes and muttered sarcastically, “Fantastic.”

* * *

“So it looks like I’m going solo for my first night of Operation Can Teddy Live With Us,” Harry whispered to Neville while they pretended to take notes in the back of disguise class.

“Has Daphne given up already?” He joked.

“No, she just sent me a message, that’s why I had to run out,” Harry replied, “She might need to stay overnight on her latest job if she and Bill can’t solve it today.”

Neville raised an eyebrow at him, “Are they doing foreign jobs already?”

Harry shook his head, “No, the jobs in Shetland. I thought the same as you, but I guess Shetland is further north than we think it is.”

“So you’re cool with Daphne bunking with Bill overnight?” Neville asked quietly.

“Bill is like a brother to me, and he’s married to a bloody Veela, I don’t think I have to worry about him straying,” Harry whispered, “And Daphne has high-class tastes, she isn’t going to leave me for a Weasley.”

Neville sniggered under his breath, “Harsh, but you’re right.”

Harry shot him a smirk, “Don’t suppose you fancy coming over tonight and helping me babysit?”

Neville chuckled, “I was waiting for you to ask me that. What’s in it for me?”

“The knowledge of knowing you did the right thing and that you’re a loved and appreciated friend?” Harry quipped.

Neville snorted, “Fair enough. Yeah, I’ll come over.”

* * *

“Is there a reason why you’re forcing me to endure a 6-hour ferry trip when I’m a witch who is perfectly capable of apparating?” Daphne asked Bill dryly as she looked out over the choppy North Sea.

“Daphne Greengrass, if I didn’t know better I would say you look seasick,” Bill said far too cheerfully and with a smirk that he was failing to hide.

Daphne shot him an unimpressed look, “Bill, for reasons that you do not need to know about, I am in a foul mood today and yes, I do get seasick so could you just cut the bullshit and tell me A. What’s going on? And B. Why you’re so happy about it?”

Bill dropped the overly cheery attitude and nodded, “Fair enough, do you want to talk about your issues?”

“No,” Daphne replied shortly.

“Alright, the reason I’m so happy is because I have wanted to go back to Shetland for years. I had my first ever solo curse-breaking case there, I stayed on the island for two weeks, and I fell in love with it. I tried to persuade Fleur to go there for our honeymoon, but she couldn’t understand why I wanted to go somewhere cold and wet in autumn.”

Daphne smiled slightly, “I can see her point of view.”

“So I’m excited to be going back,” Bill concluded, “And as for why we’re on the ferry, this ferry is run by the wizarding family who owns the cursed mirror that we’re going to investigate. The family is split over the issue, some want the mirror investigated, and others want to leave things as they are so I thought we might be able to wheedle some information during the trip across. If I had known that you got seasick, I would have let you apparate ahead.”

“It’s fine, but I’m apparating back,” Daphne said firmly, “So what’s the story behind this mirror then?”

“According to the woman who contacted us, it tries to kill anyone who looks into it after sunset,” Bill explained in an undertone, “The mirror has been in the family for years, and everyone knows to cover it with a heavy sheet every evening, but last night, her son heard knocking coming from inside the mirror so he took the sheet off and his own reflection tried to pull him into the mirror. He got away, but the event has traumatised him, his mother wants answers, and she wants the mirror out of the family house, but her sister isn’t in agreement.”

“Uh, why the hell not? The mirror could have killed her nephew,” Daphne pointed out.

“I know,” Bill agreed, “But apparently the mirror is around 300 years old and has always been in the house, they think removing it might bring some sort of curse crashing down on them.”

“It sounds like the mirror already is cursed though,” Daphne said.

“Yes, but it is possible that the curse on the mirror has a built-in fail-safe meaning that-”

“If we break the curse, another curse will be triggered,” Daphne finished with a nod, “Like a booby trap.”

“Exactly,” Bill said, “That’s why we need to tread carefully and talk to every member of the family before we proceed on this one.”

“Hence the ferry trip,” Daphne sighed, “Who could cast such a dark, powerful curse like that anyway?”

“The magic behind it isn’t actually that complicated,” Bill admitted, “It’s probably some sort of modified mirror image spell. But the history behind the mirror and its age imply that it won’t be that simple when it comes to breaking the curse.”

“Right,” Daphne said as she got to her feet a little shakily, “Who are we questioning first then?”

“The captain of our little boat,” Bill said, he got up and clapped his hand on her back, “The seasickness will wear off after half an hour or so.”

“Will it?” Daphne asked, hopefully.

Bill shrugged, “If it doesn’t, you’ll be throwing up over the side of the boat for the next 6 hours.”

“Great,” Daphne muttered under her breath, “Just bloody great.”

* * *

“So the captain's nephew – woah, are you still being sick?”

Daphne groaned from her spot, leaning over the railing of the boat, “Do you want to ask me any other stupid questions?”

Bill grimaced, “Sorry Daphne-”

“Cut the crap Bill, how long till we’re there?’ Daphne asked groggily.

Bill glanced up ahead, “Well, I can see land so less than half an hour I’d wager.”

“Good,” Daphne groaned as she leaned over the boat to throw up once more.

“Seriously, how do you have anything left to throw up?”

“I don’t fucking know Bill,” Daphne snapped, “Maybe next time you could tell me there was a choice before shoving me onto a goddamn ferry!”

Bill did have the courtesy to look sheepish, “Yeah, I am sorry about that Daphne. Will I just brief you when we’re on dry land?”

“That’s the best idea you’ve had all day,” Daphne replied dryly and sarcastically.

* * *

“Hey Hermione, have you heard-”

“Viktor Krum is coming to work for us?” Hermione guessed when Wayne Hopkins, who she had gone to school with, walked into her office, “Yes, I have, why is everybody so excited about that?”

Wayne shrugged, “Because he’s a heartthrob, I guess?”

“God, not you too,” Hermione chuckled, “Everyone is going crazy over the news. The poor guy doesn’t stand a chance when he gets here.”

“You went to the Yule Ball with him,” Wayne remembered.

“Uh-huh,” Hermione agreed, she sipped her coffee, “Are you going somewhere with that thought?”

“No, just remembering,” Wayne said, “Anyway, I just popped in with the floo reports that Auror Finch asked for.”

“I’ll see he gets them, see you later Wayne,” Hermione said.

As Wayne left the office, Rachel whistled, “You dated Viktor Krum? Oh, Hermione, I didn’t think you had it in you…I mean, did you have _it_ in you?”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Rachel, I was 14.”

“So?”

“So no,” Hermione said bluntly, “I went to the Yule Ball with him, I taught him some English, and I kissed him a few times. That was it, he’s a sweet guy though, I wrote to him for a few years, and I had a dance with him at Bill and Fleurs wedding.”

“So you pined after him for years and years,” Rachel smirked, “And now he’s joining us.”

“He’s joining the ministry Rachel,” Hermione said irritably, “It’s a big building, and I did not pine after him! I do not do pining.”

A snort sounded from behind her.

Hermione spun around to see Harry standing there.

“What is that supposed to mean? And what are you doing here?”

“You don’t pine? You pined after Draco for years, and I am a trainee Auror, that does allow me access to the DMLE,” Harry smirked.

Hermione scoffed, “I never pined after Draco, is that what he thinks? He’s delusional.”

“No, that’s what I think,” Harry said with an amused look, “Anyway, I’m here to see Auror Finch. Is he about?”

Hermione frowned, “He’s on his lunch…does this have anything to do with the floo records he requested this morning?”

“Maybe,” Harry replied cryptically.

“Harry…”

“It’s above your clearance level, sorry Mione,” Harry said, he shot her a boyish grin, “I’ll go find him in the food court.”

Before Hermione could question him any further, he had gone. Hermione groaned and sat down. It wasn’t often that she couldn’t get information out of Harry.

* * *

As it was, Harry found the Auror he was looking for on his way out of the DMLE.

“Ah Auror Finch, I was just looking for you.”

Auror Finch was a thin, greying man with a bald patch. He smiled warmly at Harry, “Ah Trainee Auror Potter, we spoke via floo yesterday, didn’t we?”

“We did,” Harry agreed, “Did you get those reports I asked about?”

“They were due in late this morning, so they probably arrived while I was on lunch,” Finch replied, “Take a seat in my cubicle, and I will be with you as soon as possible.”

He led Harry along the corridor and through the maze of cubicles. Harry sat down at Finch’s; his partner's seat was vacant, so he didn’t have to attempt to make small talk. It felt odd to think that in a few short years, this would be where he and Neville spent their days.

After a few minutes, Finch returned with a report in hand, “The report is missing some information because we lost a lot when Voldemort took over, but there are bits and pieces in here. I can’t just hand it over to you, you being a Trainee and all but we can go through it together.”

Harry nodded, “I just need you to understand that this is personal, what is in this report cannot become public knowledge.”

“From the moment you asked for a favour, I knew it was going to be personal,” Finch admitted, “Harry Potter does not tend to ask for favours.”

Harry smiled slightly, “That is true.”

“And it didn’t take a genius to figure out who it's for, you asking for the floo calls going in and out of Greengrass house and all,” Finch added.

Harry smiled sheepishly, “So how many calls were made that month?”

“Six,” Finch replied, he flipped open the report, “It seems the master of the house at that time was Phineas Greengrass.”

Harry nodded, “His brother Cygnus and his wife were in hiding.”

“So of those six calls, four were to Lareina Greengrass,” Finch said, “His brother's wife.”

“Do you have transcripts?” Harry asked tentatively.

“Two were too corrupted to pull transcripts from,” Finch admitted, “But the guys in the DMT managed to pull two. Here they are…”

Harry took a shaky breath and looked at the two transcripts in front of him.

_“Phineas: Just run away, leave him in the safe house and come with me._

_Lareina: I cannot just run away with you Phineas! What about my daughters? I have to think of them._

_Phineas: Bring them with you then._

_Lareina: You know that Daphne will never do that. Despite everything I have told her, she still holds out hope that her father can be saved. If I run away with you, what happens after the war when Cygnus can come after us again?_

_Phineas: He will not come after us, Lareina! He will never kill you because he loves you too, just not as much as I do. You know that he did not set that fire with the intention of killing you._

_Lareina: I just cannot run off and leave him. I hate loose ends, Phineas._

_Phineas: So what do you suggest we do, kill him?_

_Lareina: It might be best for all of us._

_Phineas: For Heaven's sake Lareina, I was being sarcastic!_

_Lareina: You said you loved me more than life itself. You said that you would do anything for me._

_Phineas: When I said that, I never thought you would ask me to kill your husband._

_Lareina: Then we do it together._

_Phineas: We will discuss this in person at a later date, Lareina. Think about what you have just said. Those are some very serious requests.”_

“Shit,” Harry muttered as he flipped the page, “She was right.”

Finch remained silent as Harry read the second transcript.

_“Lareina: It will happen tonight. Cygnus thinks that we have informed on his location to the Death Eaters. Come to the house in a black cloak with a mask and do it._

_Phineas: Lareina, are you sure you want to go through with this?_

_Lareina: If you truly want us to be happy, we have to take him out of the equation Phineas. He will never know that it was you; he will simply think that the Dark Lord has grown tired of trying to recruit him._

_Phineas: Lareina, I beg you to reconsider._

_Lareina: I shall not! And if you back out then it will be clear to me that you do not love me as you say you do._

_Phineas: [sigh] I shall do it.”_

“Oh shit,” Harry muttered, he pushed the transcripts over, “You’ve read them?”

Finch nodded, “I need to arrest your girlfriend's mother, I’m sorry, but these records show that she has committed a serious crime.”

“I know,” Harry said quickly, “But please don’t do it just yet. Let my fiancé explain to her sister first, let her bring in the letters she has so that you have all the evidence you need for a clean arrest and trial.”

Finch sighed, “You know I shouldn’t.”

“I just need a week, please Finch,” Harry begged.

Finch nodded stiffly, “One week, but if she escapes or if you fail to bring that evidence in then I have to arrest you for obstruction of justice.”

Harry nodded fiercely, “I completely understand that, and thank you so much.”

* * *

“Do you feel better now?”

Daphne nodded and took a slow sip of water. She still looked very pale and was a little shaky on her feet, but now that she was back on dry land, she had stopped throwing up.

“So I found out lots while you were throwing up,” Bill said, for which he was glared at, “The captain of the boat is very superstitious as most sailors are. His mother is the sister who does not want to get rid of the mirror.”

“And what does he think then?”

“Well, he told me all about the story behind the mirror. Apparently, its been in the family for 300 years and has a spooky history. Way back, the master reportedly had an affair with a maid. That maid then fell completely in love with the master and wanted him to leave his wife for her. Of course, the master had only wanted something on the side, so he was having none of that. Out of spite, the maid then poisoned the master's wife and their two children. They all died, and apparently, their spirits were trapped in the mirror.”

“Is that even possible?” Daphne asked.

Bill shrugged, “Well, it’s debatable. There is an old superstition that you ought to cover up all the mirrors in the house when someone dies so that their spirit doesn’t get trapped, but it doesn’t hold much truth or every time someone died in a house, we’d have a haunted mirror.”

“Right, I sense a but?” Daphne prompted.

Bill smiled, “But…the maid could have been a witch. If that was the case, then it could have affected the tale in two ways. Either she did poison them and then trapped their spirits in a mirror with some seriously dark magic or, and I hope it’s this option, she did not kill them. She just trapped them in the mirror with an entrapment spell.”

Daphne frowned, “So if it was an entrapment spell, wouldn’t they have just died in the mirror?”

Bill shook his head, “They would have been frozen as they were at the time.”

Realisation shone in Daphne’s eyes, “Which is why they appear to pull other people into the mirror…they are actually trying to pull themselves out.”

“Correct,” Bill said, “Now for your next question.”

“Why do you hope its that option?” Daphne asked.

“Because if it’s the first option, this case is going to be a lot harder than I thought,” Bill replied, “The magic required to trap dead souls is very dark, to do so the maid would have had to kill them violently to rip the spirit from the body then she would have to trap that soul in an object, in this case, a mirror.”

Daphne frowned, “So the mirror would be a Horcrux.”

Bill frowned down at her, “How do you know what a Horcrux is?”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Marrying Harry Potter, destroyer of all Horcruxes. My best friend is dating Neville Longbottom who beheaded a Horcrux with a giant sword.”

“Fair point,” Bill sniggered, “And yes, it is rather like a Horcrux, I suppose. When a soul, or part of a soul in the case of a Horcrux, is trapped within an object, the object can take on a life of its own.”

“Why does that make the case more difficult?” Daphne asked, “If the mirror is a Horcrux, can’t we just kill it with basilisk venom or fiendfyre?”

Bill stopped in his tracks and stood in front of her, “Right. How do you know that much about Horcruxes? Because all the Prophet ever published was that there _were_ Horcruxes involved.”

“I know the whole story,” Daphne admitted, “I know how many there were, what they all were and who destroyed which ones. I also know how Harry miraculously survived the forest that night.”

Bill frowned, “You can’t mean…”

Daphne nodded, “Harry was a Horcrux, an accidental one. Voldemort’s soul was so unstable that when he tried to kill an innocent baby that night, it ripped apart. A shard attached itself to Harry, and when Harry sacrificed himself for love that night in the forbidden forest, the part of Voldemort inside him died, but he came back. Then Neville beheaded the snake which was the final Horcrux, so that when Harry duelled Voldemort for the last time in the final battle-”

“-He would die for good,” Bill finished, “Blimey, that boys been through more than any man could take.”

Daphne nodded, “It’s not common knowledge, so please, keep it to yourself.”

“I will,” Bill promised her, he stepped away and began to walk along the road once more, “And no, by the way, it isn’t as simple as just destroying the mirror to kill a Horcrux. This is not a corrupted soul; it is a whole soul. If we destroy the mirror or possibly even just break the curse on the mirror, then the souls escape, and after years of entrapment they would become very dangerous poltergeists.”

Daphne sighed, “So what if it’s the second option? What happens if we break the curse on the mirror?”

“The people who were trapped there, come out,” Bill replied, “Although they will be whole physically, they will be warped mentally. I would expect them all to live out their days in the mental health ward of St. Mungo’s.”

“So either way, it doesn’t have a happy ending,” Daphne concluded.

Bill shook his head, “No, it doesn’t I’m afraid.”

* * *

As they stood in front of a large, grand country house, Bill said, “So I will lead the negotiation-”

“-Why don’t I take this one?”

Bill frowned, “Daphne, I am sure you are more than capable, but this is a sensitive case. Not everyone involved wants us to investigate this curse.”

“I am aware of that, but I am very good at negotiating,” Daphne replied, “My mother always wanted me to join the Department of Magical Co-operation, and I helped negotiate a few big deals for the family business.”

Bill opened his mouth to say something, but then thought better of it and shut it again, “Alright, you can lead this one, but if I feel like I need to then I will jump in and take over.”

“Deal,” Daphne said smoothly. They continued their walk up the path and knocked on the front door.

There was a small wait, then a rustling sound from behind the door. When it swung open, a middle-aged woman in a sweatshirt looked at them disapprovingly.

“Good afternoon, ma’am. I am Daphne Greengrass, and this is my colleague, William Weasley. We’re the curse breakers from Gringotts that you sent for.”

“My sister sent for you,” The woman spat, “And it was a wasted trip, you are not going anywhere near that mirror!”

Before she could slam the door shut on them, Daphne stopped her, “Ma’am, we may not touch that mirror. We need your permission to do so for a start, but we do want to come in and have a discussion with you about it. We cannot do anything to it if you do not want us to, but we need to log that there may be a dangerous cursed object in your house. It’s the law.”

The woman sighed, but opened the door fully again, “Fine, come in.”

Daphne and Bill stepped into the house. The woman, who spoke with a broad Scottish accent, shouted, “Julie, get your arse down here! The curse breakers you sent for want to talk to us.”

There was a loud clatter upstairs, then a younger woman with dark brown hair appeared at the bottom of the steps, “You came! Oh, thank Merlin, you came!”

Bill smiled, “We came as soon as we could. I’m Bill, we spoke via floo yesterday, and this is my colleague Daphne Greengrass.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Daphne said politely.

“And you,” Julie said, “Come into the breakfast room, and we can talk over a pot of tea.”

There was a slightly awkward silence while they waited for the tea. It was clear that the two sisters were very divided over the issue of what should happen to the mirror.

“Shall we begin?” Daphne asked when everyone had a cup of tea in their hands.

The older sister, whose name they did not know, just grunted.

“I would like to start by saying that we are not here to force either of you to do anything with the mirror,” Daphne said calmly, “Before we could even think about touching it, we would need to quickly look at it and run a diagnostic charm or two. That would tell us exactly what was going on with it. After we had done that, it would be up to the two of you to decide what we did next.”

“How do we know we can even trust you?” The older sister asked.

“Marianne, they are from Gringotts,” Julie hissed, “They are hardly charlatans!”

Daphne raised her hands, “I understand your concern ma’am. It is an old, invaluable family heirloom. I promise that nothing we will do to identify the curse, if there is one, will harm the mirror.”

Marianne frowned at them, “And you won’t do anything to it? Even if you do find a curse?”

“Not without permission from both of you, written permission if you so wish,” Daphne promised, “We were brought here by your sister, but we are impartial on this matter. We are not privately contracted; we provide a free and informative service. All that we can do is advise you. If you choose to go against our advice that is entirely up to yourself.”

Marianne huffed thoughtfully then nodded, “Fine, you can run your diagnostic charms.”

“But not until the morning,” Julie cut in, she glanced out of the window, “The sun will set in less than an hour, it always sets early here in the winter.”

Daphne looked at the darkening sky and sighed.

“I am sorry,” Julie said apologetically, “We can offer you a meal and a bed for the night while you wait. Did you have somewhere you needed to be on the mainland?”

“No,” Daphne said with a sad smile, “My fiancé and I are adopting our godson and tonight was his first night staying with us, but I am sure he will manage just fine on his own. We appreciate your offer of a meal and a bed for the night, and we will get straight to work in the morning.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	50. She's Not the Cheating Kind

“Come on, Ted, why won’t you stop crying?” Harry asked as he paced the floor with Teddy.

“He’s still in pain, Harry,” Neville commented.

The little boy had his hand stuffed in his mouth, and he was screaming hysterically. Harry was starting to lose the plot, “What more am I meant to do, Nev? The mild pain potion hasn’t worked, he doesn’t seem to want to be cuddled, but then he screams more when I put him down! He doesn’t want milk or water. If Daphne was here, she’d be able to settle him right down.”

“She’s only in Shetland,” Neville reminded Harry, “You can always floo her. She’d be able to nip through and settle him then head back.”

Harry sighed, “But then I’m admitting defeat at the first hurdle, Nev.”

“He’s teething Harry,” Neville said. He pushed himself to his feet and put his hand on Harry’s arm, “And the full moon was only a couple of days ago. I’m sure she’ll cut you some slack.”

Harry sighed, and Teddy screamed louder.

Neville took the little boy from his arms and started to pace up and down, bouncing him up and down gently, “Floo Daph.”

“Fine,” Harry said, accepting defeat and throwing some floo powder into the fireplace.

When he floo-ed, he got through to the house-elf in the kitchen who patched him through to the fireplace in her bedroom. Because it was a reconnection within the same house, the fireplace did not roar as it would have done otherwise.

Harry had opened his mouth to shout her name, but when he saw her with Bill, he closed it straight away. She was sitting on the bed in her silk and lace pyjamas, with her back to Harry and her hand in Bills…

* * *

_Knock. Knock._

Daphne opened the door by a crack and peered out. She had expected one of the sisters to be outside the door, ready to interrogate her, but she had not expected to see Bill.

“Do you mind if I come in?” He asked.

Daphne drew the door back and let him in. The moment he saw her, he looked awkward, “Oh sorry. I didn’t realise that you were…”

“I was just getting ready for bed,” Daphne explained.

“I’m sorry, I can go,” Bill said, he averted his eyes, “I was just coming in to have a quick chat about the case before tomorrow.”

“It’s fine,” Daphne said, although she felt self-conscious all of a sudden. She slept in flimsy satin or lace pyjamas all of the time, but she hadn’t expected Bill to come into her bedroom, “Do you reckon there’s something off about the case?”

Bill shook his head and perched on the end of her bed, “Not as such. I was impressed with your negotiation earlier though, I mean it wasn’t how I would have done it but-”

“I know it wasn’t,” Daphne cut in, “But the moment I saw the snake emblem on the front door, I knew that your nicey-nice way wasn’t going to cut it.”

Bill looked up in surprise, “There was a snake emblem on the front door?”

“Uh-huh,” Daphne smirked, “The only people of wizarding heritage with snakes carved into their doors tend to be of Slytherin descent, and I have a way of talking to them that works better than your way.”

Bill raised an eyebrow at her, “Your way involved bullshitting them.”

“I may have told a few alternative truths,” Daphne admitted, “Is that really so wrong if it removes a dangerous object from a house and saves future lives?”

“Well,” Bill sighed, “It just wasn’t how I would have done it. You know fine well that we get a commission from the bank on every curse we break, and Julie is paying Gringotts damn well for our service, free service my arse.”

“Hey, it worked,” Daphne pointed out, “Sometimes I think you forget what house I’m from, it must be all that noble shit of Harry’s rubbing off on me.”

Bill laughed, “You know, I’m kind of glad you mentioned Harry because I wanted to talk to you about him. About you and him, actually.”

Daphne frowned, “Okay…?”

“I just…I know it’s not my place to say this so feel free to hit me, but I just feel like it might be a mistake for the two of you to adopt Teddy at the moment,” Bill admitted, “I mean by all means have him over every weekend and take him on holidays but adopting him full-time…”

“Why would it be a mistake?” Daphne asked defensively.

“From my experience, having a baby…it doesn’t tend to do good things for your relationship,” Bill admitted, “Fleur and I were stupidly in love, we didn’t have fights, we just laughed together and travelled together and had sex all of the time, too much information I know.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him.

Bill ignored her and continued, “Then we had Victoire, and everything changed. We were tired all the time, angry all of the time. We stopped having fun together, and we started to resent each other, Merlin Daphne, sometimes I think we hate each other, and quite regularly I think we’re only roughing it out for Vic.”

“I’m sorry to hear that Bill, I really am,” Daphne said sincerely, “But Harry and I aren’t you and Fleur.”

“I know you aren’t. You two are younger, you have even more promise, and I don’t think you should throw that away for a kid who already has a grandmother to raise him,” Bill said boldly.

Daphne crossed her arms over her chest, “You’re right, it isn’t your place to say that. Harry loves Teddy with all of his heart, I mean, how can he not? I do too. It’s going to be hard, but I have faith that we’re strong enough to get through it.”

“I had faith too,” Bill admitted, “I thought what I felt for Fleur was stronger than anything I had ever experienced. I thought that it was a bond that couldn’t be broken, but when you’re young and stupidly in love, it’s easy to think that lust is love. When you’re stuck in the monotony of go to work, come home, change nappies, go to bed, wake up exhausted…you start to realise that the love isn’t there anymore.”

Daphne sighed and placed her hand on Bills. She wasn’t sure if he had noticed, but he had tears in his eyes, “Bill, I don’t think this is about Harry and me at all. I think this is you projecting what’s going on with you and Fleur onto us.”

Bill sighed too, “Maybe it is,” he agreed.

“You need to get yourselves out of this funk,” Daphne said gently.

Bill looked out of the window to the dark sky, “I guess I’m just feeling a bit unloved at the moment. Not very manly of me, I know.”

Daphne smiled, “Well, you shouldn’t because Fleur does love you, and Victoire loves you. Your family all love you, and Harry and I love you.”

From behind them, they heard a scoff. Daphne spun around and saw Harry’s head disappearing from the flames.

“Was that…” Bill trailed off.

“That was Harry, and from how quickly he disappeared, I think he just came into that conversation at the wrong moment,” Daphne admitted. She bit her lip, “He’s a recovering alcoholic Bill, I just…I don’t want this to tip him over the edge when he has been doing so well.”

“Shit,” Bill muttered, “I’m sorry. Look if you need to go-”

“I do need to go,” Daphne said quickly.

“Will you be back in the morning?” Bill asked, “Because I think you’re pretty invaluable to this case.”

“I’ll try to be,” Daphne promised as she shoved her feet into slippers, “But if I’m not, I’m sure you’ll manage just fine without me.”

She grabbed a silken dressing gown from a hook on the back of the door and threw some floo powder into the fire.

She stepped inside, shut her eyes and said, “Potter Manor.”

* * *

Harry felt sick when he rematerialised in Potter Manor. Neville looked at him cluelessly. Harry scoffed again and took the silent, now fast-asleep child out of his arms.

“What is it?” Neville asked.

Harry just shook his head and took Teddy upstairs. He lay him down in his cot and heard the floo roar downstairs. He knew who it was, and he was well and truly prepared for a fight.

When he stepped into the drawing-room, she was there, with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Don’t you dare,” She said as his eyes flickered towards the drinks cabinet behind her.

“Don’t I dare?” Harry hissed.

“What’s going on?” Neville asked.

“What’s going on?” Harry scoffed, “She’s sleeping with Bill behind my back, Neville, that’s whats going on!”

Neville snorted, “Come on, Harry. No, she’s not.”

“I know what I just saw, Neville!” Harry snapped irritably.

“What you saw was a snippet of a conversation,” Daphne argued.

“And you’re paranoid,” Neville agreed.

“Oh so you’re on her side, are you?” Harry fumed.

“ _Her_? I have a name!” Daphne hissed, “And I’ve done nothing wrong!”

“Are you serious?” Harry snapped, “You told him you loved him!”

“As a _friend_!”

Harry shook his head in disbelief and looked at Neville, “Are you still defending her?”

“Yeah, Harry, because this is your paranoia speaking. You think she’s too hot for you so you are misinterpreting the evidence _again_ and I’m not going to indulge it,” Neville said calmly.

“Fine,” Harry snapped, “Fine! Then I’m out of here.”

“Harry!”

“Harry, grow the hell up,” Neville called after him.

But he didn’t say anything else, he just left, shutting the front door loudly behind him. A shriek sounded upstairs, and Daphne rolled her eyes irritably, “I need to deal with Teddy. Neville, if you find Harry, please make sure that he doesn’t drink himself into a stupor.”

“Yeah,” Neville sighed, “But do me a favour. Okay? Floo Lilly, I know it’s after lights out, but she’ll break the rules if you need her and I think you probably do need someone to talk to once you’ve settled Teddy down.”

Daphne nodded, “I will,” she promised.

* * *

Neville checked all of the usual places for Harry before he started to get concerned. He wasn’t outside in his cabin with Dave. He wasn’t in the summer house at the back of the garden, and he wasn’t sulking at the Quidditch pitch either.

So the next place he checked was Grimmauld Place, in the hope that he had been sensible enough to seek help from Hermione before drinking himself into a stupor.

When he floo-ed the kitchen fireplace, Draco answered straight away, “What is it with you lot tonight? We just got rid of Potter.”

“Then I need to talk to you,” Neville said, “Let me in, please.”

Draco rolled his eyes but stepped back and unlocked the fire. A few seconds later, Neville stepped through and dusted himself off. He snorted when he saw Theo sitting at the table in a dressing gown, nursing a cup of coffee.

“Is there any point in you two having a house each?” He quipped.

“Yeah, whatever,” Theo shrugged, “You sound like Harry.”

“Where is he?” Neville asked.

“I don’t know, but he’s not here anymore. He stormed out in the huff,” Draco replied.

“Why?” Neville asked irritably, “What the hell did you two idiots say to him?”

_“What’s wrong with your face?” Draco asked as he let Harry into the house._

_“Daphne is having an affair,” Harry hissed._

_“What?” Another voice said from the kitchen._

_Harry stepped in and added, “With Bill Weasley.”_

_“Shut the front door!” Theo exclaimed._

_“Do you actually live in your own fucking house, Theo?” Harry snapped._

_“No need to be mean to Theo just because you’re being delusional,” Draco remarked sarcastically, “Daphne isn’t having an affair with Weasley, what put that ridiculous idea into your head?”_

_“Oh, just the fact I went to floo her and saw her sitting on her bed with him, wearing next to nothing, holding his hand and telling him that she bloody loves him!” Harry said quickly._

_“That does sound very affair-like,” Theo admitted._

_Draco scoffed, “No, it doesn’t, it’s just Harry jumping to conclusions. Sorry to break it to you, Harry, but you do kind of have a track record.”_

_“Jumping to conclusions? What else could what I just heard possibly mean exactly?” Harry snapped._

_“Why is Harry jumping to conclusions this time?” A new voice asked._

_“He thinks Daphne’s having an affair with Bill,” Draco said._

_There was a snort, then Hermione stepped into the kitchen wearing a pink, fluffy dressing gown, “Are you mad? She’s crazy for you; she’s not sleeping with anyone else, and especially not Bill.”_

_“No,” Harry said irritably, “I know what I saw, Hermione!”_

_“You thought you saw Severus Snape trying to kill you on a broomstick in first year when it was actually Quirrell, and Snape was trying to save you,” Hermione pointed out, “You aren’t exactly the most observant person in the world Harry.”_

_Draco sniggered, “She has a point.”_

_“Well, I don’t see how I can take what I saw any other way!” Harry snapped, “How would you take it if you saw your fiancé sitting on their bed wearing next to nothing, talking to their boss, holding their bosses hand and talking about love?”_

_Hermione frowned, “Harry, I am sure you are just misunderstanding whatever was going on.”_

_“What do you class as next to nothing, anyway?” Draco asked curiously._

_“How is that relevant?”_

_Draco shrugged, “I’m just curious.”_

_“She was wearing those bloody short silky pyjamas of hers,” Harry said irritably._

_“Holy shit, she’s definitely fucking him.”_

_“Shut up, Theo!” Hermione and Draco echoed._

_“I really doubt she’s sleeping with him, to be honest with you, Harry,” Draco said, “She has standards, and he’s a Weasley, no offence Hermione.”_

_“Not much taken,” Hermione said, she shot him a glare._

_Harry shook his head in disbelief, “So this is how it is then? Harry is paranoid! Harry is just misunderstanding things! Harry must not tell fucking lies! Well fine…I’ll deal with this in my own way.”_

_“Harry,” Hermione called as he stalked down the hall, “Harry James Potter, you better not drink tonight!”_

_Harry didn’t say anything; he just slammed the door and left the house._

“Great!” Neville said sarcastically, “So we all alienated him and brushed him off, making him think he was going mad so now he’s?”

“Drinking,” Draco and Theo echoed.

“Exactly!” Neville snapped, “And we have no idea where he’s gone because _clearly,_ he doesn’t want to be found, which means he won’t be in any of the obvious bloody places!”

“Shit,” Theo muttered.

“Yeah, shit is a good way of summing it up Theo,” Neville said irritably, “I’m going to go and look for him. If I find him before morning, I’ll floo you because we’re going to need to sober him up and have him functional before we got to training tomorrow. If they find out he’s a recovering alcoholic who just relapsed, he’ll be out of his ear.”

“Fuck,” Draco cursed.

“We’re shit friends.”

“Yeah, we are,” Neville sighed. Without another word to them, he dashed out of the house and began his search for Harry.

* * *

When the floo in Lilly’s room roared to life after midnight, she knew something was wrong. She immediately silenced the breach of lights out alarm and put a muffliato charm on the door of her dorm room.

She stuck her head in the flames and saw Daphne sitting cross-legged in front of the fire.

“What have you done?”

“Why do you assume that I’ve done something?” Daphne asked irritably.

“Because you look guilty,” Lilly answered honestly, “What happened?”

“Harry thinks I’m cheating on him.”

“ _Why?_ ”

“Because he saw a snippet of a conversation and interpreted it the wrong way,” Daphne muttered irritably.

“What could he possibly have heard that gave him that impression?” Lilly asked incredulously.

“I was in Shetland with Bill, it was an overnight case,” Daphne said with a shrug, “I was in my pyjamas, and he came in. We had a heart to heart about adopting Teddy and about how he’s unhappy with Fleur then I told him that lots of people loved him.”

Lilly raised an eyebrow at her best friend, “Right, you’re being an arse, so I’m coming over.”

“How am _I_ being an arse? I’ve done nothing wrong!” Daphne muttered irritably, “And you can’t come through. It’s illegal to use the floo internationally.”

“Yeah, it is,” Lilly agreed, “Which is why I’m not going to use the floo.”

“It’s also inadvisable to apparate across bodies of water,” Daphne pointed out, “Hence why Bill made me get the bloody ferry to Shetland.”

“That’s true, but I can apparate to Calais with my broomstick then I can fly across the channel which will take me about twenty minutes,” Lilly said with a smirk, “Then I can apparate from Dover to Potter Manor. So I’ll see you in half an hour, don’t do anything stupid until I get there.”

* * *

When Neville did eventually find Harry, he was so far gone that there was no reasoning with him.

“You fucking idiot!” Neville snapped when he walked into the room at the top of the Shrieking Shack and saw the empty bottle of firewhiskey.

Harry looked up blearily, “Fuck off Neville,” he slurred.

“No,” Neville fumed, “No, I won’t fuck off, and I won’t let you throw your fucking life away! This is the last bloody straw, Harry!”

“Stupefy!”

It didn’t take much to knock Harry out; the alcoholic had already pretty much done it. Neville lifted his best friend and slung him over his shoulder then he sent a message to Theo via a Patronus.

“Theo. I’ve found him. Get Draco and come to Potter Manor so that we can deal with this problem once and for all.”

The Patronus dashed away, so Neville spun on his heel and apparated to the gates of Potter Manor.

* * *

When Lilly walked in, her hair was windswept, and her cheeks were pink, but she looked unphased by her late-night trip across the channel.

“Okay,” Lilly said as she stepped into the kitchen and put the kettle on the stove to boil, “I hate that I’m going to be the one to say this to you, but somebody has to.”

Daphne watched her friend warily.

“You need to change,” Lilly said bluntly.

“What?” Daphne retorted, “But I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“That’s arguable,” Lilly said, “Just hear me out, okay? You have always been a flirty person, that’s just part of who you are, and with _us_ that’s fine, but what happened tonight was foolish. If I was in your position, I would never have allowed myself to be caught in a room alone, late at night, in the sort of pyjamas you wear to bed, with my boss. Straight away, that looks bad.”

Daphne frowned but didn’t disagree.

“You might not like it, but your life is in the public eye, Daphne,” Lilly told her, “You and Harry are the golden couple. Everything you do in public is watched and documented for the entertainment of the nation. Imagine if someone had taken a photograph through a window, it would be front-page news, you would be called a scarlet woman, and it would be a scandal.”

“Are you calling me a slut, Lilly?” Daphne asked, hurt creeping into her voice.

“No, Daph, I’m not calling you a slut,” Lilly said honestly, “Because if I was doing that, I’d be saying Daphne, you’re being a slut. What I _am_ saying is that you need to think about what you do and say, and you need to think about the consequences that those actions have.”

The kettle screeched, and Lilly took it off the stove then started to grab mugs out of the cupboard, “Let me put it this way. Say there was a big party, a posh pureblood event, okay? Harry was ill so he couldn’t make it and I was on shift. So, you and Neville decided to go together like you did at the Founders Ball.”

Daphne frowned as she tried to follow this.

“This event isn’t somewhere private where everyone knows us, like Hogwarts,” Lilly added, “It’s at the ministry, and there are reporters and photographers. One of them snaps a picture of you arm in arm with Neville, smiling or laughing and they put the headline, _CHOSEN ONE'S SIDEKICK AND WIFE: A SCANDALOUS AFFAIR,_ above it. That can ruin lives, careers and most importantly, reputations.”

Lilly put a cup of coffee into Daphne’s hands, “You don’t want a reputation, Daphne, and if you carry on like this, you’re going to get one.”

Daphne rested her head in her hands, “Do you really think I’m the one in the wrong here?”

“I didn’t say that,” Lilly said, “I’m just warning you that you need to tread more carefully in the future because-”

She was cut off by the front door opening. Both women stepped into the entrance hall and saw Neville with Harry over his shoulder.

Daphne’s face fell, “Is he drunk?”

“Oh, he’s drunk alright,” Neville grunted, “He was a whole bottle of Ogdens down when I found him.”

Daphne shook her head in disbelief, “Idiot!” she snapped.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a way to set him straight,” Neville promised her, “But I need to take him out to the summer house and beat the shit out of him to do it.”

Daphne nodded. She clicked her fingers and thrust her hand in Harry’s direction. He disappeared from Neville’s shoulders in a flash.

“What did you just do?”

“Banished him to the summer house,” Daphne replied, “We can get in, but he won’t be able to get out.”

“I’ve sent for Theo and Draco. I’m going to need the back-up,” Neville said with a sigh.

“Have a coffee with us while you wait for them to get here,” Lilly said. She took her boyfriend's hand and dragged him into the kitchen.

“How did you get here?” Neville asked curiously.

“Apparated to Calais, flew, then apparated here from Dover,” Lilly replied calmly as she handed him a coffee.

“She got here in half an hour. I’ve no idea how Ravenclaw came last in the cup if she can fly that fast,” Daphne joked feebly.

“My irritation at you drove me onwards,” Lilly remarked, “This is what I was about to say when Neville came in. You’re so smart, Daphne, but sometimes you do really stupid things.”

“Gee thanks, Lil,” Daphne muttered, “That’s a backhanded compliment if ever I heard one.”

Lilly snorted, “What I was pointing out was that it’s fine to be your usual, flirty self around us because we know that’s what your like and we’re all okay with it-”

“I’m not that flirty,” Daphne objected, “You make it sound like I flirt with everyone!”

“You kind of do,” Lilly said, “You flirt with me.”

“We have a thing; I’m allowed to flirt with you,” Daphne bit back.

Neville sniggered into his coffee.

“And you flirt with Neville,” Lilly continued, “Not that he notices mind you.”

“Does she?” Neville asked with a frown.

“See? Case and point,” Lilly said with a roll of her eyes, “Anyway, what I’m saying is that when you’re at work or out in public, you can’t do that. At the risk of getting slapped, you do need to play the part of the perfect, pureblood trophy wife. You need to hold Harry’s hand and make him look good; you need to stick with him all night. I know it’s not fun, but it’s the life we need to lead because we are all in the public eye, whether we like it or not.”

Neville nodded glumly.

“Everything changed when we left school, Daph, and it will all change again once the guys get their seats on the Wizengamot. Then again, when they get their Order of Merlins. They are just going to get more famous; the papers are always going to want to know about their lives. You and I can be as daft as we want in private, but in public, we’re going to be the wives of Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom, and we’re going to have to play that part.”

“I know this is a profound chat, but does this mean you’ve decided we’re getting married?”

“Of course she has, you just need to pull your finger out and buy a ring,” Daphne responded.

Neville looked up in surprise, “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Daphne remarked, “We saw an alternate future where you were married to Hannah, and she was a lonely cat lady. Unsurprisingly that made her re-evaluate her actual life and go, holy shit, Neville is amazing, I want to marry him.”

Lilly hid an amused smirk, “What happened to subtly dropping hints, Daph?”

“I’m too tired for subtlety, and you’re insulting my life choices,” Daphne grumbled.

“No, I’m not, I’m just telling you to be a little less promiscuous,” Lilly said with a genuine smile, “Can’t you see how it must have looked from Harry’s point of view?”

“I should have thought about that too and taken his side a bit more,” Neville admitted sheepishly.

Daphne sighed, “I didn’t think about how it looked from his point of view. I just assumed he was jumping to conclusions like he tends to.”

Lilly frowned then jumped up, “I’ve got an idea!”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll be back in a minute!”

“What’s she doing, Nev?” Daphne asked.

“I have no idea,” Neville admitted, “I’ve given up trying to work her out. Are you two serious about the ring thing? Does she really want me to propose?”

“Yes, she really does,” Daphne replied.

“But she was breaking up with me two months ago!” Neville said. He was utterly bemused.

“No, you were breaking up with her because she had commitment issues. She now doesn’t have commitment issues, so she wants a ring instead of a break-up, okay? It’s really not that hard to follow,” Daphne remarked.

“You are such a bitch when you’re in a bad mood,” Neville said with a shake of his head, “I honestly don’t know how Harry puts up with you.”

“Well now he isn’t,” Daphne said irritably, “And we were talking about Lilly, not me. She misses you, Neville.”

“Yeah, I miss her too,” Neville admitted, “I live for the weekends when she comes back.”

“So buy a ring, propose to her and bring her home,” Daphne said simply.

Neville frowned, “What do you mean?”

Daphne looked at him in surprise, “Oh, I thought you both knew about the loophole?”

“What loophole?”

“With courses like this, there is a bit of leeway where serious relationships are concerned,” Daphne explained, “That was why Sadie was able to split her time between Egypt and Britain because she and Theo are married. Engagements work in the same way, had you two been engaged, she would probably have been allowed to work mostly in Britain at the Auror training complex, but go to France every so often for key training.”

“Does Lilly know that?” Neville asked.

“I don’t know, if she does, she hasn’t mentioned it to me, which implies that she doesn’t,” Daphne replied, “I thought it was common knowledge, sorry.”

Neville just shook his head, and at that point, Lilly walked back into the room levitating Harry’s pensieve and holding a silver memory in a phial, “Here’s how we’re going to get around this one. You are going to watch Harry’s memory.”

“Don’t memories have to be given?” Neville frowned.

“Not if the person is unconscious and you’re getting pretty good at Legilimency,” Lilly said with a sly smile. She poured the memory into the pensieve and said, “Watch that from Harry’s perspective.”

Daphne put her head into the pensieve, and Lilly looked over at Neville, “Did she freak you out, talking about engagements?”

“No, it’s what I want,” Neville said as he met her eye, “It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

Lilly smiled slightly, “It’s what I want too. I’m sorry it took me a little longer to realise.”

“We’ll do it in our time though, okay?” Neville said tentatively, “When it’s right for us.”

Lilly nodded, “Yeah, let’s be honest, Nev. Neither of us is the sort to jump on the bandwagon, are we?”

Neville laughed and said, “No, we aren’t.”

Then Daphne re-emerged from the pensieve and cursed, “Fuck!”

“See?”

“Yes,” Daphne said sheepishly, “That looked exactly like what he thought it looked like.”

“Great,” Neville said guiltily, “I’m going to have to prepare a good apology for tomorrow morning…”

“You and me both,” Daphne admitted.

At that point, the floo whirred to life, “ _Floo signature: Theodore Nott.”_

“I told him to bring Draco,” Neville muttered irritably while Daphne granted Theo access.

Theo stepped in and brushed himself down.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” Lilly asked calmly.

“Yeah, …he’s not going to be much use tonight because he’s sort of tied up right now…”

_Theo let himself into number 12 then ran up the stairs, “Draco! Draco!”_

_There was no response, “Draco, Nev found Harry!”_

_When there was still no response, Theo rolled his eyes and opened the bedroom door, “Draco. We need to go and – holy shit.”_

_“Theo!” Hermione shrieked._

_Draco groaned, “Theo, get out.”_

_Theo raised an eyebrow at them as he took in the scene before him. Draco’s hands were tied to the bedposts with an old Slytherin and an old Gryffindor tie. Hermione was straddling him, wearing a scarlet red corset and her cheeks were currently about the same colour._

_“Taking the whole Gryffindor princess thing a bit too far, aren’t we guys?” Theo smirked._

_“Theo, get out,” Hermione muttered as she grabbed the duvet._

_“No point covering up, I’ve seen it all before,” Theo said with a wicked grin, “I just never realised how kinky you were.”_

_“Theo, fuck off,” Draco pleaded._

_“Sure, I have a thing to do anyway,” Theo snorted._

_“If you need me, I can use wandless magic and-”_

_“Nah, you have fun, I’ll be fine without you,” Theo said as he grabbed the door handle, “Lock the door next time though, yeah?”_

_“How about you learn to knock?” Hermione countered, chucking a cushion at his retreating back for good measure._

“Ugh,” Neville groaned, “Way too much information, Theo. Come on; we need to scare the living daylights out of Harry to make sure he never touches a bottle of Ogden's again. Are you going to be here when I’m done, Lil?”

Lilly shook her head, “As much as I would love to stay, I do need to get back. I’m probably in enough trouble already for sneaking out.”

“Well, I appreciate you doing it,” Daphne said. She walked around the table, hugged Lilly then kissed her on the cheek, “Thanks, Lil.”

Lilly smiled, “Anytime,” she promised as she turned to Neville and pushed herself onto her tiptoes. He dipped his head down and kissed her lightly, “Send me a message, so I know you got back safely, baby,” he murmured against her lips.

“Of course,” Lilly replied, she kissed him again for good measure, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Neville replied with a smile.

When Lilly turned to leave, Daphne asked, “Neville, what are you going to do to Harry?”

“Nothing irreparable,” Neville replied honestly as he and Theo swept out towards the summer house.

* * *

When Harry opened his eyes, he felt awful. He had no idea where he was, but the room was pitch-black, and he could hear the distant sound of animals hooting and howling outside.

All of a sudden, a bright spotlight shone on him, and he groaned and shut his eyes tightly.

“This has got to stop.”

Harry blinked through the nausea and opened his eyes, “Nev?”

Neville stood above him, as did Theo. They both had their arms crossed over their chests.

“Do you want to throw your life away?” Neville asked, “Is that what you’re doing right now, self-destructing?”

“She-”

“She didn’t cheat on you, but yes, I understand that it looked that way,” Neville said calmly, “However, you are an adult now Harry. You don’t get mad, storm out and get drunk. You sit down, have a cup of tea and talk about it like an adult.”

Harry looked down, guiltily.

“It’s not a game,” Theo said coolly, “You’re training to be an Auror, and you’re fucking good, Harry! Do you really want to chuck all of that away because you can’t control your temper and you turn to a bloody bottle?”

“I told you the last time,” Neville said dangerously, “I told you to turn to me. Yell at me, throw spells at me, cry on my shoulder. Do whatever the hell you need to do but don’t turn to alcohol because it just leaves you feeling emptier than you did before.”

Harry swallowed, “Nev, I’m sorry-”

“I’m sure you are,” Neville said coldly, “But sorry isn’t going to cut it this time.”

“Nev-”

“I mean it, Harry,” Neville snapped, “There’s only one way you can make this right and gain my respect again and do you know what that is?”

“Stop drinking,” Harry muttered, he felt like an insolent child.

“Stop drinking, and face your problems like a grown-up,” Neville agreed, “Because if you don’t, you're going to keep hurting Daphne and do you know what Theo’s going to do to you if that happens?”

Harry looked at Theo warily.

“Worse than what I did to Fawley,” Theo said darkly, “Because he was just a dick, but _she_ loves _you,_ and you are capable of hurting her so much more because of that.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt her. I just..I thought she had finally realised what everyone else has,” Harry said quietly, “That she’s too good for me.”

“Grow up,” Theo said, “She loves you. What does it matter that shes supermodel hot and your average? She loves you for your little quirks, not for your money or your name or your seat on the Wizengamot. I mean, I don’t know if you know how _rare_ that kind of love is from a girl like Daphne, but it’s pretty fucking rare, Harry and it’s unconditional.”

Harry looked down, guiltily, “I fucked up.”

“Yeah, you did,” Neville agreed, “And do you know what we need to do now?”

Harry looked between them, cautiously, “No…?”

“We need to give you this potion which is going to make you throw up for half an hour straight,” Neville said as he held up a foul-looking purple potion in a phial, “That’s because you need to get all of the alcohol out of your system before you go into the fucking training centre in six hours.”

“Then we need to modify your memories so that if the Aurors go looking, or if the Mental Health Healer you see on Wednesday goes looking, she won’t find out that you’re an alcoholic,” Theo said irritably, “Because what’s going to happen if they find out, Nev?”

“They are going to kick him out, and the ministry will lose one of the best Aurors they could have,” Neville said, glaring at Harry for good measure.

Harry nodded, “I get it, guys, but my occlumency is good enough that I can keep them out.”

“And can we rely on that, Harry?” Theo asked.

“Yeah, can we?” Neville asked coldly, “Because right now, I don’t think I can even rely on you to have my back in the field.”

Harry’s eyes widened, “You mean…”

“Yeah, I mean I don’t think I could rely on you as my Auror partner right now, Harry,” Neville said bluntly.

“Neville,” Harry said, a little tearfully, “No, I’ll always have your back, always, you know that.”

“Not right now I don’t,” Neville snapped, “Because you know what else we need to do tonight? We need to reverse any liver damage that you have caused yourself _before_ your monthly physical, and I don’t think you have any idea how painful that’s going to be.”

Harry swallowed hard.

“Is this how you wanted to spend your night, Theo?” Neville asked his friend.

“Nah, making my mate scream in pain and watching him spew his guts up wasn’t high on my list of priorities, to be honest with you,” Theo replied.

“Nor mine,” Neville said. With a click of his fingers he untied Harry’s hand and handed him the purple potion, “But because Harry lost his shit and relapsed, that’s what we’re going to have to do.”

“I’m sorry guys,” Harry said, and it was a genuine apology.

“Not as sorry as you will be in the morning,” Neville said darkly, “Drink the potion.”

* * *

When Daphne woke up the following morning, there was a note on the table in Harry’s handwriting that simply said.

_“Need to work through some stuff. I’ll go to Neville’s after training tonight – Harry.”_

This rubbed her up the wrong way, “Work through some stuff?” She muttered under her breath as she put Teddy in his high chair, “No, Harry, you don’t get to work through some stuff.”

She opened a drawer and pulled out an ornate mirror, “ _Ostendo Sadie mihi._ ”

The reflective surface glimmered, and Sadie’s face appeared, “Morning,” she yawned.

“Sorry honey, did I wake you up?” Daphne asked.

“Yes, but that’s probably a good thing. I’d sleep all day given half a chance.”

“Well the Healers did say that bedrest was good for you,” Daphne pointed out.

Sadie rolled her eyes, “It’s also boring. What’s up anyway?”

“I’m just trying to be a grown-up and talk about my problems before I go and make a scene,” Daphne remarked as she handed Teddy a banana, “Say hi to Auntie Sadie, Ted.”

“Nana, nana, BANANA!”

Sadie laughed, “You enjoy that banana, baby. Now Daph, you were saying?”

“It has been a dramatic 24 hours, during which, Lilly somewhat illegally came over from France to knock some sense into me, and Neville and Theo may have tortured my fiancé from the sounds that came from the grounds last night.”

“Okay, you’re going to have to elaborate on that,” Sadie said. She clicked her fingers and said, “Deeley, would you mind bringing me some tea and toast?”

“Yes, mistress Sadie.”

Daphne sat down with her coffee in one hand and the mirror in the other, “I was in Shetland with Bill for work. It was meant to be an overnight case; he came into my room to talk to me; I was dressed for bed. He sat down on my bed; we had a heart to heart, and Harry dropped in via floo. It looked bad, he and I fought, he got drunk, then Neville and Theo took him to the summerhouse to knock some sense into him.”

“So that’s why Theo never came to bed last night,” Sadie realised.

“Yeah, where did you think he was?” Daphne snorted.

“Oh, he was next door when I went to bed, I just figured he’d stayed there,” Sadie said offhandedly, “But he was torturing Harry instead, apparently.”

“I think they were probably reversing any damage to his liver. From what Lilly tells me, that would hurt like hell,” Daphne remarked.

“Speaking of Lilly, how did she knock sense into you exactly?”

“She kind of called me a slut,” Daphne said with a frown, “Do you think I’m a slut?”

“No, but I do think you’re a flirt,” Sadie pointed out.

“Yeah…that’s pretty much what Lil said,” Daphne admitted, “And she has a point. She stole Harry’s memory and showed me what happened from his point of view, and it did look like I was cheating on him. The thing I’m pissed off about is the fact he thinks I’m capable of that, you know?”

“Yeah, I don’t blame you for that, he should trust you,” Sadie said, “A relationship is built on mutual trust.”

“Do you trust Theo these days?” Daphne asked her friend.

“Completely,” Sadie replied, “Otherwise I wouldn’t let him spend most of his nights next door. I know he’s just sitting up talking with Draco or researching something with Hermione in the library, but if I didn’t trust him, I’d start thinking he was sleeping with one of them or both of them.”

“No, he only does that when you’re around,” Daphne teased, “Good thing you got pregnant on your honeymoon or it would be a lottery as to whether it came out blonde or brunette.”

Sadie snorted, “Shut up, I’ve never had sex with Draco, and you know it.”

“I know, but it’s so easy to wind you up,” Daphne said with a smile, “You look good today, you know? There’s colour in your cheeks again.”

“I’m starting to feel a lot better,” Sadie admitted, “I just wish the sickness would go away.”

“I’m sure it will,” Daphne said, “And do you know the other thing I’m annoyed about? This note he left me this morning. He says he has to work through some stuff so he’ll be at Neville’s place but how does he get to run away and work through stuff while I stay at home and look after Teddy? This whole week is a trial of how he’s going to fit into our lives, and like hell would I let Harry away with that in real life.”

“So don’t then,” Sadie said, “March over and tell him to get his priorities right and his arse home tonight if he wants to keep his bollocks intact.”

Daphne grinned, “Oh, I love you, Sade. Don’t get me wrong, Lil and I get on great, but you’re just so brutal, and I love it. You’re right. I’ll march over there right now.”

“I just meant go to Longbottom House tonight,” Sadie cut in, “I didn’t mean go to his work and make a scene.”

“Would I?” Daphne asked slyly.

“Yes, you would,” Sadie replied, an amused smile playing on her lips, “You’re a drama queen.”

Daphne just grinned, “Excuse me, Sadie, I have to go make a scene. Love you. Bye!”

“Love you too, bye,” Sadie said in a long-suffering tone as Daphne said, _“Terminus.”_

Sadie disappeared, and the mirror became reflective once more. Daphne checked herself out then turned to Teddy.

“Eat up, baby. Once you’ve had your breakfast, you're going to Grandma’s house so that I can go and yell at Daddy!”

Teddy giggled, and Daphne grinned, “Good to know you’re on my side, little man,” she said, ruffling his hair as she put on her heels.

* * *

“I feel like death.”

“Don’t say that we didn’t warn you,” Neville muttered while Theo yawned.

“I’m sorry for being a dick,” Harry said miserably as they reached the locker room and started to change for outdoor practice.

“I think you suffered enough,” Theo said in an undertone.

“Yeah, I have no wish to do that again,” Harry admitted with a grimace, “It hurt so much. It was worse than the cruciatus curse.”

“Well, it would do,” Neville muttered, “Regrowing cells anywhere in your body hurts, but on a sensitive organ like a liver…”

“Just remember that pain the next time you think about being a stupid twat,” Theo said bluntly.

“What are you lot talking about?” Draco asked as he stepped into the room, “And why do you all look like shit?”

“Maybe because we were up all night sorting that idiot out while you were ‘tied up’, Draco,” Theo remarked irritably.

“I did tell you that if you needed me, I’d use wandless magic to get out of it,” Draco muttered.

Harry snorted.

“Well, we didn’t need you,” Theo said, “We managed just fine without you.”

“Are you actually pissed off with me, right now?”

“Yeah, you were a fat lot of good last night, you arse.”

Harry shot Neville an amused look as they began to bicker, “Why was Draco tied up?”

“He was literally tied to the bed. Theo walked in on him and Hermione,” Neville replied in an undertone.

“That is more than I ever wanted to know about their sex life,” Harry said distastefully.

Neville snorted, “Girls, break it up.”

Draco and Theo both glared at him, and Neville looked at Harry knowingly as he waited for the inevitably, “Shut up, Fatbottom.”

“Mature guys,” Harry said with a yawn.

“You don’t get to call anyone else immature, not after last night,” Neville warned his best friend.

“Yeah…fair point.”

“Are you alright?” Draco asked, and he did look like he genuinely felt bad.

“I’m in agony, but I’ll be fine,” Harry said. He looked over at Neville, “I’ve got Nev to keep me on the straight and narrow.”

“And Daphne, if she forgives you for that stupid note you left,” Neville reminded him.

“I just need to get my head straight before I talk to her, or we’ll end up arguing again,” Harry admitted.

“Don’t spend too long getting your head straight or you won’t have anything to go back to,” Neville told Harry quietly, “Trust me on that one.”

Harry nodded, and he was glad that they had reached the pitch because it meant he could avoid the subject for a bit.

“Alright guys, grab your brooms and get in the air! We’re doing time trials today!”

They all did so, and Harry knew he should have been the fastest in such a challenge, but he was so exhausted. Draco beat him at every single checkpoint which would probably bump him and Theo up on the board so that _they_ overtook Harry and Neville’s scores from last week.

Around halfway through the practice, an unexpected visitor stalked onto the pitch in black slim-fitting trousers, a low-cut white blouse and 5-inch high heeled boots.

“Oh shit,” Theo whispered to Draco.

Draco looked down at Daphne, who had her hair in a bun, her face made up and her signature rouge lipstick on.

“Harry is in for a world of pain,” Draco whispered back.

Harry and Neville were currently setting another lap, so they hadn’t spotted the new arrival yet.

“Harry James Potter, get your arse down here now if you want to live long enough to become a fully qualified Auror!”

Sheppard raised an eyebrow at her, “And you are?”

Theo grinned from his broom, “Daphne Greengras!” he bellowed, “The myth, the legend, the baddest bitch of all!”

Daphne rolled her eyes and threw a curse at Theo wandlessly, and silently. Theo yelped and grabbed Draco as his broom tried to buck him off.

Sheppard laughed, “You’ve got the reflexes of an Auror.”

Daphne smiled slyly, “I think I’ll stick with curse breaking, I’ve been told that I don’t play well with others.”

“I’d get down here if I were you, Potter!” Sheppard yelled with an amused smile.

“Oh shit,” Harry muttered. He flew down and dismounted his broom, “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” Daphne asked, “I’m here because you need to grow up and learn to trust me. I’m also here because the whole point of this ‘trial’ week before the adoption is to see how Teddy will fit into our lives and you are delusional if you think I’m going to say yes Harry, go to Neville’s place and work out your shit. No, Harry, you don’t get to go to Neville’s place to ‘get your head straight’, you come home, and I help you get your head straight. You aren’t an irresponsible teenager anymore, you’re already that little boy's Dad, and unless you screw it up, you will _legally_ be his Dad very soon. So, swallow your pride and come home tonight, or there will be no adoption, no wedding, nothing. Do you understand me?”

Harry just stared at her.

She raised her eyebrows, “I’m sorry, was I not clear enough?”

“No,” Harry said. He cleared his throat, “I’m sorry. I’ll be home tonight.”

“Good,” Daphne said simply. She turned around and said, “Pleasure meeting your Auror Sheppard.”

All the other trainees were floating nearby to listen in so Daphne looked up, “Bye Theo, bye Draco. Neville, make sure he’s home before 5.30 pm tonight, or I swear, I will curse you both.”

Neville bit back an amused smile, “I will. Bye, Daph.”

Daphne waved and left the pitch without another word. Sheppard laughed and smacked Harry on the back, “You’ve got a real firecracker there, Potter.”

“Don’t I fucking know it,” Harry muttered as he tried to control the redness in his cheeks.

“Back to work, guys!” Sheppard said as he turned back to the pitch, “We’ve had our dose of entertainment at Potter’s expense, come on, back to it!”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	51. Trust Me

By the time Daphne got to work, Bill was already there.

“You’re late.”

“My fiancé relapsed last night and had to get the damage to his liver reversed so that the Healers wouldn’t find out that he’s a recovering alcoholic,” Daphne remarked dryly, “Which meant he screamed for hours on end which kept my toddler and me awake all night.”

Bill nodded, “Okay-”

“Then he left me a bullshit note saying he was going to Neville’s to work things out, leaving me to look after Teddy,” Daphne continued irritably, “So naturally, I stormed into his place of work and gave him an ultimatum.”

“Naturally,” Bill said with a smile, “I mean you’re _you_ so of course, you had to cause a scene.”

Daphne smirked, “Sorry for not getting back to help with the mirror.”

Bill shook his head, “It’s fine. Did you get my message? I know I sent it early in the morning.”

Daphne nodded, “Was it really as simple as that?”

“Prank curse,” Bill said with an amused smile, “100 year old one, but a prank curse all the same. It was probably put on the mirror for a Halloween party or something. Then the mirror was moved to storage, and nobody removed the curse.”

Daphne shook her head in disbelief, “So what did it do? Make you think your own reflection was killing you then let you go?”

Bill nodded again, “Hence why there were no reported deaths. The whole thing is just a trick; I could have taken it off in less than 5 minutes, but as soon as Marianne found out that it wasn’t dangerous, she wouldn’t let me.”

“She is very territorial about that mirror,” Daphne said with a slight smile.

Bill nodded, “But no harm done, eh?”

Daphne sat on the edge of her desk, “Look about that…my new best friend and my old best friend might have both pointed out to me that I’m a very flirty person so if anything I did or said last night was misleading-”

“Oh no, no,” Bill said with a shake of his head, “You are a very flirty person, but I’ve never thought that was intentional. You're with Harry, and you love Harry, that much is clear to anyone who spends five minutes in a room with you.”

“Well, that’s not apparent to Harry,” Daphne remarked.

Bill frowned, “The thing is Daphne… I can _kind_ of see how Harry might have misinterpreted what he saw last night as…that.”

“No, Bill, don’t take his side!” Daphne complained, “A good relationship is built on trust, and that goes both ways. I don’t think he’s going to jump into bed with every hot girl that he works with but every time I so much as smile at a good looking guy, he thinks I’m going to run off and leave him. When is he going to get it into his thick head that it’s him I want?”

Bill smiled slightly, “Look, Daph… I can see this from his point of view. I have been Harry in this situation. I’ve been the less than whole, scarred and not that attractive guy in a relationship with this beautiful, radiant, part-Veela. I thought she could do better and I figured she did too, so I was paranoid that she was going to leave me for the next decent looking guy she met. But she was in love with me, despite the ginger hair, the scars, the wolfiness and all the other flaws. It took me a while to work through that one, and I never thought we would end up in a situation like we are now where no one is cheating, but the love has just dried up.”

Daphne scoffed, “I’m not Fleur, Bill. I’m hardly a beautiful, radiant, part-Veela.”

“You're not far off it, and you had better not tell Harry I said that. You’re of French descent, blonde hair, blue eyes, slim build, you probably do have some Veela blood somewhere in your family. Harry, on the other hand, views himself as shorter than average, scruffy, specky…can’t you see why he worries?”

Daphne sighed and sat down behind her desk. She let her head drop into her hands, “When you put it like that…I feel a bit like an idiot for storming the Auror base and giving him an ultimatum in front of all of his peers like a dumbass Gryffindor.”

Bill laughed, “You’re right, you know? Harry is starting to rub off on you. That is a very brash, Gryffindor thing to do.”

“I know,” Daphne groaned, “And the thing is, normally we would get past an argument like this by roaring at each other, possibly duelling, then having sex in whatever room of the house we happened to be in, but we can’t exactly do that with Teddy in the house.”

Bill sniggered in amusement, “See, I told you a kid was a big adjustment. It means that you two are going to have to settle this as adults, then have quiet make-up sex without waking up Teddy.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “You sound like you have experience with this.”

Bill’s eyes just sparkled with amusement as he threw her a brown folder, “Next case, read up because we leave in half an hour.”

* * *

“So I got the goss on your ex!”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Did I ask you to do any such thing, Susan?”

Susan grinned at her and dropped a brown bag on her desk, “No, but I figured you might want the inside scoop.”

Hermione peered inside the bag, “I’m more interested in these muffins than the inside scoop, but do tell me how you even found out in the first place.”

“Oh you know, Percy was in the hot seat for Assistant Minister for Magic before he had an existential crisis and became a bounty hunter,” Susan shrugged as she bit into a chocolate chip muffin, “So he hears things.”

“Why is everyone so excited about Viktor coming to work here anyway?” Hermione mused.

“Because he’s a hot, former Quidditch player,” Susan said, as if this were obvious, “Why are you the only person I’ve spoken to who isn’t bothered about it?”

“Because I’ve dated that hot, former Quidditch player and I can tell you that yes, he has a lovely accent and he's a pretty switched on guy, but he’s hardly Draco Malfoy,” Hermione reeled off.

“Well, as someone who does not find Draco Malfoy attractive in the slightest, no offence Hermione, that did not put me off. Him leaving me high and dry after Harry’s new year party though, that did put me off,” Susan joked, “Although, don’t tell Percy I said that.”

“I won’t,” Hermione chuckled, “So what department is he going to be working in anyway? The Department of Magical Sports and Games I assume?”

Susan swallowed her mouthful and nodded, “Uh-huh, he’s the new Assistant Head as of tomorrow.”

Hermione smiled, “Well, good for him. It’s a shame he had to retire so early due to that injury.”

“I didn’t quite get that myself, to be honest, most people just see healers and get on with it,” Susan mused.

“It was a bad injury; he practically turned his kneecap inside out because of the way he twisted when he fell off the broom. Then when he landed on it, it shattered it. Even after all of the follow-up appointments, he still has a lot of pain, and he was told that he might never walk again if he continues to push it by playing Quidditch professionally,” Hermione informed her.

Susan looked at her in disbelief.

“What?”

“Hermione Granger, you are still in contact with him!” Susan realised.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “I write to him occasionally, and no Draco does not know about it because you know how he is.”

“You still write to your ex?”

“He was hardly my ex,” Hermione said, she gave Susan a pointed look, “Do you call every guy who tried something on with you behind the greenhouse your ex?”

“Implying he tried something on with you behind the greenhouse,” Susan grinned.

“In the restricted section actually, and I made it very clear that whatever he wanted wasn’t going to happen. He was okay about it, so we agreed just to stay friends, and we have been that ever since, _just_ friends,” Hermione said clearly.

“I get the hint, but I’m still reeling from that information,” Susan joked, she shot Hermione a smirk, “See you around.”

“See you, Susan,” Hermione said with a shake of her head, she could never quite tell whether Susan amused or exasperated her.

* * *

Daphne got home first that night. She picked Teddy up from Andromeda’s and took him home; then she made macaroni cheese for dinner. She was watching the clock and preparing to serve food when Harry walked in at 5.28 pm.

“Where’s my favourite little man?”

Teddy grinned and waddled into the entrance hall to hug Harry. Daphne kept her back to him as she plated up food and put it on the table, she knew she would have to face him when they sat down, but nothing could be said in front of Teddy.

Harry popped Teddy in his high chair then sat down in his usual seat. He looked over at Daphne, but she refused to make eye contact and stabbed her pasta rather aggressively.

“How was Teddy’s day?” Harry asked awkwardly.

“Good, he hasn’t had a nap today, so I think it will be dinner, bath, story then bed tonight,” Daphne said without looking up, “He painted and had a woodland walk with Narcissa today, so I hear.”

“That sounds nice,” Harry said, “What did you see in the woods, Ted?”

“Bears!”

Harry laughed, “Bears! We don’t have bears in the UK little man. Did you see any foxes?”

“No, bears!”

“What about squirrels?”

“No, bears!”

“Alright,” Harry chuckled, “Bears, it is.”

He glanced over at Daphne, but she hadn’t even cracked a smile. His heart sank, he really was in deep shit this time. They ate in relative silence; the only topic of conversation was Teddy.

After dinner, Harry offered to wash up, so Daphne took Teddy upstairs, bathed him, read him his favourite story and put him to bed. When she emerged at the foot of the stairs, Harry was waiting for her.

“How was your day?” He asked tentatively.

“Great,” Daphne replied in an overly cheerful manner, “I fucked Bill in three store cupboards.”

“Daphne, don’t be like that-”

“Like what? Like the person who always gets accused of cheating? I don’t accuse you of sleeping with every fangirl that comes up to you,” Daphne hissed, venom dripped from her voice as she spun and walked towards the kitchen.

“Where are you going?”

“Where Teddy can’t hear us arguing,” Daphne snapped.

Harry followed her into the kitchen and shut the door behind him, “I’m sorry that I misinterpreted what I saw, but it looked like-”

“- I know what it looked like Harry!” Daphne said irritably as she opened the door to the basement.

He followed her down, dreading whatever she was planning on doing to him if she was taking him to the bowels of the house.

“You shouldn’t have flown off the handle because you should trust me,” Daphne said. She turned on her heel and glared at him.

Harry shut the basement door behind him, “I do trust you-”

“You don’t,” Daphne cut in, “Because if you trust me, you wouldn’t assume that I’m shagging every decent looking guy who glances my way.

“Honestly Daphne. Look at you and _me_. Can you blame me?”

“Yes, I can!” Daphne snapped, “You can’t not trust me for the rest of our lives because you’re hung up on the fact that I’m a little bit better looking than you.”

“A little bit better looking? You’re absolutely stunning! Every time we walk into a room, every guy looks at you, and I’m just _me_. Yeah, I’m a powerful wizard, but I’m not a bloody heartthrob like Neville, am I?”

“Well, I’m sorry, but Neville’s not you,” Daphne snapped, “ _Nobody_ is you, and if you’re going to be such a fucking arsehole about this whole thing, I think we need to duel to settle it.”

“What?” Harry asked cluelessly.

“You heard me,” Daphne challenged him, “Let’s duel, and if I win, you actually have some fucking respect for me! And you admit that it’s _you_ I want and nobody else. You stop being insecure and you stop thinking I’m going to run off with another guy. Okay?”

“I’m not going to duel you, Daphne,” Harry said in a long-suffering tone.

“Why? Do you not even think I can defend myself?” Daphne countered.

“Well, no,” Harry admitted, “I know you can defend yourself, but I don’t want to duel you, Daph.”

“Right now, Harry Potter, I don’t give a fuck what you want,” Daphne said irritably, “You _are_ duelling me.”

“Daph, no, I’m not.”

Daphne rolled her eyes and fired a stinging hex at him, “Come on then, fight back.”

“No, you’re being ridiculous,” Harry said. He threw up a lazy shield charm.

“No, I’m not,” Daphne argued. She threw some curses at him that could strike through a shield charm, but he just ducked to avoid them.

“Fight back, you coward!”

“Expelliarmus,” Harry said half-heartedly.

“Confringo!”

Harry shielded the explosion and contained it in a magical bubble, “Daphne! We’re in the fucking basement! Do you want to damage the foundations of the house?”

“I _told_ you to fight back!” Daphne hissed, “And this room is magical, it’s a _duelling room_ , nothing we do in here can bring the bloody house down!”

Harry sighed, “Levicorpus!”

Daphne shielded the curse and threw back, “Ventus!”

A strong wind whipped up and threw Harry back into the wall, but he knew what was coming, so he placed a cushioning charm on the wall before he hit it.

“Right,” Harry snapped, “You want a duel? That’s fine, but I’m not going easy on you. I’ll duel you the same way I’d duel anyone else.”

“Fine,” Daphne said coolly, “Bring it on, Potter.”

“Avis!” Harry said. The moment the birds were conjured, Daphne put up a shield charm “Oppugno!”

The birds splattered into the shield, and Harry made a face, “Good to see that you care about nature, Greengrass.”

“They are conjured animals,” Daphne said with an eye-roll, “They aren’t real,” she added as she threw an entrail expelling curse at Harry.

He ducked to avoid it and yelled, “Really? That’s the best you can do? Bombarda!”

He aimed the curse off to one side, and she was about to yell at him for going easy on her when he shouted, “Alarte Ascendare!”

The spell hit Daphne and sent her flying into the air. She hovered just below the roof then the spell dropped her, and Harry thought about putting a cushioning charm on the ground but then decided she would tell him off if he did.

When she landed on all fours like a cat, she stood up and smirked at him. Harry just raised an eyebrow at her and cast a precautionary, “Protego!”

“Diffindo!”

Daphne shielded the charm and cast, “Incendio!”

Harry shook his head and said, “Glacius!” which conjured a wall of ice in front of him.

“Stop stealing my spell, Potter!”

“It’s not your personal spell, Greengrass,” Harry scoffed, “And at least I can use it properly.”

Daphne smirked and yelled, “Glacius!” which turned the floor beneath his feet to ice.

Harry started slipping but tried to catch himself. Daphne called, “Training for the ballet, Potter?”

“Not a turn on when you quote Malfoy at me,” Harry shot back.

Before he could reverse the spell, Daphne used the slippery floor to her advantage and conjured a hedgehog, then slid it across the floor.

It hit Harry and spikes flew everywhere.

“What…the…fuck!” Harry yelled.

“Saw Theo do it to Draco one time, and I thought it was pretty nifty,” Daphne remarked with a sly grin.

Harry muttered a quick healing charm and cast, “Aguamenti!” straight at Daphne which soaked her to the skin. Her white blouse went see-through, and she laughed, “What are you trying to do, distract yourself?”

“Well, it is a nice view,” Harry remarked, “But not as nice as you lying on your back with your wand my hand because I’ve defeated you.”

Daphne smirked, “Normally it’s your wand in _my_ hand because I’ve defeated you,” she quipped.

At that point, they both cast a spell at the same time. Harry’s “Expelliarmus” rushed past the beam of red light that had come from Daphne’s wand. It hit her, and her wand flew out of her hand, just as Daphne’s curse hit Harry in the shoulder.

He grimaced and looked down at the arrow in his shoulder blade, “Wand arrows? You have been spending too much time with Lilly.”

Daphne smirked and crossed the room. She yanked the arrow out, and Harry hissed in pain. Then she placed her hand on his chest and murmured a healing spell.

“Well fought, Greengrass,” Harry said with a playful smile, “I have so much respect for you, are you happy now?”

“Is that an apology, Potter?” Daphne quipped.

Harry caught her eye and said, “Yeah, it is.”

“Good,” Daphne remarked, “Because as hard as it may be for you to believe. I like you just the way you are, messy hair, dodgy glasses and all. And do you know something else? For _some_ women, powerful magic is a turn on.”

“But-”

“Goddamn it, no buts!” Daphne snapped, she grabbed him and pulled him towards her.

Harry knew how they tended to sort out arguments, so he just rolled with it and kissed her back. He took a step, pressing her back against the wall then he lifted her and she wrapped her legs tightly around him.

“I’m sorry,” He murmured in-between frantic kisses.

“So you should be,” Daphne said breathily when she drew back from the kiss, “I don’t care if people look at us and wonder why I’m with you, I know why I’m with you. I know that I’m with you because you’re the most generous person I’ve ever met. I know I love you because of how selfless and loving you are.”

Harry wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he just kissed her again. This time she went for the buttons on his shirt and started to unbutton them. Harry’s breath caught, “Daph, Teddy’s upstairs.”

Daphne smirked, “Then I guess we’ll just have to be quieter than normal.”

With that, all thought of further discussion left Harry. Instead, he focused on his fiancé's attempt to strip him as quickly as possible.

Once Daphne had removed Harry’s shirt and the t-shirt he had on underneath it, she started to kiss all of his scars while gently running her nails over his chest, making him groan as she did so.

Harry withstood this torture for as long as he could before he pulled her face back up to his and kissed her once more. He then grabbed the bottom of Daphne's blouse and pulled it over her head, leaving her in just her lacy white bra. Harry then stood up and pulled his fiancé to her feet before lifting her and pressing her up against a wall as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Daphne kissed Harry with everything she had, trying to make him physically feel how much she loved him and how much she needed him. She moaned loudly as her back scraped against the wall. Harry kissed her neck and grasped her breast with his right hand then he unclasped her bra with his left hand and moved his mouth down and started to circle her nipple with his tongue, making Daphne moan once more and run her hands through Harry’s messy hair. She used his hair to pull his head back up from her chest and whispered, “Enough foreplay, Harry, I need you now.”

Harry was not going to contradict his soon-to-be wife and put her down only to spin her around and pull her skinny jeans down to her knees. He pulled his jeans down, and quickly cast the protective charm then thrust himself into Daphne hard. Harry held onto her hips and groaned as he drove into her from behind.

Daphne, in turn, was moaned loudly as Harry continued to thrust into her, making her nipples rub up against the cold brickwork that he was fucking her against.

“Fuck, Harry,” Daphne gasped against him, “That duel riled you up, didn’t it?”

“Can you tell?” Harry murmured, his lips against her neck. She shivered, and he chuckled under his breath in response.

Harry, smirked and pulled out of his fiancé, to noises of displeasure and irritation. He pulled her over to the duelling platform and banished the remnants of their clothes.

Daphne then grinned slyly and pushed him onto the duelling platform, moving to straddle him before he could ask what she was doing. She wasted no time at all in sinking down on Harry, moaning in satisfaction as she did.

The two of them then moved as one for the next few minutes, and the basement was filled with the sound of moans, groans and panting as they got closer and closer to their end. Harry sat up and pulled her close to him as she sank down for a final time. They both came undone together. Harry gasped her name like it was a mantra, and all of a sudden, there was an explosion of golden light. Daphne shut her eyes tightly and had the best orgasm of her life; it was like she could feel Harry in more than just a physical sense, it was like they were connected mentally and could feel each other's orgasms as well as their own.

When the light faded away, Daphne opened her eyes and murmured, “How do we keep doing that?”

“Because we’re both really magically powerful and that was intense?” Harry countered.

Daphne laughed as he kissed her on the forehead.

“Sorry for goading you into a duel,” Daphne said with a playful smile.

“If that’s the end result, you can goad me into duels whenever you want,” Harry shot back.

* * *

Hermione had all but forgotten about the fact Viktor Krum was joining the ministry until she almost barrelled into him head-on.

“Hermione!”

Hermione had been rushing for the lift because, unusually for her, she was running a little late. She looked up and saw him smiling at her; he held the door and motioned for her to enter.

Hermione stepped into the lift and smiled, “Viktor! Congratulations on the new job.”

Viktor smiled back, “Thank you. I am very excited; I have been practising my English lots.”

“I can tell,” Hermione said, “You said my name right.”

Viktor laughed, “I am sorry about that; you were the first person to attempt to teach me English.”

“It’s alright,” Hermione chuckled, “What brings you over here for the new job?”

“Oh you know,” Viktor said with a wave of his hand, “I fell in love with lots of things about this place when I visited for the tournament and when I came back during the war. This ministry is beautiful, we have nothing like this at home, and the job is all I can imagine myself doing apart from playing Quidditch.”

“That’s understandable,” Hermione mused, “Its such a shame that an injury like that forced you to retire so young.”

Viktor shrugged, “Ah these things, they happen. They come to test us, yes?”

“Yes,” Hermione agreed, she reached past the only other people in the lift, a couple of greying gentlemen, and pressed the button.

The lift came to a stop, and the doors opened. Hermione smiled at him, “This is your floor. Your new office is just along the corridor.”

Viktor beamed at her, “Thank you, Hermione. I am glad to be having you around.”

Hermione chuckled as he exited the lift. So his English had improved significantly, but he wasn’t quite there yet. She rode the rest of the way to her department silently then dashed along the corridor to the office she was sharing with Rachel.

“Late.”

“By one minute!” Hermione exclaimed.

“You really think I’m gonna log it?” Rachel asked. She raised an eyebrow, “I’m messing with you. But seriously, you’re never late.”

“Well Octavia threw up a hairball on my shoes, literally as I was going out the front door,” Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, “Then I bumped into Viktor in the lift.”

“Old flame Viktor?”

“Yes, Rachel,” Hermione said irritably, “Ancient, definitely extinguished flame.”

“Whatever you say!”

* * *

“Hey Sade, you here?”

“Of course I’m here, I’m bedbound. Where else would I be?”

Daphne bit back a chuckle as she darted up the stairs of number 11 Grimmauld place. The door to Sadie and Theo’s bedroom was ajar so she stepped in, “Hey, I thought you might need a friend right now, and I won’t lie, I need a rant.”

Sadie smiled weakly, “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I’m on my lunch break, and it’s a slow day, so there’s no real hurry for me to get back,” Daphne admitted, “I brought food. I didn’t know if you would be hungry or not, but it’s just a cheese sandwich. I figured the blander, the better?”

Sadie’s smile reached her eyes this time, “Bland sounds great, I’m starving.”

Daphne handed her the sandwich, and Sadie said, “So…did you cause a scene?”

“Kind of.”

Sadie snorted, “What did you do?”

“Stormed onto the pitch at training and gave him an ultimatum to come home or there would be no wedding and no adoption of Teddy,” Daphne admitted sheepishly.

“Sounds like you,” Sadie said with an amused smile, “Did he come home?”

“He did…” Daphne answered.

“And have you made up?” Sadie prodded.

“Kind of…”

“Meaning you had hot make-up sex, so you’re not that angry anymore, but you’re still a bit miffed,” Sadie filled in.

“Pretty much,” Daphne said with a shrug, “Anyway, how are you?”

“Shit,” Sadie answered honestly, “You did things right, you know? Adopting a baby so you don’t have to deal with any of this pregnancy bullshit.”

Daphne chuckled, “Well we didn’t exactly plan it that way, but I guess I see your point. Are you still being sick all the time?”

“No, it’s getting better every day now. I’m down to four times a day,” Sadie said with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, being pregnant sounds awful. I came here to bitch about Harry, but I’d feel kind of bad doing for that now that I see how crap you feel,” Daphne admitted.

Sadie shook her head, “No, I’ve been stuck in this bed for far too long getting bored out of my damn mind, so please talk to me about anything. I want you to bitch about Harry.”

Daphne snorted in amusement, “I think Lilly had a point the other night to be fair. I do think I should have an overnight bag for work with frumpy pyjamas and a fluffy dressing gown like the ones Hermione wears.”

“Thank Merlin Hermione’s not here or she’d hit you for that,” Sadie chuckled, “But I do think that’s a good idea. Your bedtime clothes are a little…boudoir-esque?”

“Did you just call me a hooker?”

“What? No!”

“It really sounded like you did.”

“You are so defensive,” Sadie said. She crossed her arms over her chest, “It’s because you are attracted to Bill.”

“What? Where are you getting this from?” Daphne asked in disbelief, “Jeez Sadie, pregnancy hormones are driving you mad.”

“Oh no way, you do not get to blame hormones for this one,” Sadie said. She pushed herself up in bed, “You are being defensive because a part of you is attracted to Bill. The question is, is that part of you physical or mental?”

“Sadie! He’s my boss, and he’s a bloody Weasley. I do not want to sleep with him!”

“Mental then,” Sadie deduced, “I guess I can see that. You admire him; you want to be like him…I wouldn’t worry about it too much, it’s normal. A lot of people have these strange sorts of crushes on their bosses, and it’s just an admiration thing.”

“Since when were you a psychologist anyway?” Daphne muttered under her breath.

“I can just read you well Daph, you are one of my oldest friends,” Sadie pointed out with a smile.

Daphne frowned at her cardboard coffee mug, “The thing is, I should be over it now, you know? Normally the anger dissipates after the make-up sex, but I still feel like he doesn’t trust me.”

“He does,” Sadie assured her, “But he doesn’t have the most self-esteem. He thinks you’re too good for him and he worries that someday when you realise that, you’ll run off and leave him. It will take time for him to realise that what he worries about, won’t happen. Until then, give him a little bit of leeway.”

Daphne sighed, “Yeah, you’re right, Sadie. Sorry to bother you with all my drama.”

“Feel free to spend every lunch break unloading onto me, I’m so bored,” Sadie complained, “Theo works all day then talks about work all night, and I can only get out of this damn bed to shower or pee. Otherwise, I start throwing up.”

“When do the Healers think it will end?” Daphne asked.

“It's gotten a lot better over the last couple of weeks, so they think in another couple of weeks, I’ll be over it,” Sadie said, “I just hope they’re right.”

“I’m sure they are,” Daphne assured her, “They’re all really good at what they do.”

Sadie nodded, but the jovial air that she had had around her when she was teasing Daphne had gone. She seemed down, pale and ill-looking again. Daphne just prayed that the Healers were right because she didn’t know what damage a whole pregnancy of bedrest would do to Sadie’s mental health.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	52. Give Me Therapy

Harry was expecting a berating on Wednesday afternoon, and he wasn’t disappointed. The minute Lilly reached himself and Neville in the hospital wing, she shot him an irritated look and said, “Hey babe.”

Neville smiled, “That’s a ‘hey babe, I love you and miss you, but I have to yell at your best friend’, isn’t it?”

“Yep,” Lilly said. She pulled a chair up and sat in front of them, “Give me your hand, Harry.”

Harry held out his hand, cautiously.

“Today's class is about mending broken bones,” Lilly said matter of factly, “Which is convenient because – muffliato – I can do this,” she snapped one of his fingers, and his cry of pain was muted by the spell, “-and get away with it.”

She murmured the counter curse to muffliato, and Harry glared at her, “Ouch.”

“Now I’m going to teach you how to heal it so don’t cry like a baby,” Lilly said, “Neville, copy my wand motion.”

Neville raised his wand and did so. Lilly looked at Harry, “We can’t talk about how stupid what you did was in public, but it was _stupid,_ and if it wasn't for the fact Neville and Theo are very clever you would have gotten kicked out for it,” she said in an undertone, “But that’s not what I’m pissed off about. I’m pissed off that you jumped to conclusions before having a calm conversation with Daphne about it. You two might enjoy fighting then crashing together for angry, make-up sex now but you’ll have a kid soon, and you can’t do shit like that when you’ve got a kid so learn to communicate.”

“Neville – repeat after me.”

Neville did so, and Harry’s finger set itself.

“Any pain?” Lilly asked.

Harry shook his head, “Just a bit stiff.”

“I could fix that, but I’m not going to because I’m pissed off with you,” Lilly said as she rose to her feet, “Is my message understood?”

“Loud and clear,” Harry said, “You’re right, and I’m sorry for being such an idiot, Lil. Thanks for being there for Daphne while I was trying to ruin my life.”

“What are friends for?” Lilly shrugged, “You’ve got to see Lamb today, by the way.”

“Who?” Harry asked.

“The mental health Healer who does the rounds,” Lilly answered, “She needs to talk to you about the war, and you had better be entirely honest because she’ll use a low-level legilimency charm, so she will know if you are lying. She’ll be able to feel your emotions and see the memories at the forefront of your mind.”

Harry nodded, “Thanks for the heads up,” he said, “I have a present for you, from Daphne.”

Lilly frowned as Harry handed her a box. She opened it and said, “It’s a mirror?”

“It’s a two-way mirror,” Harry explained, “Daphne and Sadie have them, Tracey used to have one too. Daphne had three more made for you, Hermione and Susan. You can only talk to one person at a time, but they are brilliant because you can walk around the house talking rather than being stuck in the fireplace on the floo.”

“That was sweet of her,” Lilly said with a smile, “Do I just activate it by saying ‘show Daphne to me’ in Latin?”

Harry nodded, “Yep, and it’s ‘terminus’ to end the communication.”

“It’s a brilliant idea,” Lilly admitted.

“And you’ll be able to use it after lights out without getting caught,” Neville said.

“That’s what gave Daph the idea,” Harry admitted.

“So you two have made up then?” Lilly asked.

“She says we have, but things are still a bit icy,” Harry said with a shrug, “But we’ll be okay.”

Before Lilly could say anything more on the subject, Frasier called, “Potter! Can we have a word in private?”

Harry got to his feet and shot Neville and Lilly a nervous look, “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck mate,” Neville said, patting him on the back as he headed into the office with Frasier and a younger woman who they hadn’t seen around before.

* * *

“Recruit Potter, this is Healer Lamb,” Frasier said curtly, “She’s our mental health specialist, and she’ll be doing a psychological evaluation on you based on things that happened during selection.”

Harry nodded, and Frasier left.

Lamb didn’t look overly intimidating. She was a tall, slim woman who looked to be in her mid 20’s. She had dark brown hair which she wore in a bun and hazel eyes which seemed as kind as her smile.

“This is such a personal thing; I think it’s better if we use first names, don’t you?”

Harry just nodded.

“So I’m Caroline,” She said.

“Harry,” Harry said stupidly.

“Right then Harry,” Caroline said kindly, “The first thing I need you to do is nip into the bathroom behind me and fill this pot with a urine sample. It’s not glamourous, but we do need to make sure that you aren’t under the influence of any illegal potions, or alcohol.”

Harry nodded again and took the pot from her. Once he had filled it and placed the sample on the shelf provided, he returned to the room and was informed that the next step was a physical examination. The Healer listened to his heart, examined his scars and asked him about them. She wondered if he had a history of malnourishment, due to his short stature and he replied that he did.

“Okay then,” Caroline said, “Take a seat.”

Harry did so, and Caroline leant back in her chair. Her quill was poised over a clipboard, and she asked, “Are you ready to begin?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Harry admitted.

“There are three sections to this evaluation,” Caroline informed him, “And the first one that we need to discuss is your mental health history. Do you know if there is a history of depression in your family?”

Harry frowned, “I’m not sure. I mean I talk to my Great Grandfather’s portrait about it a lot, because he was in World War One, but more immediately than that, I don’t know.”

Caroline nodded, “And do you have a history of depression?”

“Yes,” Harry replied honestly.

“When did that start?”

“When I was 16,” Harry replied, “After I watched my godfather die.”

“Did you experience spells of anger, numbness, guilt and helplessness?” Caroline questioned.

Harry nodded and swallowed.

“How long did those feelings last for?” Caroline asked.

“A couple of months.”

“Okay, and what about anxiety. Do you have a history of that?”

“Uh…no, I don’t think so,” Harry replied.

“You’ve never had a tight pain in your chest as if you were having a heart attack?”

Harry shook his head.

“To the best of your knowledge, have you ever had an anxiety attack?” Caroline asked, “Your heart pounds, and you sweat, your body shakes, you have difficulty breathing. Does that sound like something that has happened to you?”

Harry frowned, “Uh…no…”

Caroline jotted something down, “Have you felt suicidal in the past six months? Have you had thoughts about death, or ending your own life?”

“No,” Harry replied honestly.

“Okay,” Caroline smiled, and Harry felt a small tug. She was in his head, but he could see what Lilly meant about the low-level Legilimency charm. He knew she was there, but it was the most gentle pull, a skilled Legilimens could do it easily without the person working out that they were there.

“The next section is about your personal history, and I suspect it will take a bit longer than the last part,” Caroline said. She flipped the page and dipped her quill into an inkpot.

“So we will be discussing major traumas in this section. The first one concerns your childhood,” Caroline explained, “Do you remember your parents' death?”

“Not really,” Harry replied honestly, “I remember a scream, my mother’s and a flash of green light, but that’s all.”

“Did you ever have nightmares about that or flashbacks?” Caroline asked.

“I used to as a kid, but not so much anymore,” Harry replied, “The nightmares these days are usually about what happened to my parents happening to me and my fiancé, of my godson, becoming the boy-who-lived.”

“I see,” Caroline said with a nod.

“I also heard my mother die and saw that flash of light every time a dementor came near me when I was younger,” Harry replied, “I used to pass out, but then I learned the Patronus charm.”

“What age were you when that happened?”

“It was in my third year of school,” Harry replied, “But my teacher taught me the Patronus charm in third year, so it got better.”

Caroline nodded, “And you mentioned something about malnourishment during your physical test?”

“Yeah,” Harry replied, “After my parents died, I was raised by my muggle aunt and uncle. They treated me like a slave; I slept in the cupboard under the stairs, wore my cousin's old clothes and cooked for them. They fed me, but it was scraps.”

“And would you say that left a mark on you?” Caroline asked.

Harry shrugged, “Not really. I got treated worse by wizards, you know?”

“That’s what I want to get onto now,” Caroline said, “Would you say you have witnessed a traumatic event directly?”

Harry snorted, “Is that a trick question?”

“I know you haven’t had an easy life, Harry,” Caroline said with a smile, “But I need _you_ to tell me about these events. I can’t just sit here and throw questions at you for an hour.”

Harry sighed, “I’ve witnessed a lot of traumatic events. The first one was when I accidentally killed my Defence against the Dark Arts teacher because he was possessed by Voldemort. It was a long story, but because my mother died to protect me, it triggered some ancient blood magic relating to love, and because Voldemort couldn’t love, my touch physically hurt him.”

“And the host, Quirinus Quirrell, died,” Caroline said with a nod, “Did you have nightmares about that? Flashbacks? Feelings of guilt?”

“Not really…no,” Harry admitted, “He was stupid enough to let Voldemort possess him so…”

“But surely as an eleven-year-old boy, you must have felt something?” Caroline prodded.

“Sure, I felt pretty frustrated that me and my eleven-year-old friends were left to deal with it,” Harry remarked, “Who puts a giant three-headed dog in a school? Who lets a bunch of kids do his bidding for him? Well, Albus Dumbledore clearly.”

“Did you trust Dumbledore?” Caroline asked carefully.

“I thought I did,” Harry replied, “Up until the point that I realised he had spent seven years raising me as a lamb to the slaughter.”

“Okay,” Caroline said, “We’ll get onto that later. What was the next significant trauma that occurred for you?”

“That would be the Basilisk in second year,” Harry replied, “It petrified my best friend, and for a while, we didn’t know if she would wake up which was pretty scary. Then I had to go save Ginny from it because our DADA teacher was useless-”

“Ginny Weasley?”

“Yeah, my other best friends younger sister, who I later dated,” Harry filled in, “I went down there, had to fight a Horcrux, although I didn’t know it was a Horcrux yet. The Basilisk bit me-”

“Forgive me for interrupting, Harry,” Caroline apologised, “But if you were bitten by a Basilisk, how are you still alive?”

“Oh, Dumbledore’s phoenix conveniently showed up and healed me,” Harry replied, “It also brought me the sword of Gryffindor so I could blind the Basilisk. Then it helped get me out of the chamber of secrets.”

“Right,” Caroline said, “Would you mind if I took a blood test? Even if you were healed, dark venoms like that can leave a trace in the blood.”

Harry rolled up his sleeve, “Sure but you’ll find more than that. I was also bitten by Nagini, Voldemort’s snake, who was a Horcrux.”

“Any other venomous bites you want to disclose?” Caroline asked, slightly in jest.

“Oh, a rattlesnake,” Harry said, “While we were on a training exercise last month.”

“I’m guessing you don’t like snakes,” Caroline remarked.

“No, I love them,” Harry admitted, “I can talk to them, and they are very sophisticated creatures. I actually have a pet Boa Constrictor.”

Caroline raised an eyebrow at him, “Does this snake have a name?”

“He’s called Dave,” Harry replied.

“Just to clarify, you mean you’re a parseltongue?” Caroline asked.

Harry nodded, “Do you need me to prove that so you know I’ve not had a nervous break?”

“I kind of do, yes.”

Harry shut his eyes, cleared his throat and then hissed something in parseltongue.

“Okay,” Caroline said, “That’s a new one.”

“Sorry,” Harry said sheepishly, “I’m not your standard recruit.”

“I can see that,” Caroline admitted as she did the blood test, “Did that event haunt you with nightmares or flashbacks? Did you feel any guilt, shame or blame surrounding the event?”

Harry frowned, “I felt guilty that I let it happen. I feel like I should have worked it out sooner, and I regret Ginny getting dragged into it because it left a real mark on her, being possessed by a Horcrux all year.”

“Okay. Was there another traumatic event in the following school year?”

“Yeah, there’s at least one for every school year, I think,” Harry answered, “Third year was a real rollercoaster. You know what a rollercoaster is?”

“My mother was a muggle-born, so yes,” Caroline smiled.

“Right, well…I found out that Sirius Black was on the loose and spent the majority of the year thinking he wanted to kill me. Then I discovered that he was my godfather, for a while I thought he had betrayed my parents, but then the truth all came spiralling out. It turned out that Sirius was the good guy, who had been in jail for 12 years for a crime he hadn’t committed,” Harry rattled off, “And the guy who _did_ do it was actually an animagus who had been living as my best friends rat. Oh and on top of that, my DADA teacher who I admired and looked up to as a father turned out to be a werewolf who was in love with my godfather so yeah, rollercoaster and not a fun one either. It was like one of those ones when you’re in the dark, screaming with no idea when it's going to end.”

“Okay, that’s a lot to process. How did all of that make you feel?” Caroline asked him.

“Confused,” Harry answered.

“Yes, I can see why,” Caroline admitted, “You loved your godfather then? And admired this teacher of yours?”

Harry nodded, “But he had to leave when the students found out that he was a werewolf and I let Peter Pettigrew slip away which meant that I couldn’t free Sirius. Then I had to go back in time and battle dementors-”

“Sorry, you went back in time?”

“Yes, my best friend was given a time-turner so that she could attend all of her classes,” Harry replied.

Caroline blinked, “Uh…okay.”

“So we saved a hippogriff, and then my godfather flew away on the hippogriff,” Harry said simply, “But I kind of had to mess with time. I used a Patronus to save myself from the dementors; it was confusing.”

“And uh…did this leave you scarred?” Caroline asked, “The usual, nightmares? Feelings of guilt?”

“Not so much the nightmares,” Harry said, “But feelings of guilt, yeah. I felt like it was my fault that Pettigrew had escaped and I had this vision of Sirius’s name being cleared, and me getting to live with him. I wouldn’t have had to go back to my abusive family-”

“Sorry, did you say abusive?”

“Yeah, my uncle thought he could beat the magic out of me,” Harry said glumly, “Put bars on my window to keep me in the house, you know?”

“Noted,” Caroline remarked, “What about the following year?”

“Yeah, that one sucked,” Harry admitted, “I was entered into the Triwizard Tournament, everyone thought I had cheated to get into it. One of my best friends turned against me, and it all culminated with myself and Cedric being port-keyed to a graveyard. Then I watched Cedric die, my blood was used to resurrect Voldemort, and then due to priori incantatem I saw the echoes of my dead parents.”

Caroline blew out a breath, “Right.”

“That one really did cause me nightmares,” Harry said, a dark look flitting across his face, “I woke up in a cold sweat every night, I used to scream Cedric’s name in my sleep. My cousin tormented me; he was always asking if Cedric was my boyfriend.”

“Was he?” Caroline asked.

Harry shook his head.

“No feelings like that there at all then?” Caroline probed.

“At the most, maybe a slight crush,” Harry shrugged, “Call it a curious phase, I suppose.”

Caroline nodded thoughtfully, “And then there was the small matter of your trial before you returned to school for your fifth year?”

“Yes, I was put to trial by the ministry for defending myself against dementors,” Harry said darkly, “And I was made to feel like a liar all year because the ministry refused to believe that Voldemort was back. Dumbledore had my back, but then spent the rest of the school year avoiding me at a time when I needed him most. My DADA teacher tortured me that year because I dared to speak out about what had happened in the graveyard, she made me use a blood quill which left me with these scars.”

Harry held out his hand, and Caroline swallowed, “I see.”

“Anyway, that year culminated in my godfather dying, which made me sink into a pretty deep depression.”

“The one you mentioned earlier,” Caroline said.

Harry nodded again, “Then there was my sixth year. That year ended with Snape killing Dumbledore in the Battle of the Lightning Struck Tower. That messed me up; it was just another father figure that I had lost, you know? And my best friends brother was mauled by a werewolf too…”

“Did you have nightmares about Dumbledore’s death?”

Harry simply nodded, “And I felt guilty, but I also felt a huge responsibility because Dumbledore had been grooming me to defeat Voldemort. I knew about his Horcruxes, and when Dumbledore died, it fell to me to defeat them, which was what I did while I was on the run.”

“Could you talk to me a little bit about that?” Caroline asked.

Harry sighed and leant back in his chair, “It was hard, and it was lonely. To begin with, it was just, me, Ron and Hermione then Ron couldn’t cut it, so he left. When it was just Hermione and me, things were tough, and we became…involved.”

Caroline nodded.

“We had to wear a Horcrux because we had stolen it from the ministry, but we had no way to destroy it, and although we took turns, that was hard,” Harry admitted, “Carrying a piece of Voldemort around with you…it wore you down, and it left its mark.”

“I can only imagine,” Caroline said.

Harry sighed, “Then we were captured, and I had to listen to my best friend scream while she was tortured and branded.”

“The one you had become involved with?” Caroline asked.

“Yeah,” Harry frowned, “Then there was the final battle and the point where I realised that I had been raised to die at the right moment. I was a Horcrux, one that Voldemort had created by mistake, but a Horcrux all the same. That was what the prophecy meant when it said that neither could live while the other survived. I had to die so that Voldemort could be mortal.”

“That must have been difficult to accept.”

Harry shrugged, “I was so fed up by that point that I kind of welcomed death.”

“So you felt suicidal?” Caroline asked.

“I wouldn’t say so,” Harry frowned, “It wasn’t like I wanted to die, but I knew that I had to so I accepted my fate. Obviously, Voldemort killed me and in doing so, killed the Horcrux inside of me and then somehow, I came back.”

“Do you know how?”

“Not entirely,” Harry admitted, “But I think it has something to do with the sacrifice my mother made for me. Dumbledore always said that blood magic was ancient and mystical.”

“It is,” Caroline agreed.

Harry shut his eyes, “But my biggest regret I suppose is the battle and all of the people that I lost. I still see the bloodshed when I close my eyes. I can still picture all of those bodies lining the hall…”

“Do you know how many people were lost that day?” Caroline asked.

“Fifty,” Harry replied simply.

“Can I give you another perspective?” Caroline asked.

Harry opened his eyes and replied, “Please do.”

Caroline pulled a file out of her bag and opened it, “I have the statistics from the battle here.”

Harry scoffed, “What do statistics matter? People died, people that I knew and loved.”

“I know that, but I think this might give you some perspective,” Caroline said honestly, “Fifty people died that day but do you know how many survived?”

Harry shook his head.

“475,” Caroline said softly, “475 people whose families did not have to bury them. Of those people, 374 were students or returning students. Those people will go on to marry, have careers and have children _because_ of you.”

Harry frowned, “But if I hadn’t gone to Hogwarts to destroy the final Horcrux, none of them would have died.”

“If you hadn’t gone back to Hogwarts to destroy the final Horcrux, Voldemort would not have been defeated, and even more than that would have died,” Caroline said, “People would have been oppressed, muggles and muggle-borns would have been slaughtered then Voldemort might have moved on to Europe. He could have become worse than Grindelwald.”

Harry sighed.

“Now…the highest proportion of the deaths were of studente,” Caroline explained calmly, “That was primarily due to the collapse of the central tower. Do you remember that?”

Harry shook his head, “I was fighting in the grounds when it happened.”

“Nine students and one Auror died in the crush,” Caroline said as she looked down at a ring on her finger, “I understand exactly how painful it is to lose someone you love because that Auror was called Eddie and he was my husband.”

Harry’s eyes snapped up, “I’m sorry.”

She smiled sadly, “Why? It wasn’t your fault. He died trying to save the kids trapped in that tower. He got eleven out, even though his lower body was trapped beneath the rubble. By the time they got him out, he was too far gone, and he bled to death.”

Harry looked down and wrung his hands together.

“He saved more kids than he lost,” Caroline said. She cleared her throat, “And so did you.”

Harry looked up, “What do you mean?”

“Of the fighting forces, Dumbledores Army lost the least people, proportionally,” Caroline told him, “The deaths were grouped into three categories: Dumbledore’s Army, the Order of the Phoenix and the Aurors. The Aurors suffered greatly, 1 in 4 of them died in the final battle.”

Harry’s frown deepened.

“But the Order of the Phoenix, a group created and led by Albus Dumbledore, full of skilled witches and wizards, lost 1 in 6 members in the final battle.”

Caroline smiled proudly, “The group of children that _you_ trained lost 1 in 7, Harry.”

Harry took a shuddering breath as a few tears slid down his cheeks.

“Is that the first time you’ve heard those figures?” Caroline asked gently.

“Yeah,” Harry replied quietly.

“And how do you feel about those numbers?” Caroline asked.

“I feel bloody proud of them,” Harry said, his voice was choked, “Not the numbers, but the people.”

“You were a great leader Harry, and you are going to be a great Auror,” Caroline said, “Once you learn to let go of the guilt.”

Harry nodded.

Caroline flipped the file shut and went back to her notes, “We’re nearly done, I promise. I know this isn’t your idea of fun.”

Harry wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt and nodded.

“The last section that I need to go through with you here is about your mental state at the moment,” Caroline said, “So it shouldn’t take long.”

Harry laughed weakly, “That’s what you think.”

Caroline frowned, “Okay. Have you had any dark thoughts or feelings? Such as thoughts of turning dark? Or of using your magic to hurt people?”

Harry sighed and said, “I had dark thoughts for a long-time, but I was never sure if they were my thoughts or if they were the part of Voldemort inside me manifesting.”

“Since the Horcrux was removed then?” Caroline asked.

“No,” Harry replied honestly.

“Have you ever hurt yourself on purpose?” Caroline asked, “Either with magic or with objects such as knives?”

“No,” Harry replied.

“Have you ever used any illegal potions?” Caroline asked, “The sort that help you sleep, make you hallucinate or give you an artificial high when you’re depressed?”

“No,” Harry replied.

“Okay,” Caroline said with a smile, “One last question-”

“I can already tell you that it’s gonna be the biggie,” Harry said dryly.

Caroline frowned, “Would you say you have ever had a dependency on alcohol?”

“Yes,” Harry replied simply.

Caroline’s hand hovered over the parchment, “Would you say you _still_ depend on alcohol or is this a historical problem?”

“Well,” Harry dead-panned, “I relapsed on Monday night and drank a bottle of Ogden's because I thought my fiancé was cheating on me with her boss.”

“Did you come to work under the influence yesterday?” Caroline asked, her care-free attitude had gone.

“No,” Harry replied, “Because Neville and Theo, that’s Recruits Longbottom and Nott, sobered me up and put me through hell to repair the damage that it had caused to my liver so that I wouldn’t get caught, but I don’t feel like hiding the problem is the way forward.”

“You’re right,” Caroline said, “When did this start?”

“After the war,” Harry replied, “I drank during the summer and then when I went back to school, it eased off. I still drank too much at parties or on special occasions but when I left school…it got worse.”

“Did it reach a point where it caused you problems, socially?”

“Yeah,” Harry frowned.

“Did it have an impact on your relationships with those close to you?”

“It nearly lost me my fiancé and with that, my godson who we are adopting,” Harry said honestly, “But Neville brought me to my senses. He had my back then, and he has done every day since. Without him…I don’t know where I would be.”

“Which is why you share such a profound bond,” Caroline realised, “That’s good, we like Auror partners to understand each other inside, out.”

“Is it going to get me kicked out?” Harry asked.

Caroline shook her head, “Extra precautions will be put in place, but we cannot punish you for an issue that you have been so honest and open with us about. If you had tried to hide it, that would have been a completely different matter.”

“Well, at least for once I made the right decision,” Harry joked weakly.

Caroline put her notes away and rose to her feet, “I am sorry that I kept you for so long Harry, but the first meeting always takes the longest.”

“So there will be more then?”

“I expect so,” Caroline replied, “But I will have to report my findings to your Senior Auror, and he will make the decision about what happens next. Don’t be alarmed if you are called in for a meeting in the coming days, but I promise you, it will not be to kick you out.”

“Okay,” Harry said. He let out a breath, “Thank you.”

“Thank you for being so co-operative,” Caroline countered. She opened the door, and they stepped out together, “See you again.”

Harry nodded and made his way back over to Neville.

“Are you alright? You were in there ages!”

“The ‘have you ever witnessed a traumatic event’ section took a while,” Harry murmured.

“You alright, though?” Neville asked nervously, “You look like you’ve been crying.”

“I got told a couple of home truths,” Harry shrugged, “Some good, some bad. I came clean about being an alcoholic too.”

Neville’s eyes widened, “Harry-”

“They aren’t kicking me out,” Harry cut in, “She was grateful that I was so honest and open about it. I sang your praises in there by the way.”

“Why?”

“Because you pulled me out of it. I could have spiralled Nev, I could have lost everything, but you made sure I didn’t and then when I relapsed, you were there. I mean you were angry, but you were there,” Harry whispered, “Caroline said we share a profound bond.”

“Oh no, that’s what Theo and Draco are always saying about themselves,” Neville joked.

“Well Nev, there are some things you can’t go through together without ending up sharing a profound bond,” Harry whispered, “And killing a dark lord together then getting me through being an alcoholi, are two of those things, so deal with it.”

Neville smiled at that, “Ah, I can live with it. I think our other halves are becoming inseparable anyway.”

“What _are_ you saying about me?”

“Nothing,” Harry and Neville chorused.

Lilly raised an eyebrow at Neville then looked at Harry. Her harsh expression softened when she saw his bloodshot eyes, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” Lilly countered.

“No, I’m not,” Harry admitted, “But I will be.”

Neville put his arm around Harry’s shoulder, “Yeah, you will be.”

“We’ll get you through,” Lilly agreed with a smile, “And I’d hug you, but we’re at work, and I don’t want those two idiots to start calling us a quad.”

Harry chuckled, “Like they could talk anyway. Do you know something though? Caroline asked me if Cedric was my boyfriend?”

“Yeah..” Lilly admitted, “I think the whole school wondered that at some point, Harry.”

“Daphne said something similar,” Harry frowned.

“I kind of thought he was your boyfriend too,” Neville admitted.

Harry snorted, and a loud shout from across the hospital wing distracted them.

“Draco! You were meant to break my finger not my whole fucking wrist!”

Lilly sniggered, “Duty calls. See you at the weekend, guys!”

* * *

In duel class later that day, the topic of Lilly was brought up. They were all sectioned off in a large room, and they were practising shield charms in their Auror pairs.

“I really want to propose to her, Harry,” Neville said.

Harry replied, “Do it then.”

“I bought a ring and everything,” Neville said as he threw a curse at Harry which he shielded quickly.

“Then why are you talking to me about it like you’re not sure you’re going to do it?” Harry asked, throwing a home-made curse at Neville.

Neville threw an entrail expelling curse at Harry, “Yeah, but it’s more complicated than that because I don’t want her to think I’m just proposing to her to bring her home.”

“But you aren’t?” Harry said, throwing a cutting curse at his best friend, “You’re proposing to her because you love her.”

“Yeah, but is that how she's going to see it?” Neville asked. He sent a spray of boiling water at Harry.

“Does she even know about the loophole?” Harry asked pointedly.

“No,” Nevile snapped. He threw a blasting curse at Harry which he had to dodge, “But I’m going to have to tell her because otherwise, it feels like I’m lying and I hate lying to her.”

“Yeah, but you guys need to get better at white lies,” Harry said, “Because they are necessary sometimes.”

Neville got a bit irritated at that, “It’s not even about that, it’s just too much to be away from her all of the time,” he snapped as he sent wand arrows at Harry.

Harry shielded against them with a wall of ice and said, “Take it out on me, I can handle it, and you obviously need to get all of this out of your system cause you’re even using Lilly’s signature spell on me!”

“Oi, shut it, you blocked with Daphne’s! And anyway, I’d like to see you try it,” Neville muttered. He threw a knee-reversing jinx at Harry and said, “It sucks when you only get to see the girl you love for a couple of days every other weekend! And there’s something-”

Harry jumped to avoid a ball of fire that Neville had aimed at his feet.

“- that I can do about it! But I don’t know if I’m doing it for the right reasons or because I’m desperate to have her back!” Neville was on a roll now, so Harry had stopped sending curses back at him. He was just dodging and defending to let his friend get his frustration out.

As Harry dodged a decapitation curse, Draco slipped Theo a few galleons and said, “My moneys on Harry.”

“Nah, Neville’s got this,” Theo whispered.

“I’ll put ten on Harry,” Blanche cut in.

“Five on Neville,” Ophelia whispered.

“I get that it’s shit Neville, but you can’t let it taint your decision!” Harry yelled over the sound of the last blasting curse he’d had to avoid, “You love her to bits! You’d ask her to marry you in a few months, so why not do it now and get the bonus of having her home a bit early?”

At that point, Neville told Harry that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, so they threw themselves into a full-blown duel. Even Sumner had stopped to watch them; in fact, he had conjured up a chair and was sitting down with his arms crossed watching the duel play out.

It lasted for well over 20 minutes, and by the time it ended, several very nasty, home-made curses had flown around the room, and both men were very sweaty. In the end, Neville won by reliving the events of their second year at Hogwarts.

He conjured up a snake when Harry was in the middle of sending a curse his way. Before he could defend himself, the snake had bitten Harry and taken him down. It gave Neville the chance to disarm him and grin smugly.

“Why do snakes bite me all the time?” Harry remarked, “I love them, why don’t they love me?”

“I know man, I feel the same about plants,” Theo said sincerely while Draco snorted and patted him on the back.

A round of applause echoed throughout the room.

“Alright girls, have we settled our little love feud?” Sumner asked as he pushed himself to his feet.

“Yes sir, I apologise for letting my personal feelings interfere with my work,” Neville admitted.

Sumner shrugged, “I had a nice little coffee break and nice work Longbottom, not many people can say they have taken the chosen one down in a duel. Might deflate your head a little bit, eh Potter?”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Yes, sir.”

Sumner slapped Neville on the back, “Real good duel Longbottom. You might become the Senior Auror in this partnership yet.”

“What!”

“What?”

Draco and Theo shared an amused look and shook their heads in exasperation.

* * *

Senior Auror Jack Sumner was thinking about heading home for the day when a knock sounded at his office door.

“Come in!” He called wearily.

Caroline Lamb stepped into his office and smiled, “Bad time?”

Sumner shook his head, “I was just thinking about heading home, but I can always make time for you.”

Caroline sat down across from him and asked, “When you asked me to come here and perform my first psych evaluation since getting back in the field, did you know that the trainee in question was Harry Potter?”

Sumner smiled, “Yes.”

Caroline chuckled, “Well, you always did like to throw me in at the deep end, Dad.”

Sumner leant back in his chair, “So you’re here as my colleague today, then?”

Caroline pulled a file out of her bag, “Yes. I am. Now, do you know how messed up that poor kid is?”

“I know he’s messed up,” Sumner said honestly, “But I need _you_ to tell me how messed up he is.”

“Well,” Caroline mused, “From his answers, he should be a sociopath, but somehow, he’s quite normal.”

Sumner raised an eyebrow, “Define ‘quite’, Caroline.”

“He has some deep-rooted issues,” Caroline admitted, “Chiefly concerning authority figures. It’s not that he has a disregard of the rules, but more that he mistrusts those in a position of authority because they have either wronged him or died on him.”

Sumner frowned.

“So you are going to have to tread very carefully,” Caroline continued, “If you make one small mistake with him, he will lose every ounce of respect he has for you.”

“Noted,” Sumner said.

“He also has a temper,” Caroline said, “Which seems to flare up when his depression does. I’m hardly surprised that he’s prone to bouts of depression considering what he’s been through.”

“No, neither am I,” Sumner admitted.

“He feels immense guilt about the final battle,” Caroline added, “He feels that it was his presence that drew Voldemort to Hogwarts, so he feels responsible for every single death. I read him the figures, and he got emotional, so I think I’m starting to get through to him.”

“I think you will have to meet with him again,” Sumner said as he leant back in his chair.

“Oh, I know I will,” Caroline said. She put a sheet of parchment down in front of him.

Sumner looked down, and his eyes widened. He shook his head and muttered, “Well…shit.”

“Yeah,” Caroline agreed.

“He’s going to need to be monitored,” Sumner said.

“Can I suggest you take a urine sample every morning for six weeks?” Caroline asked, “The spells we use can detect alcohol up to 48 hours after it has been drunk. There was a trace in his urine today, there should have been more, but Longbottom and Nott healed his liver after his relapse on Monday night.”

“Fuck,” Sumner sighed.

“He’s been through a lot, Dad,” Caroline said, “The section about major traumas took us an hour to go through. Every year at school, something bad happened to him, and it makes me question what kind of Headmaster Dumbledore really was.”

Sumner frowned at his daughter, “Elaborate.”

“Dangerous things happened at Hogwarts,” Caroline sighed, “Harry had to face things that no school child should have had to face. The death of Cedric Diggory seems to be the start of a downward spiral for him. From there on, he lost more and more people until it started to break him down.”

“Okay,” Sumner said, “I’ll tread carefully with him, but he’s going to need to see you regularly. Would you say his reliance on alcohol stems from the war?”

“Most definitely,” Caroline replied, “I would recommend weekly sessions with me to help him work through some of the guilt he feels surrounding the war, and to help him come to terms with things that he did and saw back then.”

“Right,” Sumner agreed, “I’ll talk to him tomorrow then and Caroline.”

Caroline turned around, “Yes?”

“This is great,” Sumner said with a smile as he looked down at the report, “It’s real thorough, and you seem to have made great headway with Potter.”

Caroline smiled at him, “Thanks, it feels good to be back.”

“It’s good to see you back on your feet again,” Sumner said gently, “After Eddie’s death and Edith been born, it’s…it’s good to see.”

“I love you too, Dad,” Caroline said with a knowing smile. She leant across the desk and kissed his cheek, “See you around.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	53. The Weight of Worlds

“I don’t know how much longer I can do this for.”

Clara looked up in alarm, “You had better not be thinking of dropping out Lillian Moon. You are the best trauma healer I’ve seen come into this place in years.”

Lilly sighed and put her quill down, “From the minute I was accepted into this place, I felt like I had to choose between what I wanted to do with my life and Neville, and we’re trying to make it work, but I still feel like that Clara.”

“Doesn’t he understand that what you are doing here is important?”

“Of course he does,” Lilly replied, “But it goes beyond that, Clara. It’s not just Neville; it’s all of them, all of my friends. They are all back there, and I just feel so useless. Sadie is going through some hard stuff right now which you’ll find out about in due course-”

“She’s not officially told us yet, but Sorenson and I know she’s pregnant,” Clara cut in, “I’m a Healer and she doesn’t half make it obvious.”

Lilly smiled slightly, “Yeah, she’s not doing very well, and I’m no use while I’m on the wrong side of the channel. I mean…do you know that I snuck out the other night?”

“You do realise that while you’re here, I’m responsible for all of you?” Clara asked with an amused smile, “So that means, the minute you leave your room after lights out, I find out about it.”

“Why didn’t you say anything then?”

“Because I’m not an arsehole,” Clara replied, “You gonna tell me why you snuck out?”

“Because my best friend needed me,” Lilly said honestly, “I’d never had a best friend before Daphne, I just sort of hung around with whoever was there at school but now I’m going to be someone's maid of honour and the godmother to their kid.”

Clara watched her with interest, and she continued, “Anyway, this has to stay private because although the Aurors are aware of it, its not public knowledge.”

“My lips are sealed,” Clara promised.

“Daphne’s fiancé, Harry has some issues stemming from the war, and he dealt with them by drinking for a while,” Lilly explained, “He relapsed on Monday night because he saw something, misunderstood it and thought Daphne was cheating on him. So while Neville helped him deal with those issues, I had to be there for Daphne.”

“I see,” Clara said.

“And that’s just it,” Lilly said with a frown, “I’m there for them through floo or whatever but I’m not really _there_ for them, and it’s hard.”

“It is hard,” Clara agreed, “I miss Sorenson all the time, and it’s tough but its what we’ve got to do when we love our job. Now, this whole thing has me thinking about an idea I’ve had but it involves a test.”

“A test?”

“First thing tomorrow morning,” Clara said as she got to her feet.

“Are you going to tell me what it is so that I can prepare for it?” Lilly asked.

Clara shook her head and shot her an amused smile, “Trust me, it’s not the kind of test you can prepare for,” she said as she cryptically swept out of the door.

* * *

“Hey babe, I’m home, but I’m heading straight out again!”

“Where to?” Daphne asked with a frown.

“I just need to go round to Sadie’s for a bit.”

“Sadie’s?”

“Yeah, there's something I need to talk to her about,” Harry said. He kicked off his work shoes and put his trainers on then hung up his robes and grabbed a hoodie, “I’ll not be long, I’ll be home before it’s time to put Ted to bed.”

“Okay,” Daphne said. It wasn’t often that _she_ was the bemused one in their relationship.

Harry flew out of the door again, got to the gates and apparated to Grimmauld Place. He knocked on the door and Deeley the house-elf answered it.

“Good evening Deeley,” Harry said kindly, “Is it okay if I come in to talk to the mistress?”

“Yes, mister Harry,” Deeley said, “She is being in the drawing-room.”

Harry stepped into the house and thanked the elf. He made his way up to the drawing-room and smiled at Sadie when he walked in, “It’s nice to see you out of bed.”

“It’s nice to be out of bed,” Sadie laughed, “What brings you here?”

“I just wanted to talk to you about something,” Harry said honestly, “Where’s Theo?”

“Next door,” Sadie answered, “I’ve been eating little and often to keep the sickness at bay, so he has his meals with those two most nights.”

“Ah,” Harry realised. He sat down in an armchair and asked, “Are you okay? You’re not getting too lonely.”

“I’m a little lonely, but mostly I’m bored,” Sadie admitted with a shrug.

“Why don’t you write a book?” Harry suggested.

“About what?”

“I don’t know… the war maybe? Or someone who died in the war…” Harry mused, “The story of Severus Snape might be an interesting one to tell.”

Sadie frowned, “Do you think people would read it?”

“I don’t know,” Harry shrugged, “Everyone calls him a romantic hero, don’t they?”

“True…”

Harry leant back in his chair and said, “I had to have a psychological evaluation at work today.”

“How did that go?” Sadie asked.

“Great,” Harry replied dryly, “Recounting my tragic past was great fun. But Caroline, my Mental Health Healer, did give me a different perspective on the final battle.”

“Okay,” Sadie said. She cocked her head at him, “How did she do that?”

“With statistics,” Harry admitted, “She told me about the four groups of people that the deaths were grouped into, students or returning students, Dumbledore’s Army, the Order of the Phoenix and the Aurors. The group that lost the least people proportionally were the DA which made me emotional, but proud.”

Sadie smiled sadly, “It would do.”

“I didn’t realise that the highest number of deaths were amongst the students. Over half of the fallen fifty were students,” Harry added.

“Well, it makes sense. Some were killed while evacuating, and those were the defenceless ones,” Sadie said quietly, “Others just weren’t experienced enough to fight people as powerful as the Death Eaters.”

Harry nodded, “I hadn’t realised how many died when the tower collapsed.”

Sadie nodded and looked out of the window, “Addair, Isla: 11 years old, Muggleborn. Edwards, Orrin: 13 years old, Half-blood. Fawley, Tristan: 14 years old, Pureblood. Fletcher, Wilfred: 16 years old, Half-blood. Jones, Delilah: 11 years old, Pureblood. Mills, Madeleine: 15 years old, Muggle-born. Roberts, Dominic: 13 years old, Half-blood. Shafiq, Kiera: 12 years old, Pureblood. Wright, Naomi: 12 years old, Muggle-born.”

Harry stared at her in surprise.

Sadie looked away from the window, and he saw the cold look in her eyes, “All Ravenclaws, all killed while evacuating. Then there was Auror Edward Lamb, granted the medal of honour posthumously for saving eleven students in the aftermath of the collapse. He bled to death when they freed him and realised the extent of his injuries. His wife was four months pregnant.”

Harry swallowed a lump in his throat and crossed the room. He sat down next to Sadie and drew her into a hug.

“You’ve memorised the report,” Harry said, his voice was choked.

“I think about it every single day,” Sadie said quietly as she rested her head on Harry’s shoulder, “I can still see every single one of their faces because the report has a picture next to each name. I think about what my father died in the name of love all of the time, Harry. Yes, he joined Voldemort to protect his family, but what if _I_ had been in that tower when _his_ invention blew it up?”

Her voice dripped with venom, “I was sad when he first went to Azkaban, but I’m not anymore. I don’t know what I’ll say to him when he gets out; I don’t even know if I’ll ever be able to look him in the eye again.”

Harry squeezed her shoulder tightly.

“And every single day, I worry that fate will catch up to us,” Sadie whispered, “I worry that one day my husband isn’t going to come home to me or our children and that will be my punishment for what my father did.”

“No,” A new voice said which made Harry and Sadie both look up.

Draco and Theo had both appeared in the doorway, but it wasn’t Theo who had spoken, it was Draco.

"No, I’ll make sure that never happens,” Draco promised Sadie, “I’ll make sure that idiot comes home to you every night because yes, he’s an idiot, but he’s our idiot, and I won’t let anything bad happen to him, I promise.”

Theo smiled at that, “Beautiful sentiment and all Draco, but Potter, why are you cuddling my wife?”

Sadie laughed weakly, “We were just talking about the war, Theo.”

“My meeting with Lamb got me thinking about a lot of things today,” Harry confessed, “And one of those things involved the collapse of the central tower.”

Theo’s eyes darkened, “You shouldn’t have talked to her about. She’s pregnant, she-”

“-is not a china doll,” Hermione said as she nudged past Draco into the drawing-room, “And she is perfectly capable of dealing with difficult situations. There’s no need to treat her like she’s going to break just because she’s growing a baby.”

“Thank you, Hermione,” Sadie said with a smirk.

Hermione smiled and sat down on Sadie’s other side, “You look good today.”

“Much more colour in those cheeks,” Theo agreed with a smile.

“I feel better,” Sadie admitted, “Catch this, I even managed to walk to the library next door today without throwing up.”

“What a day of groundbreaking landmarks, love,” Theo teased.

Hermione laughed, “I brought a few more books over for you, and my mother is going to pop over with some more ginger tea for you tomorrow. She’s in London for the day seeing my aunt, and she’s horrified that I can’t get away from work to meet her,” she added with a roll of her eyes.

“I’ll keep her entertained for half an hour,” Sadie chuckled.

Harry smiled at the four of them and got to his feet, “It’s in moments like this that I see it, you know?”

“See what?” Theo asked.

“We all take the piss and call you a foursome or a quad, or whatever,” Harry said with a wave of his hand, “But the four of you together…it works, somehow.”

“Don’t ask me how it works,” Hermione said, shooting him an amused look, “Because I can’t explain it.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to,” Harry said simply, “And you should never have to explain yourself to your family. I’m just glad that your happy, Hermione.”

Draco raised an eyebrow, “This is touching.”

“And out of character, what the hell did that Healer do to you today?” Theo asked.

“She just gave me a different perspective,” Harry said. He looked at Sadie and smiled, “If you call Dumbledore’s Army _my_ army, I lost five people that day, but I saved thirty. Nine Ravenclaws died in the collapse of that tower, but 374 students survived. I’ve been so focused on the names, and the faces, on the stories, just like you Sadie.”

Sadie caught his eye.

“But sometimes we need to think about things with numbers, Theo’s right about that. Sometimes, statistics are good because we can think about something logically without getting emotionally pulled in by the stories,” Harry said, he smiled at Theo, “50 died in the battle of Hogwarts but do you know how many died in the Battle of Amiens, the last battle of the Great Muggle War?”

The three purebloods all shook their heads, but Hermione replied, “Almost 20,000, but far more people fought in that battle, Harry.”

“I know, Mione,” Harry said, “I’ve been talking to Charlus because he fought in that battle. But when you break it down, 1 in 4 men died in the Battle of Amiens. 1 in 10 ten in the Battle of Hogwarts. It took me a long time to see it this way, but it _was_ a resounding success. We killed a dark lord, we disbanded his followers, and we had enough Aurors left to round most of them up. Those we lost will never be forgotten, but they didn’t die in vain, and I can finally see that now.”

Hermione smiled. She got to her feet and wrapped her arms around his neck, “I’m proud of you, Harry,” she murmured, kissing him on the cheek and drawing back.

Harry smiled, “I had better get home. I promised Daph I’d be home in time to put Ted to bed. See you guys tomorrow,” he said to Draco and Theo before sweeping out of the house.

* * *

Harry got home just in time to read Teddy a story, kiss him and put him down. He knew that he was going to get questioned by Daphne, but he didn’t expect her to start only seconds after Teddy’s bedroom door was shut.

“What is going on with you?”

“I’ve had an interesting day,” Harry admitted, “And a tough one.”

Daphne frowned, “Why?”

They paused in the entrance hall, and Harry smiled, “I saw my Mental Health Healer today.”

“Okay, and did that go well?” Daphne asked cautiously; she knew his opinion on therapy.

“Yes,” Harry said honestly, “It really did and…I learned some things about myself today, and I think I can finally start to let go of all that happened.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Are you actually saying that therapy helped?”

Harry laughed, “As surprising as it is, yes.”

Daphne smiled, “What did that Healer say to you, huh?”

Harry reached into his pocket and held out a vial with a silvery substance in it, “I don’t want to rehash it all, but that’s my memory. I think it would help you understand why I’ve done some of the things that I have and why I am the way that I am.”

Daphne took the vial from him and looked him in the eye, “Are you sure?”

“You’ll be my wife soon, you ought to know what you’re letting yourself in for,” Harry said with a weak smile.

“I’d marry you anyway,” Daphne said, and Harry could tell that she meant it.

“All the same,” Harry said with a sigh, “I realised today while talking about all of that stuff, quite how much I’ve put myself through over the years.”

“I’ll watch it,” Daphne said. She kissed him lightly, “But while I do, make yourself a cup of coffee and relax for a bit. You look exhausted.”

* * *

By the time Daphne had finished watching the memory, Harry had gotten himself comfortable in his study. He was drinking a cup of coffee and talking to Charlus.

Daphne paused in the doorway and smiled as she listened in to their conversation.

“So when Daphne and I have kids, they will be purebloods?” Harry mused.

“Yes,” Charlus said, “Have you grasped the concept now?”

“I think so,” Harry said as he tapped his fingers on the desk, “If you have four magical grandparents then you are a pureblood which is why most wizarding families don’t mind mixing with half-bloods because, within a generation or two, the family will be ‘pure’ again. But it’s why there’s still a stigma around muggle-borns and muggles.”

Charlus smiled, “Precisely. You are a fast learner, my boy.”

Daphne walked into the room and said, “Children, huh?”

“Oh just preparing for the future,” Harry said with a natural smile, “And trying to wrap my head around what makes one a ‘pureblood’.”

“Our children will be purebloods, but Draco and Hermione’s will be half-bloods,” Daphne explained, “Because-”

“Because not all four grandparents are magical,” Harry finished with a grin, “See? I’ve worked it out.”

Daphne smiled at him, “Yes, you have.”

“What did you make of my memory?”

“I think I worked out why you went to talk to Sadie,” Daphne admitted, “It was what Caroline said about the collapse of the tower, wasn’t it?”

Harry nodded, “I hadn’t realised how much guilt _she_ felt over that.”

Daphne sighed and leant against the doorframe, “I’ve tried to tell her that it wasn’t her fault, but she blames herself for her father's actions. If we all did that, I’d be riddled with guilt.”

Harry rose to his feet and pulled her into a hug, “Thank you.”

“For what?” Daphne asked cluelessly.

“For sticking by me, through all of this. I know it can’t be easy, dealing with my hero complex and my war guilt, then I throw in bloody alcohol dependency which I know reminds you of your father,” Harry said, he rested his forehead against hers, “I’m sorry that I come with so much baggage.”

“I’m hardly baggage-free, am I?” Daphne murmured. She lifted her head slightly and kissed him, “And I love you, baggage or not.”

Harry smiled against her lips and deepened the kiss, murmuring, “I love you too,” as he did so.

* * *

Lilly didn’t often get nervous, but she had to admit, she felt sick with nerves on Thursday morning as she waited for Clara to meet her in the break-room.

When the door opened, Lilly jumped.

“Come on Moon, time for the big test.”

Lilly followed Clara out of the room and said, “Any hints?”

“Nope.” Clara replied, “But there’s no need to look so nervous, I know you’re going to ace it.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Gut instinct,” Clara shrugged, “And the fact you’re the best British recruit I’ve seen come through these doors.”

Lilly smiled proudly and followed Clara through a door with a red light on top of it. She stopped in alarm when they emerged into an open area.

“What the-”

“We’re in a simulation room,” Clara explained, “Take a moment to look around and come to grips with it.”

Lilly swallowed. There was carnage everywhere. Bodies lay all over the place and buildings were on fire.

“What happened here?” Clara asked Lilly.

“A dragon attack,” Lilly replied.

“Yep,” Clara said, “Now our simulation room is loaded up with scenarios that are sent into us by Aurors from all over the place. That’s so we can test you guys by putting you into a situation that the Aurors you will work with have already been tested on. For example, this is the first simulation that your boyfriend and his friends faced back in August.”

Lilly nodded, “So Neville is going to be in this simulation?”

“An echo of him will be,” Clara agreed, “But don’t talk to them or treat them as your friends because they aren’t them. They are simulated Aurors who are programmed to resemble your friends.”

Lilly nodded.

“So I’m here with you,” Clara said, “I won’t leave your side, but you are in charge. From the moment we step into the room and shut the door, I need you to lead from the front. Do you understand?”

Lilly nodded, “I won’t have time to think or react in real life, so you need to test my ability to think fast and make difficult decisions on the spot.”

“Exactly,” Clara said, “Are you ready?”

Lilly took a breath and nodded.

“Alright, let’s go then.”

They stepped into the room, Clara closed the door, and the scene unfroze. Screams and shouts filled the air, fire roared all around them, and Lilly had to fight not to flashback to the final battle. She gave herself a shake and walked over to the group of Aurors standing in front of her.

“Guys!”

All eight Aurors turned around, and she recognised them as Neville, Harry and all of their course-mates.

Harry took a step forward, “Good, the Healers are here. I was just delegating, Harper, Wilde, Zabini and Wood – get that fire under control.”

The four Aurors nodded and dashed away. Harry turned to Lilly and Clara, “If we can get the injured and the dead to you, can you do your thing from there?”

“Yes,” Lilly replied simply.

Harry nodded and turned back to his men. He started barking orders, and Lilly surveyed the scene before them, “Okay so we need a triage tent set up straight away. The wind is blowing in that direction towards the forest,” she said as she swivelled in a circle, “So if we set the tent up downwind, away from the trees we should be in the safest position.”

Clara followed her as she began to walk in that direction. She turned and yelled to Harry, “Potter! Triage tent is going to be behind those houses!”

Harry gave her a thumbs up, so she jogged in that direction, and Clara followed her. On the way, she used aguamenti to put the fire out in the houses near the area to avoid the tent being set alight.

Clara took the triage tent out of her bag and said, “Erecto!”

Once it was up, Lilly magically expanded it and stepped inside, “Okay so we would normally call for back-up by sending a Patronus to St. Mungo’s at this point, but since this is a test, there is no back-up.”

“Correct, just the two of us,” Clara said.

Lilly nodded, “So, we need five areas of triage, and we’ll tag the patients when the Aurors bring them in.”

Lilly surveyed the tent, “Realistically, we need to split the tent into three areas. This side will be the red zone, for those who have a chance of survival but need immediate care. This side will be the yellow zone, for those who are not in immediate danger of death because they are stable, but whose condition could worsen.”

Clara nodded.

Lilly frowned and said, “Green zone at the back there for the walking wounded who need medical care but can wait until the more seriously injured have been tended to.”

“Okay,” Clara said, “Want me to start transfiguring beds?”

Lilly shook her head, “Too many wounded, let's just use mattresses on the floor, we can push them more closely together and fit everyone in the tent. Out front, we’re going to need two more zones set up, a white zone and a black zone.”

Clara bowed her head, “How are we going to go about that?”

“By the trees, we’ll set up an apparition circle for those in the white zone. Once it is established that they have no injures, or just minor injuries, we can dismiss them and get them out of here,” Lilly said as she indicated towards the tree-line, “And this area in front of the tent will be our black zone for victims who are deceased or whose injuries are such that we know they aren’t going to make it. There’s not any point putting them inside the tent and wasting resources.”

“Agreed,” Clara said.

Lilly took a deep breath and looked out at the village, “I think we have about five minutes until we start getting the injured in, so let’s get this place ready to go.”

They transfigured objects into mattresses, got medical supplies out of the bag that Clara carried and had the tent functional as a makeshift hospital before the Aurors started to arrive with patients and bodies.

Lilly jumped straight into Healer mood as the adrenaline pumped through her body, “No heartbeat, put him in the black zone, Longbottom.”

“Potter, that one is alive, but he's got third-degree burns all over his body,” Lilly barked, “Black zone him.”

“Nott, get her in the yellow zone and Black, get her in the red zone.”

She bounced between the zones, putting salves on burns, using complex spells to expel smoke from the lungs and she found her rhythm. It was hard work, she was sweating, she was out of breath at times, and she had to decide who lived and who died, but she felt like she was on top of it

“Nott, white zone her, she's fine,” Lilly yelled as the final few victims came in, “Black, put her in the black zone.”

“But she’s just a kid,” Draco said, a frown knitting its way across his face.

“I know she’s a kid, but she’s nearly dead Black,” Lilly said as she caught his eye, “And I’ve got six kids in the red zone that stand a chance of surviving.”

He nodded and dashed away. Lilly was about to head back into the tent when a yell distracted her, “Moon!”

She turned around and saw Harry carrying a badly burned man, “It’s Neville, Lilly, it’s _Neville_!”

Lilly swallowed as she looked down, beneath the burns, she could make out his features. She was aware of Clara observing her from the tent, so Lilly took a steadying breath and performed a diagnostic charm, “Third-degree burns covering 90% of his body…”

She did a more in-depth charm, “Smoke inhalation…he breathed in the same toxic smoke as these guys. Were they all in the same building?” she asked Harry quickly.

Harry nodded.

“There must have been a chemical reacting with the fire,” Lilly said. She shut her eyes and listened to Neville’s heartbeat, “His lungs are burnt inside. Soon he won’t be able to breathe; he’ll choke to death.”

“Heal him then.”

“I can’t,” Lilly said. She looked up at Harry with a fire burning in her eyes, “Black zone.”

“But it’s Neville!”

“It doesn’t matter who it is!” Lilly snapped, “He’s too far gone, if I saved him, he would never speak again, he would probably never wake up, his brain has been starved of oxygen for too long. Cells have already died; he would have brain damage. He can’t be saved, so put him in the black zone.”

The look Harry gave her was full of hatred, but he put Neville’s body down in the black zone anyway.

Lilly took a shaky breath and turned back to the tent.

“Are you okay?” Clara asked.

“I’m fine,” Lilly said coolly, “But that’s the last of the patients so let’s re-assess. Once we’ve cleared the reds and got the last of them off to St Mungo’s, we can move onto the yellows.”

“I’ve just sent two more little girls over to St Mungo's,” Clara said, “We’ve got severe burns and smoke inhalation, one of them is so far gone I think we’re going to lose her.”

Lilly nodded and launched herself back into her work. They cleared the red zone while the Aurors bagged the bodies of the dead. Lilly didn’t look at them; she couldn’t stand to see Neville’s body being bagged up.

When they moved onto the yellow zone, the Aurors came in.

“Can we help?” Blanche asked.

“Green zone,” Lilly called, “All minor burns, cuts, breaks or smoke inhalation. You should be able to heal them and send them home!”

The Aurors dispersed, but as Harry walked past Lilly, he said, “Neville just died. I bagged him up with the rest and sent him to the morgue.”

Lilly swallowed, and her hand shook over the wound that she was sealing. Clara grabbed it and murmured, “Focus.”

She took a breath and steadied her hand. Clara nodded, “Good girl.”

Lilly finished healing the cut, and the scene froze once more.

“Well done,” Clara said proudly as the scene around them disappeared so that they were left in a white room.

Lilly looked down, the blood on her hands and clothes was gone.

Clara looked up, and Lilly saw a large window in one wall. Behind it, four figures sat.

“What do you think then guys?” Clara yelled, “Good enough to take her to see the baby Aurors tomorrow? Because I’ve been telling you that this girl is good, but you don’t seem to believe me.”

The window slid open, and another of the Senior Healers leaned out, “Attitude, Selwyn.”

“Sorry, Roberts,” Clara said, shooting Lilly a sheepish smile.

Lilly smiled weakly; she was still overwhelmed by what had happened.

“She passed with flying colours,” Roberts said, “So yes, she can tag along with you on a Friday afternoon from now on, but just remember, the simulation room that the trainees use is _live_.”

“Don’t worry, she’s aware of the consequences,” Clara said.

Lilly just nodded.

“Fine, Trainee Trauma Healer Moon, you’re cleared for field duty,” Roberts said, “Get your arse up here so that I can give you the clip that proves that.”

Lilly turned to Clara with a half-smile, “Thank you!”

Clara smiled, “You did it, Lil. I just gave you the opportunity, now on you go and get that clip. You’ll need to wear every time you go into a simulation or accompany me in the field.”

Lilly nodded and left the room, still feeling stunned by the dramatic turn of events.

* * *

“Potter!”

Harry froze, he had been expecting it.

All-day, he had been waiting to be called into Sumner’s office. They finished at 4.30 pm on a Thursday, so when Harry left duelling practice, he thought Sumner was going to wait until the following day to talk to him.

He turned around and saw the Senior Auror waiting in the corridor for him, “A word in my office?”

Harry nodded and followed Sumner through the complex silently. When he stepped into Sumner’s office, he sat down across from his desk.

Sumner took his seat and surveyed Harry, “I assume you know why you’re here, son?”

Harry nodded, “Because of my psych evaluation yesterday.”

“Yeah,” Sumner said, “Because of some things that came to light during that evaluation.”

“You mean me being a recovering alcoholic, sir?” Harry asked calmly, “Because if you do, just so say. There’s no need to treat it as a sensitive topic.”

Sumner smiled slightly, “Well, then. What are we going to do about it, eh?”

“Healer Lamb said you wouldn’t kick me out for it sir, but-”

Sumner raised his hand, “We won’t kick you out for it, but we are going to need to monitor you very closely for the next couple of months. Consider yourself on probation, okay Potter?”

Harry nodded, “Okay.”

“Every morning for the next six weeks, you’re going to have to give a urine sample,” Sumner said, “So you will come in, head straight to the hospital wing to do that then get to outdoor training. If that ever comes back with traces of alcohol in it, you and I are going to be having words, do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You are also going to meet with Healer Lamb once a week,” Sumner said, “Every Wednesday towards the end of your healing class, she will come and talk to you for half an hour or so. That is mandatory until she deems necessary.”

“I understand sir,” Harry said simply, “Thank you for giving me this chance.”

Sumner leant back in his chair, “We’re not heartless son, and we’re not stupid. You went through more as a kid than most adult Aurors go through in their entire career. It has made you into a brilliant Auror, but it also means you need a bit more support from us. What we put you through here, and what you see and do on the job, it changes you. We don’t thrust that upon you people then leave them high and dry. We look out for our own in the Auror department, Potter, we’re a family.”

Harry smiled, “I could have done with that a few years ago.”

“Yeah,” Sumner said, “Lamb told me about your school life and frankly Potter, it’s bloody disgusting that there was no form of therapy or after-care for you after Diggory died. You saw someone die, and they sent you home for the summer then acted like it hadn’t happened. If you see a co-worker die here, we put you through a mandatory psych evaluation before we allow you to return to work and that’s for adults, you were just a kid.”

Harry shrugged, “It was tough, but it’s in the past now, sir. I’m trying to take Healer Lamb's advice and leave it there.”

“It’s good advice,” Sumner said with a smile, “Dismissed, Potter.”

“Thank you, sir,” Harry said, smiling back at his Senior Auror.

* * *

“Hey! How was your day?”

Lilly smiled sadly, “Shit, but great.”

“How does that work?” Neville laughed.

“Well, I got cleared for field duty,” Lilly said with a smile, “You know, four months early.”

“That’s brilliant, Lil!” Neville said proudly, “How did you manage that?”

“Clara put me in _our_ simulation room,” Lilly admitted, “And gave me the same scenario that you guys had to face when you first went in.”

“Dragon attack?” Neville asked with a frown.

Lilly nodded, “I had to run the triage tent with Clara. The way we do things in a mass crisis like that is through colour-coded zones, so we have red for those who need to be treated straight away, yellow for those who need to be monitored in case their condition worsens, and green for those who can wait to be healed.”

“The walking wounded,” Neville said, “I remember you telling me about it.”

Lilly nodded, “Then there is the white zone, which usually has an apparition point so that those who have minor injuries or who are fine can apparate away. Then there’s the black zone, for those who are dead or who are so far gone that we would be wasting our time and resources by trying to save their lives.”

Neville nodded as he followed her story.

“It went fine, to begin with,” Lilly admitted, “I prioritised, but I had to argue with the Aurors about it. They had your faces on, but they weren’t really you, they were just simulated Aurors wearing your faces to put me off.”

Neville frowned.

“Then Harry came in with an injured guy, and it was you,” Lilly said, “You had third-degree burns, everywhere. You had breathed in toxic smoke; there wasn’t enough oxygen going to your brain. If that had been an unnamed person I wouldn’t have hesitated to black zone them, so I did, I black zoned you, and Harry looked at me like I was a villain, but it was easy.”

Neville raised an eyebrow, “Easy?”

“Let me finish,” Lilly said, “It was easy because it wasn’t real. I knew it wasn’t real; I knew he wasn’t you. It was a simulation, and it would all go away once I had passed or failed, and I knew that.”

Neville began to understand her reasoning. Lilly sighed and looked Neville in the eye, “But the thing is Nev, if that had been real life, I wouldn’t have done what I did in the simulation. There’s no way in hell I’d have left you to die then just got on with my job. It scares me, thinking about it because if it had been real, I’d have damned the consequences and healed you. Regardless of rules or zones or codes, I’d have done _everything_ in my power to heal you because you’re the most important person in the world.”

Neville smiled at her, “I love you too, Lil.”

Fear flitted through Lilly’s eyes, “This is going to be our life now, isn’t it?”

“Constantly worrying about the other one?” Neville asked, “Yeah, that’s going to be our life, but I love you beyond reason, so I’m prepared to accept that if you are.”

Lilly nodded, “Me too, and I bloody hate being stuck in France because I really want to kiss you right now!”

Neville laughed, “On the bright side, does this mean I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Lilly smiled, “Yeah, now that I’m cleared for field duty, I’ll be joining Clara on your Friday afternoon missions from now on.”

“Well then, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Neville said cheerfully, “And once we’ve gotten through our first simulation together, I’ll take you home and we can spend the weekend doing whatever you want. Deal?”

“Deal,” Lilly beamed.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	54. What Hurts the Most?

“Hermione!”

Hermione looked up and smiled, “Oh, hi Viktor. What brings you down here?”

“Coffee, just like you,” Viktor said, he motioned to the cup in her hand.

Hermione laughed, “Yeah…I guess that makes sense since we are standing next to the coffee cart. How are you finding the ministry then?”

“Ah, I love it,” Viktor chirped, he paid for his coffee and smiled at her, “Very welcoming.”

“So you think you’ll stay?” Hermione asked conversationally as they walked back to the lifts together.

Viktor nodded, “Oh yes, I cannot see any reason to leave. I am looking at apartments next week, but I do not know London very well. Do you think you could maybe help me out?”

“Oh, I don’t know London very well either,” Hermione admitted, “I’m from Hertfordshire, but my fiancé knows London well. I’ll ask him for a few pointers and let you know what he says.”

“Fiancé?” Viktor asked with a raised eyebrow, “You and Ron are marrying, huh?”

“Ron? Oh, Merlin, no!” Hermione said with a shake of her head, “Ron and I are…well that didn’t…it just didn’t happen to be honest. No, I’m engaged to Draco, Draco Malfoy. Did you talk to him much when you were over for the tournament?”

Viktor nodded, “Yes, yes, I remember him. He was not pleasant to you as I remember, he made you cry, no?”

“He did,” Hermione agreed, “But a lot changed after the war. It’s complicated, I guess.”

“You can catch me up over lunch next week?” Viktor suggested when the elevator came to a stop.

The elevator pinged, and Hermione pointed to the door, “This is your floor.”

“Ah yes, I will get used to that,” Viktor said, he shot her a smile and jumped out of the elevator.

* * *

“Todays the day!” Harry said cheerfully as he and the guys walked to the simulation room together after lunch.

“The big one!” Theo joined in.

Draco rolled his eyes.

“The one we’ve all been waiting for!” Harry exclaimed, “The day the pocket rocket finally joins us!”

“You’re an idiot,” Neville said as he tried to hide an amused smile.

Blanche snorted, “Do you know how jealous we are that you guys are getting proper missions while we’re still stuck with fuckwit and fuckwittier?”

Ophelia sniggered, “They aren’t _that_ bad, and you are becoming a very good leader.”

“Well I’ve got to be, or those two will get us killed,” Blanche said with a roll of her eyes, “I hope we get to come in with you guys soon.”

“Fingers crossed,” Harry said as they reached the waiting room in front of the simulation rooms. Maxwell and Emily were already there, as were Clara and Lilly.

Neville grinned at his girlfriend, and she waved at him.

Clara rolled her eyes, “Focus.”

“I am focused,” Lilly promised.

Sheppard clapped his hands together, “Right then folks. Today we’ve got a missing person case in the junior room for Zabini, Wood, Harper and Wilde.”

Maxwell rolled his eyes and scoffed.

Sheppard raised an eyebrow, “Something on your mind, _Recruit_?”

Maxwell crossed his arms over his chest and said, “How come we’re still in the junior room? They’ve been in the intermediate room for two weeks now.”

“To put it bluntly Harper, you’re still in the junior room because you’re not good enough yet,” Sheppard said.

“So it’s not because the boy who lived and his sidekicks are getting preferential treatment then?” Maxwell asked irritably.

Clara laughed, “Preferential treatment? I think that’s the first time anyone has accused you of that Shep.”

“For good reason,” Sheppard agreed, “The whole point of a simulation room is to get you battle ready, Harper. We can throw tests and knowledge at you, that’s for paperwork. That’s so you don’t break the rules and regulations, but simulation room scenarios teach you how to fight.”

Sheppard gestured at Harry, Neville, Draco and Theo, “Those four are battle-ready. Potter killed a Dark Lord, Longbottom killed a Horcrux and fought several Death Eaters in the final battle. Nott fought against the Death Eaters in the final battle, one of them being his own father. Black…well, Black handed Potter at his wand at the right moment and got hugged by Voldemort, but somehow he manages to keep up with the other three.”

Harry and Neville burst out laughing while Lilly hid an amused grin behind her hand. Draco rolled his eyes and shook his head, “With all due respect, sir, that was a traumatic moment in my life that I try not to think about.”

“Yeah, Black, I don’t blame you,” Sheppard joked, “Now Wood, where were you during the final battle?”

“Sheltering with my family, sir,” Ophelia replied.

“And Zabini, where were you?”

“In hiding with my family, sir,” Blanche replied.

“Wilde?”

“At home sir, I’m a muggle-born, so I was unable to return to school,” Emily answered.

“What about you, Harper?”

“Well, I fought,” Maxwell argued, “I led the evacuation of the Slytherins.”

“No, you didn’t!” Theo spoke up, “My wife, Sadie, did that. Then she threw crystal balls at Death Eaters because she’s fucking brilliant.”

“I’m pretty sure Sadie told us that Harper just cowered in the corner and cried like a little girl,” Draco remarked.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Theo agreed with a smirk.

Sheppard bit back a smile, “Enough guys. But as punishment for speaking out, Harper, you and Wilde are going to spend the afternoons running laps.”

“There’s a thunderstorm outside!” Maxwell objected.

“Don’t take any metal objects wit you then,” Sheppard retorted, “On you go.”

Maxwell rolled his eyes and was scolded by Emily as they left the room.

“Wood, Zabini, you’re going solo on that missing person case,” Sheppard said.

“Thank Merlin for that,” Blanche muttered.

Sheppard chuckled and ushered them into the room, then he turned to those that were left, “Okay guys, the fun times are over. Now you’ve got your healer – everyone say hello to Trainee Trauma Healer Lilly Moon.”

The four boys all grinned and waved at her.

“Yes, I’m aware you’re all acquainted with her,” Sheppard added with an amused smile.

“Unfortunately, in the case of some,” Lilly said, shooting a grin at Draco and Theo.

“Harsh, Lil,” Theo said with a shake of his head.

Sheppard cleared his throat, “But when you go into that room together, you do so as colleagues, _not_ friends. In that room, she’s not your girlfriend, Longbottom. She’s the Healer who is responsible for keeping you alive.”

“Yes, sir,” Neville said sincerely.

Sheppard continued, “We’re starting you off with a big test,” he waved his wand, and the light above the door began to flash red, “You know what red means, but do you know what flashing red means?”

Draco nodded, “The kill-switch is activated; anything goes.”

“Exactly. Anything that happens to you in there really happens,” Sheppard said sincerely, “You lose a leg, that’s it gone. It’ll be gone when the simulation ends. You die in there? You have a heart attack in real life so _take it seriously_. Take your time and keep each other safe.”

They all nodded. Harry felt his heart pound in his chest as fear set in. He could act bravely in simulations, but when he knew that it was real, it was a different story.

Sheppard opened the door and said, “A group of terrorists have launched an attack at a big Quidditch game. You arrive after a proximity charm has gone off underneath one of the stands. The perpetrators are still in the crowd, and it is your job to catch them without creating any further casualties. Any questions?”

They all shook their heads.

“Good luck then guys,” Sheppard said as he took a step back.

Harry led the way into the room, and the simulation began when Lilly and Clara shut the door. The scene was horrific; there were bodies and body parts everywhere within the vicinity of the stand where the explosion had taken place. People were screaming, panicking and apparating away.

Harry acted quickly and said, “ _Laqueus magus homines hic.”_

Lilly looked at Harry in disbelief, “What did you do that for? How are we going to get the people out now that you’ve put an Anti-Disapparition Jinx up?”

“Theo, you’re in charge of portkeys,” Harry said, without answering Lilly directly, “They will allow us to get more people out quickly and this way, our perps can’t apparate away. Draco, have his back while he’s making them and keep an eye on the patients that our healers are working on. We don’t know if any of the terrorists got caught up in it, they might be amongst the injured.”

Theo and Draco both nodded.

Harry turned to Neville, “You and I will track the bad guys and arrest them.”

Neville nodded, and Harry turned to Lilly, “You don’t have the room or the time to set up a triage tent, so how do you want to do this?”

“We’re going to need to create a tagging system,” Lilly replied, “And Theo, I’m going to need those portkeys to be spelled to send patients to different areas of St Mungos. Everyone listen up! Have you guys worked with the traffic light system before?”

They all shook their heads, so Lilly said, “When you find an injured person, tag them. Green for the walking wounded: people who can wait for treatment. Yellow for those with serious injuries who are currently stable. Red for those who need to be treated straight away and have a chance of survival. Black for those who are dead or so far gone that it would be a waste of our resources to try and heal them. White for those with minor injuries or no injuries at all. The guys in the white zone can leave, but you’re going to need someone to guard the apparition point so that none of the terrorists slips through it.”

“It will have to be me,” Draco said.

Harry nodded, “Set it up near the stand where the injured are so you can have Theo’s back.”

“Will do.”

Lilly continued, “For our green guys, we’re going to need a portkey that we can send back and forth from the minor injuries unit at the hospital. For our yellow guys, we’re going to need one that we can send back and forth from accident and emergency. For our red guys, we need portkeys that will take them straight to intensive care,” she rattled off, “And for the black zone guys, we need to portkey them to the morgue at St Mungo's. It’s going to be all hands on deck so when you find someone, you use a paint charm to mark their head clearly and you move them to the centre of the pitch here,” she pointed, “Where Clara and I can start prioritising and clearing the pitch. Is everyone clear on that?”

“Yeah, all clear,” Harry agreed, “Come on then guys, let’s get going!”

They all went their separate ways. Lilly and Clara headed for the stand where the majority of the wounded were, and Draco and Theo headed that way too.

Harry and Neville both started to walk in the opposite direction, “If you were a terrorist with a proximity charm on _that_ stand, where would you sit?”

Neville nodded at the stand ahead of them, “There, straight ahead to get a clear view of all the carnage I was about to cause.”

“And when the Aurors showed up and trapped you, where would you go?” Harry murmured.

“Under the stands so I could set up another proximity charm,” Neville whispered, “Making a whole stand worth of hostages so that I could try and escape.”

He flung out an arm and stopped Harry from walking any further and whispered, “Revelio.”

A red barrier shone in front of them.

“Shit,” Harry muttered.

“Yeah,” Neville agreed. He glanced behind him and cast a Patronus charm, “Lilly, we’ve got a proximity charm under the stand directly ahead of you. Possibility of multiple casualties if anything sets it off.”

He sent the Patronus across the pitch and turned back to Harry, “Any idea how we can get past it?”

Harry frowned, “I did it once, but it was risky…”

“You’re talking about your morality test,” Neville realised, “Turn the whole stand into a portkey?”

Harry nodded, “Yeah but doing so would cause another explosion, and if our perps are touching the stand, they’ll get port-keyed out too.”

Neville frowned and looked up at the stand, “The charm is only on the perimeter. We could drop in from above?”

“We’d go in blind with no idea of what we were facing,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “I have an idea, but it’s risky.”

“What is it?” Neville asked.

“I’ve been practising fire flashing in my animagus form,” Harry admitted, “I know I can flash myself in there, but I’ve never tried taking another person in.”

“Well you’re not going in there without back-up, so how are we going to do this?” Neville asked.

“I’ll transform, you hold onto my tail feathers tightly, and I’ll flash us through. It might hurt, I’ve never taken a human along for the ride before,” Harry explained.

“I’ll take the risk,” Neville said.

Harry nodded and shut his eyes. He drowned out the screams and concentrated. He felt a warm tingling in his head begin to work its way down to his feet, and when he opened his eyes, he was hovering in the air. He flew up a little, and Neville grabbed his tail-feathers. He shut his eyes once more, concentrated on getting through the charm, and he and Neville disappeared in a flash of fire.

When they rematerialised on the other side of the proximity charm, Harry transformed back into human form while Neville gasped in alarm, “That was horrible! That was worse than apparition or floo travel. I felt like I just stepped into a fucking fire!”

“Right, you okay now?” Harry asked calmly, “You had your moment because we’ve got bad guys to catch.”

Neville took a breath, “Yeah, I’m over it.”

He cast a charm that revealed that there four magical signatures beneath the stands, “There are two of them.”

“One each,” Harry joked.

“Don’t joke, you know how high the stakes are today,” Neville said carefully, “What do we do when we find them? Immobilise them so they can’t set off the proximity charm.”

“We _need_ them to lift it, remember?”

“I know,” Harry said, “I’ve got a plan, just use petrificus totalus on them the moment that you see them, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Let’s move in.”

They ducked underneath the stands and walked slowly and carefully, with their wands held out in front of them. They heard whispering, so Harry motioned to Neville, and they crept towards it. As they peered around a wooden beam, Neville gave Harry a thumbs up, and they both jumped out.

“Petrificus Totalus!”

Both men were immediately immobilised, so Harry said, “Bind the hands and legs of that one.”

“Incarcerous!” They said, binding the men's limbs together.

Harry uttered the counter curse to petrificus totalus then hit the perpetrator with a compulsion charm.

His eyes became unfocused, and Harry said, “Take the proximity charm off, now.”

The perpetrator raised his wand and slurred a word, which was obviously the password for the proximity charm.

Harry looked at Neville. His Auror partner cast a diagnostic charm and nodded, “He did it.”

“Stupefy! Excellent,” Harry said.

Neville on the other hand, frowned, “Don’t you think that felt too-”

He stopped when a loud crack sounded above. They both raised their wands and began to say, “Prote-”

But before they could finish putting up shield charms, a third perpetrator came through the wooden floor of the stand above and slapped something on Neville’s chest.

“Stupefy!” Harry yelled, hitting the perp square in the back, “Incarcerous!”

Neville cried out in pain, and Harry spun around, “Neville!”

He grasped his chest and tried to suck in a breath, but he couldn’t.

“What did he do?” Harry asked as he grabbed Neville’s shoulders.

“He slapped something on my chest, a bug,” Neville hissed, “And it’s _inside_ me.”

“Fuck!” Harry exclaimed, “A fucking scarab beetle!”

He took a step back and aimed his wand at a spot on Neville’s chest that was rippling, “Immobulus!”

Neville hissed in pain, “What did you do?”

“Immobilised it before it could reach your brain and kill you,” Harry replied.

“How do you know-”

“Something Daphne read up on a while ago,” Harry said quickly, “They are often found in Egyptian tombs, so Bill told her to read up on how to extract them.”

“So you can take it out?”

“Yeah, but not on my own, I need Lil,” Harry said calmly, “Right, this is what we’re going to do. I’m going to levitate these guys, and we’re going to walk across the grounds to Lilly. You need to keep watch because I can’t.”

Neville swallowed, “Why?”

“Because if I stop using immobulus, that thing is going to burrow its way to your brain and it's going to chew through your spinal cord to get there. At best it will paralyse you and at worst, kill you,” Harry retorted, “So you need to keep watch until we get to the middle of the pitch where Lilly can cut it out of you.”

“You could have started that sentence with ‘Don’t panic Neville, but-’ you know?”

“Would it have helped?”

“Not really, but still…”

“Come on; time is of the essence here,” Harry said. With his left hand, he clicked his fingers and flicked them up into the air, which levitated the three bodies behind them.

When Harry began to walk, they floated behind them. Neville walked in front of him slowly, his hand grasping his wand as they crossed the pitch to the area of grass where Lilly and Clara were rushing around. Portkeys were going off, and people were disappearing every few seconds, it was complete chaos.

“Draco!” Harry yelled, “Get these guys more secure than I’ve got them!”

Draco dashed forward, “Is that all of them?”

“As far as I’m aware,” Harry replied, “Where’s Theo? Lilly! We need you over here!”

“He’s evacuating the last of the white zone guys,” Draco replied as he knocked out the guy who was just petrified then bound all three of them together.

Lilly reached them, and Harry said, “Don’t panic, but he has a scarab beetle in his chest.”

“Oh, so she gets a ‘don’t panic’?” Neville joked.

“Neville, not now,” Harry snapped, “You know what a scarab beetle is, don’t you?”

Lilly frowned, “I’ve heard of them-”

“Small, burrowing creature,” Harry said quickly, “It wants to go to his brain, I’ve got it immobilised, but you need to cut it out.”

“If I open him up, can’t you just kill it?” Lilly asked.

“No, because it has a fail-safe. If we kill it while it's attached to the host, it will start to rot, and Neville’s organs will rot with it,” Harry said, “It needs to be cut out while it’s alive then we need to burn the fuck out of it.”

“Okay,” Lilly said, “Lie down, Neville.”

Neville did so, while Harry kept his wand trained on Neville’s chest.

Lilly ripped open Neville’s shirt and cast a diagnostic charm on his chest, which showed her Neville’s bones, internal organs and veins.

“Okay,” She said slowly, “It is attached to a muscle but not to any major organs or veins. Harry, do _not_ let it move because if you do, it’s going to be too near his heart for me to cut out.”

Harry nodded, “Get it out, now.”

“What happens if I cast a numbing charm?” Lilly asked, “Does it act like any other creature and try to defend itself?”

“Yeah, if we use _any_ magic on Neville’s body, it will defend itself. He’s going have to feel all of this,” Harry said. He glanced down at Neville and added, “Sorry, mate.”

Neville took a shaky breath in response, “You can do it, Lil, I’ve seen how steady your hand is.”

Lilly rummaged in her bag for a scalpel and said, “This isn’t the Room of Requirement, Nev.”

Neville’s skin rippled, and Harry’s wand jerked, “Lilly, now! I can’t hold the damn thing forever.”

Lilly kept her diagnostic charm up so that she could make sure that she didn’t nick any arteries and she made an extended, thin cut just under Neville’s pec.

He groaned in pain and fought to keep himself still. Harry glanced up as Theo returned, “Theo! Draco! Little help over here!”

The two Slytherins reached them, and Harry said, “Theo, take his arms. Draco, take his legs. We need to keep him as still as possible so Lilly can do her job.”

Both men did as they were told silently. Lilly handed the scalpel to Harry and used gauze to lift the skin. Theo, who was holding Neville’s arms, made a face and averted his gaze.

“There’s the bastard,” Lilly muttered, “Harry, you said I can’t use magic to get it out of him. Can I pull it off with surgical tweezers?”

“Yes, but it’s attached itself to him. You need to zap it with an electric current first,” Harry replied.

“And how do I do that without magic?” Lilly asked as panic set in.

“You’re the muggle-born,” Harry said, looking her in the eye, “Be your usual genius self and pull a miracle out of the bag, Lil, please.”

Lilly looked down at the beetle, “Second-hand magic. Draco, go into that bag and take out a small jar, it’s impenetrable.”

Draco rummaged in the bag and grabbed it.

“Open it,” Lilly ordered.

Draco did so, and Lilly said, “Theo, cast a lightning charm into the jar and Draco, seal it with magic.”

Theo conjured lightning and channelled it into the jar then Draco shut the lid and levitated the jar to Lilly.

“Okay,” Lilly said. She took a deep breath, “Harry, can you levitate this with your other hand?”

Harry nodded and took over, “So I press the jar against his chest, and then you pry it off the second it loosens its grip?”

Lilly nodded, “Draco, Theo: hold on as tight as possible.”

She turned to look at Neville, “This is going to the most painful thing that has ever happened to you. It is going to hurt like hell, and I am _so_ sorry, but you have to try really hard not to thrash okay?”

Neville nodded, “Okay,” he said, his eyes meeting hers.

Lilly pried her eyes away from his and looked at Harry, “Go.”

Harry pressed the jar against Neville’s chest, and he screamed in pain. Draco and Theo held him down, and Harry levitated the jar away when the scarab beetle loosened its grip.

Lilly picked it up with the tweezers and hissed in pain as an electric shock shot up her arm. She threw the beetle down on the ground and yelled, “Incendio!”

“Protego!” Draco added.

A blue bubble encased the fire, and as Lilly looked past it, she saw Clara give her a thumbs up from where she was healing people in the red zone a little further down the pitch.

“Leave it to burn itself into extinction,” Draco said by way of explanation, “They are hardy little fuckers.”

Lilly nodded and turned back to Neville, “How are you?”

Neville was sweating. He shook his head, “Everything…hurts.”

Lilly nodded, “I know, I’m sorry, babe,” she twisted her wand and pressed it against his chest. Neville breathed a sigh of relief as a full-body numbing charm began to soothe his aches.

“I just need to sterilise the wound and seal him back up,” Lilly said as she lifted her head to inform Harry.

Harry nodded and out of the corner of his eye, saw a flash of light. He saw the green before he heard the words, “Avada Kedavra!”

The green light flew at Lilly’s back and in the split-second that he had to consider his options, he realised that if he pushed Lilly out of the way, the curse would hit Neville which left him with only one option. He jumped to the side and threw himself in front of the curse, and it hit him square in the chest.

“Harry!” Several voices screamed as he fell.

Neville made to move, but Lilly stopped him, “No! You’ll bleed out if I don’t seal this!”

“But Harry!”

Lilly sealed the wound shakily and quickly then Neville scrambled to his knees while Draco and Theo stunned the perpetrator and bound him.

“I…” Draco said, “I was in charge of the wounded. I was in charge of the fucking wounded Theo!”

Theo wrapped his arms around his best friend, “Nobody could have predicted that, Draco. We all had our backs turned.”

“But Harry…”

“I know,” Theo said. He swallowed a lump in his throat and looked at Harry’s limp, lifeless body.

“No!” Neville yelled as he rested his head on Harry’s chest, “No! No!”

“Neville-”

Neville shook her arm off, “No, Lilly! He doesn’t get to go through a war and survive all of that just to die in a fucking simulation! It’s not right; it’s not fucking right!”

Lilly drew Neville into her arms as he let out a heart-wrenching sob.

“He jumped in front of a killing curse to save us,” Neville said tearfully, “He saved your life.”

Then, in a flash, the scene around them disappeared. Draco took a step back from Theo and looked around, “What the…”

“No fucking way,” Theo muttered as a window materialised on the wall in front of them.

Neville looked up and pulled away from Lilly, a frown knitting its way across his face.

The window was pulled open, and Sumner and Sheppard peered out of it.

“That was a test guys,” Sheppard said.

“Ennervate!” Sumner added, pointing his wand at Harry.

Harry blinked his eyes open and looked around blearily, “What the hell?”

Neville looked up at the Aurors furiously, “No.”

“Longbottom-”

“NO!” Neville roared, “Is this just a fucking game to you? Do you think it’s fun to make me think I’m watching my best friend die? Because I’ve been there and done that! Ended up with a fucking sorting hat burning on my head while I did too! Do you remember that? Do you? Were you even there?”

“We didn’t know that he would do that-” Sumner began to say.

“You didn’t know that he would jump in front of a killing curse to save the people that he loves?” Neville bellowed, “Because in case you forgot, he’s done it once before!”

“We were testing you,” Sumner said calmly, “We needed to see how you would react if Moon got killed on the job.”

“Oh, great!” Neville remarked sarcastically, “So you made a mistake? You didn’t mean for me to see my best friend get murdered? You just meant for me to see my girlfriend get murdered instead because that’s so much better?”

“Longbottom-”

“No, you don’t get to play with our heads like that!” Neville snapped, “This is our life; these are the people that we love. I _know_ I can cope and carry on when someone I love dies because it’s already bloody happened! We all lost someone we loved in the final battle; I had to end the life of a girl I had known for seven years because she had been mauled by a werewolf! Draco and Theo had to watch the girl they both loved die trying to _shield_ Draco and Harry; Harry’s lost more than most people can take! So no, you didn’t need to test us to know that we can carry on regardless because _you already know that_!”

“Enough!” Sumner snapped, “You would do well to remember that we are your superiors, Longbottom. Sheppard, take him to the brig.”

Sheppard nodded, “Yes, sir.”

* * *

Neville was just beginning to acquaint himself with the brig (which was a tiny, pitch-black room lined with lead to prevent the use of magic) when the door was opened, and someone else was thrown in roughly.

“Hey, Nev.”

Neville rolled his eyes in the darkness, “What did you do?”

“Defended you,” Harry said evasively.

“You wouldn’t have gotten thrown in here for defending me,” Neville remarked, “So what did you do?”

“You could say that it was a passionate defence,” Harry said, amusement lining his voice, “I might have called Sumner a fuckwit of the highest order.”

“You’re going to get us fired,” Neville muttered.

“I doubt it,” Harry said sheepishly as he sat down next to Neville, “This is cosy, isn’t it?”

“It’s a prison cell,” Neville said dryly.

“I’ve stayed in worse places,” Harry remarked.

“Did you really call Sumner that?”

“Yeah, which landed us both in here overnight but don’t worry, Lil will probably stay with Daphne tonight,” Harry said offhandedly.

“Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine,” Harry said, “She seemed pretty pissed off when I left, but I doubt they’ll chuck her in here with us.”

“They can’t, she’s not an Auror,” Neville said, “She answers to Clara, not them.”

“Yeah,” Harry said thoughtfully, “On the bright side, though, we have 16 hours together now to bond over how I’m not dead.”

“That’s not funny, Harry,” Neville said quietly.

“Yeah Nev, I know it’s not.”

In the darkness, he felt Neville shuffle so that he was sitting right next to Harry, their shoulders touching.

“You threw yourself in front of a killing curse.”

“It was going to hit Lilly, and if I pushed her out of the way, it would have hit you,” Harry said softly, “So I did the only logical thing that I could think of and threw myself in front of it.”

“But you didn’t know that it was a test,” Neville said quietly, “You thought it was real.”

“Yeah.”

“So you would have died to save Lilly and me.”

“Yeah, and I’d make the same decision again in a heartbeat.”

“No,” Neville said firmly, “You don’t get to make that decision. You don’t get to decide that Daphne is strong enough to raise Teddy on her own. You don’t get to say, ‘Oh but Nev, you and Lilly would look after her’. This isn’t the war, Harry. This is real life and if you had died today…I’d have fucking lost it, okay? I’d have lost control of my magic, and I’d have done something terrible.”

“Are you saying that I’m your stabilising factor? The thing that keeps you on the straight and narrow and keeps…”

“My magic pure?” Neville finished, “Yeah, I think you probably are.”

“It’s funny cause that’s what you are to me,” Harry said honestly, “Without you, I’d be an alcoholic bum with no job, no Daphne, no Teddy…”

“Well, _clearly_ we can’t survive without each other so no more jumping in front of killing curses, okay?”

“Yeah, I think that’s a deal that I can agree to.”

“Good,” Neville said, “How pissed off do you think Daphne’s going to be when Lil tells her what happened?”

“I don’t even want to think about it,” Harry grimaced.

“Yeah, me neither,” Neville admitted.

* * *

Daphne was singing along to the radio when the front door of Potter Manor opened, “I’m in the kitchen babe!”

She opened the oven and took a casserole dish out. As she placed it on a pot stand and turned around, a frown formed on her face, “Lilly?”

Lilly smiled, “Hey.”

Daphne shook her head and pulled her oven gloves off, “No, you were in simulation with them today, and now they’re not here, but you are-”

“They are fine,” Lilly promised as she took her cardigan off and picked Teddy up as he grabbed onto her leg, “But they won’t be home tonight.”

“Why?” Daphne asked, “What happened?”

Lilly pulled a bar of Honeydukes chocolate out of her pocket, and Teddy began to bounce on her hip.

“Lil, he didn’t even finish his dinner,” Daphne added.

“Shh, fun Aunt Lil can give him chocolate whenever she wants to,” Lilly said as she unwrapped the bar and handed Teddy a square, “Because it's so yummy, isn’t it?”

Daphne smiled slightly at her ridiculous baby voice, “I thought you didn’t like kids?”

“Well, I like this one,” Lilly admitted as Teddy began to make happy noises. Lilly turned to look at Daphne, “We did have our first simulation today, and they tested us. They told us that the room was live and that the kill-switch was on.”

Daphne frowned, “The kill-switch?”

“Yeah,” Lilly said as she popped Teddy back down on the floor, “Meaning that everything that happened in the simulation was really going to happen to us, including death.”

“What?” Daphne snapped, “But they’ve only been there a few months-”

“I know,” Lilly said, placing her hands on Daphne’s shoulders, “Just hear me out, okay?”

Daphne took a breath and nodded.

“They lied, the room wasn’t live at all, but they wanted to see how Neville would react to me dying in the field,” Lilly explained, “Only, they didn’t account for Harry’s hero complex, and he jumped in front of the killing curse to save Neville and me.”

Daphne sat down at the kitchen table heavily, “He thought he was going to die, didn’t he?”

Lilly nodded, “Yeah, and Neville thought Harry was dead, so he kind of lost it in the simulation. Do you remember how you described Theo reacting during the war when the Carrows told you that Draco was dead?”

Daphne nodded.

“It was like that,” Lilly said quietly, “And when the simulation ended…neither of them were very happy about the way it had been handled.”

“Which one of them lost it?” Daphne asked, looking up at her best friend.

“Neville,” Lilly admitted, “He went mental at them and got dragged off to the brig then Harry defended him. But he must have finally learned something from you because he didn’t lose his temper, he was just cold, logical and cutting about the whole thing. He called Sumner a fuckwit of the highest order then threatened to expel Sheppard's entrails if he ever put them through something like that again. So he got thrown into the brig with Neville.”

“Overnight?” Daphne asked in surprise.

Lilly nodded, “They get out at 8 am tomorrow. I need to go in for the debriefing, that probably has something to do with the bat-bogey hex I hit Sheppard with.”

Daphne snorted, “How did you not get thrown in the brig?”

“Because I don’t answer to them, I answer to Clara,” Lilly said with a smirk.

“And let me guess, she gave you a slap on the wrist and told you to go home?” Daphne guessed.

“Yep,” Lilly smirked, “Only I didn’t much feel like going to Longbottom House, so I came here. I know you don’t sleep well without Harry, so I figured we could keep each other company.”

“Great idea, you can get up with the teething werewolf baby that you just fed chocolate,” Daphne said with a grin.

“Oh, no, no. I’m here for comfort and hugs, not babysitting,” Lilly teased, “I’m cool Aunt Lilly I feed him chocolate, I don’t pace the house soothing him, that’s your job.”

“We’ll see about them when it gets to 4 am, and I’m demented,” Daphne snorted.

*** ~ TBC ~ *  
**


	55. Facing the Music

When Daphne walked into the kitchen of Potter Manor on Saturday morning, she was dressed to kill.

Lilly yawned and looked up at her, “How do you look so good after four hours of sleep?”

“Practice,” Daphne answered, kissing Teddy on the forehead, “Thanks for taking over.”

“When it got to 5 am, I figured you’d never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t,” Lilly chuckled, “But you’re making the coffee and _why_ are you dressed like that?”

“Because I’ve got to look the part when I go into the training centre to kick arse,” Daphne said, shooting Lilly a smirk as she put the kettle on the stove.

Lilly snorted, “You can’t come; you won’t get into the building.”

“I got in before,” Daphne reminded her.

“All because you wanted to cause a scene,” Lilly sniggered, “How did you do that anyway?”

“Used my status as a curse breaker to get in which is exactly what I will do _this_ time,” Daphne said simply, “What do you think? Do I look intimidating enough?”

Lilly bit her lip and looked at Daphne’s choice of attire: she was wearing a deep green trouser suit, the trousers were slim-fitting, and the jacket was pulled in around her tiny waist. Underneath she wore a cream blouse. On her feet were her usual heeled boots, her hair was pulled into a bun, and in place of her usual rouge lipstick, today she wore a deep red lipstick.

“You look like a pureblood,” Lilly said eventually, “The sort of pureblood who stalks down Diagon Alley with their nose in the air and says, ‘Come, Draco!’ So if that’s the look you’re going for then yes?”

“Perfect,” Daphne said with a grin.

“What exactly are you going to do when we get there?” Lilly asked cautiously.

“Nothing, I’ll be holding a baby,” Daphne said, her smile was far too sly, “And as you said I’m a pureblood. We know how to get things done _without_ action.”

Somehow, that didn’t put Lilly’s mind at ease.

* * *

Harry and Neville both groaned when light poured into the brig. It was a drastic change after 16 hours in the dark.

“Wake up sunshine,” Sheppard’s voice said, “We need to see you both in the office.”

Harry blinked and got to his feet. Neville did the same, and they both swayed as they tried to adjust to the light.

The two of them staggered into the corridor. Sheppard said, “Five minutes, go to the bathroom, freshen up and be there on time.”

“Yes, sir,” Harry and Neville chorused, they both felt guilty for their outbursts the previous day.

They slipped into the bathroom just off of the corridor, did their business and as they were splashing water on their faces, Harry said, “I’m sorry if I got us kicked out because I lost my temper.”

“I was just about to say the same thing,” Neville admitted.

Harry smiled weakly at his best friend, “Time to face the music then.”

Neville nodded, and they walked to Sumners office in silence. When they got there, Sheppard let them inside and instructed them to sit down in two seats opposite the desk. Harry frowned when he saw the third seat.

“Miss Moon needs to be a part of this debriefing too,” Sumner said by way of explanation.

Neville’s eyes widened, and at that point, a knock sounded at the door. Sheppard opened it and frowned when he saw that Lilly wasn’t alone, “Miss Greengrass. You can’t be here, and this doesn’t concern you.”

“Doesn’t concern me?” Daphne asked, “Doesn’t it? Because I rather feel that it does concern me when you are locking my fiancé up for the night and leaving me to care for our godson alone.”

Sumner resisted the urge to roll his eyes, “You can wait outside Miss Greengrass.”

“No, I can wait inside,” Daphne said calmly, “And I fail to see what you can do to stop me from entering this office. You can hardly duel me while I have a baby on my hip, can you?”

Harry had to bite back an amused smile as Daphne went full ice-queen on Sumner.

“Daphne, you can’t use Teddy as a bargaining chip,” He said.

“I’m not using him as a bargaining chip,” Daphne returned calmly, “I am just stating that I have a very adorable baby on my hip. Therefore, I fail to see why two Aurors are distinguished as these two would try and remove me from the premises with force.”

Sheppard shot Sumner an exasperated look and shrugged, “She does have a baby, sir, I can’t kick her out while she’s holding a baby.”

“No, you can’t,” Daphne agreed as she stepped into the room, “I will sit here and remain silent unless I feel that my opinion is required. Call me the moral support if you will since it was my fiancé you killed in that simulation and my best friend that you intended to kill.”

“Good to know you care about me too, Daph,” Neville joked.

“You do not get to be sassy right now, Neville Longbottom,” Daphne warned him as she sat down on a sofa at the back of the office, “You landed both of them in this mess by losing your temper.”

Harry bit back a grin, “How do you still manage to be intimidating while bouncing a baby on your lap?”

“It’s a skill,” Daphne replied dryly, “Lilly, you had better sit down so that they can get on with it.”

Lilly shot Harry and Neville an exasperated glance and sat down on the third chair in front of the desk.

Sumner leant back in his chair and asked, “Do you four do everything together?”

“Not quite, sir,” Harry replied, “We just have each others back.”

“I can see that,” Sumner said dryly, “You are all here because of what happened after that simulation yesterday. You directly defied orders, you shouted at your superiors, you swore at your superiors, and _you_ cursed a superior Auror.”

“Sorry to interrupt, Senior Auror Sumner sir,” Daphne cut in, “But as a Trauma Healer, her direct superiors are Frasier, Keller and Carson. She only answers to you two as superiors if she is in the field with you, which she wasn’t at the time.”

Lilly bit her lip as Sumner had to try to contain his irritation, “The point _being_ , you two can get kicked out for what you did. Moon, it’s up to Selwyn to punish you but your behaviour yesterday was out of line.”

“With all due respect sir, your behaviour was out of line,” Harry said quietly.

Sumner looked at Harry, “With all due respect Potter, you’re on shaky ground anyway because of your alcohol problem.”

“I know that,” Harry said, “But I can’t stand by when something is happening that I think is wrong. I’m not so terrified of losing my job that I will stand for that, and what you put us through yesterday was wrong. If we were just a bunch of standard recruits, maybe I would understand it more. I would understand why you had to test how objective we are, but we have all had to be objective in the past when it mattered. That was in the real world, when it mattered, when we didn’t have any do-overs.”

“Longbottom pointed that out yesterday,” Sumner reminded him.

“I know he did, but he was angry, so perhaps he didn’t get his point across clearly enough,” Harry said with a frown, “Neville is my Auror partner, and if I have it my way, he’ll be my Auror partner for as long as we’re both working for the Aurors. But before that, he was my best friend, and we have been through far more together than your average best friends.”

Everyone was silent as Harry continued, “You made him watch me die, and with all due respect sir, that was a dick move because it wasn’t that long ago that he had to do that.”

Harry got to his feet, “It wasn’t that long ago that I walked out of Hogwarts castle and saw Neville carrying bodies in from the grounds. I told him that I wasn’t going into the Forbidden Forest to meet Voldemort, but he knew that I was lying. He looked at me, and he knew that I was walking to my death, but he didn’t stop me because he knew it was what had to be done. Neville and I have always understood each other on that level, and from the moment I told him that he had to kill Voldemorts snake, he knew I was going to die and that I needed him to finish it for me.”

Sumner looked at Sheppard, and both Aurors looked guilty.

“I’m sure as Aurors you know a lot about strength, but I’m not sure you understand the strength it takes to watch someone walk away from you, _knowing_ they are going to die and knowing that you will never see them again,” Harry said, his voice was a little choked with emotion, “But Neville did that, and then when my body was brought in, Neville stood up and took my place. I don’t just mean that he killed the snake, I mean that he spoke about not giving up, and about how I hadn’t died in vain and he became the hero that everyone needed at that moment. He acted bravely enough to get the sword of Gryffindor out of the sorting hat, and that is no mean feat.”

Harry stopped pacing and turned to look at Sumner, “And that wasn’t very long ago. So you killing me in that simulation, I imagine that brought all of that back and considering that it wasn’t necessary…that just makes it all the worse. I mean, the fact it was an accident makes it worse too.”

Neville reached across and gripped Lilly’s hand.

“I get that you need to test how well they will work together, but the fact of the matter is this, look into their memories, and you will see that they already have shown that they can do it,” Harry said fiercely.

Daphne nodded and got to her feet, shuffling Teddy onto her hip, “Harry is right, you think that you know them, you think you know their stories, but you don’t. You don’t know the full story because you didn’t see them running a rebellion together during the war. You didn’t see Neville limping into the Room of Requirement and telling Lilly to heal everyone else while he sat there in pain because he knew he was low-priority.”

Teddy reached for Harry, so he silently took the little boy from Daphne, and Lilly slipped a square of chocolate into his tiny, chubby hand.

“You didn’t see Lilly bossing people around, gathering support and telling everyone exactly how they were going to get Neville out of the Dark Tower when he and Ginny were imprisoned there,” Daphne continued, “All the while, staying in the Room of Requirement when all she wanted was to go on that rescue mission. Do you know why she stayed? She didn’t have to, she’s a very capable dueller, and you know how good she is at healing, so why did she stay?”

“I don’t know,” Sumner said after a contemplative moment.

“She stayed because Neville had told her to,” Daphne said simply, “And she knew if she betrayed that order and died, he would never forgive himself. So you see? They can be objective because they were in love for that entire year, and they did not once let it get in the way of the mission.”

Sumner sighed heavily, and Sheppard said, “Perhaps, we were foolish, sir.”

“Yes, I think we might have been,” Sumner agreed, “You are right, we don’t realise quite how much you have been through, and we do treat you like normal recruits when you are far from it.”

“The way they act, sir,” Sheppard piped up, “It’s more like Aurors in their probation year. They know their stuff, they have good instincts and frankly, I would trust them to have my back in the field. I apologise if this is too bold of me, but perhaps we need to treat them less like recruits and more like equals?”

Sumner raised his head, “Would you take that level of subordination from an Auror on their probation year, Sheppard?”

“No sir,” Sheppard admitted, “But equally, I wouldn’t fire them for it. I would throw them in the brig until they cooled down and then I would expect an apology.”

Harry nodded, “I am sorry, sir. I was out of line, I should never have threatened a superior Auror, and there was no excuse for it.”

“You were angry, Potter,” Sheppard said, “I think that’s excuse enough, but I appreciate the apology.”

Harry nodded and turned to Sumner, “And I’m sorry for calling you out, sir. I am sure Healer Lamb has told you about my innate distrust for those in a position of authority and what you did yesterday? It meant that I lost the trust I had started to build with you because you lied to us and manipulated us sir, and I have been lied to and manipulated for my entire life.”

“I appreciate that Potter,” Sumner said sincerely, “And I equally apologise for not thinking about the consequences of my actions. I see now that it was an unwise choice to test the three of you in such a way.”

Neville looked up for the first time in a while, “I’m sorry too. I’m sorry for losing my temper. I’m normally pretty good at keeping a level head, but yesterday was just…too far.”

Sumner bowed his head, “Regardless, we need to talk about what happened in that simulation yesterday. Potter, you jumped in front of a killing curse.”

“Yes, I did,” Harry agreed.

“What would you have done if that had been real? If you had been in the field?”

“The same thing I did yesterday, sir,” Harry replied honestly, “Because as far as I was aware, that was real.”

“You would jump in front of a killing curse to save your best friend and his girl?” Sumner asked, “You would widow your wife and orphan your child?”

Harry scoffed, “You make it sound like it’s something I _want_ to do, but yes if I had to choose between one of them dying or me dying, I would pick myself every single time. What I did yesterday wasn’t a fluke sir, I’d do it ten times out of ten because if I lost either of them, I would never forgive myself.”

Daphne took Teddy back from Harry and said, “He’s right. If he lost Neville or Lilly on the job, he would spiral back into alcoholism, he would lose Teddy and me anyway, and on top of that, Neville or Lilly would have lost each other. But if he died for them, it would be hard, it would be incredibly hard, but I would not sit and wallow, Aurors. I would get back on my feet, and I know I would have Neville and Lilly there to help every step of the way.”

“See?” Harry said, looking pointedly at Neville, “Daphne _would_ get through it because she _is_ strong, and I know that you two would be there for her.”

Neville smiled sadly and looked over at Daphne, “But you’d have lost Harry.”

“We’d all have lost Harry,” Daphne corrected him, “And we would help each other through that.”

Lilly got to her feet and hugged Harry tightly, “Thank you.”

Harry hugged her back and frowned, “Uh Lil, I didn’t think we did the whole emotional, hugging thing. That’s kind of Neville, and I’s thing.”

“You jumped in front of a killing curse for me yesterday,” Lilly said as she drew back, “So we do hugs now, deal with it.”

Harry smiled weakly and sat down opposite Sumner, “Let me ask you a question. Did you know that I would have an in-depth knowledge of scarab beetles?”

“No,” Sumner said honestly.

“So your plan involved Lilly getting killed while she watched Neville die,” Harry stated.

“That was how we intended for it to go,” Sumner admitted.

“But I was the one thing you didn’t account for when you programmed that scenario into the simulation room,” Harry said, “You didn’t account for me knowing what to do and helping Lilly to get that thing out of him, and you didn’t plan on me jumping in front of the killing curse for them, and that’s what I plan on doing that for the rest of my life. I might have been a Gryffindor, but I was very nearly in Slytherin, and my fiancé has taught me something pretty important.”

Daphne smiled proudly as Harry finished, “When people underestimate you, you’re all the more powerful.”

“Well said, babe.”

“It’s literally your words coming out of his mouth,” Lilly snorted, “Of course you’d think it was well said.”

Daphne just smirked in response.

Sumner pushed himself up on the desk and got to his feet, “Alright, I think we have all said everything that needed to be said, but this isn’t going to go away in the blink of an eye, there will be consequences.”

They all nodded because they had all expected it. 

“Miss Moon,” Sumner began, “Your punishment was decided by Selwyn, and she had decided that you ought to work the full moon Saturday night graveyard shift in accident and emergency at St Mungo's.”

Lilly groaned, “Really? A whole night of dealing with drunken idiots who have splinched themselves or cursed themselves? And full moon crazy folk?”

Sumner smirked, “If you don’t like it, take it up with Selwyn.”

Lilly sighed but said no more.

“As for you two,” Sumner said, turning to Draco and Harry, “You are suspended from practical classes for a week.”

“All practical classes?” Harry and Neville echoed.

“Every single one,” Sumner said, “No duelling, no healing, no accuracy lessons. Until next Fridays simulation, you two are only allowed to participate in theoretical classes.”

“But sir, we won’t get any points!” Harry exclaimed.

“That’s your problem guys,” Sheppard said with a smirk, “You’re going to have to work out how to claw a week's worth of points back when Nott and Black inevitably overtake you this week.”

Harry sighed but nodded. It was a fair punishment.

“Dismissed, all of you,” Sumner said with a wave of his hand, “Even the baby.”

Sheppard bit back an amused smile as Teddy waved at them and giggled. He couldn’t help himself; he waved back.

Daphne smiled and got to her feet, “Come on then boys,” she said as she stepped out of the office, “You’re probably starving, but our house-elf is on strike because I went to the agency to see about getting a couple more to help out and he took it as a personal insult, so we’re going back to _your_ place for food.”

Neville snorted, and they began to walk along the corridor together, “Fair enough. Our house elf just gets lonely because neither of us is ever in the bloody house. She’s started talking to my grandmother's portrait.”

“Oh god, that’s dangerous,” Harry sniggered.

“Not as dangerous as I’ll be if I have to come and bail you out from the Headmasters office again,” Daphne warned.

“You sound like my mother,” Lilly snorted, “Actually no, you don’t. The one time she had to do that she laughed and said that Georgia Calhoun deserved it because her mother was a skanky whore.”

Neville barked out a laugh, “Yep, sounds like your mother.”

“Thank you though,” Harry said, putting his arm around Daphne’s shoulder, “For having my back in there.”

“Always,” Daphne said simply.

Harry made a face, “No, don’t make that a thing, please. That’s a Snape and my mother thing.”

The others laughed at that and then when they stepped out into the cold air, they all apparated to Longbottom House for a much-needed breakfast.

* * *

“Thank you,” Neville murmured, “For everything you said back there.”

“I meant every word of it,” Harry admitted. He was sitting at the kitchen table nursing a cup of coffee and Neville had just sat down next to him.

Their gaze was on the girls, who were sitting on the floor, rolling a ball back and forth while Teddy tried to catch it, giggling all the while.

“We’ve never talked about it, you know?” Neville said, refusing to meet Harry’s eye, “You were right. I knew you were going to the forest, but I let you go, and then we spent a couple of weeks fixing up the castle, but we never talked about it.”

“It’s taken me a long time to be ready to talk about it,” Harry admitted, “And to realise how much strength that must have taken.”

Neville sighed and looked down at his hands, “I knew you were going to meet Voldemort, and I knew that you would never just give up. If you were going, you had a plan, and there was a chance you might survive so yeah, I let you go and when Hagrid walked back in carrying your body…I felt _so_ much guilt.”

Harry frowned into his coffee.

“But what you said to me about the snake…I felt like you were handing the mantle over to me and I had to do that justice because if I didn’t then,” He cleared his throat, “Then you would have died in vain.”

Harry sighed and took Neville’s hand. He looked his best friend in the eye and said, “What you did after I died…in my eyes, you’re the bravest guy I know.”

Neville laughed weakly and got to his feet, “Nah, I’ve never been that guy. I just do the right thing.”

“It takes a lot of bravery to do the right thing sometimes,” Harry reminded him.

Neville smiled at those words and raised his voice, “Guys, are you all listening? Because I have an announcement to make.”

Daphne and Lilly shared an amused look but said no more.

“What happened in that simulation room scared the living daylights out of me,” Neville said honestly, “Seeing Harry die was hell and knowing that it could have been you, Lil, it put things in perspective for me, so I’m going to act a bit more like a Gryffindor.”

“Okay,” Lilly said calmly.

“I need you to know that what I’m about to do has _nothing_ to do with a loophole in your contract that states you can study from home if you are married or engaged to be married,” Neville began and Lilly’s eyes widened.

Neville continued fiercely, “I’m doing this because I love you and I cannot bear the thought of losing you. I know it's going to be hard, putting ourselves in harm's way every day, worrying about each other all of the time, but I want to do it for the rest of our lives anyway. I was blind for a long time, I couldn’t see you when you were right in front of me, and now that I have you, I don’t ever want to let you go.”

Neville pulled a box from his pocket and knelt in front of her, “So Lillian Moon, if you’ll have me, I want to keep bringing you the injured kids so that you can heal them, just like we did in the war. I want to keep fighting with you and for you, for as long as we live.”

He flipped the box open and said, “Will you marry me?”

Lilly, who didn’t usually get emotional, had tears in her eyes. She nodded, “Yeah.”

“Yeah?” Neville said, pushing himself to his feet.

“Yeah,” Lilly echoed, smiling tearfully at him.

Neville slid a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring onto her finger and Lilly wrapped her arms around his neck, she pulled him down to her and kissed him passionately, pouring every thank you in the world and all the love that she could into it. Neville kissed her back, and Harry grinned at Daphne. She was smiling a little tearfully too, and Teddy was looking around at the four adults in bemusement.

When they finally broke for air, Daphne pounced on Lilly and pulled her into a tight hug, “I’m so happy for you!”

“Are you crying?” Lilly asked, she was laughing, but tears were rolling down her cheeks.

“No,” Daphne lied, “I just have hayfever.”

“Not in October you don’t,” Lilly said, pulling back from the hug, “The ice queen has well and truly thawed.”

“Around you lot, she has,” Daphne agreed with a smile, “And I’m thrilled that you and Neville are going to get your happy ever after.”

“Oh God, you’ve been watching too many Disney films,” Lilly teased.

Meanwhile, Harry pulled Neville into a bear hug and beamed, “Congratulations.”

Neville smiled, “It wasn’t the big, elaborate day at the circus that I had planned, but I think it was okay.”

“It was better,” Harry promised him, “It wasn’t about the gesture, it was from the heart. We all saw that, look at us, we’re all crying.”

Neville laughed as he and Harry both wiped their eyes hastily.

“Right, you two!” Lilly said as she bounded back over and wrapped her arms around Neville, “It has been decreed by the women in your life that the four of us are spending the weekend together.”

“After the events of the last week, I think a movie night is needed,” Daphne added.

“That’s a brilliant idea,” Harry said honestly.

“So in light of recent romantic news, it’s romcom night!”

Harry and Neville both groaned.

“At least we’ve got the last game of the season tomorrow, Nev,” Harry said, patting his friend on the back, “We can take Teddy along to that and claw back some of our masculinity.”

“You’ll be lucky,” Lilly joked.

Daphne grinned and said, “So when’s the wedding?”

“Don’t even start,” Neville laughed.

The air in the kitchen was light and happy, the room was full of laughter, and it was what Harry lived for these days. He _had_ been through a lot, but love and friendship well and truly kept him going.

* * *

Neville didn’t often show off but when he walked into number 12 Grimmauld place with Lilly later that day. The first thing he said was, “Guess what I asked Lilly this morning?”

The occupants of the drawing-room looked up in surprise.

Neville grinned and held up Lilly’s left hand, “And she said yes!”

There was a loud cheer as all of their friends rejoiced at this news.

Harry and Daphne smiled at them from the doorway.

“Let’s go to the pub and celebrate!” Theo said as he patted Neville on the back.

“We can’t go to the pub, we’ve got Teddy!” Daphne pointed out.

“Ah, stick him in a high chair and give him some fish fingers, he’ll be grand,” Theo said offhandedly.

Sadie snorted, “Excellent parenting skills there, Theo.”

“We also can’t go to the pub because we’ve got Harry,” Neville said.

“Oi! Don’t put me in the same group as the baby.”

“You’re a recovering alcoholic, taking you to a pub isn’t much better than taking a baby to one,” Hermione pointed out.

“Fair point,” Harry admitted grudgingly.

“How about we turn Draco’s room of requirement basement into a soft play area but keep the bar?” Theo grinned, “We can shove Teddy off to play, and tie Harry to a chair, so he’s not tempted to drink firewhiskey, then we can all get rat-arsed!”

“Are you at all concerned about the fact this man is going to be a father soon?” Neville asked, putting his arm around his friend's shoulders.

Sadie laughed heartily, “All the time Neville.”

Theo grinned and said, partly to Sadie but also to Neville, “Oh come on, you love me really!”

They all laughed as they left the drawing-room together. Life had its ups and downs, and these last few months had shown that more than ever, but it was in those moments that they all truly realised how grateful they were for each other.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	56. Family Portrait

The ‘Neville and Lilly are engaged’ party, which was well and truly unofficial turned out to be a lot of fun. Daphne put a curse on Harry which turned him into a canary every time he touched anything alcoholic. The only problem was, Harry kept forgetting, and everyone took the piss by asking him to pass them their drinks. Teddy found it hilarious, and the makeshift soft play centre went down a treat. Theo, of course, boasted about this and claimed that it was just more proof that he would be an excellent parent.

They had sent Susan a Patronus, and they got a reply a couple of hours later saying, “Congratulations bitches! But I’m in Albania. I’ll catch up with you for the goss when I come home!”

It was at this ‘party’ that Hermione cornered Daphne for some advice.

“Hey, Daphne, what should you do if an ex-boyfriend comes back into your life and you’re fairly sure that they are flirting with you?”

Daphne handed Hermione a shot glass, “Down tequila.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her, “If I do, will you give me some real advice?”

“Maybe.”

Hermione rolled her eyes and downed the tequila. She hit the glass down on the table and looked at Daphne pointedly.

“Okay, so you’re fairly sure this guy is flirting with you?”

“Yeah, I mean…I’m not very good at noticing that sort of thing,” Hermione admitted.

Daphne shook her head, “Seriously?”

“Seriously, what should I do?”

“Who are we even talking about? I didn’t think you had any ex-boyfriends apart from Ron.”

“Well, I do,” Hermione said shortly, “The one that I’m talking about at this particular moment in time is Viktor.”

“Viktor?”

“Krum.”

“You dated Viktor Krum?”

“Seriously? What were you doing in fourth year? I walked into the bloody Yule Ball with him! We danced. Ron threw a hissy fit and ruined everything, remember?”

Daphne smirked at her, “I was winding you up, Hermione. How can I forget that you went with Krum? I had to listen to Draco insult him for two weeks after that, not to mention all of the tutting and scoffing he did whenever he was in Krum’s vicinity. The Yule Ball, the dawn of Draco’s love for the Gryffindor Princess, remember?”

Hermione raised an eyebrow, “I always kind of thought you and Theo just said that to wind him up.”

“No,” Daphne said with a chuckle.

Hermione smiled slightly, “Well, it’s not that important, it’s just that he’s got this new job at the Ministry, and we’ve bumped into each other a few times.”

“And he’s flirting with you? Does he know you’re engaged?”

Hermione nodded, “I mentioned it the last time, but it didn’t seem to phase him.”

“Hmm,” Daphne hummed suspiciously, “Susan had a brief thing with him, you know? She said he was a dick.”

“He always seemed sweet to me,” Hermione admitted.

“Hermione, I don’t want to call you naïve, but you do always see the best in people, which is admirable but also pretty naïve,” Daphne admitted.

“See, this is why I wanted to talk to you about it,” Hermione said, “You always tell me the truth, even if it’s not the nicest thing to hear.”

Daphne shrugged, “Slytherin trait I guess. Also, I think sugar-coating things is a waste of time. More tequila?”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her, “Do you think all of us drinking is really a good idea? Sadie’s sad that she can’t drink, Harry’s a recovering alcoholic, and you’re responsible for Teddy tonight.”

“Sadie will have to learn to deal with it because I am not abstaining from alcohol for the next six months out of solidarity and Harry’s a recovering alcoholic so when we go home, and I pass out, _he_ can watch Teddy tonight,” Daphne joked as she slid the shot glass in Hermione’s direction.

“Harsh,” Hermione chuckled.

“But fair since Lil and I had to manage on our own last night while those two idiots were in prison.”

Hermione snorted, “They were in the brig; it’s hardly prison.”

“Well for the sake of dramatics, I’m gonna call it prison anyway,” Daphne smirked, “So drink up!”

* * *

When Lilly knocked on the door of Cauldwell House, she really hoped that anyone apart from Sadie’s mother answered it.

She could have breathed a sigh of relief when Sorenson came to the door, “Hi Sorenson, is Clara in?”

Sorenson nodded, “Yeah, two secs! Clara! Your trainee healer is here!”

He leant against the door frame and asked, “How do you know where we live?”

“Uh…Sadie told me,” Lilly answered.

“And why did she tell you?”

“Because I asked her?” Lilly frowned, “And she said you might interrogate me. Do you do this to everyone who comes to your door?”

“Yeah,” Sorenson said with a thoughtful nod, “Tied the postman up the other day, and the milkman leaves the bottles by the gate these days.”

Lilly took a step back, “Okay…”

Sorenson grinned, “I’m messing with you, Moon.”

Clara stepped into the hallway, her dark hair wasn’t as perfect as usual, and she looked so out of place in leggings and an oversized hoody of Sorenson’s.

“Sorenson, would you stop winding everyone up, you insufferable arse?” Clara asked with an amused grin.

“Sorry babe.”

Clara rolled her eyes, “Hey, Lilly. You must have big news if you’re on my doorstep. If you’re quitting, I’m going to kill you, and if you’re pregnant, I’m going to cry then kill you.”

“Not quitting or pregnant,” Lilly promised, “But I am engaged!”

Clara smirked, “Told you, Ronnie.”

Sorenson rolled his eyes, “You said she’d be engaged by Christmas, you didn’t say October.”

“Ah well you Gryffindors are impulsive,” She teased, nudging past him and shutting the front door.

Lilly laughed, “He was a Gryffindor?”

“Uh-huh,” Clara said, “When did Neville ask you?”

“Yesterday,” Lilly grinned, “It was very romantic and emotional.”

Clara chuckled, “Well, on the one hand, I’m delighted for you and on the other hand, I’m infuriated because I suppose this means you’ll want to stay in England?”

“Yes, more than anything,” Lilly admitted.

“You and me both,” Clara said with a half-hearted smile, “You’ll need to come back for one last week in France. We need to do the paperwork. You’ll need to do all the theoretical tests required for you to work at the hospital attached to the training centre, you know what it’s like.”

Lilly nodded, “Can’t you come back to England too?”

“Not just yet, but after Christmas, I think I’ll be back for good as well,” Clara answered cryptically.

Lilly smiled at that, “Sounds mysterious.”

“Let me see the ring then,” Clara said, letting a smile slip onto her face.

Lilly smiled and lifted her hand.

“Sapphire for a Ravenclaw?” Clara asked with a raised eyebrow, “A little stereotypical, don’t you think?”

“Maybe, but I happen to like sapphires,” Lilly said, smirking right back, “I’m going to miss you, Clara.”

“I’m going to miss you too, but you will still see me every Friday for simulation,” Clara said with a smile.

“And hopefully my boyfriend-”

“Fiancé,” Clara corrected.

“That’s going to take some getting used to,” Lilly admitted sheepishly, “But anyway, hopefully, he won’t lose his shit next time.”

“I think he’s learned his lesson and I think you have to,” Clara said with a sly smile.

“Do I really have to work the graveyard shift on the full moon?”

“Yep.”

“Clara,” Lilly complained.

“Payback is a bitch, Lilly,” Clara said with an evil smirk as she opened the front door, “See you on Monday!”

* * *

“Teddy, bedtime!”

“No!”

Daphne shot Harry a smile, “I know you want to play sweetheart, but you need to sleep, or you won’t have any energy to play tomorrow. Who do you want to take you to bed tonight?”

Teddy looked up from his toy train set, “Umm…Dada!” he yelled while grabbing Daphne’s leg.

Harry laughed and picked the little boy up, “Alright, we’ll both take you up to bed. It’s Muggle storytime tonight which means we can have Jack and the Beanstalk or The Three Billy Goats Gruff.”

“Gruff, gruff, gruff!”

Daphne chuckled as they walked into the little boy's bedroom. She grabbed the book from the shelf and watched Harry put Teddy into his bed. He took the book from her and started reading; it was one of Teddy’s favourites.

Daphne stood in the doorway and watched. She smiled when Teddy read along with his favourite bits, and she looked around the bedroom that they had built for him here. He had toys, he had clothes, he had Quidditch memorabilia…he practically already lived here, and Merlin knew, he was already in their hearts. Frankly, she couldn’t see any reason why they wouldn’t adopt him at the end of the trial week.

“Alright, little man. The story is finished, which means…”

“Night, night!”

“Night, night,” Harry agreed, he leant down and kissed Teddy on the cheek.

Daphne stepped into the room and leant into the cot to kiss him, “Night night baby.”

“Mumma,” Teddy said sleepily.

Daphne smiled softly and turned his night light on. Once they had slipped out of the room and shut the door gently behind themselves, they caught each other’s eye.

“Is it just me or are we really good at this?” Daphne asked warmly.

Harry laughed and wrapped his arms around her, “We’re great at it.”

* * *

Later that night, Harry and Daphne found themselves having a heart to heart in the drawing-room.

“So…”

“So?”

“We’re doing this, aren’t we?”

Daphne looked down at the final adoption papers on the table, “I think so, yeah.”

Harry nodded, “Yeah.”

“Any last thoughts before we do the deed?” Daphne joked.

Harry frowned and looked up at the portrait of the Marauders, “Yeah.”

Daphne looked at him in surprise, “Okay?”

“The portrait,” Harry said, gesturing towards the Marauders who, being the nosy gits that they were, were listening in.

Daphne’s frown deepened, but luckily Harry elaborated, “We’re going to raise Teddy in this house, officially he will be our son. He’ll grow up in this house calling us Mum and Dad and all the while, his _real_ dad is going to be right there, immortalised in portrait form. Yes, it’s not the real Remus, but he has all of his memories. Teddy has a chance to know his dad, he can talk to him, ask him for advice but he’ll never know his birth mother, and I just feel…uncomfortable about that, I guess.”

“So…basically you feel uncomfortable about raising Teddy in this house because you feel like you would be doing Tonks a disservice?” Daphne asked slowly.

“Pretty much,” Harry admitted.

“Okay,” Daphne said, “Remus, do you want to tell him that he’s an idiot?”

“You are a fuckwit of the highest order!” Sirius called.

Remus smiled, “Sirius, stay out of it. This is about Teddy; it doesn’t concern you.”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Sirius objected as he walked to the front of the frame, “This is the kid you had with my cousin after you left me for her-”

“I didn’t leave you for her, you died,” Remus objected.

“Guys!” Lilly cut in, “Not this argument again, please.”

James nodded, “Yeah, I can’t hack much more of the bickering. If you don’t shut up, I’m gonna go hang out with my grandad and ask him loads of questions about tanks just to piss him off.”

“I heard that, James!” Charlus’s voice called from the hall.

Daphne snorted, “Portrait Potters, stop bickering! Remus, tell Harry he’s being an idiot.”

Remus smiled, “You are being a bit foolish, Harry. I understand where you are coming from, but growing up in a loving family is the best thing for Teddy. If you had the choice of living with Sirius and I and getting to know your father through a portrait, would you take that over growing up with the Dursleys?”

“Ten times over,” Harry answered.

Remus smiled, “Then I think you know what you need to do.”

Daphne smiled and dipped her quill into the inkpot then she handed it to Harry.

Harry took it from her and signed on the dotted line. He cast a wandless drying charm on the ink then stepped aside.

Daphne took the quill, dipped it into the inkpot and signed on the dotted line below. She cast a drying charm too and took a step back to look at both of their signatures on the pivotal piece of paper.

“I’ll take it into the Ministry on my lunch break tomorrow,” Daphne said after a moment of silence.

Harry nodded, “We’ll let Andi know when we take Teddy back tonight.”

“Did you hear him when he was packing earlier?”

Harry nodded, “He didn’t want to go.”

“I know, it broke my heart,” Daphne admitted.

“But, with this getting handed in tomorrow it’s only temporary,” Harry said, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

“I just hope it all gets finalised quickly,” Daphne said.

“I’m sure it will,” Harry said optimistically.

* * *

“So, when is the wedding?”

Neville rolled his eyes, “Shut up, Theo,” he muttered as they got themselves ready for the day after their early morning work out and shower.

“Guessing that means it’s going to be a long engagement?” Draco asked.

Neville shrugged, “We haven’t discussed a timescale, but I think so yeah,” he said. He was leaning against the wall fully dressed while he waited for the others to get their arses into gear, “And I’m not going to hang around here waiting for you lot. I, for one, do not want to be late for any classes right now. Sumner and Sheppard are pissed off enough with me.”

“Well if you will declare your love for your Auror partner in a fit of rage,” Draco scoffed as he threw on his Auror training uniform.

“Coming from you? Seriously?” Neville remarked.

“Hey, we declare our love for each other in private,” Theo joked, slinging his bag over his shoulder, “Jeez Potter, are you still in the shower?”

“No, he’s just too paranoid to get dressed in front of us,” Neville snorted.

“Years of playing Quidditch Potter,” Draco said with a shake of his head, “And you still can’t hack communal changing rooms?”

Harry stepped out of the cubicle fully dressed and grabbed his bag, “I wasn’t massively paranoid about how I looked during my years of playing quidditch, because those years were _before_ the war that royally fucked me over.”

“Fair play,” Theo agreed.

The four of them began their walk back to the main complex, “So seriously, any dates on the cards Neville?” Draco asked.

“Not right now,” Neville admitted, “We did get engaged about six months earlier than I would have planned it, and yes that was a little bit because I wanted Lilly home but more because of my fit of emotion after simulation on Friday.”

“Gryffindors are so impulsive,” Theo snorted.

“Coming from the guy who proposed to his girlfriend after like a week?” Harry bit back.

“It was longer than that! It was a couple of months, I mean…at least two months,” Theo said as he tried to work out the maths in his head.

Neville sniggered, “The point is that there isn’t any rush to plan a wedding.”

“Very responsible of you,” Harry said with a smile.

“Speaking of weddings, when exactly are you and Daphne tying the knot?” Draco asked.

“Ah, I don’t know yet,” Harry shrugged, “Once everything settles with Teddy, I guess. Are you and Hermione still in for a long engagement?”

Draco nodded, “Hermione wants a Christmas wedding, so we were thinking next Christmas.”

“That’s a reasonable time, you will both have been in your jobs for a while,” Harry said with a nod.

“That’s the plan,” Draco remarked.

“So how is this going to work then? Lilly being back?”

“Well she’s going to be working in the trauma centre attached to this building,” Neville replied, “And she’ll come on our simulation room missions, but unless I get hurt, I won’t see her at work apart from that.”

“But you will get to wake up with her every morning, and go to sleep with her every night,” Harry said with a smile, “And that will make all the difference I expect.”

“Exactly.”

Draco scoffed, “Gryffindors are such romantics.”

“It’s disgusting, isn’t it?” Theo agreed.

Neville snorted, “I remember you two wooing each other at school after your falling outs, you two can shut up about us being romantics.”

Harry laughed in agreement, “So when is Lil back then, Nev?”

“Saturday,” Neville chirped, “She has to tie up some stuff over in France, do a bunch of tests and paperwork, you know? So this will be her last week, and then she’s back over here in an official capacity.”

“I wonder how Clara is going to take the news…” Draco mused.

“Oh she was fine with it,” Neville said offhandedly, “I’m more worried about how her mum is going to take the news…”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Harry said, patting Neville on the back.

* * *

Daphne was in a great mood on Monday, and she told Bill why. Despite the chat they had had in Shetland, he told her that he was happy for her and he truly meant it. She warned Bill that she might be late back from her lunch break, depending on how long it took to hand the forms in at the ministry.

As it was, she just had to go in and drop them off with a receptionist. However, it was what she saw and heard on her way out of the ministry that made her late back to work. She was about to head over to an apparition point when she saw Hermione sitting on a bench in a little covered garden outside of the ministry, eating lunch with Viktor Krum.

She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but she did it with good intentions. She wanted to make sure that Hermione wasn’t accidentally flirting with Viktor and leading him on, it was the kind of thing that Hermione would do after all.

“Thanks for bringing me lunch Viktor, but you didn’t need to do it,” Hermione was saying.

“Oh, but I need to know how you became engaged to the boy who made you cry,” Viktor said, “You said long story, I have time.”

Hermione laughed awkwardly, “Well, during the war, he helped our friends out, so when we all went back to school…he, and I became friends. I realised that he was actually a good person, despite all that he had done.”

“So you forgived him?”

“I forgave him, yes,” Hermione said, “Some people called me stupid and naïve for that, but I don’t blame him for anything that happened during the war. I wouldn’t be marrying him if I felt any sort of resentment.”

Viktor hummed thoughtfully, “I feel he is beneath you.”

“He really isn’t,” Hermione assured him, “He’s very good to me, and I love him.”

“But he was a bad person to you, and he said horrible things. Nobody should say such horrible things to such a beautiful woman,” Viktor said.

Hermione blushed, “Uh…well like I said…I forgave him for that. He had his reasons, and I told you that it was complicated.”

“Maybe you need less complicated.”

Hermione shook her head, “I like my complicated life with Draco. I’m sorry if that isn’t what you want to hear.”

Viktor shook his head, “Is okay, if that is how you feel, then I am your friend and nothing more.”

“I appreciate that,” Hermione said, she smiled at the older man, “And thank you, for lunch.”

“You are very welcome. I had better get back. I see you around, Hermione.”

“See you around Viktor,” Hermione replied.

Less than five minutes after he had left, Daphne had vacated his seat.

“Oh yeah, he was flirting with you.”

Hermione jumped out of her skin, “Daphne! What are you doing here?”

“Dropping off adoption papers, to your department actually,” Daphne said matter of factly, “I wondered where you were then I spotted you on my way out. That was blatant flirting; he still has feelings for you.”

“I noticed that, did you eavesdrop on our whole conversation?”

“Just the latter part,” Daphne admitted sheepishly, “I wanted to make sure you weren’t accidentally flirting with him.”

“Was I?”

“No, you were just nice, which is what you do,” Daphne said with a shrug, “Some guys think that’s flirting, but I think he got the point.”

“Good,” Hermione sighed, “The last thing I need is an ex pining over me. Could you imagine if Draco found out? He would go on the rampage.”

“He is a little…protective, shall we say?” Daphne said with a slight smile, “As annoying as it is, and trust me; I know how annoying it is, it comes from a good place. He’s worried that one day you’re going to realise that he’s a scummy ex-Death Eater and run off with a hero do-gooder.”

Hermione chuckled, “Well he can rest easy, I am not planning on running off with anyone and especially not with Viktor. He’s a nice guy, and I would like to stay friends with him, but he’s not Draco.”

“He’s one in a million Hermione, just don’t tell him that or his head will get bigger than Harrys!”

* * *

When Lilly got home on Saturday, she was in a great mood. She sang along as she unpacked and she was positively bouncing by the time she and Neville headed around to number 11 Grimmauld Place to see how Sadie was getting on.

When they stepped into the drawing-room, Lilly said, “Guess whose back for good?”

Susan grinned and hugged her tightly, “Congratulations! You’re going to have the coolest name when you guys get married.”

Lilly laughed, “Am I?”

“Lilly Longbottom, it sounds great,” Sadie said with a smile as she hugged her friend, “Much cooler than Sadie Nott.”

Theo scoffed, “Cheers, love.”

“Personally, I think Daphne Potter has a ring to it,” Daphne said with a smirk.

“You would; you wrote it on your notes enough in sixth year.”

“Sadie Allegra Nott! That is a lie!”

Harry grinned at his fiancé, and Sadie snorted, “Allegra isn’t even my middle name! How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“You need to have a middle name to be a proper pureblood,” Daphne said with a grin, “It makes you posh.”

“Still, you can’t just make up a middle name for me,” Sadie said in amusement.

“Also, that’s not a thing,” Lilly said.

“Yeah Hermione has a middle name, and she’s not a pureblood,” Sadie agreed.

“She is posh though,” Harry sniggered.

“I’m not that posh!”

“Skiing holidays in the alps? The holiday cottage in the Algarve? Come off it love, your posh,” Draco said with a smirk.

Hermione just rolled her eyes.

Lilly sat down next to Sadie and asked, “So how are you getting on?”

“I’m doing much better,” Sadie admitted, “Down to one bout of sickness a day, I really hope it will go completely soon so I can get back on my feet.”

“I’m sure it will,” Lilly assured her, “You look so much better than you did when I last saw you.”

“Thank you,” Sadie said warmly, “I’m going to write a book, did Harry tell you about that?”

Lilly shook her head, “No, what about?”

“Severus Snape, his whole tragic story,” Sadie said with a smile, “Harry gave me a bunch of memories which is a good start. I’ve owled McGonagall too; I was hoping she would help me with some background on his school years.”

“Well, it’s an interesting idea,” Lilly conceded, “I don’t buy into the whole tragic, romantic hero thing but that’s just me.”

“What’s your opinion?” Sadie asked curiously.

“Creepy stalker who was a bit too obsessed with Harry’s mum,” Lilly shrugged.

Sadie laughed at that, “Well, we are all entitled to our opinion, I guess.”

Lilly smiled, “How are you feeling, mentally? Has it all caught up to you?”

“It’s starting to,” Sadie admitted, “But I’m doing okay.”

“I don’t know how you guys do it,” Lilly admitted, “You having a baby, and Daphne adopting Teddy. I admire you guys; I definitely couldn’t have a baby right now.”

“We aren’t all cast from the same mould Lil,” Sadie said with a smile, “Hermione isn’t ready for kids yet either, and you know that this wasn’t exactly planned.”

“I know,” Lilly said, she grabbed Sadie’s hand, “But you’re going to be a great Mum Sadie.”

“I hope so,” Sadie said with a weak smile.

* * *

“Theo, do you think it’s too early to talk about baby names?”

“Nah, it’s never too early to start that argument,” Theo joked.

Sadie shot him a mock glare, “How do you know it will be an argument?”

“Because as much as I love you, Sade, I also know you very well and I know that our tastes are very different,” Theo said, he handed her a glass of water.

“Our tastes aren’t that different, and I’m not drinking this.”

“The Healers said that you had to keep up your fluid intake.”

“I don’t care, if I drink this I’ll have to get up and pee at least three times tonight,” Sadie said, she put the glass down on the table, “We’ll go for family names won’t we?”

“Will we? I do not want another Theodore Nott in the family. I’m the 5th one!”

“I meant that a little more broadly,” Sadie said with a roll of her eyes, “Like Atticus?”

“For my crazy Uncle, who thought his plants were his children? Nah, I don’t think so.”

Sadie rolled her eyes, “Okay then smart arse, what names do you like?”

“Nice normal pureblood names, like Phineas.”

“Oh for Daphne’s Uncle/Mothers lover?” Sadie quipped.

“Now who is getting into the name association game?”

Sadie glared at him, “Augustus.”

“Too Roman. Tobias?”

“No, that was Snape’s middle name. How about Clyde?”

Sadie raised an eyebrow at him, “Like the river in Glasgow?”

“Wow, you are being bitchy about this. Why don’t we try some girls names? Maybe we’ll agree on those,” Theo suggested.

Sadie looked doubtful, but all the same, she said, “How about Tabitha?”

“Too cat-like,” Theo said, “I like Penelope.”

“It reminds me of a pig,” Sadie said.

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know, alliteration maybe. I like Harriet.”

Theo snorted, “What would we shorten it to, Harry? He’d bloody love that.”

“We don’t have to shorten it,” Sadie said.

“Yes, we do. A kid needs a name that can be shortened; for example, I’m Theo to the people I like and Theodore to the people I want to intimidate.”

“You can’t shorten my name, but everyone still tries,” Sadie said irritably, “I mean Sade, that makes no sense.”

“See, it annoys you that your name can’t be shortened so we should name our kid something that can be shortened,” Theo said.

Sadie hummed thoughtfully, “I kind of liked Elsie for a girl.”

“For your Grandma?” Theo asked.

Sadie nodded, “I suppose we could use Elspeth and shorten it..”

“The only family member I would ever consider naming my kid after is my mum,” Theo admitted, “Or my Grandfather…”

“Yeah, we’re not going to call our kid Thaddeus.”

“Too pretentious?” Theo joked.

Sadie shot him an amused glance and said, “We’re never going to agree on names, are we?”

“Let’s have this conversation again in a few months,” Theo suggested evasively.

* * *

“Daphne, I need to talk to you.”

Daphne looked up in alarm, “I don’t like that tone. What have you done?”

“I requested the floo records from around the time of your father's death,” Harry said quietly, “And in doing so, I stirred up some suspicion.”

“Harry-”

“The Auror is a guy called Finch; I met him when I did my work placement with the Aurors, so he was lenient. He’s giving me some time to hand in the letters, but if we don’t do it, he’ll arrest us both for obstruction of justice,” Harry finished quickly.

“That wasn’t your place!”

“I know,” Harry said, he raised his hands, “I didn’t want to talk to you about it until Teddy went back to Andi’s, but we need to get that evidence handed in. He gave me an extension with all that happened last week, but he wants the letters by tomorrow.”

“Harry!” Daphne snapped, “Honestly, how could you have put us in this position without consulting me first?”

Harry grimaced, “I know, it was stupid, okay? I didn’t know how bad it was going to be. The thing is Daphne, I just wanted to confirm my suspicions, and I did…these are the transcriptions from the floo calls.”

Daphne’s eyes darkened as she read over the transcripts between her mother and her lover.

“It was all her idea,” She said coldly.

Harry nodded, “She needs to be punished.”

Daphne swallowed hard and nodded, “Let me talk to Astoria tonight?”

Harry nodded again, “Do you want me to come with you?”

Daphne shook her head, “No, I need to do this alone.”

Harry reached out and took her hand, “Hey…I’m sorry.”

“It isn’t your fault, you were just trying to get the truth for me, and I appreciate that,” Daphne caught his eye, “I do, but it still means that I have to tell my sister that we don’t have the same father and that our mother is a homicidal maniac so if I seem a bit put out, that’s why.”

Harry sighed and squeezed her hand, “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

Daphne shook her head, “It’s a messy family drama. You don’t need to be a part of that. I’ll send you a Patronus if I need you.”

“Alright,” Harry conceded, he let go of her hand and watched her walk out of the room.

* * *

Daphne felt sick as she stood on the doorstep of Astoria’s apartment. She knew that the conversation they would have tonight was not going to be an easy one; she had been dreading it for years.

The door swung open, and Astoria smiled warmly, “Daph! What are you doing here at this time of night?”

“I need to talk to you Tori, can I come in?”

Astoria nodded and took a step back. Daphne stepped into her sisters home and shut the door behind her with a heavy sigh.

“What’s wrong? Is it Teddy? Or is something up with you and Harry?” Astoria asked anxiously.

Daphne shook her head and looked up at her little sister, “Astoria…I have kept something from you for a long time, something…big. I did it to protect you, I didn’t want the truth to hurt you but now its all going to come out and I…I need you to hear it from me first.”

Astoria frowned, “Daphne, you’re scaring me.”

Daphne took a shaky breath, “I’m sorry Tori but everything you thought about your life, everything we thought about our parents…it’s all a lie.”

Astoria’s frown deepened, “Daphne…what, do you…what do you mean?”

“Our mother is a cold-blooded killer Astoria,” Daphne said quietly.

“What?”

“She killed Father, then she turned us against him and made it seem like she was the victim,” Daphne said, she couldn’t bring herself to meet her sister's eye, “She had Uncle Phineas help her because he was her lover.”

“I knew that. It was always obvious,” Astoria said offhandedly, “But what idiot convinced you that they were murder-buddies?”

“I’ve seen floo call transcripts,” Daphne whispered, “Between her and Uncle Phineas. They were planning Fathers death for weeks. They wanted him out of the equation so that they could be together.”

Astoria swallowed, “Daphne that makes no sense. Mother and Uncle Phineas fell out of contact after Father died.”

“I think that’s because Uncle Phineas couldn’t live with what he had done,” Daphne said, “I don’t think he could look at her every day without thinking about what he had done for her.”

Astoria shook her head tearfully, “Daphne, this is madness.”

“No,” Daphne said coolly, “It’s the truth Astoria, and I am taking the evidence to the Ministry first thing tomorrow morning. There is going to be a trial, and I think…I think the truth about you might come out during that trial.”

“The truth about me?” Astoria asked incredulously, “What exactly do you think of me exactly? You did just accuse our mother of being a murderer!”

“And a cheater,” Daphne said, she looked up and caught Astoria’s eye, “She was screwing Uncle Phineas for the majority of our childhood Astoria. Did you never think that she might have been sleeping with him before we were born too? Did you never wonder why you had dark hair when Mother and Father were both blondes? Did you never make the connection between you and your raven-haired Uncle? Because Father did, he knew, and that was why he always favoured me over you. Uncle Phineas knew. That was why he brought you such nice gifts when he travelled the world. Mother sure as hell knew and I…I found out one night when I was eavesdropping on a conversation between them in France.”

Astoria took a step back and stared at her with silent betrayal.

“I’m sorry Astoria, this wasn’t how I wanted to tell you,” Daphne said remorsefully, “In fact, I never wanted to tell you but with everything that’s going to happen-”

“Get out.”

“Astoria-”

“I set, _get out_ ,” Astoria said coolly.

Daphne opened her mouth to object.

“Now!” Astoria roared, and everything in the apartment shook.

Daphne set her jaw and nodded, “Fine.”

She wanted to feel angry at Astoria, but as she walked out of the apartment with tears streaming down her face, all she could feel was sad.

* * *

When Daphne swept into Potter Manor with tear-streaked cheeks, Harry instantly pulled her into a hug.

“That bad?”

“She nearly lost control of her magic when she screamed at me to get out,” Daphne said quietly.

“You knew that she was going to be angry at first baby,” Harry said gently, “You just told her that her entire life was a lie, and on top of that, you have known for years and haven’t told her. I can sympathise with that part, Dumbledore raised me like a pig for slaughter for years and never told me that I existed to kill Voldemort then die.”

Daphne sniffled slightly into his shoulder.

“I know that probably doesn’t help now,” Harry added sheepishly, “But I’m just saying, it sucks being lied to by someone that you love. It will take her time to cool down and come to terms with everything.”

“It might take a lifetime.”

“Regardless of who her father is, she is your sister,” Harry reminded her, “You two will find your way back to each other when the dust settles, I’m sure of it.”

Daphne wasn’t quite so sure as she sighed heavily into his embrace, “Early start tomorrow then? We’ll take this in before work and get it over and done with before your Auror friend arrests us?”

Harry nodded and gripped her tightly, “I can do it, you know, you don’t have to come with me.”

“She’s my mother,” Daphne said coldly, “And she killed my father, so I do have to come with you.”

“Okay,” Harry said softly, “Then yes, it’s going to be an early start tomorrow.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	57. A Family Affair

Daphne didn’t say anything to Harry the following morning. She got up, dressed and readied herself for the day silently then let him lead her through the ministry to the Auror department.

When they reached a small room at the back, Harry asked Rachel, “Is Finch in yet?”

“Yep, over by the coffee,” Rachel said offhandedly.

Harry led Daphne over to the older, greying man. He smiled sympathetically at them, “I was starting to think that you wouldn’t come in, and I didn’t want to be the guy that had to arrest Harry Potter and his girl.”

Harry shook his head, “Like I said, there were some things to sort out first, but we have all of the evidence here.”

“Come in here,” Finch said, he opened a door and led them into an empty office.

“Letters,” Daphne said as she threw a pile on the desk, “From my father to his cousin talking about my mother's affair and how he feared for his life.”

“And you have the floo transcripts,” Harry added.

Finch nodded, “It will be enough to arrest them and do a Legilimency test. From there…well, if we find anything, it will go to a court case. You will have to testify Miss Greengrass.”

“I understand that,” Daphne said calmly.

“Even if she did do what you think she did, she is still your mother,” Finch said gently.

“As far as I’m concerned, I have no mother,” Daphne said coolly, “I will testify against her, I can supply any memories you might require as well. Whatever you need, Auror.”

Finch nodded, “I appreciate that, thank you, Miss Greengrass. Would you mind if I had a word with Harry alone?”

Daphne left the room wordlessly, and once she had, Finch put up a silencing charm, “Is she really that cold?”

Harry shook his head, “She’s shutting herself off, it’s what she does in a painful situation. She is telling the truth about testifying though, her mother made her hate her father, and now she’s found out that her father loved her and her mother was a twisted bitch, so she’s bitter.”

Finch sighed, “It’s a messed up case, but if we can prove that they killed Cygnus Greengrass…it’s life in Azkaban for whoever did it and 25 years for the abettor.”

“As far as Daphne’s concerned, they deserve it,” Harry admitted, “She has a pretty black and white view of justice, to be honest with you.”

Finch shrugged, “She’s a Slytherin, we’re all a bit like that. You need to learn to shake it when you become an Auror though; there are a lot of grey areas whether we like it or not.”

Harry hummed thoughtfully, “So what happens now?”

“Well, I’ll get my partner in on this. Once we’ve reviewed the evidence we’ll arrest Lareina and Phineas,” Finch said, “Then we will get permission to do a Legilimency test. Once that’s done, we will know whether there’s going to be a trial or not so either way, things will be well and truly moving by the end of the week.”

“Thanks, Finch,” Harry said, he shook the man's hand, “Keep me in the loop.”

“You got it, Harry.”

* * *

When they left the office that day Daphne said she was fine, then she kissed Harry and went to work. When Bill asked about her stony face, she said that she was okay. When she nearly burst into tears over a death in their curse case that afternoon, she said she was fine. When she popped over to Sadie’s with bagels to try and force her friend to eat, she assured Sadie that she was okay.

But the truth of it was that she was far from okay. Despite her complicated relationships with her mother and father, she had always had a constant confidant in Astoria, and now she feared she would lose that. She had lied to her sister, and she had betrayed both her mother and her uncle. Daphne knew that would not go down well with her sister.

Despite everything else going on, it was that thought of losing Astoria forever that kept tugging at her heartstrings.

All the same, when Harry came home from work that night and asked how she was, she told him that she was fine. He knew that she wasn’t, but he also knew that she would shut down if he pushed the issue, so he accepted her answer.

They made small talk over dinner and spent the evening in the living room perusing their own books; Harry read one of his Auror training textbooks, and Daphne read up on ancient Egyptian curses. Around 10 pm, Daphne asked Harry if he wanted a cuppa and, just like every night, Harry replied that a coffee would be lovely.

When Daphne had not returned from the kitchen 15 minutes later, Harry got up to go and check on her. He stepped into the kitchen and saw her sobbing over the kitchen counter.

“What’s wrong?” He asked in alarm.

“I made tea instead of coffee,” Daphne replied tearfully.

Harry, being Harry, was utterly baffled by why this had upset her because Hermione had hit the nail on the head a long time ago. He, like Ron, had the emotional range of a teaspoon compared to her.

“Baby, it’s fine. Just pour it down the sink and start again.”

“Just pour it down the sink and start again?” Daphne asked, enraged, “How can I just start again? I’ll never get back what I lost. It will never be the same again.”

Harry’s frown deepened, “Well, it won’t be, because it will be coffee instead of tea.”

“For Merlin’s sake, Harry, I’m not talking about the fucking coffee!”

Harry scratched his head, “Daphne, I’m really not following. What are you talking about?”

“My sister,” Daphne said as she flung herself into a chair, “She hates me, and she has every right to, I’m the reason our mother will rot in jail and probably her father too. But I can’t just ignore the fact that they killed _my_ father.”

Harry nodded dumbly.

“But we’ve always been close, and this sets us apart now because she’s not really my sister-”

“She’s your half-sister, but she’s still your sister,” Harry cut in, “You’ve known that for a while.”

“But _she_ hasn’t,” Daphne exclaimed, “And now that she does, she’s going to see things differently.”

“Look, Daphne, she’s upset right now and shocked,” Harry assured her, “You know she’s going to calm down.”

“I don’t know that actually, Harry!” Daphne exclaimed, “I really don’t! I don’t know what any of this is going to do to her and that terrifies me! I have no remorse for my mother. She deserves everything that she gets, and Phineas deserves it too for doing her bidding like a lovesick fool, but Astoria is innocent, she doesn’t deserve any of this!”

Whatever she said after that was incoherent through her crying, but Harry held her until she calmed down and stopped shaking, then he took her upstairs and put her to bed.

* * *

_Knock. Knock._

“Harry! What are you doing here? Is Daphne okay?”

Harry sighed, “Can I come in?”

Astoria nodded and took a step back. Once Harry had shut the door behind himself, he replied, “Not really.”

“Is this about her visit here the other day?” Astoria asked quietly.

Harry nodded, “I know you are upset Astoria, and I don’t blame you. I don’t blame you for being angry either, but you know that Daphne loves you. She loves you regardless of the fact you don’t share the same father and not knowing if you are ever going to speak to her again…it’s killing her.”

Astoria sighed, “Of course I’m going to speak to her again, Harry. I just needed some time to come to terms with everything. The truth is, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense of everything that has happened in my life. I am angry at her for keeping it from me, but I know why she did it.”

“She was just trying to protect you,” Harry said.

“It’s all she has ever done, my whole life,” Astoria admitted, she sat down on the edge of an armchair, “When the house went on fire that night, my mother panicked. It was Daphne who screamed at her and brought her back to her senses. It’s thanks to her that we all got out. It was Daphne who picked me up and fixed me up every time I fell off a broom. It was Daphne who let me cry on her shoulder when my heart got broken. I could never sacrifice that relationship just because I’m angry right now.”

“She didn’t want to hurt you Astoria, but she couldn’t have lived with herself if she hadn’t handed the evidence into the ministry. I’ve seen it too; she isn’t delusional, your mother really did conspire with Phineas to murder Cygnus.”

“I noticed that you used names instead of titles,” Astoria said quietly, “Because you don’t know how to refer to them now that I know the truth-”

“I-” Harry began sheepishly.

Astoria shook her head, “It’s okay because I don’t know either. All I do know is that despite everything else, Daphne is still my sister, and she always will be. I’m sorry that she had to make you come over here for me to admit that.”

Harry shook his head, “She didn’t make me come round, I did it of my own accord when I saw how upset she was. You know, as much as I love your sister, I don’t think I will ever understand her.”

Astoria frowned and looked up, “How do you mean?”

“She told me all day that she was fine, then she had a full-blown mental breakdown over the fact she had made tea when I asked for coffee,” Harry explained.

Astoria laughed, “Daphne bottles things up until the point that she can’t anymore. Then everything just comes spilling out and its always the silliest things that trigger it. You will just have to get used to it I guess, imagine how much worse she will be when she’s pregnant.”

Harry grimaced, “Don’t even go there, we’re just adopting Teddy, so I think we’ll wait a few years before we get to that point.”

Astoria smiled, “You’re good for her, you know? I hope things never change between you two.”

“I hope so too,” Harry said with a smile, “Thanks Astoria, see you around.”

“See you around Harry.”

* * *

When Daphne came downstairs the following morning, she wasn’t feeling particularly talkative.

“Look, Daphne, I need to tell you something and-”

“Did you just put a shield charm up?”

“What? No!” Harry lied badly.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “If you want to be a good Auror, you’re going to have to learn to do that more discreetly and to lie better. What the hell do you need to tell me that requires a bloody shield charm?”

“I went to your sister's place last night.”

Daphne’s eyes darkened, “You meddling bastard!”

A stunning charm was shot his way, and it bounced off his shield charm.

“Hence the shield charm,” Harry muttered under his breath, “She is angry at you, but she won’t be forever. She just needs a little time, like I said she would.”

“It wasn’t your place to go over there, Harry,” Daphne fumed.

“I know, but I was worried about you-”

“You’re always worried about me, you and your damn hero complex!” Daphne exclaimed, “I should have listened to Hermione when she warned me about that! You need to save me all the time, don’t you? Is that what drew you to me? How broken and fucked up I was? Well, I’ve had enough of it, I’m not a damsel in distress like Ginny bloody Weasley or Cho fucking Chang! I can deal with my problems by myself without you swooping in to save the day because you’re Harry fucking chosen arsehole Potter!”

Before Harry could defend himself, or fight back, she had stalked out of the room and slammed the front door shut behind her.

* * *

“I swear to Merlin, I can’t do anything right!” Harry fumed when he walked into the locker room that morning.

“Trouble in paradise?” Draco joked.

Harry rolled his eyes, “Daphne’s latest one is to bang on about how I fell in love with her because she was an ideal damsel in distress or some shit like that. She kept going on about the hero complex that I apparently have.”

Draco snorted, “Apparently?”

“Hate to break it to you mate, but there’s no apparently about that,” Neville said, he slapped on the back.

“You definitely have a hero complex,” Theo agreed, “You literally jumped in front of a killing curse for Nev and Lil a couple of weeks ago.”

Harry rolled his eyes.

“And you are partial to a damsel in distress,” Neville added, “Saving Ginny from the basilisk then falling in love with her-”

“Years later!” Harry objected.

“Then comforting Cho over the death of her boyfriend and falling in love with her,” Neville pointed out.

“Okay, so first of all, I liked Cho _before_ that. She chose Cedric over me then he died, which was just complicated and messy because despite what Hermione thinks, I do not have the emotional range of a teaspoon.”

Draco sniggered loudly at that.

“And secondly, I never fell in love with Cho,” Harry finished, “So that point was…pointless.”

“Well said,” Theo teased.

Harry rolled his eyes, “So I tried to help Daphne, and all I got was a heap of bloody abuse anyway, I don’t know why I bother.”

“What’s going on with her anyway?” Draco asked, “I noticed that she’d been a bit off.”

“Since she’s already pissed off at me, and it’s all going to come out soon anyway, I guess I can tell you,” Harry reasoned, “Her mother is a murderer.”

“What?”

“Her mother and her Uncle Phineas plotted to kill her father during the war. They made it look like a Death Eater attack. Still, really they wanted him dead so that they could be together,” Harry explained, “Daphne’s mother gave her a box of stuff from her dad's study, and she found these letters he wrote to his cousin about how he was paranoid that they were going to kill him. So I decided to dig a little deeper, and I spoke to an Auror about getting access to the floo records for Greengrass house around that time. Anyway, the floo records were pretty solid proof, so it's going to court very soon.”

“Fucking hell,” Draco said, he sat down heavily, “I spent loads of time with them as a kid. I always liked Daphne’s dad; he didn’t treat me like some stupid kid like my dad did. Her mother was snooty, but so was mine so I figured that was just normal but for her to be a murderer…”

Theo nodded, “But I guess some people are just really good at hiding their true nature. Look at Voldemort; he had everyone fooled when he was young.”

Harry sighed and nodded his agreement, “So the whole thing has messed her up, and she’s fighting with Astoria about it too which has her upset. I want to be the bigger person and ignore what she said because of everything she has going on but-”

“Uh-uh,” Theo said with a shake of his head, “Even in the heat of the moment, everything said in an argument is said because it has a semblance of truth to it. You need to talk about what she said before it becomes a big issue.”

“I agree with Theo on this one,” Neville said.

“Personally I wouldn’t mention it until she did, but that’s just me,” Draco shrugged, “Then again if Hermione called me a Death Eater in an argument, I wouldn’t be able just to drop something like that.”

Harry sighed heavily, “I really hope I get an excuse to work late tonight,” he admitted.

“Just piss Sumner off, and you’ll be here all night!” Theo joked.

* * *

Lilly was on her lunch break when the mirror she carried around in her pocket buzzed. She looked down at it and smiled when she saw Daphne’s face, “Hey.”

“Oh, you’re on your lunch, good,” Daphne said in relief, “I really need to talk to you.”

“What’s up?” Lilly asked as she took another bite out of her sandwich.

“I think I might have said something really stupid and hurtful to Harry,” Daphne admitted.

Lilly snorted, “What did you say?”

“I said that he had a hero complex,” Daphne admitted sheepishly.

“Which he does,” Lilly cut in, “This is the heroic idiot who jumped in front of a killing curse for Neville and me not that long ago.”

“I know, but I also implied that he only fell in love with me because I needed fixing and I’m pretty sure I called him Harry fucking chosen arsehole Potter,” Daphne added.

Lilly sniggered, “Original, I like it. How royally did he fuck up then?”

“Pretty royally,” Daphne sighed, “You know these letters that we found? The ones between my father and his cousin?”

“Uh-huh.”

“He went into the ministry and asked about floo records. He got a couple of transcripts which implemented my mother and Uncle Phineas in the murder, so the Auror gave him two weeks to get the bloody evidence in,” Daphne ranted, “We handed it in the other day, and now, they are both going to get arrested.”

“Well,” Lilly frowned, “They do deserve it.”

“I know,” Daphne admitted, “But that’s not the worst bit. Because it’s going to trial, I had to tell Astoria that _her_ father is actually Uncle Phineas. Obviously, she didn’t take the fact that I had lied to her for years very well.”

Lilly’s eyes widened, “Holy fuck.”

Daphne nodded, “So I was upset, and Harry went to Astoria’s place to talk to her on my behalf, which pissed me off because I’m _not_ a damsel in distress! I don’t need him to do my bidding for me.”

“I really don’t think that Harry has ever thought of you as a damsel in distress,” Lilly pointed out, “You’re a badass bitch, and he loves it. That’s why you two can’t stop shagging.”

Daphne snorted, “Underneath that, I’m just human, Lil.”

“I know,” Lilly said.

“Do you think I was overly harsh?” Daphne asked as she bit her lip.

Lilly thought about this for a second, “I think you are projecting. That’s a posh psychology word, eh?”

Daphne smiled slightly, “What do you mean?”

“You’re frustrated that your sister isn’t talking to you and you’re angry at your mother,” Lilly explained, “And you are taking that out on Harry, which is kind of fair since he did land you in the whole mess by going to the ministry like an idiot.”

“Exactly! He should have consulted with me first, right?”

“He should have,” Lilly agreed, “But he didn’t so as hard as it is for you to do, maybe on this one occasion just drop it and admit that you’ve both kind of been arseholes?”

Daphne smiled properly at that, “I love you, Lil, and I’m so glad you’re home.”

“I’m so glad to _be_ home,” Lilly admitted, “If you need me at all throughout all of this, just say the word, and I’ll be there, okay?”

Daphne nodded.

“When is this all kicking off?” Lilly asked.

“Soon,” Daphne answered, “We handed the evidence in yesterday so as soon as they make an arrest, we’ll hear about it.”

“I’m sorry Daph,” Lilly said sympathetically, “This is probably the last thing you need right now with the adoption and the wedding and everything else.”

Daphne cracked a genuine smile, “No, Teddy’s the bright spark in all of this actually. I’m happy he’s in our life right now.”

Lilly smiled too, “And is the wedding still going to be on?”

“Of course it is, I’m just a drama queen,” Daphne said with a flick of her hair, “Speaking of weddings, can you come over one night this week to talk ice sculptures?”

Lilly snorted, “You pureblood, you.”

“You love me,” Daphne grinned.

“I do,” Lilly agreed, “But right now I’ve got to go and deal with a green trainee Auror who failed his ‘what magical plants are safe to eat’ test this morning.”

Daphne snorted, “Is it, Theo?”

“Surprisingly not!” Lilly answered, “See you later!”

* * *

When Harry walked in that evening, Daphne actually felt nervous.

“Hey,” She said with a weak smile when he stepped into the kitchen.

“Hey,” Harry replied coolly.

“I wanted to apologise, for what I said this morning,” Daphne began tentatively.

“You only need to apologise if it was a lie,” Harry said sharply, “Was it? Or was it the truth?”

Daphne opened her mouth to reply, but before she had a chance, Harry continued, “Because honestly Daphne, it hurt like hell to hear you say that. Is that really all that you think of me? Do you think so lowly of me? I didn’t fall in love with you because you were a damsel in distress that needed fixing and if you really think I did then maybe we shouldn’t be getting married or adopting Teddy or any of it!”

“No,” Daphne cut in sharply, “I didn’t mean it, Harry. I was angry and it just…it came out. Maybe there’s a part of me that wonders what drew you to me but-”

“Really?” Harry asked in disbelief, “I can’t believe I actually have to tell you this Daphne, because I thought you already knew. I can’t tell you why I fell in love with you, but I can tell you when I did.”

Daphne looked up at him, “When did you fall in love with me?”

“The minute we started speaking when we came back to school,” Harry said, he caught her eye, “It’s an old cliché, but it’s true. I just knew that you were going to either make me or break me and I wanted you enough to risk it being the latter.”

Daphne didn’t know what to say to that. Harry didn’t often let his feelings come spilling out, and to be honest, they didn’t usually fight.

“I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you when I first saw you with Teddy,” Harry continued, “So there has never been a shadow of a doubt for me about whether this was what I wanted, or about whether _you_ were what I wanted. I’m with you because I _chose_ to be with you and you were the first thing in my life that I _got_ to choose. All my life, people decided what I would do, where I could stay, where I would go, what I would lose for the sake of the bloody war! But then it was all over, and everyone wanted me to be with Ginny, but _I_ wanted to be with you then, and I’ve wanted to be with you every day since. My whole life, I’ve done what other people wanted but being with you was the first thing that I did for myself.”

Daphne stared at him for a moment then threw herself into his arms, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for what I said, and I’m sorry that I didn’t realise how much I meant to you.”

“I’m sorry I don’t say it often enough,” Harry murmured as he held her close, “When I say that you’re the love of my life, I mean it.”

Daphne smiled into his chest, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Harry said softly, “Why? Am I not yours?”

Daphne smirked mischievously at him, “Oh I don’t know…it’s pretty close between you and Draco.”

“You had better be joking,” Harry chuckled.

Daphne grinned, “Of course I’m joking. As much as I hate to admit it, you Harry Potter, oh golden, chosen lord of greatness, are the love of my life.”

Harry grinned back and pulled her into a kiss.

* * *

“Theo, why do you look like you’re going to pass out?”

“I’m just nervous,” Theo muttered.

“You're nervous? Why are you nervous? Should I be nervous?” Sadie asked in a panicked whisper.

“No, no, it’s going to be fine,” Theo assured her, “It’s just a little scary, don’t you think? Now we’re at this point it suddenly feels…”

“Real,” Sadie replied, looking around the room at all the pregnant women, “Scarily real.”

Theo nodded, but before he could say any more a Maternity Healer stepped out of a room and called out, “Sadie Nott!”

Sadie and Theo followed her nervously into the room. She smiled warmly at them, “There’s no need to look so nervous, I don’t bite!”

Sadie laughed weakly, “Sorry, we’re just a little nervous. This is our first baby.”

“Don’t worry, I will walk you through how everything works,” She said, “My name is Halina, and I’m going to be the Healer looking after you throughout your whole pregnancy and during your birth. Now, after this appointment, I will come out to your home and see you there if you wish, to save you traipsing in here all the time.”

Sadie nodded.

“So I just need some basic information from you two to start with,” Halina continued, “What's your address?”

“11 Grimmauld Place, London.”

“And do you know roughly when that house was built?” Halina asked.

Theo frowned as he thought about this, “Around 1930 I would guess?”

Halina nodded as she jotted down their answers, “Do you know if it was ever painted with lead paint?”

Theo and Sadie looked at each other in surprise.

Halina looked up at their response, “Sorry, it’s a new question.”

“Is that being implemented already?” Sadie asked in surprise.

Halina frowned, “Yes, it was just brought in this year. Do you already know the reasoning behind it?”

Theo smiled proudly, “Yes, it was our close friend Neville who discovered it while we were all researching our N.E.W.T potions projects.”

Halina smiled too, “Was it really? Well, your friend Neville would be delighted to hear that it is changing lives. We can identify problems early, which means we can keep an eye on potential problems with the foetus. The higher-ups think that this knowledge is going to reduce birth complications and stillbirths by at least 50%.”

“Wow,” Sadie voiced.

Theo nodded, “And in answer to the question, we tested for lead paint and found no traces. We think it was a muggle house before we took it on.”

“Perfect,” Halina said, “So I need to know some things about you guys too. Were you both born in the UK?”

Sadie and Theo both nodded.

“And do you have any close relatives who weren’t born here?” Halina asked.

“I don’t,” Theo said.

“Neither do I,” Sadie added.

“Textbook answers,” Halina said cheerfully, “Okay then let me tell you how today is going to go. I need to do a whole series of tests to check that your little one is doing okay and then you will be free to go.”

The appointment went well. Sadie’s blood test showed that her iron levels were still a little low, but her blood pressure was so much better. All of the other tests came up fine, and when the Healer listened to the babies heartbeat, she was happy with it.

At the end of the appointment, they left feeling much calmer.

* * *

The morning after his conversation with Daphne, Harry received an early morning floo call. He slipped out of bed and left Daphne sleeping as he took the call in the kitchen.

“Morning Potter.”

“Finch,” Harry said with a sleepy nod.

“I have an update for you. Can we meet in St. James Park in 10 minutes?” Finch asked.

“Yeah sure, where in the park?”

“On a bench by the lake,” Finch replied before ending the floo call.

As Harry transfigured himself into some clothes, he couldn’t help but think that the meeting place was a little cliché. There was, after all, a bridge in St. James Park nicknamed “The Bridge of Spies” because it had been alleged that spies met there. Then again, maybe it was just a meeting place for wizards that had been misinterpreted by Muggles.

He left the house quietly and apparated to the park. He walked along the lake and saw Finch sitting on a bench feeding the ducks, he shook his head in amusement and sat down next to him.

“On a bench in St. James Park feeding the ducks,” Harry joked, “Could you get any more cliched for a private meeting?”

“What do you mean?” Finch asked with a frown, “St. James Park has been the meeting place of Aurors for years.”

Harry chuckled to himself, well that confirmed a suspicion, “You said you had an update?”

Finch nodded, “We arrested Lareina and Phineas last night. We asked them a few questions while they were under the influence of mild truth serum and that interview threw up enough question marks that we were able to push through a Legilimency test.”

“Doesn’t that usually take 24 hours to process?” Harry questioned.

“Usually, but we took a shortcut,” Finch said, “The Legilimency test proved beyond a doubt that it was them. So there are two ways that we can do this; we either do it the usual way, or we can do it through the backchannels and prosecute them without a trial.”

“No,” Harry said instantly, “I know that this is a different situation since we’re sure that they are guilty, but my godfather Sirius Black was prosecuted without a fair trial, and he spent 12 years in Azkaban for a crime he didn’t commit. If we’re doing this Finch, we’re doing it right. It goes to trial and justice comes to them the way it should, not through corrupt backchannels.”

Finch nodded and smiled slightly, “You’ll make a good Auror one day, Potter.”

Harry turned to thank Finch, but he did a double-take when he saw Sumner sitting next to him, “What the hell! I mean, what the hell, sir?”

Sumner chuckled, “Sorry to alarm you Potter, but it had to be done. When we saw that you had been sneaking around, handing in evidence and talking to dirty Aurors we had to step in. It didn’t look good; we had to make sure that you were doing it for the right reason.”

Harry frowned, “Oh shit…Finch is a dirty Auror?”

“About as dirty as they get,” Sumner said darkly.

“How did I not realise that?” Harry muttered.

“Because they hide it well,” Sumner admitted, “That’s why without mandatory veritaserum testing it's almost impossible to oust them all. We train recruits how to lie, close themselves off, make decisions without emotion coming into it. So it’s unsurprising that they can use those skills to our disadvantage.”

Harry nodded, “True,” he said.

“Finch never had any intention of arresting you if you didn’t bring him that evidence, he blackmailed you into giving him what he needed,” Sumner continued, “And he did use backchannels to push through that Legilimency test. You should never have taken that information into the ministry in the first place; you should have just come to us, that’s what we’re here for.”

“Sorry,” Harry said sheepishly, “But how did you even know?”

“We make it our business to know everything about our trainees, especially when it looks like they are up to no good,” Sumner said with a reproving look, “I understand why you did it and I understand why you felt you couldn’t come to us. It was personal, and you were protecting your family, we can understand that.”

Harry nodded numbly.

“You did the right thing Potter, but you didn’t quite do it in the right way,” Sumner said, “Hence this little test.”

“Did you make it St. James Park for a laugh?” Harry asked curiously, “Because of the whole Muggle suspicion that spies meet here?”

“No, it genuinely is the spot that Aurors have been meeting in since the first war with Voldemort,” Sumner replied, “Maybe that’s why Muggles associate it with spies, we do dress a little like them when we’re in Muggle clothing.”

Harry glanced over at Sumner in his black suit and nodded in agreement, “True. Sir, I understand if you aren’t allowed to answer but if you’ve seen the memories…which one of them killed Daphne’s father?”

Sumner sighed, “Phineas did, but he was egged on by Lareina. The way it looks right now, and I really should not be telling you this Potter, is that Lareina will get life in Azkaban for planning the whole thing and forcing her lover into it, and Phineas will get 25 years for helping her.”

Harry nodded and let out a sigh, “Thank you for letting me know sir, and I’m sorry for not coming straight to you.”

“You need to understand that we all want the same thing,” Sumner told him, “We didn’t all become trainers because we wanted to. For some people, like Weir, it was a quieter life once they had families, but for others, like myself and Sheppard, it was hard to step down from active duty.”

“Why did you do it then?” Harry asked curiously.

“We were chosen,” Sumner replied, “All of us at the base were chosen to train the next generation of post-war Aurors because we have good principles. Kingsley wanted us to make you the best you could be and to instil good morals and good values into you. We all want the same thing, to end corruption within the justice department and that has to start with you guys. If we keep putting good Aurors in, we will gradually weed out the bad ones. Now I’m not saying that this is going to happen instantly, you will probably be on the job for five years before you weed every single one out, but in time, things will change.”

Harry nodded thoughtfully.

“Truthfully Potter, and don’t share this with your classmates, there hasn’t been a class this large and with this much promise since I graduated with the class of 1981.”

Harry's head shot up at that, “That was the year my parents died.”

Sumner nodded sincerely, “I had the honour of spending three years as your fathers Auror partner while we trained together. We graduated in May, and your father died in October of the same year.”

Harry’s eyes widened, “You were his Auror partner? And you trained with him and Sirius?”

“And Longbottom's parents,” Sumner said with another nod, “They were damn good Aurors, all of them. James had the potential to be Head Auror one day, Sirius was a bit too headstrong, he flew off the handle too easily which would have gotten him in trouble eventually. As for Frank and Alice, the first time I saw a trainee with the potential to be as powerful as them was when I first saw their son in my class. That was the terrifying thing about the first war, the fact that Voldemort had been able to kill those three when they were as good as they were. It really took an extraordinary wizard like Dumbledore to challenge his power back then.”

Harry didn’t know what to say to that. On the one hand, he had so many questions, and on the other, he was stunned into silence.

“What was he like as an Auror, my Dad?” Harry asked.

“He was just like you,” Sumner said quietly, “Calm when the situation required it and hot-headed when it came to defending his family. He was powerful, but he never let it get to his head, he was smart but never smug about it. Just like you, he balanced his family and his work-life in a way that I was never able to. Going through Auror training with a pregnant wife and in his last year, the most intense one, with a newborn baby….truthfully Potter, I admired him a hell of a lot.”

Harry was stunned, if he was honest, “I don’t really know what to say…apart from thank you, sir. Every time someone talks about my parents, I feel like I get to know them a little bit more. Did you know my mother too?”

“Not that well,” Sumner admitted, “Lily loved James with all of her heart, and because of that she found his chosen profession hard to deal with. She didn’t exactly shun us, but socialising with us reminded her of what James did every day, and that was hard for her.”

“That’s why you weren’t in the wedding photographs,” Harry realised.

“I was there, but I was in the background,” Sumner said, “And truth be told Potter, seeing you walk into my class was very surreal. The last time I saw you was when you were christened.”

“I was christened?” Harry asked in surprise.

Sumner nodded, “When you were three months old, at the little church your parents attended in Godric’s Hollow. James was so proud that Lily had decided to give you his name as a middle name, he banged on about it for weeks at the training centre.”

Harry smiled at that, every story he heard helped him to feel closer to the parents that he had never known.

“So now you know,” Sumner said with a note of finality, “And if you ever wonder why I seem to push you and Longbottom harder than I push the others, that’s why. I know what you have the potential to be.”

Harry nodded. He was stunned by this entire revelation, “Thank you, sir.”

Sumner just bowed his head in a nod and walked briskly along the lake, out of sight.

* * *

Before he left the locker room that morning, Harry sent Daphne a Patronus to let her know that her Mother and Phineas had been arrested and that the trial would begin on Monday. He could fill her in on the rest of it in person that night, but he didn’t want her to find out from someone else. He also let her know that he would be late home because he had an assignment he needed to complete, but that was a lie. In truth, he wanted to talk to Neville that night, but he couldn’t explain that over an open floo channel.

Once he had sent the message, he grabbed Neville and asked if he could come over to Longbottom House after they finished training for the day.

“What’s wrong?” Neville asked in an undertone in response.

“Nothing really,” Harry replied, “There’s just something I want to talk to you about.”

Before he could elaborate, they were called outside for training to begin.

* * *

When training finished that night, Harry apparated with Neville back to Longbottom House. They migrated to the kitchen, as they often did when they spent time together in each other’s homes.

“Coffee?”

Harry nodded, “Where’s Lil?”

“She never gets home on time,” Neville said with an amused smile, “Someone always gets hurt in a duel at the end of the day, and Keller tells her to go home, but she always says no.”

“She’s dedicated,” Harry said with a smile.

“She’s brilliant,” Neville agreed, “So what did you want to talk about?”

“You know how I’ve been seeing an Auror about everything going on with Daphne’s parents?” Harry asked his best friend.

Neville nodded and put a cup of coffee down in front of him, “Finch, you said he was called?”

Harry nodded, “He asked me to meet him this morning at St James Park.”

“Right,” Neville said.

“So I went, and he told me that they had been arrested and that there were two ways things could go down, either the usual way or through back channels,” Harry said.

“So he’s a dirty Auror,” Neville realised.

“Yep,” Harry said, “Only he wasn’t, because it was actually Sumner in disguise testing me. He had found out that I had gone behind his back and because Finch was a dirty Auror, he had to be sure that I was clean.”

“Okay, so how much shit are you in?”

“None,” Harry answered, “Sumner said he understood. Then he told me that the trainers had been selected. He talked about how they all wanted a less corrupt ministry and how no class had been as large or had as much promise as ours since his graduating class of 1981.”

“Holy shit,” Neville realised, “So he trained with my parents, your dad and Sirius?”

Harry nodded, “You think that’s big, wait for the next bombshell. I always figured with my dad and Sirius being best friends, like you and me, that they must have been Auror partners, but they weren’t…Sumner was my dads Auror partner.”

“Well, I knew that Sirius wasn’t your dads Auror partner, because he was _my_ dads Auror partner,” Neville admitted.

Harry frowned, “This is all getting a tad confusing now. Why have you never told me that?”

“You never asked.”

“But that’s huge! I mean, how do you even know about it?” Harry asked.

“My grandmother told me in third year when Sirius was on the run,” Neville replied, “She said he always had been a hothead and that was why he had been made Auror partners with my dad. She said that my dad was the stabilising influence on him.”

“I feel like my whole life was a lie.”

Neville raised an eyebrow at him, “Don’t you think you're being a tad melodramatic? It’s not like you just found out that Snape was actually your dad.”

Harry grimaced, “That is disgusting, Neville.”

“But yeah, Sumner as your Dads Auror partner…that is a bombshell. Maybe that’s why he’s so hard on you,” Neville mused.

“He did pretty much say that if he was harder on you and I it was because he knew what our potential was,” Harry said, “He also told me not to tell anyone about any of this, but he knows the rules of Auror partners, so I figure that means don’t tell anyone apart from Neville.”

“True,” Neville mused, “So he thinks I have potential?”

“Do you want to know what he said about you?” Harry asked.

“Yes,” Neville replied instantly.

“As long as you promise not to let it show when we go in tomorrow,” Harry added.

“Harry, I’m the one who isn’t useless at lying in this partnership,” Neville reminded him.

“True,” Harry admitted sheepishly, “He said that he hadn’t seen anyone with the potential to be as powerful as your parents until you walked into his class.”

Neville’s eyes widened, “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“What did he say about you?” Neville asked curiously.

“That I’m smart but not smug about it, powerful but that I don’t let it go to my head and that he admires how I can balance my work and family life,” Harry reeled off.

“So let me get this straight…” Neville said, “Harry Potter is the nice, stable family man and I’m the badass, powerful Auror? Oh ho! You know what that translates to, right? I’m totally going to be the senior Auror!”

“No, because you’re going to need the level-headed, calm, family man to keep you under control or your power might get too much for you,” Harry challenged.

“I bet I’ll be able to level forests.”

“What’s the point of levelling forests if you can’t stay calm in a hostage situation?”

“Well, …uhm…okay, you make a good point,” Neville admitted reluctantly.

Harry smirked, “Anyway, having lots of raw power is great, but you need the finesse to be able to harness it, and that’s where I come in.”

Neville scoffed, “Oh, get away! And Sumner said you weren’t smug?”

Harry grinned at him and got to his feet, “I better get home but before I go…Sumner said, ‘you’ll make a great Auror one day, Potter’. That totally means I’m going to be the Senior Auror Nev!”

“You’re totally not Harry!”

“Totally am!” Harry called from the hallway before the front door snapped shut.

Neville just shook his head in amusement and grinned when he heard the floo roar to life.

“Honey, I’m home!”

Neville pulled her into a hug, “I’m still not used to it.”

“The novelty will wear off soon enough,” Lilly said, “Can you cook dinner? And make sure it’s not red or tomatoey?” she asked as she left the kitchen, “Cause I just had to re-attach four fingers, so I’m gonna shower!”

Neville shook his head in amusement as she disappeared upstairs. It was so good to have her home.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	58. Babies Makin' Babies

Now that Lilly was home, Friday nights had become movie nights at Longbottom House. They were very rarely all there, although the entire gang were invited every week. Ginny and Blaise didn’t come at the moment, but that was because Ginny was literally ready to pop. She was about two weeks away from her due date.

“So how did your appointment at the hospital go?” Daphne asked her friend conversationally, “It was a couple of days ago, wasn’t it?”

Sadie nodded, “It went well. The baby has a strong heartbeat, and all my tests came back fine.”

“So why don’t you sound thrilled?” Lilly asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione cocked her head at her, “Is it because you didn’t find out the gender? Because you can do that later on, but its classed as private care, so you need to pay for it.”

Sadie shook her head, “No, it’s not that. It’s…it’s silly.”

“Hey, I’m sure it isn’t silly love,” Theo said.

“And we’re your friends. We aren’t going to laugh even if it is,” Daphne promised.

Sadie sighed, “Does it make me a terrible person because I feel bad that I don’t know enough? I mean yes, I know the baby has a strong heartbeat and that _I’m_ okay, but I don’t know if it might be a squib or…you know.”

Lilly smiled slightly, “Sadie, it doesn’t make you a terrible person because everyone feels the same. I see it all the time-”

“You see it all the time?” Draco asked in disbelief.

“You’re training to be a trauma healer!” Harry chipped in, “Not a Maternity Healer!”

Neville smirked as he sensed an inevitable sarcastic remark from his girlfriend.

“Yes you dumbasses, I _am_ training to be a trauma healer but what if I find a pregnant woman in distress? Trauma healing isn’t the hardest field to master because we have to work in the field with what we have. It’s the hardest field to master because we have to know enough about _everything_ to provide adequate care to get the victim to the hospital safely. Now if you don’t quit with the jibes, I’ll just leave you bleeding out when you inevitably fuck up in a duel.”

“You wouldn’t,” Harry said, “Neville loves me, you couldn’t put him through that.”

“Hmm,” Lilly hummed thoughtfully, “You’re right, I would have to save you or Neville would cry about it for months. But Draco, you’re fucked.”

Hermione positively cackled at that.

“Wow,” Draco said with a shake of his head, “The level of love in this room right now is astounding.”

Theo jumped on Draco from the row behind, “Don’t worry Draco; I would save you.”

Draco chuckled as Theo rugby tackled him, “Thanks Theo, at least someone loves me.”

Harry shook his head in amusement, “See Sadie, everyone has those worries.”

Sadie nodded, but she didn’t look convinced.

“Hey, if it helps, I can explain it a little better,” Lilly said. She shoved herself up onto the small stage that the projector projected onto, “The thing is, we can find out a lot at the three-month check. We can check the gender, the magical power, we can check for congenital disabilities, but legally we aren’t allowed to.”

“Why?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

“Unfortunately, it goes back to old fashioned pureblood beliefs,” Lilly replied, “The ministry worry about what a pureblood might do if they found out they were having a girl and that there was a 90% chance it would be a squib when they wanted a powerful male heir. You see where I’m coming from?”

Sadie nodded, “I understand.”

“I’m sorry Sadie, I know it sucks, but it’s just the way that it seems to be here,” Lilly said apologetically.

“It’s fine,” Sadie assured her, “Anyway, have you guys decided on a movie yet?”

“We’re watching ‘The King and I’ because I feel the need for a heartfelt romance,” Lilly decreed, “And I don’t care how much you boys complain, I am not being subjected to another action film!”

A collective groan went around the male contingent of the friend group.

Harry shook his head, “I dumped Teddy with his Aunt Cissa for this?”

Draco made a face, “Hearing you say that makes me feel kind of sick.”

“The thought of watching a rom-com makes me feel kinda sick,” Neville said.

“Yeah, we should probably just go downstairs and ‘study’ in the bar,” Harry agreed as he got to his feet.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Daphne said, she pulled him back down, “You forced us to watch Terminator last time, you have to watch a rom-com this time.”

Another collective groan went around the room.

* * *

“I think I’m going to pop over and see Sadie this morning.”

Neville put a steaming mug of coffee down in front of her, “I thought you were going to say that.”

Lilly looked up, “Did you?”

Neville nodded and smiled, “I know you, Lillian Moon, you don’t like knowing that you can help and not helping. It’s very Hufflepuff of you actually.”

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, “And you like a bit of Hufflepuff, clearly.”

Neville raised _his_ eyebrows at her, “Where did that come from?”

“Just a comment,” Lilly replied calmly, “You do seem rather fond of Hufflepuffs.”

“I’m more fond of Ravenclaws,” Neville said as he leant across the table to whisper in her ear, “It’s true what they say about smart girls, they do the kinkiest-”

“I get the point, Longbottom,” Lilly said as she pushed him away.

Neville grinned, a little smugly, at her, “You should go and see Sadie.”

“Do you think I should do the tests for her?”

“If she wants them, why not?” Neville said, “The only way you would get in trouble was if you got caught and Sadie isn’t going to dob you in, is she? She’s one of your best friends.”

“True,” Lilly agreed, she sipped her coffee, “I’ll go over later in the morning. I don’t want to disturb her if she’s actually getting some rest, you know she needs it right now.”

Neville nodded and put his coffee cup down on the table, “So you have around three hours to kill and nothing to do…”

“Sorry to cockblock you, but I do have something to do,” Lilly smirked, “I’m going over to Daphne’s.”

Neville snorted, “I swear, you spend more time there than here since you got home.”

“Her sister isn’t talking to her, and her mother is a homicidal maniac,” Lilly reminded Neville, “She kind of needs a friend more than you need a shag.”

Neville dropped the joking act and nodded, “Yeah, you’re right, she does. But if you’re going over there for girl chat, I’ll nip over too. I promised Harry I’d help him get started with the greenhouse in the grounds. I’ve got absolutely no faith that he’ll keep up with it mind you. I’ll be going over twice a week to feed and water everything for him, no doubt.”

“Oh like you’d complain about having a proper big greenhouse to look after,” Lilly said, shooting him a knowing look, “As if your pop up greenhouse and your magical herb garden isn’t enough?”

“Watch out, if I have it my way we’ll have a magical creature sanctuary in the grounds too!” Neville joked as she disappeared.

* * *

When Lilly stepped into the drawing-room of 11 Grimmauld Place later that day, she saw Sadie lounging on the sofa with a book.

“Hey, Lil,” Sadie smiled, “What brings you here?”

Lilly smiled back, “I just had a thought this morning. Technically I shouldn’t offer to do this, but you’re my friend and as long as you don’t tell anyone I won’t get in trouble so…I could do the checks for you if you want?”

Sadie’s eyes widened, “Would you?”

Lilly nodded, “They are easy to do; it’s just that…we don’t always trust everyone with that kind of information. I trust you, though, and Merlin help me, but I even trust Theo.”

Sadie laughed, “Lilly, you are the best!” she said, she hugged friend, “I love you!”

Lilly smiled, “It’s nothing Sadie, honestly. Do you want Theo to be here when I do it?”

Sadie shook her head, “Just in case it is bad news like the baby is a squib, I would rather tell him myself.”

“I understand that,” Lilly said honestly, “Well if you’re ready, I just need you to lie down and lift your top, so your stomach is showing.”

Sadie lay down straight away and did as Lilly asked. Lilly then readied her wand and cast some sort of diagnostic charm. Sadie’s stomach glowed pink, and Lilly looked at it more closely.

“So the first bit of good news is that there are no congenital disabilities, that would show up bright red straight away,” Lilly began.

Sadie breathed a sigh of relief.

“And I can detect the gender, do you want to know?”

Sadie shook her head, “No, I’ll keep that as a surprise.”

“Okay,” Lilly said, “So magical power-wise…woah!”

“What?” Sadie asked in surprise, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just…” Lilly’s frown deepened, “Uh…”

“It’s a squib, isn’t it?” Sadie asked.

“No, no!” Lilly exclaimed, “No, Sadie, it’s the opposite. Look I need a second opinion,” she stopped the charm, and Sadie’s stomach returned to normal.

“That test shows crazy magical power, and I don’t think your pregnant with the next Merlin so I need to call in my supervisor to double-check what it means,” Lilly said honestly, “Would you be okay if I called Clara?”

Sadie nodded, “I like Clara, and if I ask her not to tell Sorenson, I’m sure she will listen.”

“I’m sure she will,” Lilly agreed. She pressed a button on the communication bracelet that she wore on her wrist, and a ringing noise sounded.

After a few seconds, Clara’s voice said, “Hey, Lilly, what’s up?”

“I just need a second opinion on something Clara,” Lilly said honestly, “I did something I shouldn’t have done, but it was for a friend and-

“Just stop. I’ll be over straight away, where are you?”

“Number 11 Grimmauld Place.”

“Sadie’s place?” Clara asked in alarm, “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” Lilly promised.

“Alright, I’m in the UK with Sorenson right now so I’ll be over straight away,” Clara said, then she ended the call.

Literally, less than a minute later, the fire roared to life and, because her magical signature was recognised by the house, she was granted access.

“What’s up? What did you do?”

“Sadie was worried about squib genes and stuff,” Lilly said sheepishly, “So I said that I would do the tests for her, but the magical ability one went crazy, like off the scale.”

Clara breathed a sigh of relief, “So nothing is wrong, thank Merlin. I panicked when you called.”

Sadie frowned, “Why would it be off the scale? Theo and I aren’t massively powerful.”

“I’m not sure. I would need to check myself, are you alright for me to do that Sadie?” Clara asked.

“Of course,” Sadie replied.

Clara cast the same charm that Lilly had done. She looked around, prodded a little bit then cancelled the charm out. When she looked up at Sadie, she saw worry etched all over her face.

“So I’m sorry, but you’re definitely not pregnant with the next Merlin,” Clara said, she shot Lilly an amused look, “Did the hospital tell you anything unusual about the pregnancy?”

“No, why what’s wrong?” Sadie panicked.

“Nothing darling,” Clara assured her, she grabbed the younger girls hand, “The thing is…the reason the magical signature was so powerful…it was because you aren’t having one baby, you’re having two.”

“Twins,” Lilly gasped.

“Twins,” Sadie said weakly.

“Twins,” A voice from the doorway said, it was followed by a thud.

* * *

“So we’re having twins…”

“Holy shit,” Harry said.

“Woah, you’re fucked mate,” Neville added.

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Neville, a little bit of tact might be wise now.”

Neville smiled sheepishly at his fiancé as Hermione said, “That’s great news, Theo.”

“Yeah,” Theo said weakly, “Great news.”

“Well…it’s unexpected,” Draco admitted.

Daphne nodded, “Where is Sadie anyway?”

“She’s upstairs, sleeping it off.”

“Theo,” Daphne said irritably, “You better properly help her. This isn’t a joke!”

“I know it’s not a joke,” Theo said honestly, “It’s just…twins…you know, two babies…”

“Yes, we know what twins are Theo,” Harry remarked.

“And I don’t get what’s so bad about it,” Lilly added as she stepped into the room.

“I didn’t say it was bad, just surprising,” Theo said, “Anyway, how is Sadie?”

“Shocked, she had just gotten her head around having one baby,” Lilly admitted, “We gave her a mild sedative to help her sleep.”

“The fact its twins explains why she has been so ill and so faint though,” Clara added as she joined Lilly by the door, “So I’ve upped her iron supplement which will hopefully make her start to feel better in the next few days.”

Theo sighed, “That’s good.”

“Well,” Harry said, “I think we should probably just leave you to contemplate this bombshell. It’s a big thing to take in.”

Daphne kissed Theo on the cheek, then she and Harry left.

“I need to get back to France,” Clara said, “But keep an eye on Sadie for me since you’re back full-time.”

“I will,” Lilly promised.

Hermione sighed and got to her feet, “I’ll sit with Sadie. I think she’s going to need a friend when she wakes up.”

“She will,” Lilly agreed.

“Do you want to stay until she wakes up?” Neville asked.

Lilly nodded, “Yeah, I’d feel better in case she panics when she wakes up. That could hurt the baby.”

“Feel free to wait it out here,” Draco said as he put an arm around Theo, “But I think the two of us need to have a chat in the bar, a whiskey kind of chat.”

“Yeah,” Theo said numbly, “Yeah…”

* * *

“Twins Draco…”

“It’s a blessing in a way Theo,” Draco said softly, “A lot of purebloods struggle to have any children so to have two in one go…”

“I know,” Theo said, he sipped his whiskey, “You know…Nev’s research is already changing lives. The maternity Healer we saw asked us about lead paint; she said that the research should bring the stillbirth and congenital disabilities rate down by 50%.”

“Good,” Draco said, “I’m glad because it was a real fear for me when it comes to having kids.”

Theo nodded, and they fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

“Are you going to be okay?” Draco asked eventually.

“I don’t know,” Theo replied, “The pregnancy was a shock, and now…now there are two babies, and I just don’t know how we’re going to cope.”

“You won’t know until you have to,” Draco said, “You’ll learn as you go as I imagine all parents of twins must.”

“Two babies, Draco…two tiny little babies…” Theo said.

“Then it’s a good thing that there’s four of us in this house, isn’t it?” Draco said simply.

Theo looked up, “It’s two houses.”

“No, it’s not, it’s one house,” Draco said, “And we all know it. Everyone wanders freely between both houses, your wife hangs out in my library more than _I_ do, and I totally prefer your kitchen.”

Theo smiled weakly but said no more.

“We’re going to be fine, Theo,” Draco promised his best friend, “Let’s just work out the logistics, okay? What are we going to need two of?”

“Everything,” Theo replied.

“Not everything,” Draco said with a shake of his head, “We can send the girls into Diagon Alley to get a double pram, there’s this nice shop behind Gringotts which sells some lovely ones. We will need two cots and two mattresses. I mean we could make one big cot and have them share, but I think they would keep each other awake. I’ll tell you what we could do? We could make a twin cot, you know build a big one with a bar in the middle or have two cots connected in an ‘L’ shape because then they can be close but not so close that they are rolling over each other.”

Theo smiled tearfully at his best friend and hugged him tightly, “Thanks, Draco.”

Draco wrapped his arms around his shorter friend and rested his chin on his forehead, “It’s going to be okay, Theo.”

He was pretty sure that Theo was crying, but he didn’t call him out on it.

“And you know that I’ll be there every step of the way,” Draco continued, “And Hermione will be there for Sadie as much as she can be. But it’s going to be tough for her, you know? She’s going to be the one stuck in the house with the kids while we chase after dark wizards and Hermione locks them up. It’s going to take all of us to help her get her head around that.”

Theo nodded, “She’s great, and I know that she’s going to be a great Mother, but trying to make her see that is difficult right now.”

“She’s scared,” Draco admitted, “She’s young, she doesn’t know how she’s going to cope. Pansy felt the same, and I can only imagine how it must feel. I remember how scared I was, and I can see how scared you are. Imagine how it must have felt to Pansy, then double that for Sadie because she’s having two babies.”

“I know, but we’re both young,” Theo said, frowning into his drink, “Do you really think we’re going to be okay? I doubt my step-mother will give us much support and when Sadie’s mother finds out…she’s just going to think that Sadie is throwing her life away.”

“We’re your family, Theo,” Draco promised, “And the family you chose is just as important as the family you come from, if not more important. If you need a babysitter so you two can have a date night, you know Hermione, and I will volunteer. You know Neville will happily help you out because he loves kids. You have Daphne who will be there for you both because we both know that as much as she pretends to hate you, she loves you. She _is_ your family, and that means a lot to Notts and Greengrass’s.”

“I know,” Theo admitted a smile slipped onto his face, “You sure you’re going to help babysit? I don’t want to ruin your cool, bad-boy image by exposing you as a baby whisperer to the entire world.”

Draco laughed, “I don’t care about my image, Theo. I care about being the best godfather I can be because you’re bestowing that honour on me, and I want to live up to that.”

Theo grinned and hugged his best friend again, “I really love you, man. Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Draco promised sincerely.

* * *

When Sadie woke up, it was to find Hermione smiling down at her.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Sadie said groggily, “What happened?”

“Well…you kind of passed out,” Hermione admitted.

Sadie frowned, “Oh…twins. I didn’t dream that?”

Hermione bit her lip, “I’m afraid not.”

Sadie looked up at the top of her four-poster bed, “Twins.”

“I know it must come as a shock,” Hermione admitted, “You had just started to come to terms with the fact you were having a baby.”

Sadie nodded.

“But, there are a lot of bonuses,” Hermione said as she took Sadie’s hands, “You get two kids, but you only have to go through childbirth once. They will grow up close, and once they are a bit bigger, they will always have their sibling to entertain them.”

Sadie smiled slightly as Hermione waffled.

“And then there’s your career, of course,” Hermione said, “If you only want two, then yes, you have had your children young, but that means you can focus on your career if you want to because I don’t care what the pureblood wife manual says, you _can_ be a mother and be successful.”

Sadie chuckled and pulled Hermione onto the bed, “I get it, Mione. There are a lot of bright sides.”

Hermione propped herself up on her elbow as she lay next to Sadie, “So you’re okay?”

“I’m in shock,” Sadie admitted, “But yes, I’m okay. Theo and I are both purebloods, for a while, we didn’t know if we would be able to have any kids so the fact that we’re getting two in one go…it’s a blessing, just a surprise blessing.”

Hermione laughed at that.

“Although, I suppose I really ought to start thinking about buying baby things now,” Sadie admitted, “Because we’re going to need two of everything.”

“Twins can share a lot of things,” Hermione pointed out, “I know you have the space and money to buy two of everything anyway, but you don’t need to. You will need to think about where they will sleep when they are small. I imagine the boys are already planning an elaborate baby four-poster double cot, but they can’t go into their own room until they are 6 months old.”

Sadie nodded, “We were going to put the baby in a little wooden crib. Theo was going to make one.”

“Well, he can either make two or he can make a double crib?” Hermione suggested, “It could still rock and everything, but you would just need a divider, so the babies don’t punch each other in the face all night.”

“They’d be swaddled Hermione,” Sadie laughed.

“That means nothing,” Hermione chuckled, “You should have seen Teddy when he was a baby. He was a ninja, we’d swaddle him all up, and five minutes later Harry would be demented because he couldn’t work out how he had both of his arms out already.”

Sadie sniggered, “So Teddy isn’t the perfect baby after all?”

“Not quite, but he’s perfect to Harry and Daphne, and that’s all that matters,” Hermione said wisely.

Sadie rolled onto her side to look Hermione in the eye, “How am I going to manage on my own?”

“You aren’t going to be alone,” Hermione promised her, “You are going to have Theo here every night and every weekend, and if it's ever too much, you know you can wake Draco and I up and we’ll give you a break. We’re a family, Sadie, and family looks out for each other.”

Sadie smiled tearfully, “But what if you’re all busy at work? I’ll just be stuck in this house with two babies, and I don’t know how I’ll cope.”

“We’re not going to let you struggle, Sadie,” Hermione said softly, “You know you could take those babies into Lilly’s hospital wing and she’d tell her injured Aurors to wait it out so she could calm them down. You know if you took them to Gringotts, Daphne would tell Bill to go and break curses on his own so she could have baby cuddles. I don’t care if I’m leading a Wizengamot trial, if you’re struggling, you come and get me, and I’ll sentence criminals while juggling babies. Okay? We are not going to let you struggle, I promise.”

Sadie shuffled over so she could hug Hermione, “Thanks,” she said tearfully.

Hermione smiled, “Anytime,” she promised.

* * *

“Hey, Draco.”

Draco looked up and smiled, “Oh hey, Tam, how did that assignment go down?”

“Great, I nailed it thanks to your help,” The man, who was in the year above them, said. He had just plonked himself down across from them at the lunch table.

“Ah, it was nothing,” Draco said, “But I’m glad it helped.”

Harry looked at Draco pointedly, “Fancy filling us in, mate?”

Draco rolled his eyes, “I just gave Tam some insider knowledge. He was working on an assignment about the dangers of cult groups.”

“Oh, your expert subject you mean?” Neville joked.

“See this? This is why I didn’t mention it to you idiots,” Draco muttered under his breath.

Tam waved his hand, “This is Auror training, the guys in my year are the same. It wouldn’t be the same without a little good-natured ribbing. Oh, I meant to say, by the way, I never knew that your girlfriend was friends with Viktor Krum.”

Draco frowned, “She dated him years ago, but she’s hardly friends with him.”

“Isn’t she?” Tam asked, “Sorry, it’s just that my girl Jane works in the DMLE. She said that they have lunch out in the courtyard all the time.”

“He’s in the UK?” Harry asked, “I thought he was still living in Europe.”

“He got a job as Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports,” Tam replied, something caught his eye, and he looked away, “Sorry that’s the guys from my year waving me over, thanks again for your help Draco.”

He got up and crossed the room with his tray while Theo, Neville and Harry waited for the inevitable explosion.

“She’s having lunches with Viktor Krum?” Draco seethed “Her ex-boyfriend, Viktor Krum? The large, muscular, Quidditch player?”

“Hmm,” Neville mused, “I can see why you feel threatened, he’s basically everything that you’re not. Maybe you aren’t her type after all.”

“Neville,” Harry tried to chastise him while holding back laughter.

Draco glared at them, “Shut up, you two.”

“She’s probably just having friendly lunches with him,” Theo assured Draco.

“Friendly lunches with her ex-boyfriend?”

“He’s hardly a real ex though, is he?” Theo asked.

“What constitutes a real ex, exactly?” Neville asked with mock curiosity.

“Someone you’ve actually had physical contact with,” Theo said pointedly, “She went to the Yule Ball with him and hung out in the library with him, that’s it.”

Harry snorted, “Wow, you really think Hermione was more innocent than she actually was. Krum is definitely a real ex.”

Neville’s jaw dropped, “Are you saying she slept with him?”

“What? No! We were like 14 in fourth year Neville, jeez,” Harry exclaimed.

“Hermione was 15 actually; you always forget that she’s older because her birthday is in September,” Draco said irritably, “But yes, she didn’t sleep with him but from what I gather there was physical contact.”

“In the restricted section of the library,” Harry added.

“Jeez Harry, how do you know this?” Neville asked.

“Because Hermione and I talked about these things,” Harry replied.

Theo shook his head, “No wonder everyone thought you were gay until you started dating Daphne.”

“Nobody thought I was gay Theo.”

Neville made a face.

“Seriously, Neville?”

“What? We’ve been over this, remember? Everyone kind of wondered if you and Cedric were a thing,” Neville admitted.

Draco would typically have laughed at Harry’s expense, but he didn’t even crack a smile. Before the others could try and convince him that Hermione definitely wasn’t having an affair with her ex, the bell for the end of lunch rang.

* * *

“Draco, you got a second?”

Draco paused at the gates of the centre, “Yeah, what is it?”

“I just had a thought earlier,” Harry said, they fell into step together, “I doubt that anything is going on with Hermione and Viktor, but if you are anxious about it, I could loan you my invisibility cloak. You could nip away during lunch tomorrow and see if anything is going on.”

Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry, “Why are you offering to help me? You don’t normally take my side over Hermione’s.”

“You’re right, I don’t,” Harry agreed, “But I’ve been where you are recently. In my case, I worry Daphne will leave me when she realises how much better looking than me she is. In your case, you think Hermione is too good for you and you’re terrified that one day, she will realise that.”

Draco’s silence was his admission of truth.

“And the other thing is that Hermione is my best friend and you are a very good friend. I don’t like the idea of being caught in the middle of a fight between you two, so I thought this way you could see that it was nothing without upsetting Hermione by accusing her,” Harry added.

Draco thought for a moment, “Harry, remarkably, that is an excellent idea.”

Harry grinned, “I do have them from time to time. I’ll bring my cloak in tomorrow. Night Draco.”

“Night, Harry.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	59. Black and Blue

“Are you seriously telling me that you’re going ahead with a plan that _Harry_ thought up?” Theo whispered the following morning in the back of class.

“He managed to win a war with his plans, they can’t all be bad,” Draco argued.

“He won a war with your fiancé’s plans,” Theo corrected, “I mean I know Harry’s not stupid, and he is going to make a great Auror, but do you really think he could break into Gringotts?”

“He didn’t win the war just by doing what Hermione told him,” Draco muttered under his breath, “As much as Hermione would have you believe that when she’s arguing with him.”

“Look I’m just saying, Harry is a typical Gryffindor, but Hermione has a lot of Ravenclaw in her. Without her methodical plans, Harry and Ron would probably have been eaten by a giant dog in first year,” Theo said pointedly, “Harry just charges in brashly because…well because he's Harry, let’s be honest.”

“What would you have me do instead then?” Draco challenged his best friend.

“Just sit down over dinner and calmly explain that someone mentioned to you that she had lunches with Krum. Then say something like, I didn’t know you were back in contact,” Theo whispered.

Draco scoffed, “And have her fly off the handle in one of her Hermione Granger rants? She would immediately go on the defensive _because she’s a Gryffindor_. Then she would inevitably hit me, that’s how it normally ends ever since that row about Buckbeak…”

“And you didn’t even get together till about four years later,” Theo joked.

“Seriously, Theo, Harry’s plan is better this time,” Draco whispered, “I can find out if anything is going on without having to upset Hermione with accusations. For once in his life, Harry Potter has actually come up with a decent plan and given me good relationship advice.”

“Famous last words,” Theo muttered under his breath, but Draco ignored him.

* * *

That lunch break, Draco headed off to the ministry armed with Harry’s invisibility cloak and his ‘great plan’. It was relatively easy to slip into the covered courtyard unseen because it was a separate area which meant that there was no security wizard to bypass.

His heart sank when he saw her sitting on a bench with Viktor Krum.

“So then I caught the snitch and threw it back in his face,” Krum was saying.

“Isn’t that a little petty?” Hermione asked.

Krum shrugged, “Not in Quidditch, taunting is part of the job.”

“Hmm,” Hermione mused, “From what Draco says, I think it's part of the job for Aurors too.”

“You talk about him a lot.”

“Yep, he is my fiancé,” Hermione said.

“Even though-”

“Viktor we have been over this,” Hermione said calmly, “Even though he was horrible to me when _you_ were at Hogwarts, things change, and people change. He isn’t horrible to me now, and despite what you think, I do not deserve or need anything better.”

Viktor sighed, “Do you not miss our breakfasts by the lake, feeding toast to the giant octopus?”

Hermione looked at him in disbelief, “Okay firstly, it’s a squid, and secondly, that wasn’t even you! It was Harry that I had breakfast with by the lake that year which implies you watched from the boat which is just creepy by the way.”

She got to her feet and before Viktor could say anything else she continued, “And these lunches are kind of creepy too. I’ve been playing nice, thinking you just didn’t have any friends over here, but there’s too much flirting going on now. I’ve told you, more than once that I’m happy with Draco, so that’s the end of this, whatever you think it is exactly.”

Without another word, Viktor left the courtyard and, satisfied that nothing was going on, Draco was about to do the same. However, before he got the chance, the invisibility cloak was ripped off, and he was being pinned against a wall with a charm.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Draco coughed against the choking charm, “How did you even know I was here?”

Hermione glared at him, “My best friend is Harry Potter. I would know the stench of his invisibility cloak anywhere. Why are you spying on me?”

“I-”

“Don’t even think about trying to lie!”

Draco sighed, “A colleague said his wife had noticed you having lunches with Krum all the time. You told me you hadn’t spoken to him since Bill and Fleurs wedding so I was suspicious and I spoke to Harry about it, and he said I should spy on you to see if there was anything to worry about before I confronted you.”

“And you took Harry’s advice, seriously?” Hermione asked in disbelief, “Harry, who flew off the handle at Daphne because he heard a tiny fragment of a conversation she was having with Bill? Right yeah, Harry is great with relationship advice.”

“I can see now that taking his advice was a mistake,” Draco conceded, “And I can also see that my suspicions were unfounded. Can you please let me down now?”

Hermione cancelled the charm and Draco fell in a rather ungracious heap onto the floor.

“We will talk about this later,” Hermione hissed, then she turned on her heel and left.

* * *

“Potter, you idiot!” Draco seethed under his breath when he walked into potions lab that afternoon.

“Oh did Harry’s great plan not go so great?” Theo asked sarcastically.

“She knew I was there because of the stench of your cloak and she went fucking mental,” Draco hissed, “I knew I shouldn’t have listened to you.”

“I did warn you,” Theo pointed out.

“I know, and I didn’t listen,” Draco rolled his eyes, “You’re right, Potter’s plans always do go to shit without Hermione to improve them.”

Harry frowned, “Harsh.”

“True,” Neville and Theo echoed.

“How mad was she?” Harry asked cautiously.

“She pinned me to a wall by my throat then dropped me in a heap to the ground and said we’ll talk about this later,” Draco replied, “Which either means we are going to have some very angry sex tonight or she is going to have a serious yell at me when I get in.”

“Knowing you two, it will be the sex,” Theo said.

Neville nodded his agreement, “Isn’t that how you resolve…well, pretty much anything?”

“Not everything,” Draco muttered.

“But if it works, don’t knock it,” Harry shrugged.

“Must be a Slytherin/Gryffindor thing,” Neville joked.

“But either way, you’re going to be black and blue tomorrow morning,” Theo added with an amused grin.

“And you had better stay in your own damn house tonight,” Draco warned his best friend.

“Don’t worry; I will. I’m still scarred after the last time,” Theo joked.

“Can we just not talk about that ever again?” Harry asked as he wrinkled his nose.

“Yep, great plan,” Neville agreed while Draco blushed and Theo cackled.

* * *

When Draco limped into work the following morning, nobody gave him any sympathy.

“So Draco, how did it go last night?” Theo asked, too eagerly.

Draco grunted, “I need coffee.”

“I can’t tell, was it the sex or the beating?” Harry asked jokingly.

“Both,” Draco muttered, he poured black coffee into a cardboard cup and began to walk, well limp, towards the locker room with them.

_“We have got to find a new way to resolve arguments.”_

_Hermione bit her lip, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shove you off the bed. I just got a little…”_

_“Over-excited?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow._

_“Let’s go with that,” She said sheepishly._

_Draco smiled, “I am sorry you know.”_

_“For thinking I’m going to run off and leave you?” Hermione asked pointedly._

_“For knowing you can do better than me and being terrified of the day you work that out,” Draco replied sincerely._

_“Draco, when are **you** going to work out that it isn’t about that. It’s about love. I know that it’s a cheesy Gryffindor concept to you that people fall in love and get married and have kids because they love each other, but outwith your stupid pureblood circle it does actually happen.”_

_Draco’s smile widened, “You’re getting better at the whole sarcasm thing, you know.”_

_“How can I not when I’m surrounded by you and Theo all of the time?” Hermione asked, her lips quirked up into a small smile._

_Draco reached out and pressed a kiss to her cheek, “It isn’t a foreign concept, trust me. Yes, it may be unusual for people like me to fall in love and get married and have kids for love, but that doesn’t make it a foreign concept. It just takes someone exceptional to make a pureblood, or a Slytherin, break the rules.”_

_Hermione smiled softly at him, “Do you ever wonder if we’re bad for each other? We’re both so volatile…”_

_“We are,” Draco agreed, “But we aren’t bad for each other in the way that you and Ron were. We aren’t fire on fire. We are fire and ice, I can cool you down when I need to, and you can ignite me when you need to.”_

_Hermione tried to hide a smile behind her hands._

_“I just said something romantic, and now you’re mocking me?”_

_“I’m not mocking you,” Hermione said as she fought to contain a giggle, “It was just cheesy, okay? And I have never heard you be cheesy. I mean not even when you proposed to me.”_

_Draco rolled his eyes, “That’s the last time I try to be romantic Granger.”_

_“Granger?” Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow, “You haven’t called me that for a long time, Malfoy.”_

_The use of each others surnames sparked something, even though Draco had been a Black for a while now, he still liked it when she called him Malfoy. Before long, they were a tangled up mess of kisses and limbs again._

_“Mmhmm, we are so bad for each other,” Hermione said against his lips._

_“How come this is so good then?” Draco asked, his grey eyes sparkled, and she shrieked when he shoved her off of the bed._

_“Draco!”_

_“What? Revenge is a dish best served cold, Hermione.”_

_“Ugh!”_

“Draco! Did you listen to a word I just said?”

Draco blinked, they were at the locker rooms, and he had not heard a word that Theo had said.

“I…uh…you were talking about Sadie?”

Theo narrowed his eyes at him, “I was, but you weren’t listening to me. You just guessed, didn’t you?”

“I was thinking about something else,” Draco admitted, “So Sadie?”

“I’m worried about her,” Theo admitted, “Since she found out about the twins, she’s been down again, and I’ve struggled to get her to eat, you know?”

“It’s a big adjustment Theo, you’ve got to give her more than a few days to come around,” Draco said with a smile, “But she will.”

“You’re really good with all this pregnancy advice, you know?” Theo said, “I mean I know why but…”

“You didn’t think I cared enough or paid enough attention to Pansy to notice?” Draco asked quietly, “You know, what I felt for her pales in comparison to the things Hermione makes me feel but Theo…that loss was hard. I didn’t know how much I wanted that baby until…”

Theo nodded briskly, “I know, and I’m sorry for bringing it up. I know you don’t like talking about it.”

Draco just nodded back, and he was glad that Harry and Neville caught up to them at that point. He was more than happy for the conversation to go back to general slagging of his and Hermione’s ways of resolving arguments if it meant that he didn’t have to think about Pansy.

* * *

When the floo whirred late one Thursday night, Daphne answered it immediately in the hope that it was her sister. When she saw Astoria’s face in the fire, she breathed a sigh of relief, “Astoria! I’m so glad it’s you, I was really hoping to speak to you before tomorrow.”

“That’s why I called,” Astoria admitted, “Do you mind if I come through?”

“Of course not,” Daphne said, and she stepped back from the fire.

Seconds later, Astoria stepped out and brushed herself down.

“Do you want coffee?”

Astoria nodded and sat down heavily at the dining room table, “Where’s Harry?”

“Studying with Neville, they have a big assignment coming up,” Daphne replied, “He wanted to stay, but I told him there was no point, he’s not any use here hovering over me. I wasn’t sure if you got my message about the hearing?”

“I did, I was just thinking about it before making a decision,” Astoria admitted, “I imagine you’re definitely going?”

Daphne nodded, “I have to. It’s the preliminary hearing. They might need me to make a statement.”

“I was invited to attend, but it isn’t obligatory,” Astoria said quietly, “And I can’t decide if I should go or not which is why I came here because, despite it all, I always want to run to my big sister when I need advice.”

Daphne smiled at her, a little tearfully, “I was worried you wouldn’t think of me as a sister anymore…now that you know the truth.”

“See now that’s what I needed to talk to you about,” Astoria admitted, “The truth…because the thing is Daphne…you hit me with a lot of information that night. Finding out that dad isn’t really my dad, that didn’t really hurt because he never treated me like his daughter anyway. You were always his favourite, his golden girl.”

“Astoria-” Daphne began apologetically.

“And I know that’s not your fault,” Astoria continued, “And finding out that Phineas is my real father, that didn’t actually surprise me as much as it should have done. He always treated me differently, and frankly, I don’t know how I didn’t work that one out of my own.”

Daphne watched her sister nervously as the younger girl continued, “Finding out our mother, who I had always viewed as the victim who made the best she could out of a bad situation, was actually cold-blooded enough to plot to kill her husband, that hurt a lot but then when I think about it, I don’t know why it surprises me. I mean take what happened after the war, for example. We were both subjected to a year under a terrorist regime, you rebelled, you fought in the final battle and when we got home, our mother just up and left for France with our uncle. All summer, we stayed in that house with Draco, and we barely saw that woman. She cared about him more than anything, more than her own children.”

Daphne sighed, “She was always selfish, Astoria. I just never realised quite how much.”

Astoria nodded, “But do you know what the thing that hurts the most is?”

“The fact I lied to you,” Daphne said quietly.

“For years,” Astoria added, “My sister, my best friend, the girl who I had relied on for years, had kept something so huge from me. _That_ hurt.”

Daphne swallowed a lump in her throat, “Astoria, you always seemed so much more fragile than me, ever since the fire. I toughened my armour so that nobody could hurt me again and it stayed like that until I met Harry, but you had been affected so badly by everything that happened, and I was terrified that telling you would tip you over the edge.”

“I know you did it for the right reasons Daphne,” Astoria said quietly, “And that’s why I will be able to forgive you, but the sting of my sister keeping something so huge from me isn’t going to just disappear in a matter of weeks.”

“I know,” Daphne said honestly.

“So I don’t know how I feel about going to that hearing tomorrow and having to relive all that hurt and confusion that I am just beginning to put to bed,” Astoria finished.

Daphne nodded, “I understand, and I won’t push you either way. If you go, I will be by your side the whole time, and I will wholly support you, and if you don’t go, I’ll fill you in if that’s what you want or I won’t mention it if you would rather.”

Astoria sighed and rested her head in her hands.

Daphne placed a cup of coffee in front of her and added softly, “And you don’t have to decide now.”

Astoria cradled the cup and gave a small nod, “I think I’ll go…I think I have to.”

“Do you want to stay here?” Daphne asked. She glanced at the clock, it was almost midnight, “It’s late, and you’re obviously upset.”

“Do you mind?”

Daphne shook her head and sat down across from her sister, “No, honestly I’m glad for the company Tori, and I’m glad you’re talking to me again. You’re the only family that I care about. If I lost you…”

“I get it Daph,” Astoria promised as she reached across the table and took her sister's hand.

* * *

When Daphne walked into the kitchen the next morning, Harry was making the coffee.

“I gather from the fact she was in our bed with you when I got home last night, that Astoria is coming today?” Harry asked with a smile.

Daphne nodded, “She came over to talk about it last night. Are you sure Sumner is okay with you having the morning off for this?”

“It’s fine, he understands,” Harry promised her. They were both wearing their most official black dress robes, “Is Astoria awake yet?”

“She’s just getting dressed,” Daphne replied, “Merlin Harry, I feel sick to my stomach.”

“Your mother and her lover are being tried for murder Daphne, I’m not surprised that you feel sick,” Harry said gently as she placed a mug of coffee in her hands.

“They aren’t being tried yet though, are they?” Daphne asked, “This is just the preliminary hearing.”

Harry opened his mouth to explain, but as he did, Astoria walked into the kitchen.

“Morning Astoria, coffee?”

“Thanks, Harry,” Astoria said, accepting the mug.

“We were just discussing the hearing,” Daphne explained, “It’s not really a trial yet.”

“Well, it is,” Astoria said with a frown, “The preliminary hearing is the start of the trial. They will be questioned under veritaserum before an impartially selected panel from the DMLE. The purpose of the hearing is to decide what charges they will be tried under, and then it will go to court properly for a full-blown trial.”

Harry stared at Astoria in disbelief, “Uh…yeah. That was exactly what I was about to say.”

“How did you know that?” Daphne asked in disbelief.

“Because, although everybody thinks I’m the stupid sister, I actually kind of want to be a lawyer,” Astoria replied, “I’ve been taking night classes at the DMLE all summer.”

“Wow,” Daphne said, “How did I never know that about you?”

Astoria shrugged, “Because I never told you, I guess.”

“In all fairness, even though that _is_ the procedure, it hasn’t been followed lately,” Harry admitted, “During both wars, Death Eaters were sentenced at the preliminary hearing without a proper trial. Its how people like Sirius ended up spending 12 years in Azkaban for crimes they didn’t commit.”

“Which is why everything is being logged at the moment to make sure no slips like that ever happen again,” Astoria added.

“Right,” Daphne said, she glanced at the clock, “Well on the bombshell that my baby sister is going to be a hotshot lawyer one day, I think its time we headed to the Ministry.”

They apparated to the ministry in silence and did not speak while they had their wands checked and got in the lift. It took them down to level nine then they had to take the stairs to the lowest level of the ministry where the Wizengamot courtrooms were located.

“Ah, are you here for the preliminary hearing of Lareina and Phineas Greengrass?” A short witch with a blonde bob asked them.

Daphne nodded.

“Perfect, we were just waiting for you to arrive before we began,” She said politely, “The hearing will take place in courtroom one since its just preliminary.”

She opened the door and motioned for them to go in. Daphne felt sick when she walked into the small courtroom and was met by the steely gaze of her mother. Harry took her hand and led her towards a seating area at the left of the room. Daphne reached behind her and grabbed Astoria’s hand; her sister had gone white when she saw their mother.

On the right-hand side of the room was the panel, it consisted of ten people (none of whom were known to the Greengrass family). It had to be that way to ensure that they remained impartial.

At the head of the room, seated in a podium above them all, was a judge. He rose to his feet once the trio had entered the room and the door had been closed.

“All rise for the preliminary hearing to determine whether Lareina Greengrass _nee Crouch_ and Phineas Greengrass should be tried for the murder of Cygnus Greengrass on the 25th of February 1998.”

Everybody stood apart from Lareina and Phineas who were chained to their chairs.

“Let us begin by ensuring that no illusions or disguises are at play here,” The Judge said. Then he cast a charm that removed any charms or disguises.

When nothing happened, he then beckoned a man forward, “The subjects will now be given veritaserum to ensure that all answers they submit today are entirely truthful.”

A small amount of veritaserum was forced down both of their throats, which Astoria found difficult to watch.

Then the Judge spoke once more, “I, Judge Harold Quince, ask the subject known as Lareina Greengrass to rise. Everyone else may be seated.”

The chains on the chair opened, and Lareina rose to her feet.

“Can you confirm that you are Lareina Greengrass, formerly known as Lareina Crouch?”

“Yes.”

“Do you confirm that you are here today in complete control of your mental faculties?”

“Yes.”

Judge Quince nodded, “Then the questioning shall commence. In the days and weeks leading up to the 25th of February, 1998, did you plot to kill your husband, Cygnus Greengrass?”

“Yes.”

Astoria squeezed hard on Daphne’s hand, and Daphne squeezed back.

“Did you plot to do this with his brother, Phineas Greengrass?”

“Yes.”

“Was this because he was your lover?”

“Yes.”

“In these discussions, were you the one who was going to deliver the fatal blow?”

“No.”

“So it was your idea to kill your husband?”

“Yes.”

“But you would have had your lover do the deed?”

“Yes.”

Daphne swallowed hard; she didn’t want to turn and look at Astoria right now.

The Judge gave another small nod, “On the night of the 25th of February, 1998, can you confirm that you and Phineas went to the safe house where Cygnus was hiding intending to commit murder?”

“I can.”

“And can you confirm that you witnessed Phineas kill his brother that night?”

“I can.”

“Can you tell me what the murder weapon was?”

“Yes.”

“What was it?”

“A piece of pipe.”

The Judge looked down at his notes and nodded, “That fits in with the coroner’s report perfectly. You may be seated once more, Mrs Greengrass.”

Daphne chanced a glance at Astoria and was heartbroken to see tears streaming down her face.

“I needed to hear it,” Astoria whispered, “So don’t say that I shouldn’t have come.”

“Okay,” Daphne replied softly.

“Can all be seated except for Phineas Greengrass?”

The chains on his seat opened, and he rose to his feet. Phineas was a regally handsome man, with dark brown hair and sculpted features although he was over 50 now; he was still a good-looking man.

“Can you confirm that you are Phineas Greengrass?”

“Yes.”

“Can you confirm that you have never been known under any other name?”

“Yes.”

“Do you confirm that you are here today in complete control of your mental faculties?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then the questioning may commence,” Judge Quince said, “Can you confirm that in the days and weeks leading up to the 25th of February, 1998 you plotted with Lareina Greengrass to kill your brother, Cygnus Greengrass?”

“Yes.”

“And can you confirm that you did this because Lareina Greengrass was your lover?”

“Yes.”

“Did you want to kill your brother?”

“No.”

“Then why did you agree to it?”

“I would have done anything for Lareina.”

The Judge shook his head marginally, probably at the ludicrous idea that someone would kill for love.

“On the night of the 25th of February, 1998, did you forcefully enter the safe house where your brother stayed?”

“Yes.”

“And did you go there with the intention of murder?”

“Yes.”

“Did you dress like a Death Eater to stage the attack?”

“Yes.”

“And can you confirm that, with a piece of pipe, you killed your brother that night?”

“No.”

An audible gasp went around the courtroom. The Judge looked up in surprise, “Did Lareina Greengrass kill him then?”

“No.”

“Was the murder weapon something other than a piece of pipe?”

“No.”

Judge Quince frowned and leaned forward, “Then please explain, in your own words Mr Greengrass, exactly what happened on the night of the 25th of February, 1998.”

Phineas took a slow breath and began to talk, “We broke into the safe house and located Cygnus. He knew we were coming; it was like he was waiting for us. We had dressed as Death Eaters to divert attention from ourselves, but he knew who we were beneath the cloaks. I hesitated when he said he knew I was better than this, so Lareina egged me on. She handed me a piece of pipe and told me to do it. She said if I didn’t, then we could never be together. I picked up the pipe and struck him on the head. He fell to the ground.”

Phineas paused for a breath, “Then Lareina panicked and apparated away, leaving me to deal with the clean-up. I checked for a pulse and realised that Cygnus was still alive. I knew I couldn’t heal him because if I did, he would go to the ministry and I would go to Azkaban. But I could not bring myself to kill my brother, so I healed his head wound and gave him the draught of living death. When he was examined, the coroner believed that he was dead. We then had a funeral for him, and I had him placed in the family crypt beneath Greengrass house.”

Daphne stared at Phineas in disbelief, Astoria’s hand had gotten hot and sweaty in hers.

The Judge’s frown deepened, “Are you telling me that Cygnus Greengrass is alive right now, in the crypt beneath your family home?”

“Yes,” Phineas replied.

Judge Quince conjured up a Patronus, “Any available Aurors. We have extremely reliable information that Cygnus Greengrass is alive but under the influence of the draught of living death in the crypt beneath the Greengrass family home. Get down there straight away and confirm this information. Then get that man to St Mungo’s.”

A great silver bear bounded out of the room.

Quince then said, “Lareina Greengrass, were you aware of this information?”

“No,” Lareina replied.

Daphne looked at Harry in disbelief. He looked just as stunned as she felt, and poor Astoria just looked wiped.

“I suggest a break in the hearing while we wait for this information to be confirmed,” Quince said, “I want everybody back in here in ten minutes to decide on the charges that should be brought to trial.”

They all filtered out of the room, apart from Lareina, Phineas and the Aurors guarding them. Once they were sitting down on a bench in the corridor outside, Daphne voiced her thoughts, “Harry…if it’s true what does it mean?”

“It means he won’t look anything like the man you remember,” Harry said honestly, “The draught of living death will have kept him alive, it will have kept his heart beating which kept blood pumping through his body, so that means there will be no brain damage. But some other organs may have deteriorated because he hasn’t been eating or drinking and he will be deadly thin because he hasn’t burned any energy for over a year so his muscle mass will have deteriorated.”

“But will he recover?” Daphne asked quietly.

“If he wants to,” Harry replied gently, “If he doesn’t have anything to live for, I don’t know if he will survive the fight but if he does…then yes, in time he should recover.”

“You have to be his something to fight for Daphne,” Astoria said quietly.

Daphne frowned at her sister, “How can you say that Astoria, after the way he treated you?”

“He never loved me because I was a reminder of what mother had done to him,” Astoria said, without looking at Daphne, “It wasn’t my fault, but it wasn’t pleasant either. But he loved you, Daphne, he had great dreams and wishes for you. If you can be his something to live for, then you should be, because we don’t both have to lose a father over this.”

Daphne gave her sister a tearful hug. This hearing had not gone the way that anybody had expected.

“The trial shall recommence in two minutes!” A call from within the courtroom said.

Silently they all traipsed back in and took their seats. Once everybody had re-entered the room, Judge Quince rose to his feet.

“I can confirm that the defendant's story is true. Cygnus Greengrass has been recovered in critical condition and taken immediately to the intensive care ward of St Mungos. With this knowledge, I put forward the motion that Phineas Greengrass be charged with “Attempted Murder” and Lareina Greengrass with “Accessory to the Cause.” All those in favour, raise your hand and say aye.”

All ten hands were raised and an echo of, “Aye”, went around the courtroom.

“Then it is agreed that we will gather in two weeks, on Monday the 24th of October for the trial of Phineas and Lareina Greengrass. Hearing dismissed.”

He hit his hammer down on the desk, and everybody began to leave the room. Once they were outside, Daphne said, “Harry, I have to-”

“Get to St. Mungo’s, I know,” Harry finished, “I’m coming with you.”

“But you need to get back to work.”

“They’ll understand,” Harry assured her, “Astoria-”

Astoria shook her head, “I’m not coming. He isn’t my father; he never was. He wouldn’t want me there, and I don’t want to be there, but you two need to go. I’ll meet with a lawyer to discuss the charges and come over later to go over it.”

Daphne nodded in a dazed sort of way and let Harry lead her out of the ministry.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	60. For the Love of a Daughter

Daphne gripped Harry’s hand so tightly that he thought she might actually draw blood. He could hear her heart pounding in her chest; all of the colour had drained from her cheeks. In a matter of weeks, her entire life had been turned upside down and inside out, all because she opened a box.

They reached the desk, and Daphne opened her mouth, but no words came out.

“We need to know if we can see Cygnus Greengrass or speak to the Healers who are caring for him,” Harry said quietly.

“Are you family?” The Healer asked.

“This is his daughter Daphne,” Harry replied, “She’s in shock.”

The Healer nodded, “Intensive care, ground floor. Just follow the signs and ask at the desk there.”

Harry nodded and thanked the woman. He gripped Daphne’s arm and half-dragged her through the hospital. When they reached the desk in intensive care, Harry quietly explained the situation and they were led to a small waiting area.

“Baby, are you alright? You look like you’re going to throw up.”

“I’m fine,” Daphne lied quietly.

Harry sighed and tightened his grip on her. A middle-aged Healer stepped out of a door and gave them a small smile, “Are you the family of Cygnus Greengrass?”

Daphne looked up and swallowed, “I’m his daughter.”

The Healer took off a glove and shook her hand, “I’m Healer Drummond. Now the good news is that we were able to revive your father which as I’m sure you know, is not always possible in cases like this. It seems that the dosage given was relatively low, which is good.”

Daphne nodded, “And…how is he?”

“It’s going to be a very long road to recovery for him,” Drummond said honestly, “We revived him, his heart is beating, most of his organs are functioning fine, but he isn’t alert yet. He needs something to pull him out of it, his body and his brain are in shock.”

“Do you think if I spoke to him he might…?”

Drummond nodded, “Most certainly. I was coming out here to suggest the same thing and to warn you that he does look very ill. His muscles have completely weakened due to inactivity, which gives the impression that he has lost a lot of weight. He will need to learn to do everything again, from something as basic to waving to teaching himself to walk.”

Daphne gave a small nod.

“And he looks quite yellow, that’s because he is jaundiced. His liver and kidneys haven’t been functioning properly because he hasn’t been eating or drinking,” Drummond added.

“What should I say to him?” Daphne asked quietly.

“Just talk to him, tell him about yourself, about what he has missed, tell him that you love him,” Drummond said, “Just give him something to live for.”

Daphne nodded and tightened her grip on Harry. She turned to look at him, “Will you come with me?”

“Of course,” He replied softly.

Together they followed Drummond into the room, and Daphne’s eyes immediately welled up. The man she had always thought of as invincible looked broken before her eyes. He was very yellow, deathly thin and looked like a corpse frankly.

Her hand flew up to her mouth, and Harry wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder. Despite the shock of it all, she edged over to him and sat down in a chair by his bed. Harry stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder.

There were silver lines above his head, and Daphne had seen them enough now to recognise them for what they were; brainwaves. At the moment they were just flat, which was disconcerting.

“Hi Dad,” Daphne said weakly, “It’s me, Daphne. I am so sorry that it took so long to find you, but I thought that you were dead this whole time. I…” she paused as the brainwaves began to ripple marginally.

Drummond nodded, _just talk to him_.

“Mother gave me a box from your study because she wanted to sell the house and I read your letters to Uncle Augustus. I saw what you wrote on my marriage contract to Draco and I…I never knew how much you cared and it hurt to find that out after you had gone. I am so sorry that I let Mother manipulate me into thinking that you were the bad guy in this whole mess. Merlin Dad, I am so sorry about that.”

Tears streamed freely down her face as her father’s brainwaves became more active still.

“What you wrote on the marriage contract, about wishing that I would find someone who was worthy of me and who made me happy…well that wish came true. It isn’t Draco; it’s someone better. He isn’t a pureblood, but Mother still approved because he has money and a manor and he’s a Lord. That’s not why I’m marrying him though, its because I fell in love with him in a way I never thought possible. He was the first person that I let my guard down around because I loved him enough to want to _live_ my life with him, and it was worth it. We are getting married at New Year, but it’s a secret wedding. Everyone just thinks that it’s going to be a party.”

Daphne smiled slightly as she saw a significant spike in his brainwaves. She reached out to take his hand, and they spiked again, “I hope you can get well enough to be there and give that speech that you started writing.”

His hand twitched, and Daphne looked up in shock.

Drummond nodded and mouthed, _Keep going_.

“We are adopting a little boy soon too,” Daphne continued, “Harry’s Godson, he’s called Teddy, and he’s the sweetest little boy you’ll ever see. His parents died in the war, and we want to give him a proper life, a good life. He would love to meet you, I think. He loves Quidditch, and he's a Puddlemere fan just like you. I think being a grandfather might suit you, actually Dad.”

This time Cygnus full-on squeezed her hand and tears welled up in her eyes once more. It seemed as if his brainwaves were healthy now, which was a good sign.

“So you need to get strong again,” Daphne continued, “Let the Healers do their job, and get your strength back up. I’ll visit you as often as I can, I’ll bring Teddy in to see you every weekend, and I’ll hope that maybe…you might be able to walk me down the aisle.”

His eyelids fluttered and then slowly, opened. Despite the skin tone, the thinness and the general air of sickness, those eyes remained just as Daphne remembered.

He couldn’t speak, his lips were dry and cracked, but he tried to anyway, and Daphne could see the word that he was trying to form, _Daphne_.

“Don’t try to talk just yet Dad,” Daphne said gently as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. His eyes fell on Harry, who smiled weakly at him.

“This is Harry,” Daphne explained, “Harry Potter, my fiancé.”

Cygnus gave a minuscule smile because it was all that he could manage.

“I know, right?” Daphne said with a genuine smile, “He’s a half-blood. Not to mention my second cousin, I really didn’t think I’d go there, but this idiot is the love of my life.”

“Hey, you forgot the whole, saviour of the world thing,” Harry said as he gave her a playful nudge.

“Yes, Harry did also kill Voldemort and save the world,” Daphne added, “Not that he likes to brag about it all.”

Another minuscule smile graced his face.

“Does that smile mean that you approve?” Daphne asked, a little tentatively.

Cygnus squeezed her hand, and Daphne smiled tearfully, “Mother and Phineas are going to pay for what they did to you, Father. I made sure of it, the trial will start in two weeks, and they will both spend time in Azkaban for it. You didn’t deserve any of this; it isn’t your fault that nothing you did ever pleased her.”

He squeezed her hand, but he seemed weaker one that time.

“He’s getting tired,” Drummond said, “Little things like this will exhaust him until we can begin to get his strength up. We are going to have to give him water and food through a tube until he is well enough to start feeding himself again so don’t be alarmed if you see a lot of tubes when you next come in to visit him.”

“Thank you,” Daphne said, she let go of her father's hand and got to her feet, “I’ll visit again soon Dad and I…” she hesitated, words hanging in the air between them that hadn’t been said for a very long time, “I love you, and I’m sorry.”

Daphne could have sworn she saw a tear form in the corner of his eye as she left the room.

“Are you okay?” Harry asked her as they made their way out of the hospital.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Harry asked. They stood in the cold, fresh October air outside St. Mungo’s, “Because with everything that has just happened to you, it’s okay to admit that you aren’t. It’s okay to want to go somewhere and hit things or burn things, anything you need Daphne _it’s okay_.”

Daphne let out a slow, shaky breath, “I need to go to the shrieking shack and scream as loud as I can.”

“Okay,” Harry said simply. He took her hand and side-apparated with her to the field where the shrieking shack stood. He held her hand as they walked through the heather and the long grass into the abandoned, rickety old building.

He stood at the base of the stairs and listened to her scream and shout and throw things and get all the rage and the frustration and the pain out. Then when the sobs started, he held her tightly and tried not to cry with her because seeing her in pain genuinely did hurt him.

“Who am I, Harry?” Daphne asked through her sobs.

“You are Daphne Greengrass, the strongest person I know,” Harry replied.

Daphne scoffed, “Hardly, you literally died to save the world.”

“And you would have died to save your sister, that’s far more noble,” Harry whispered into her ear.

Daphne shook her head, “I don’t know who I am anymore. My mother is the bad guy, and my father is the good guy. Everything I thought I knew was a lie. The fire that changed my life and left me terrified for years…it wasn’t a spiteful, hateful act like my mother had me believe.”

“It doesn’t change who you are,” Harry assured her, “Because people can change, people do change all of the time. Hermione changed Draco, and he changed her, and you Daphne, God knows you changed me. Before you I had no idea what love was, I was lost, I didn’t know what to do with myself after I won the war that I had spent my whole life fighting. You found me, you gave me hope, and you changed me. I think I probably changed you too so who you are now; it has nothing to do with what happened to you back then. You were already well on your way to getting past it by the time I met you.”

Daphne’s breathing slowed a little, “You did change me.”

Harry didn’t know if she was going to elaborate; there was a long silence.

“I thought I knew what love was until I met you then the reality of it crashed down on me and it scared me. What I felt for you Harry, how intense it was and still is, it still scares me sometimes. I didn’t think I was capable of love, of compassion…I never thought I would marry for love. I never pictured myself as a mother, so yes, you changed me, wholly for the better.”

Harry leant down and captured her lips in a chaste kiss, “You are who you always were,” he deepened the kiss, “You are Daphne Greengrass, the strongest person I know.”

Daphne leant into his embrace and let go of all of the anger and frustration that had built up inside her over the past few weeks. She let the calmness that Harry exuded wash over her and clear her head.

She found herself going back to her ‘happy place’ which seemed to be her eighth year at Hogwarts. All of those stolen moments with Harry in broom cupboards or empty classrooms, the hurried kisses. Back when they were still within that bubble at Hogwarts, before the real world rained down on her like a meteor shower.

When he lifted her with ease, she wrapped her legs around his waist, and she was back there, laughing because he had pulled her into a broom cupboard on her way to class. He left a trail of kisses down her neck, and she was there again, trying to make sure they put the right ties on before parting ways lest anyone caught her wearing a Gryffindor tie.

He said her name, softly and quietly, and she was back there, kissing him in the dark in that secret passageway.

She told him she loved him and rested her head on his shoulder, and she was back there. The last time at school, lying next to him in bed wondering, _praying_ that nothing would change when they left school.

“I love you too,” Harry murmured.

Of course, everything around them had changed, but that didn’t mean that _they_ had. They had responsibilities now, jobs, a child, a wedding to plan. They had real-world problems, real family problems, but they were still those two kids at heart. Those two kids who had seen horrible things and didn’t believe that the world could be a better place until they had shown each other the possibilities.

Yes, Daphne had thought that her world was crashing down around her and maybe it was. But with Harry by her side, she knew that somehow, in the end, it would all put itself right again.

She knew, for the first time in a good few weeks, that someday it was all going to be okay again.

* * *

“Afternoon Bill.”

Bill smiled sympathetically at her when she eventually dragged herself into work on Friday afternoon, “Do you want to go home? You look like shit.”

Daphne shook her head, “I need to work; it keeps me focused.”

“Did the hearing go that badly?” Bill asked. He handed her a cup of coffee.

Daphne sighed and sat down slowly behind her desk, “Well, my mother and her lover aren’t murderers, so there’s that I guess.”

Bill frowned, “So who did kill your father?”

“Nobody,” Daphne replied, “He’s alive. My uncle gave him the draught of living death then put him in the family crypt after the funeral. He’s in St. Mungo’s, Harry’s doing his best to make sure its all kept quiet until the trial. After that, there’s no way of stopping the news breaking.”

“Woah,” Bill said after a moment, “That’s dark.”

“Yep,” Daphne sighed, “So he’s ill obviously, having being left inactive for the best part of a year and a half. But then there’s the fact that when he does start to get better, I have to get to know my dad again. When I was little, I was always his golden girl, but then we started to drift apart when I went to Hogwarts because my mother started spinning lies about him, making me believe he had set fire to the house when we were younger. In actual fact, the fire was an accident, nobody was supposed to be in, but the insurance money would have saved the business.”

Daphne took a breath and continued, “And he was bitter, but only because my mother blatantly shoved it in his face that she was sleeping with his brother. I mean that’s sick, don’t you think?”

Bill nodded.

“So I always thought that my dad was the bad guy and now…”

“Now you need to get to know him again,” Bill reiterated.

“Yeah,” Daphne sighed, she rubbed her eyes, “So I’m tired, and I’m stressed, but I can’t let it stop me. I need work, I need life to go on as normal, or I don’t think I will cope.”

“Alright,” Bill said, he clapped his hands together, “In that case, move your arse because we’re going to Surrey where some eejit is handing out cursed teapots that turn the drinkers into old ladies.”

Daphne laughed and got to her feet, “Do you know what? That’s exactly what I needed to hear this afternoon.”

* * *

Lilly was in the middle of dropping a bombshell on Neville when her best friend gatecrashed their moment. Harry and Daphne hadn’t come to movie night, so it had just been them, Draco and Hermione that night since Sadie was having another bout of sickness.

Once they had kicked the others out, they briefly spoke about how Daphne was because Harry had filled Neville in on the events of the day.

“I’ll go and check on her tomorrow,” Lilly said as she put a cup of coffee in front of him, “But I had a groundbreaking realisation today.”

Neville looked up at her expectantly.

“Neville…I want to have your babies.”

Neville did a spit take, “W…wh…what?”

Lilly stood in front of him and crossed her arms, “I’m not afraid of commitment. I’m going to marry you, and I want kids, okay? I want that, I want babies, and I want them with you.”

“Uh…”

“Say something then!”

“Well…I need to finish Auror training-”

“Uh! Not _now,_ Neville!”

Neville frowned and scratched his head, “Okay Lil, the thing is…I’m not following.”

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Everyone treats me like I’m gonna become some crazy cat lady who never settles down and I don’t know why so I figured I should maybe tell you that I don’t wanna be a crazy cat lady, okay?”

“You don’t want to be a crazy cat lady,” Neville repeated, “You want my babies.”

“Do you have to repeat everything I said?”

“Just letting it sink in,” Neville said honestly, “Where did this come from?”

“Daphne said, ‘I thought you didn’t like babies’ when I was holding Teddy and Sadie’s always like ‘oh well Hermione’s not ready for kids yet either Lilly, don’t worry’. Everyone thinks I don’t want that, but I do, okay?” Lilly mused as she paced back and forth, “I do like danger when it comes to my job, but when it comes to life, I just want what everyone else has. I want domestic, I want boring, I want kids who we can take out to the greenhouse, and I want to do a better job of it than my parents did so I won’t take that plunge until I feel totally ready.”

“I know baby,” Neville said as he drew her close, “I want that too, and I also want to marry you and impregnate-”

“Don’t finish that sentence.”

“Yeah, I’m not gonna finish that sentence. I just ruined the mood, didn’t I?”

“A little…”

“Sorry…”

“Neville,” Lilly said with a smile.

Neville looked down at her, “Yeah?”

“Don’t ever change,” Lilly said softly. She was just about to lean up and kiss him when Daphne appeared in their kitchen.

Lilly jumped in alarm, “ _How_ did you do that?”

“I came through the vanishing cabinet,” Daphne replied offhandedly.

“The…I’m sorry did you say vanishing cabinet?”

Neville grimaced.

“Yeah, the vanishing cabinet in the library,” Daphne said calmly as she put the kettle on to boil.

“Just make yourself at home then, Daphne,” Neville joked.

Lilly frowned, “The library…Neville…the lovely, ornate Victorian cabinet that you said you found in storage when we were fixing up the house?”

“Well,” Neville said slowly, “It is lovely, ornate and Victorian. I didn’t _lie_ to you; I just didn’t tell you it was a vanishing cabinet.”

“So you just happened to have a vanishing cabinet in your basement that was paired with the one in Potter Manor?” Lilly scoffed, “Do you think I’m stupid?”

“No,” Neville said honestly. He shot Daphne a glare, “And how do you know about it? Harry wasn’t supposed to tell you.”

“Harry didn’t tell me but when a suspicious cabinet appears in my library, which looks very much like a vanishing cabinet, what do you think I’m going to do? Sit and look at it?” Daphne snorted as she sipped the coffee she had just made.

“So you just walked through it,” Neville sorted.

“I did, and I realised I was in Longbottom House and thought, _well of course,_ where else would it go?” Daphne remarked with a roll of her eyes.

“Why do you have vanishing cabinets between each other's houses? And how long have you had them for?” Lilly asked, amusement lacing her voice.

“We’ve had them since I restored the Manor, but we only linked them after we finished Hogwarts,” Neville admitted sheepishly, “And we have them because we’re both paranoid and want an escape plan in case our houses are ever attacked.”

“So on average, how often do you use these ‘escape plan’ vanishing cabinets to go back and forth between each other’s houses?” Lilly asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Uh…pretty much every time you guys are out,” Neville answered sheepishly.

Lilly looked at Daphne in disbelief, “And to think they slagged Draco and Theo off for putting doors between their houses.”

“Oh come on, that’s different,” Daphne chuckled, “They have two kitchens, two drawing-rooms etc, but that’s basically one big house. These two have just decided to connect theirs so that when they feel too lazy to apparate or use the floo, they can just walk into a bloody cabinet.”

“I doubt you two would be complaining if your house was attacked and you got to come through to a safe haven,” Neville muttered irritably.

“So you guys are each other's safe haven?” Lilly teased, “That’s cute.”

Neville rolled his eyes, “Okay Lilly, stop winding me up or I’ll veto every one of your choices for the next movie night and Daphne, why are you so happy? The way Harry put it, your life was falling apart this morning.”

“It was, but then Harry and I had emotional sex in the shrieking shack so suddenly, I feel a lot better,” Daphne remarked offhandedly, “But I’m here to talk to Lilly about how to connect with your estranged father.”

“Uh well…I don’t really know how you expect me to help with that,” Lilly admitted with a frown.

“You had to reconnect with your father after he left for Japan,” Daphne prodded.

“Right,” Lilly said sarcastically, “I hate to break it to you, but my dad just got a new job far from home and decided that being miles away from my mother after he left her for a bloke was a good idea. It’s not really the same as your mother conspiring with your uncle to kill your father, but failing and putting him into the worlds worst coma for a year and a half.”

Neville bit his lip, half-expecting Daphne to burst into tears.

Instead, she just sighed into her coffee, “I _know_ that, Lil. But what I’m asking is, _how_ did you reconnect?”

“Uh…I nearly died in the final battle then ran away from my problems to spend the summer with him in Japan,” Lilly mused, “And I guess we bonded over our shared love of sushi and retro gaming consoles.”

Daphne looked at her incredulously, “Lilly, I love you, but I swear, sometimes you would make more sense if you spoke Latin.”

Neville barked out a laugh as Lilly shook her head in amusement, “Just talk to him, okay? Remember the things you have in common and take Teddy. Everyone loves that kid.”

“Now that makes sense,” Daphne said as she jumped to her feet, “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Lilly muttered. She shot Neville an exasperated look and hugged Daphne, “Do me a favour and announce yourself really loudly if you ever come into the house via the vanishing cabinet though.”

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t,” Daphne said with a wink.

Lilly shook her head as he best friend skipped away, “We’re getting a lock for the bedroom door.”

“Yeah…”

“And you are in deep shit, Longbottom!”

* * *

Over the week, Daphne visited her father several times. He opened his eyes and managed small smiles and small squeezes of her hand, but that was all that he had the strength for. So Daphne talked to him, she told him about her job, about Harry and Teddy, about her friends. Each time she visited, she spent at least an hour by his side, and although he had lots of tubes attached to him, he was starting to look a little healthier again.

When the weekend rolled around, they collected Teddy from Andromeda’s as always and brought him back to Potter Manor. He and Harry went off to their weekly Quidditch game on Saturday afternoon. Then on Sunday morning, they all headed off to St. Mungos.

“Now Teddy,” Harry said quietly before they entered Cygnus’s room, “This is Daphne’s Daddy that we are going to visit. He is quite ill, so you must be very careful not to jump on him or annoy him.”

“He’s too young, babe,” Daphne said, “He doesn’t understand.”

“I’ll be ready to catch him if he tries it,” Harry promised.

Daphne took Teddy’s hand and led him into the small room. She smiled when she saw that her dad was awake, “Hey, Dad.”

Cygnus smiled in return, a little broader than he had managed the last time.

“I brought someone for you to meet,” Daphne said, she lifted Teddy, “This is Teddy, our…son.”

Harry smiled; he liked hearing those words. Even if the adoption paperwork hadn’t come back yet, it was going to be official very soon.

Cygnus smiled again.

Teddy reached out and tried to grab a tube. Harry stopped the little boy, “No, Teddy. He is very weak. He needs those tubes to give him food and water.”

Teddy was very much at the copying stage right now, “Water!”

“Yeah,” Daphne said with a smile.

Teddy reached up for Cygnus, “Hugga!”

“He can’t give you a cuddle just yet, baby,” Daphne said, “Like Daddy said, he’s very weak.”

“Ah – Dada?”

“No, he’s your Grandad, Teddy,” Daphne said softly.

Teddy moved his mouth a few times, then said, “Ga-dad!”

Cygnus smiled in response, and it made Daphne’s day.

“Ga-ma?”

“Grandma is out shopping with Auntie Cissa today, Ted. You’ll see them on Monday,” Daphne promised him.

She sat down by her father's bed and started to tell Cygnus all about Teddy. She told him about the Puddlemere games they went to together. She told him about Teddy’s hair and how he was a metamorphagus. Teddy even showed off and changed his hair from black (which it always was when he was around Harry) to blue then pink and then back to black. Cygnus smiled and listened to every single word.

* * *

That night Daphne and Harry tucked Teddy into his bed and made their way downstairs. They were just contemplating a cup of coffee when the floo whirred to life.

“Call for Daphne Greengrass from St. Mungo’s.”

Daphne immediately accepted the call, and Auror Drummonds face appeared in the flames, “You two need to get down here as fast as you can, your father's health has deteriorated.”

“What? But he was fine this afternoon!” Daphne exclaimed.

“Just get here as soon as you can,” Drummond said, then the floo call disconnected.

“Well, who's going to watch Teddy?” Daphne asked in a panic, “Andromeda and Narcissa are away for the weekend-”

“It’s fine, Daph,” Harry said quickly, he threw some floo powder into the fire and said, “Longbottom House.”

Neville’s face appeared in the flames straight away.

“Hey Nev, can you guys come round here and watch Teddy? He’s asleep, and he shouldn’t wake up, but Daphne’s da is in trouble in the hospital, and we have to go,” Harry explained quickly.

“You don’t even have to ask, we’ll be right through,” Neville assured him.

Surely enough, the moment Harry stepped back from the fire, Neville stepped through it, with Lilly on his heels.

“Go, we’ll be fine with Teddy,” Lilly promised.

Harry grabbed Daphne’s hand, she was as white as a ghost and frozen to the spot, and they flew out of the front door.

Lilly sighed and sat down heavily on the sofa they had just vacated, “I feel so sorry for Daphne right now. This is all too much, adopting Teddy and then having all of this going on.”

“I think adopting Teddy is about the only thing keeping them going,” Neville admitted.

“How will we know if he does wake up anyway? We’ll never hear him in a big old house like this,” Lilly said, glancing around the room.

“Harry has charms set up in his bedroom. If he doesn’t move for any longer than 16 seconds, an alarm will go off, and if he cries, we’ll hear it through a charm that connects this room with his room.”

Lilly frowned, “How do you know that?”

“I was over here quite a lot when you were in France,” Neville admitted, “I got kind of lonely, so I’d come over here to duel or study with Harry. Then I’d stay in the annexe. Daphne used to make me breakfast in the mornings.”

Lilly laughed, “I never thought Daphne would become the bloody matriarch, did you?”

“No,” Neville agreed in amusement, “I always thought that would be Hermione but let’s be honest, Daphne is pretty good at it.”

“Hemione is more the type though” Lilly agreed, “Or she was, PD.”

“What does PD mean?”

“Pre-Draco,” Lilly explained.

Neville snorted, “What about me then, what was I PL?”

“I don’t know, you’ve never really been without me,” Lilly said, shooting him a grin, “You were my friend from the get-go until you became Neville the general Longbottom who shagged everything that moved-”

“-one person,” Neville corrected.

“And led an army of students-”

“-I hardly led an army.”

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, “Yes, you did. You went all badass, cardigan-wearing, snake beheading Neville that year and we kind of fell out of contact that summer but beyond that, you’ve always had me.”

“And the one time I didn’t, I went a bit off the rails,” Neville mused.

“So my influence on you is a stabilising one, clearly,” Lilly teased.

Neville smiled, “You’re probably right. Without you I am reckless and impulsive, you tame me, Lilly.”

“Don’t make sexual innuendos when a toddler is sleeping above us,” Lilly warned him, “That’s a dangerous game.”

“Oh come on, he won’t wake up.”

“This is Harry’s family home!”

“So? Think of the things we’ve done in _my_ family home,” Neville said as he captured her lips in a kiss.

Lilly tried to think of another objection because shagging in Harry and Daphne’s house while babysitting their kid was wrong on so many levels. However, she didn’t need to make one because, at that point, a sharp cry sounded around the room.

“So much for he probably won’t wake up,” Lilly said.

Neville rolled his eyes, “I’ll sort him out.”

He got to his feet and walked upstairs, unaware of the fact that Lilly had followed him.

Neville walked into the room and scooped the little boy up, “Hey, hey, what's wrong, Ted?”

Teddy sobbed, “Dada! Mumma! Dada!”

“Mummy and Daddy had to go out for a little while,” Neville said gently, “But I’m here.”

Teddy continued to sob, “Ga-ma! Ga-ma!”

Neville hugged the little boy, “I know, I’m not your Grandma, sorry but it’s okay. I think you just had a bad dream,” as he spoke, he bounced the little boy in his arms, “I know bad dreams can seem scary, but they aren’t real.

The little boy calmed down and rubbed his eyes. Neville smiled and lay him down then popped his dummy back in his mouth, “Sleep tight, Ted,” he said as the little boys eyes fluttered shut.

“Uh-huh,” Teddy said sleepily.

From the doorway, Lilly watched and smiled, “You’re a natural.”

Neville got to his feet and turned around. He smiled at her and tiptoed out of the room, “I love kids.”

“I know,” Lilly said. She leant up to kiss him, and he gently pulled the door shut, “And you’ll make a great dad one day,” she promised him.

Neville smiled in response and kissed her softly.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	61. Someone Stronger than Me

“What’s wrong with him?” Daphne asked when she and Harry were met outside her father's door by Healer Drummond.

“It isn’t good,” Drummond said honestly, “It’s kidney failure.”

“But you said he was fine!” Daphne exclaimed, “You said his organs would recover!”

“I said that they should recover,” Drummond corrected, “But we couldn’t have predicted this. His kidneys haven’t been functioning properly because he hasn’t been eating or drinking but now that we are putting food and drink in, they still do not seem to be responding. It's like they have forgotten how to work.”

“Is there nothing you can do about it?” Harry asked.

Drummond shook his head, “There are no charms that can help with kidney failure Mr Potter.”

“But a new kidney would,” Daphne said suddenly, “You only need one functioning kidney, don’t you? If he had one that worked…”

“In theory, it might save his life,” Drummond agreed, “But the surgery might kill him, and then there’s the matter of where exactly we would find a kidney at such short notice.”

“I’ll give him mine,” Daphne said.

Harry stared at her in disbelief, “Daphne, what?”

“I will give him mine,” Daphne said firmly, “We must be the same blood type, I mean I’m his daughter!”

Drummond nodded, “Even if you do have the same blood type, it’s not that simple-”

“It’s exactly that simple!” Daphne said, “My kidneys work fine. Just give him one and save his life please, I can’t lose him again, I can’t! Not just after I got him back!”

“Daphne you’re being rash, you aren’t thinking this through-” Harry tried to say.

“And neither did you when you made your most life-changing decisions Harry!” Daphne snapped, “You didn’t think it through when you walked into the forest to your death or when you stood in front of Voldemort in the great hall that night! If there’s a chance I can save his life, I need to do it.”

Drummond looked between them for a moment. Harry didn’t say anything; he couldn’t defend himself because he knew that she was right.

“We can test you to see if you are a match,” Drummond said, “But it’s not all about blood type, so please, don’t get your hopes up.”

Daphne nodded.

“Come with me,” Drummond said, he opened the door to a small consultation room.

“Harry, I know she thinks that she doesn’t want to know, but you should floo Astoria,” Daphne said as she walked away from him, “If he’s going to die, I’d like her to have the chance to say goodbye.”

Harry nodded, “I won’t be far away,” he promised.

He took a breath; it wasn’t just Daphne who had become weighed down with everything going on right now. He was carrying as much of the burden for her as he could. Harry slipped out of the little waiting room and disappeared into another room where private booths were set up, each one containing a fireplace.

Harry threw some floo powder into the fire and said the address of Astoria’s flat. A few seconds later, her face appeared in the fire.

“This can’t be good if you’re phoning from the hospital.”

Harry shook his head, “It isn’t. Your…Cygnus, he has taken a turn for the worse. Both of his kidneys are failing, and without one working kidney to help the other one heal, he will die very soon. Daphne is devastated, she’s being tested now to find out if she’s a match.”

“And if she isn’t?”

“He has two days maybe, if he's lucky,” Harry said, “Daphne asked me to floo you. She said she knows you feel a lot of resentment towards him but if you did want to say goodbye or…anything…you ought to do it now.”

Astoria sighed, “I need to be there, to support Daphne as much as anything else. I’ll get dressed and join you soon.”

Before Harry could say anything else, she disconnected the call.

* * *

True to her word, Astoria joined Harry 10 minutes later in the small waiting room.

“She won’t take this well. She was always Daddy’s little girl before the fire and regardless of how much she says she doesn’t care anymore…she does.”

“I know,” Harry said simply.

And they didn’t say anything else while they waited.

It seemed to take forever for Daphne to come out of the room, and when she did, they could tell that it wasn’t good news. Her eyes were puffy; her cheeks were tear-streaked.

“I’m not a match,” Daphne choked out.

She fell into Harry’s arms, and he held her tightly.

“What happens now?” He asked Drummond.

“All we can do is make him comfortable,” Drummond admitted.

“Could I be a match?” Harry asked, “I would give him a kidney.”

Drummond shook his head, “It’s a noble thought, Mr Potter, but it’s very rare for someone who isn’t family to be a match.”

“Could you test me?” Astoria asked, “I’m his…niece.”

Drummond nodded, “We could test you, but your cousin wasn’t a match-”

“Sister,” Astoria and Daphne said in unison.

Drummond frowned.

“We have the same mother, but our fathers are brothers,” Astoria explained, “So we are sisters…and cousins…”

“Right,” Drummond said slowly, “Well, as I said, I can test you.”

Daphne looked up at Astoria tearfully, “Why would you even offer Astoria? After the way, he treated you?”

“He never loved me the way he loved you, but he didn’t mistreat me, Daphne,” Astoria said softly, “He put a roof over my head, he gave me a comfortable life. I wouldn’t have had that if he had thrown Mother and me out when he found out what she had done. I can’t let him die if there’s a chance that I could do something about it.”

Daphne threw herself at her sister and hugged her tightly, “You’re a better person than me.”

“No, I’m not,” Astoria said, “You would do the same thing for Phineas.”

Daphne wasn’t sure if she would, but she kept that thought to herself as Astoria disappeared into the consultation room.

“Would you have done it?” Harry asked in the long, echoing silence.

“Given Phineas a kidney?” Daphne asked.

“If roles were reversed, would you have done it?”

“I think so,” Daphne said honestly, she turned to look at him, “Family isn’t all about blood. Sometimes the people who raise you are your parents, even if biologically that isn’t the case.”

“I never want Teddy to forget that his biological parents were heroes though,” Harry said quietly, “He calls us Mummy and Daddy, and I can’t help but think that it might hurt Remus and Tonks. I know Remus’s portrait says it’s okay, but it’s not really him, it’s just an echo…”

Daphne sighed.

“Sometimes I wish I hadn’t thrown away the resurrection stone…” Harry confessed.

“No, you were right to throw it away,” Daphne said curtly, “You’ve lost too many people, Harry. Keeping that thing would have been suicidal. Besides, I’d like to think that Remus and Tonks would be happy that Teddy isn’t going to grow up scared and lonely like you did.”

“We’re giving him what Remus always wanted to give me,” Harry realised suddenly, “God…how have I never looked at it that way before Daph? Remus would have taken me in; he told me so himself, but nobody would have allowed it because he was a werewolf.”

Daphne smiled weakly, “There you have it. They wouldn’t be angry or upset; they would be grateful. And Astoria’s right, our father could have kicked mother out and Astoria with her. He put a roof over their heads and did the best he could, but he loved mother despite it all and every time he looked at Astoria, he must have been reminded of her betrayal.”

“It can’t have been easy for him, all those years,” Harry agreed.

“It wasn’t fair on her either though,” Daphne said, “It wasn’t Astoria’s fault.”

“No,” Harry agreed, “I hate to say it, but it all comes down to your mother and her selfishness. If she didn’t love your father, why pretend for all of those years? Why not just divorce him? He seems like a reasonable man, surely he would have preferred that than the route she took.”

“I think he would have done,” Daphne said.

Harry sighed and slipped his hand into hers, “Do you know Daph, I don’t think any of us has had a normal family life. My parents died when I was a baby, and I was raised by dickhead Muggles.”

“My family is just fucking complicated.”

“Draco’s dad was a piece of shit,” Harry said, “And what Theo’s dad did to his mum is disgusting. Neville was raised by his grandmother and belittled by the little family he had left,” Harry said, “And Lilly’s dad ran off with another man when she was a kid.”

“I think Sadie and Hermione are the only two who had something close to a normal upbringing,” Daphne admitted, “Sadie always had it good. Nice house, two loving parents, all that jazz. Then Voldemort targeted her family.”

Harry nodded sadly, “Hermione had it good. I was always jealous of the way that she grew up. Supportive parents, nice house, plenty of money, not having to wear hand-me-downs. But then she risked it all for me when she obliviated them and sent them to Australia.”

“She would have done anything for you,” Daphne said knowingly, “If that’s not the greatest friend you could ever have…I don’t know what is.”

“I know, trust me, I know,” Harry assured her, “What I’m getting at though…I don’t want to fuck up Teddy’s upbringing.”

“We won’t,” Daphne promised, “Whatever happens, we won’t. But I need you to promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“If it all goes south and we fall out of love with each other,” Daphne said quietly, “Let’s tell each other. Let’s just get a divorce and stay friends. Promise me that we won’t fall into the trap of staying in it for the kids. Promise me that we won’t end up like my parents.”

“I promise,” Harry said sincerely, “If I fall in love with your sister, I’ll tell you before I get her pregnant.”

Daphne punched him in the arm, “Harry!”

“Too soon?” Harry joked.

He hoped he had timed the joke right, but if he hadn’t, then she was probably about to burst into tears. Instead, she burst into hysterical laughter, and he couldn’t help but laugh with her.

Thankfully, they had calmed down 5 minutes later when the door of the consultation room opened.

Astoria stepped out, looking a little pale, “I’m a match.”

Daphne gasped and stood up, “Are you…I mean there are _no_ obligations Tori-”

“I’ve already said I’ll do it,” Astoria said before Daphne could dig herself a hole.

“We need to get your sister down to theatre as soon as possible to give your Father the best chance we can,” Drummond explained, “Once we have opened both your sister and your father up, we can do a simple switching spell. After a few months of both parties having one working kidney, the second kidney should have healed itself. At that point, we can do another switching spell to restore the kidneys to their original owners.”

Daphne nodded nervously, “And it’s not risky?”

“Not for your sister,” Drummond assured her, “But there is a chance that your father’s body will reject her kidney. I need you to know that there is no guarantee that this will work.”

“Thank you for your honesty,” Daphne said hoarsely. She stepped forward and hugged Astoria, “Thank you, Astoria, thank you so much.”

“It’s as much for you as it is for him, Daphne.”

“Well, we’ll be here,” Daphne promised, “We’ll be right outside until we know how you both are and if it doesn’t work…we did the best that we could.”

Astoria nodded and gripped her sister tightly for a moment. Then she let go and allowed Drummond to lead her down the corridor.

“Will you be okay on your own for a minute?” Harry asked, “I really ought to floo Neville.”

“I’ll be fine,” Daphne promised, “You floo Neville and I’ll head down to the café for coffee.”

“Alright,” Harry said, he leant in and kissed her on the forehead, “Try to keep your chin up, love.”

* * *

“Hey, how is my little guy?”

“Fine now,” Neville said through the fire, “He did wake up, he had a nightmare, but I got him back off to sleep fairly quickly. How are things going at the hospital?”

“Not good, that’s why I’m checking in with you,” Harry said, “We might be here all night, and I didn’t know how you would feel about sorting Teddy out with his breakfast if, worst-case scenario, we aren’t back by morning.”

Neville shook his head, “Don’t worry about it. Worst case scenario, I’ll give him breakfast, drop him at Andromeda’s and tell Sumner why you aren’t around. Is it saying goodbye kind of bad?”

“Not quite, but it’s bad,” Harry admitted, “His kidneys are failing so he needs a healthy one to heal the other one. Daphne wasn’t a match, but Astoria is, and she offered to give him a kidney. They are in surgery now, but there’s a chance that his body will reject the kidney and if it does, then it will be time to say goodbye.”

“Shit Harry,” Neville sighed, “Right after she got him back.”

“Yeah, she’s not in a great place right now,” Harry said honestly, “But we just need to see how it goes after the surgery.”

“Well we’ll be fine here for as long as necessary,” Neville promised him.

“Thanks, Nev, I appreciate it.”

* * *

Harry and Daphne spent the following few hours in silence, but with their hands clasped tightly together. When Drummond finally did walk into the room, they looked up expectantly.

“They are both okay,” Drummond said with a smile, “And everything seems to have gone well. All that remains now is to leave the kidneys to heal and then switch them back. We will need to keep your father monitored in the hospital for a few months, but your sister can leave in 48 hours, and we’ll check in with her every month to see how the kidney is doing.”

Daphne breathed out a sigh of relief, “Can we see either of them yet?”

“Your sister is awake, but it will take your Father slightly longer to come around,” Drummond said, he motioned to a door leading off of the corridor.

Daphne gave Harry a small smile, “I’ll stay here, Harry. You go home.”

“Daphne-”

Daphne shook her head, “No, I know you want to be here for me, but Teddy needs you to be there in the morning.”

“Alright,” Harry conceded because he knew she was right, “But if anything changes-”

“I’ll floo you,” Daphne cut in, “I promise. Could you floo Bill for me and explain that I won’t be at work tomorrow?”

Harry nodded, “Of course I will. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Daphne said, she leant in and gave him a quick kiss before disappearing into Astoria’s room.

* * *

“Hey.”

Astoria smiled, “Hey.”

Daphne sat down on the edge of her bed, “You are an amazing person.”

“At the end of the day Daph, he was my father. Maybe not biologically, but he raised me,” Astoria said, she shut her eyes and edged closer to her older sister.

“You just gave a kidney, to a man who gave you a complex,” Daphne whispered, “He made you feel inferior; he made you feel like nobody wanted you.”

“And he gave you a complex too, even before the fire,” Astoria returned, “He scared you, the way he was to mother.”

“I understand his anger and his frustration now, but he hurt her you’re right,” Daphne admitted, “He is the victim here, but he isn’t a saint, I know that Tori. I remember what he did to her after the fire.”

“If you hadn’t stepped in, I think he might have killed her,” Astoria whispered.

“He didn’t mean to hit me, he was just so angry at her then I got in the way.”

“It still scarred you for a long time,” Astoria said knowingly, “It made you terrified of relationships, terrified that someone would hurt you like that one day.”

“Until Harry,” Daphne said softly, “Harry…he filled the holes that Father burned in me back then.”

Astoria smiled, “He’s your everything.”

Daphne smiled too, “He’s everything our father wasn’t Astoria…he never walks away when things get hard. He takes care of Teddy and me, and he loves us unconditionally. It was Harry who made me believe that a man could be kind.”

“You’re nothing like him Daph; you know that?”

Daphne sighed, “I used to worry all the time that I was just like him. Cold, logical, you know? But now I can see that I fell far from the tree, we both did. The thing is…adopting Teddy and becoming his Mother…it changed my perspective on things. I could never hurt Teddy like he hurt us and he will never have to wonder his worth like we did. Because Harry and I will always put him first.”

Astoria squeezed her hand, and she took a breath.

“I hope I find a love like yours one day,” Astoria said, she turned her head to look at her sister, “You’re so damn lucky with your perfect fiancé and your cute little kid.”

Daphne turned her head too, “Trust me, I know. But I also know you’ll find someone too, someone who makes you feel just as special as Harry makes me feel.”

Astoria sighed sleepily, “Stay Daph?”

“Of course Tori,” Daphne said as she edged closer to her baby sister.

* * *

When Daphne woke up a few hours later, Astoria was still out of it. She got up and performed a few spells to freshen herself up then went to the hospital café for a coffee. It was early morning now, so she slipped into her father's room in the hope that he would be awake.

“Morning Dad,” Daphne said when she sat down by his bed.

He opened his eyes and tried to speak. When he had done this in the past, nothing had come out. But this time, he managed a faint, “Daphne.”

Daphne looked up in surprise, “You spoke.”

Cygnus visibly swallowed, “I’m alive?”

Daphne nodded, “Your kidneys were failing, I offered to give you one of mine, but we don’t have the same blood type, I have the same blood as Mum.”

Cygnus frowned.

“But you and Phineas obviously have the same blood type, so Astoria gave you a kidney.”

Cygnus’s eyes widened.

“She said, and I am quoting here, even if it wasn’t biological, you are still her dad. You put a roof over her head, fed her and kept her well even though you knew she wasn’t yours and could have kicked her and mum out easily enough.”

“She knows the truth.”

Daphne nodded, “It all came out recently when mother decided to sell the house, and I got a box of letters you wrote to Uncle Gus. I saw what you wrote on my marriage contract to Draco too.”

Cygnus smiled, “I meant it.”

Daphne smiled weakly, “I want a fresh start Dad, but I can’t pretend that you’re the only victim here. I understand that what Mum did made you bitter and angry, but you did some unspeakable things to her, and to Astoria and me. Things have to change if you want to be in my life.”

Cygnus gave a small nod.

“For one, you need to accept Astoria as your daughter,” Daphne said, “Because despite the fact you made her feel inferior for her entire life, she still loves you, and I don’t think she can handle you rebuffing her again.”

Cygnus didn’t say anything, so Daphne continued, “And you need to be a better grandfather to my son than you were a father to me. You can’t walk away when things get hard, you can’t lash out, and you can’t choose to be there for him when it’s convenient for you.”

Hurt flashed across Cygnus’s face.

“I love you, Dad, and I’m happy for this to be a fresh start, but it has to be for _all_ of us, and that includes Astoria.”

Cygnus nodded, “I understand. She gave a kidney for me. I think that warrants official adoption.”

Daphne’s eyes widened, “You would adopt her?”

“She always reminded me of your mother's betrayal, but that was no excuse to treat her the way that I did,” Cygnus admitted, “And as hard as it is to hear, you are right. I wasn’t always the best father in the world, and I apologise for that. I will do better for your son than I did for you, I promise.”

Daphne smiled, “Good.”

Cygnus smiled back, “He’s lovely, you know.”

“Who, Teddy?”

“Well he is certainly lovely, but I meant Harry actually,” Cygnus said.

“You approve?”

“I approve,” Cygnus said, “He is a Potter which had become a shameful thing in recent years, but I expect you plan to change that.”

Daphne smiled, “I do.”

Cygnus smiled too, “I tried to draft a marriage contract between you two when you were babies, but my cousin would not have it. His wife was a muggle-born, and she was not fond of pureblood traditions. She swore that her son would marry for love, not convenience.”

Daphne laughed, “Well...that’s ironic.”

“Indeed,” Cygnus agreed.

Daphne smiled sympathetically, “I’m glad you approve. Harry makes me happier than I’ve been in a long time.”

“I can see that,” Cygnus said, he reached out and took her hand, “It makes me happy to see you doing so well. How is Astoria doing?”

“Great,” Daphne admitted, “She wants to be a lawyer, so she’s taking extra classes at the DMLE. She doesn’t have a boyfriend or anything; she dates wishy-washy guys, I really need to set her up.”

“Why don’t you set her up with Draco?” Cygnus suggested.

Daphne chuckled and shook her head, “No, that ship has sailed. Draco is very happy with Hermione.”

“Who is Hermione?”

“She is Harry’s best friend, and she’s a Muggle-born _and_ a Gryffindor,” Daphne said.

Cygnus laughed weakly, “Draco Malfoy dating a Muggle-born, Gryffindor?”

“Oh he’s engaged to her actually,” Daphne smiled, “And he’s Draco Black now. He and his mother changed their names when Lucius went to prison.”

“Good for her,” Cygnus said with a warm smile, “Narcissa Black always was too good for that slimeball.”

Daphne knew fine well her Fathers opinion of Lucius; he had always been vocal about it.

“Is she doing well now?”

Daphne nodded, “She’s living with her sister Andromeda, they reconciled after the war. I expect she will come and visit you when we tell her the news; she was devastated at your funeral.”

“Was she?” Cygnus asked with interest.

Daphne hid a knowing smile, “She was distraught, so I hear.”

“You heard?” Cygnus asked with a frown.

Daphne frowned too, “Well the thing is…I didn’t go to the funeral. I could hide behind an excuse and tell you that I couldn’t because I was rebelling against the Death Eaters running the school that year but…the truth is, I wouldn’t have gone anyway. I was angry, and at the time, I thought you were the bad guy.”

“I understand,” Cygnus promised her.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, then Cygnus said quietly, “Daphne…did you mean what you said when you first came in?”

Daphne frowned, “What part?”

“The part about wanting me to become well enough to walk you down the aisle,” Cygnus said.

Daphne’s eyes widened, “Oh, of course, I did. I wouldn’t have said something like that if I didn’t mean it.”

Cygnus’s smile widened, “Then I would love to tell you that I would be honoured to do so. This is a fresh start for all of us, myself and my two wonderful daughters.”

Daphne smiled warmly, “It will do Astoria a world of good to hear that,” she told him.

Cygnus just squeezed her hand, and they fell silent once more.

* * *

“Miss Greengrass?”

Astoria looked up at the Trainee Healer who had entered her room, “Yes?”

“Your father is asking for you. Do you feel up to getting out of bed and being wheeled in to speak with him?”

Astoria felt slightly sick with nerves at the thought, but she nodded all the same. She got out of bed tentatively and let the healer wheel her into the room next door. She swallowed her shock when she saw how pale and frail the man was.

“Astoria,” Cygnus said quietly, “You came.”

Astoria nodded, “You asked to see me?”

“I needed to apologise, and to thank you,” Cygnus said honestly, “You gave me a kidney.”

“You gave me a good life, a kidney is nothing in comparison,” Astoria said timidly.

“A good life?” Cygnus questioned, “Do you really feel that way? Daphne always told me that I made you feel inferior and unwanted. Is that true?”

“I knew that you favoured Daphne over me and maybe I was timid for a long time because of that,” Astoria admitted, “But you put a roof over my head, you fed me, you clothed me in nice clothes. I never wanted for anything, in that respect Daphne and I were entirely equal. The only thing I felt you gave her over me was your love.”

Cygnus sighed, “I truly apologise for that. I did favour Daphne over you, and it was because you reminded me of how much your mother had hurt me. Of course, that wasn’t your fault, and I should never have taken that out on you. Daphne and I discussed how this new lease of life should be a fresh start…for all of us…and I think that ought to begin with adoption.”

Astoria frowned, “What?”

“If you are willing,” Cygnus said slowly, “I would like to adopt you and attempt to start writing some of the wrongs I made in my previous life.”

Astoria opened her mouth then closed it again.

“I…I would be okay with that,” She said eventually.

“Would you also be okay with becoming the head of Greengrass Industries?”

Astoria’s eyes widened, “You…you want me to take over the business? Me? You always said I was the wishy-washy one, that Daphne was the clever one.”

“I was wrong about that, as I was with many other things,” Cygnus admitted, “Daphne loves her job, that much is clear. But she said that you wanted to be a lawyer and that is what would make you a fantastic CEO. You know as well as I do that there are a lot of politics involved in the job. Of course, I understand if you don’t want it. After all, the business is already struggling, and when news of what happened to your mother and Phineas hits the press, stocks will plummet again-”

“And I’ll fix it,” Astoria said eagerly, “Father, I have so many ideas about how to fix the business. I know how to bring it into the 21st century, I’ve thought so much about this. So yes, I would love the job, and I will do everything that I can to save the business, you have my word.”

Cygnus smiled at her, “I’m sorry that it took me too long to realise that there was more of me in you than I thought Astoria.”

Astoria smiled proudly, “Thank you.”

“No,” Cygnus said, he reached out and took her hand, “Thank _you_.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	62. Culture Shock

The trial took place the following week. It was very similar to the preliminary hearing but far more official.

Daphne and Astoria didn’t have to give statements thankfully. But they did stand hand in hand while their mother glared at them when she was dragged out of the courtroom. She was sentenced to 25 years in the low-security section of Azkaban for the attempted murder of her husband.

Phineas just kept his head down; it was clear he felt great remorse for his actions. It was this remorse that saved him from a more severe sentence. He received ten years in low-security with the possibility of parole after seven, for conspiracy to commit murder.

Daphne and Astoria both felt an immense sense of relief when it was all over. They went back to Potter Manor, stripped themselves of their official dress and walked into the kitchen in their casual clothes, feeling lighter.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make the trial,” Harry said as he fought to keep the smile off of his face, “I lied about having to work.”

Daphne frowned, “So why weren’t you there?”

“I was handling this at the Ministry,” Harry said, he handed a certificate to Daphne.

Daphne’s face lit up, “Oh! Sweet Salazar…it’s official! Teddy is ours!”

Astoria grinned and looked at the piece of paper, “Edward Remus Lupin-Potter.”

Daphne’s eyes filled up with tears, she launched herself at Harry and hugged him tightly. He held her just as tightly as tears filled his eyes too.

“We bring him home tomorrow night,” Harry said.

“This is just what we needed after the last couple of weeks,” Daphne said cheerfully.

“I know,” Harry grinned, “I was just saying the same thing to Dave.”

“Who is Dave?” Astoria asked.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “His snake.”

“You have a snake, and you talk to it?”

“He talks back,” Harry defended himself.

“Harry’s a Parseltongue,” Daphne said by way of explanation.

“Ah,” Astoria realised, “What is he, a grass snake or something?”

“Oh no, that would be lovely, safe and sensible,” Daphne said matter of factly, “Dave is a Boa Constrictor, and we have a toddler.”

“Dave would never hurt Teddy, he’s very protective of me and anyone that I love,” Harry said.

Astoria looked between them, “I’m guessing that this is an area of contention.”

“Slightly,” They said in unison.

“I keep him outside, that’s the compromise,” Harry said.

“Right,” Astoria said, it was clear that she was struggling to contain her laughter, “Look, I’m going to get away and let you two celebrate your happy news together. Are we still on for taking dinner to Dad in hospital on Sunday?”

“Yeah,” Daphne said with a smile, “We’ll bring Teddy too. It’s great how quickly he’s coming on, isn’t it? Even the healers are surprised by how well he’s doing.”

“It’s nice to see him off all of those tubes,” Astoria agreed, “He’s more himself again. Anyway congratulations Daph, I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks, Tori.”

Astoria disappeared into the fireplace and Daphne, and Harry positively beamed at each other.

* * *

“You’re happy today.”

“Today is officially the day,” Harry chirped, “Teddy has now become Edward Remus Lupin-Potter.”

“Congratulations man!” Neville said, he gave Harry a bear hug.

Draco hit him on the back, “Yeah, congrats Harry.”

Theo smiled at him, “That’s great news.”

“It’s just what we needed after the trial,” Harry admitted with a grin.

“When does he move in?” Draco asked.

“Tonight,” Harry said, “And we’ve already started explaining it to him, so hopefully that makes the transition easier.”

“I’m sure he will adapt quickly, kids that young always do,” Neville said, “Look at you and me after all.”

“True,” Harry agreed.

“When he’s older, he probably won’t remember a time when he didn’t live with you and Daphne,” Draco agreed.

Harry nodded thoughtfully, “Also true. Either way, we’re both really excited about being able to call him our son officially,” he said as they reached the locker room.

“Course you are,” Neville said, “And so you should be, he’s an amazing little guy.”

Harry smiled softly, “Yeah, he really is.”

* * *

“Hey, Teddy! You all ready?”

Teddy ran to them, “Dada! Mumma!”

“Yeah,” Daphne said, she knelt down, “You get to come and live with us now, but Grandma is still going to look after you during the day when we go to work, okay?”

“Ga-ma!”

“Good,” Harry said, he ruffled the little boy's hair, “We’ve set your new bedroom all up for you. Daphne bought you some new bedtime stories, and I got you a nice new night light. Are you excited?”

Teddy garbled and grabbed onto Harry’s leg. Harry smiled and picked the little boy up. He looked at Andromeda, expecting to see sadness in her eyes, but she just looked happy.

“I’ll see him all of the time while you two are at work, and I am always free to babysit if you need a night to yourselves,” She promised.

“Thank you,” Daphne said. She hugged the older woman.

“No, thank you,” Andromeda said sincerely, “For giving him the life he deserves, the life Dora would have wanted for him.”

Harry swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded, “You’re welcome,” he managed to say.

* * *

They took Teddy home that night and put him to bed with a bedtime story and his new lamp. He fell asleep quickly, and they lay in bed that night feeling on top of the world.

“I can’t wait to call you my wife.”

Daphne turned her head to look at him, “Where did that come from?”

Harry turned his head too, “You are an amazing human being, you are an amazing mother, and I can’t wait to be able to call you my wife too.”

Daphne smiled, “Cheesy.”

Harry gave her a boyish grin, “You love it, really.”

Daphne chuckled and rolled onto her stomach; she propped herself up, “What are we doing about this wedding anyway?”

“I thought you had it all under control?”

“I’ve done all of the important things,” Daphne said, “The venue, the theme, the cake, you know? But things like guests and bridal parties need to be finalised.”

“We’re having a small, intimate wedding, aren’t we?” Harry asked.

Daphne nodded.

“So just close family and friends then,” Harry said, “I want the Weasleys there, and I suppose I ought to invite Aunt Petunia and Dudley, but beyond that…I would be happy with our friend group and a few close friends from school.”

“Me too,” Daphne said, “I would like Narcissa and Andromeda there too, and I think we probably ought to invite Hermione’s parents.”

“But on the whole, keep it small,” Harry said with a nod, “Just a quiet wedding here at the Manor.”

“We could maybe invite more people to the evening,” Daphne mused, “You know, get married, have a nice meal then a huge party.”

“That would be very us,” Harry agreed.

Daphne hummed thoughtfully, “What are we going to do about bridesmaids? Lilly is my maid of honour, and Sadie _has_ to be a bridesmaid. Originally, I was going to also have Hermione and Susan, but now I’m wondering if I should switch someone out for Astoria.”

“Can’t you just have Astoria as well? What difference does it make?” Harry asked cluelessly.

“Well it means you need another groomsman to even it out,” Daphne explained, “Lilly and Neville would partner each other as the maid of honour and the best man. Then we would have Sadie and Theo, Hermione and Draco, Susan and Ron, but who would partner Astoria?”

Harry thought on that for a moment, “I could always ask Percy. He could partner Susan then Ron could partner Astoria.”

Daphne snorted, “There’s a sight.”

Harry laughed too; he leant down to kiss her, “Not long now.”

Daphne shook her head, “A couple of months. Teddy’s going to be the pageboy, right?”

“Of course.”

“Do you think we should ask Bill and Fleur if Victoire would like to be the flower girl?”

“That’s a good idea,” Harry admitted, “How is he these days anyway?”

“Not great,” Daphne admitted, “Fleur wants another kid and Bill is secretly contemplating their future together, but he’s too scared to say anything.”

Harry sighed, “Yeah, that isn’t great. I mean Fleur can be intense don’t get me wrong, but I don’t like to see my friends struggling.”

“I guess parenting isn’t for everyone,” Daphne admitted, she cuddled into Harry.

“I think it’s definitely for us.”

Daphne smiled into his chest, “Me too. I love my job, don’t get me wrong but this…it’s far more rewarding and I can’t wait to give Teddy a brother or sister.”

Harry smiled and pressed a kiss into her forehead, “I love you Daph,” he said, and he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

“How do you think Sadie’s coping with the whole twin's thing?” Hermione asked Draco conversationally as October neared its end.

“It’s a bombshell, but once she comes around to the idea, I think she will see that it’s a blessing too,” Draco mused.

“It is a blessing,” Hermione agreed, “But twins are hard work for any mother Draco, let alone a young mother whose husband has a very time-consuming, dangerous job.”

Draco looked up at her, “When you grew up like I did Hermione, twins would be a blessing.”

Hermione scoffed.

“What?” Draco asked defensively.

“You act like I had the perfect upbringing Draco. You didn’t grow up like I did.”

Draco scoffed this time, “With a loving family and everything you ever wanted? Stop acting like your life was so hard, Hermione.”

Hermione looked at him with fiery eyes, “Yes, I had loving parents, but before I went to Hogwarts, I was bullied rotten for being too bookish and for having big teeth and bushy hair. Then when I got to Hogwarts, I was bullied all over again for the same things, _by you_.”

“So why the hell did you agree to marry me then?” Draco asked coolly.

“Honestly, when you’re acting like this, I don’t know!” Hermione replied angrily, “I did not have an easy life, not by any means Draco! From the moment I came to Hogwarts, every single year, my life was in danger as a teenager. I know you had it bad in the war, but at school, as a whole, you were safe until sixth year.”

“Safe?” Draco scoffed, “I was never safe, I was constantly being watched by Snape or Crabbe and Goyle. Your parents didn’t have to know about anything you did at school, but mine knew everything! I could not put a foot wrong without my father hearing about it, and when I _did_ have to go home, I was punished for it. Do you know why I used to be mean to you? It was because every single time I scored lower than you in a class, my father would punish me because he was disgusted that I had been beaten by a muggle-born.”

Hermione shook her head in disbelief, “I’m sorry for being smarter than you.”

“Do you know what, that’s the thing? You aren’t. You were just able to apply yourself because you didn’t have an abusive father breathing down your fucking neck! Look at our grades in eighth year, and we’re practically equal, Hermione,” Draco said, “So get off of your high horse and stop acting like you’re better than everyone else. Stop acting like the poor little war heroine who had it so hard.”

“I did have it hard!” Hermione snapped as tears burned in her eyes, “I nearly died in _your_ house, Draco! Your aunt tortured me, your mother and father stood by and watched. That happened in your house, so you know firsthand how hard I had it in the war.”

“You were tortured for a day in my family home,” Draco said coolly, “I was tortured every day in that house some summers. You had it hard during the war, but I had it hard my whole life so forgive me for thinking that your sheltered little life wasn’t so fucking hard Hermione! You had Harry Potter there to protect you all of the fucking time. I had no one!”

Before Hermione could respond, probably with more angry words, Draco stormed out of the house, slamming the front door as hard as he could behind him.

* * *

**SLAM.**

The whole ground floor of Number 11 Grimmauld Place shook.

“What the heck was that?” Sadie asked with a jump.

“I would say that was the door of Number 12 slamming because Draco and Hermione just fought so I would expect him to come crashing in here in about-”

The front door opened loudly.

“Now,” Theo finished.

Sadie smiled slightly and shook her head, “You two know each other a little too well sometimes.”

“Theo! Where the hell are you?”

“Living room!” Theo called back.

Seconds later, Draco stomped into the small living room on the ground floor, “I swear to Salazar, I have never been so angry at her in my life!”

“What the hell did she do?” Theo asked in disbelief.

“She kept going on about _her_ hard life, _her hard life_! Her cushy upbringing with her loving parents and all,” Draco fumed, “Oh but I had it hard in the war she said, I had it so hard. Oh yeah, you had it so hard with Harry Potter right there behind you every step of the way to fucking protect you. I didn’t have a Harry Potter to protect me from the shit my father did to me, did I?”

“You had me,” Theo said quietly, “Was I not good enough? I’m not Harry Potter, but I let you camp out at my house as much as I could to escape your father. I let you stay in my summer house for two months when you ran away from home, do you know the beating I got when _my father_ discovered why food had been going missing from the kitchens?”

Draco’s eyes widened.

Theo shook his head irritably, “Salazar Draco, you can be an ungrateful little prick sometimes. You just forget that I was there for you for fucking years because I’m not Harry Potter?”

Draco opened his mouth then shut it as if he thought better of himself.

“Theo, that’s not what I meant-”

“It’s exactly what you meant,” Theo said irritably, “And do you know what? I’m not going to let you treat me like I’m second-best, so you want advice? You want someone to rant to? Go talk to the guy who spent the war shagging your fiancé, alright?”

With a swish of his hand, Theo banished Draco from the house.

Sadie looked at him in surprise, “Theo-”

“Don’t say I acted rashly,” Theo began hotly.

Sadie shook her head, “I was going to ask if you needed a hug.”

Theo sighed and nodded, “Yeah, I really do.”

* * *

“Harry!”

Harry sighed when he heard Draco’s angry tones from inside the house.

“He’s outside feeding Dave,” He heard Daphne call, “What crawled up your arse and died tonight Draco?”

“His fucking best friend,” Draco muttered as he stormed outside towards Dave’s home in the garden of Potter Manor.

“Do you fancy doing me a favour and letting Hermione know that she hasn’t actually had a tough life?” Draco asked sarcastically.

“You know as well as I do that there’s no telling Hermione anything. She believes, and does, what she wants,” Harry said calmly, “What’s all this about?”

“She said she had a hard life,” Draco fumed, “A hard life? She doesn’t know what a hard life is.”

“What happened to her was hard for her,” Harry said diplomatically, “The war for her was the hardest thing she had ever been through. But in comparison to the way you were raised, to the way I was raised, or even the way Theo was raised, she didn’t have a hard life, you’re right.”

“Thank you,” Draco huffed as he sat down heavily on a bench, “I mean yes, she was tortured, and I probably shouldn’t have belittled that, but what they put her through for a few hours…that was my life, Harry.”

Harry sat down next to him, “I know. I think trying to make Hermione understand that will be hard though Draco. I don’t know if there is any way to show her how bad it was without actually _showing_ her.”

Draco’s face darkened, “You mean like…a pensieve?”

Harry nodded, “She doesn’t mean to offend you, but to her, you had a big house and lots of money. I’m not convinced she can actually understand how bad things were for you.”

“I don’t want to show her that,” Draco said quietly, “I don’t want anyone to see that apart from the only other person who witnessed it at the time…”

“Your mother?” Harry guessed.

Draco shook his head, “Theo.”

“You said that ominously.”

“I hurt his feelings,” Draco admitted, he let his head fall into his hands, “When I was ranting about Hermione I said that she didn’t have it that hard because she had Harry Potter behind her to protect her every step of the way. I said that I didn’t have that, but the thing is…I did. Theo was always there for me, and he has always protected me, from myself sometimes but still…”

Harry whistled, “Wow, you fucked up.”

“Yeah,” Draco sighed, “I get caught up in all of my new friendships sometimes, and I take Theo for granted which is completely unfair because he was there for me when nobody else was. When my mother was under my fathers imperius curse, and I was terrified, it was Theo who I turned to. When my father tortured me at Voldemort’s demands, Theo told me that it would get better one day. It was Theo who let me camp out in his house; he even hid me in his summer house for two months the summer after fifth year because I was so terrified of being branded by Voldemort.”

Harry remained silent, so Draco kept talking, “His father found out and told my father. I was given the dark mark that same day…Theo cried when we came back to school, and I told him what happened. He kept saying that if he’d been able to keep the secret another week, he could have saved me from that. But my father would have found a way. He would have taken me out of school or had Severus do it…there was no escaping what I became.”

“But Theo tried to stop it,” Harry said, “That’s a courageous thing to do.”

Draco nodded, “He is brave, braver than I ever was. He was brave enough to stand up to his father time after time, even though he knew that a beating would follow. He would just stand stock still and silent, he never let his father know how much it hurt. He was the one who stood up for younger students during the war. He took beatings for me and the others; he took risks and spent a month imprisoned because he didn’t want to see an innocent girl get hurt. He’s so much better than me. I tortured that same girl to save my own skin, and to ensure Pansy’s protection. I’m a bad guy trying to make a good life for myself, but Theo has always been good. He’s the strong one…I’m the sidekick really.”

“Maybe you should tell him that,” Harry said pointedly, “Because comparing him to me is one thing, I guess in a lot of ways Theo and I are very alike which is actually why we don’t get on as well as I do with you or Neville. But what he did for you…it’s more than I ever did for Hermione. It’s more than I’ve ever done for anyone apart from Daphne so maybe you should think about thanking him once in a while.”

Draco sighed again.

“If anything Draco, I didn’t do enough to protect Hermione,” Harry said quietly, “I didn’t protect her from what happened at your house, and I didn’t protect her from the darkness inside herself. The person who did that was you, ironically enough. The person who tormented her was also the only person who could put her back together after the war. Call it poetic justice, I guess.”

Draco could only nod thoughtfully.

“Go and apologise to Theo, before this thing spirals out of control,” Harry prodded gently, “He’s not just your Auror partner or your best friend, and we all know that. You can’t let this fester; you need to set things straight with him.”

Draco pushed himself to his feet and nodded, “I will, thanks, Harry.”

“Anytime Draco.”

* * *

Hermione needed to talk to someone too. She needed a rant, a _friend_ who she could completely confide in who wouldn’t tell Draco. Of course, that put Daphne out of the equation because she would inevitably tell Draco.

The natural choice was Sadie, who Hermione trusted entirely. She knew if she told Sadie, she wouldn’t run back to Draco and as much as Theo and Draco were close, if Sadie told her husband something in confidence, he would keep it that way.

However, the flaw in that plan was in that the basement door to number 11 had been locked and warded, which meant that Draco and Theo had fought. Hermione sighed and apparated over to Longbottom House.

When she knocked on the door, Tokey smiled brightly at her and led her into the entrance hall.

“You be having a guest, Miss Lilly!”

“Oh so you’ve decided to use the front door this time rather than just swanning into my library and – you’re not Daphne.”

Hermione smiled sheepishly, “Correct. How did Daphne get into your house the last time?”

“Through the vanishing cabinets in our fiancé’s libraries, which I did not know about,” Lilly said with a roll of her eyes, “You look like you’ve been crying. Do you want tea?”

“Yeah,” Hermione admitted. While she followed Lilly into the kitchen, she asked, “And how do you feel about the vanishing cabinets?”

“Honestly? The same way that you felt about the door. Like, why am I even surprised you know?” Lilly asked with a snort. She put the kettle on the stove and yelled out of the backdoor, “Pretty sure you’re supposed to be catching the plimpys not letting them catch you, babe!”

A shout of, “Fuck off, Lilly!” came back.

Lilly grinned at Hermione, “I’m making tea if you want one!”

Hermione laughed, “What is he doing?”

“De-pesting the lake before it freezes over for winter,” Lilly answered, “So…why the tearstained face?”

“Draco and I had a big fight,” Hermione admitted, “I mean I knew it was going to happen, I should have been more prepared for it. We’re both from such different backgrounds, and I knew that was going to become an issue at some point.”

“You’re not that different,” Lilly snorted, “You’re both posh.”

Hermione sighed, “It’s not that though, Lilly. It’s not about class; it’s about the way that we were brought up. Does that make sense?”

Lilly nodded, “Yep. So how did this clash of cultures argument come about then?” she asked as she slid a cup of tea over to her.

“Draco said I hadn’t had a hard life,” Hermione said with a frown, “He said I had it easy with loving parents and a happy childhood then he totally shot down how hard I had it in the war because he’d had it hard his whole life.”

Lilly bit her lip, “Well…I hate to sit on the fence here, but I can see both sides. I mean you did have a good childhood, Hermione. I can’t sit here and sympathise with you on that one because I grew up on a council estate in the East End and had a pretty shitty time. I’ve seen your house, it’s stunning, and your parents both have doctorates, you know?”

“But-”

“Listen,” Lilly cut in, “When you went to Hogwarts, your life got hard, that much is true. You got dragged into all of Harry’s shit; you spent a year petrified, you had to train your best friend up for the Triwizard Tournament and then there was the war.”

Hermione frowned.

“I couldn’t have survived what you went through in the war, Hermione,” Lilly said honestly.

“Sometimes I don’t know how I did,” Hermione admitted quietly, “I still have nightmares about the snake that bit Harry and the torture in Malfoy Manor. I still feel sick when I look at the scar on my arm,” she subconsciously tugged at her sleeve.

Lilly just stayed quiet and let Hermione talk.

“I hurt people, bad people but people all the same. I saw my friends die. I saw…I saw _horrible_ things, and that changes you as a person,” Hermione continued, “How could I just go back to being the bookish girl who had a crush on one of her best friends after that? How could I just pretend I was okay with getting married and having kids after the things I saw? I have to make a difference in the world somehow, I have to help prevent something like that ever happening again and I…I need more than the cushy life that Ron could have given me because…” she trailed off.

“Because the war changed you,” Lilly finished, “You need more, you need an adrenaline rush, something or _someone_ a little dangerous. Someone with darkness in them, someone that scares you. You can’t go back to ordinary; it would bore you after everything you saw and all you went through.”

Hermione nodded tearfully, “How do you know?”

“I fought in the war too,” Lilly reminded her, “Everyone forgets. Everyone talks about their war trauma while I stay quiet, but I took over from Ginny when I got back to Hogwarts. I love Ginny, but that girl cannot organise a hospital wing, you know?”

Hermione chuckled.

“I healed kids all year, I saw 11 years with torture inflicted injuries and I risked killing people that I loved to get Neville back,” Lilly admitted, “I sent Susan and Seamus, and a bunch of others, on the rescue mission and I told them if they fell through the trap floors in the dark tower, they’d fall to the lowest levels of the school, and the devil's snare would cushion their fall.”

Hermione frowned, “But you can’t have known that.”

“I didn’t,” Lilly agreed, “But we needed Neville and Ginny back, and if that meant possibly sacrificing the less important people, it had to be done even though those people were my friends too. I didn’t just sit on my arse all year, and I fought in the final battle too. Do you really think I never think about those Death Eaters I stuck in the neck with arrows? Because I do, I think about how I paralysed them; I wonder if they were young, if they might have been able to redeem themselves and have a life or kids if I hadn’t done that. I have regrets too, and I’ve seen terrible things as well.”

Hermione swallowed a lump in her throat.

“We all changed, Hermione,” Lilly assured her, “We all had it hard during the war, but I think you are being a little selfish because Draco did have it worse than us. What you ought to remember is that we are all good people who had bad things done to us during the war. Draco was a kid, desperately trying to be good while his own father tried to force him into being bad. He spent his whole life fighting the darkness inside himself, and he still fights it, even now.”

“I know he does,” Hermione sighed, “And I don’t know why it has to be a competition over whose life was worse.”

“I understand why you irritated him,” Lilly said honestly, “So let me put this in perspective for you. What’s your earliest memory?”

Hermione frowned, “Why?”

“Just go with it, I’ll explain,” Lilly promised.

“It was probably the Christmas after my third birthday,” Hermione admitted, “I got this lovely Victorian dolls house…”

Lilly smiled sadly, “Do you know my earliest memory is?”

Hermione shook her head.

“Going to bed crying because my stomach hurt,” Lilly replied, “I lay there feeling _so_ hungry while my mum screamed at my dad for getting drunk and losing another job. She was yelling that she was going to have to take extra shifts at the pub to make ends meet and how was I going to get to nursery with my bum of a dad around? She was right; he never woke up in time to get me to nursery.”

Hermione swallowed a lump in her throat, “I’m sorry, Lilly.”

Lilly shook her head, “Harry’s earliest memory is of being shoved in that cupboard under the stairs and called a freak. Theo’s earliest memory is of his mother being brutally murdered. Neville’s earliest memory is of his uncle shoving him off a pier to force some magic out of him. Daphne’s is of her parents arguing; she sat on the stairs covering Astoria’s ears while they fought and she said she could feel the slap when Cygnus struck Lareina because it was so loud.”

Hermione was crying as she listened to the horror stories.

“Sadie was lucky, like you, she had a pretty sheltered upbringing,” Lilly said honestly, “But do you know what your fiancé’s earliest memory is?”

“No,” Hermione admitted.

“His earliest memory is of his father cursing him for walking into the room for a glass of water while he met with an old Death Eater friend,” Lilly said quietly, “He was a _toddler_. So you see…you had it hard at school, but people like Draco…they never had it good. Hogwarts was their safe haven, and now for Draco, his life is _finally_ heading somewhere good, but that took a long time.”

Hermione sniffed, “How do you know all of this?”

“Partly, everyone talks to me,” Lilly shrugged, “But I have to do mind magic classes with the boys. It’s all about seeing suppressed memories and everyone’s childhood memories are suppressed, that’s why you have to think so hard to recall the details.”

“I have been selfish,” Hermione said, gratefully accepting a tissue from Lilly, “No wonder they call me princess.”

Lilly shrugged, “You can be selfish at times, but we all can. I think the main thing is that you need to talk to Draco about everything. There is every chance that he doesn’t actually realise how much the war affected you.”

“I thought he did…”

“Maybe you should give each other some perspective?” Lilly suggested.

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked.

“Use a pensieve and show him some memories from that time,” Lilly advised, “If he shows you what happened to him growing up, you would understand how hard it had been.”

Hermione frowned.

“And if you showed him some memories of your experiences during the war, he would understand how hard it had been for you,” Lilly finished.

“But he was there in Malfoy Manor…” Hermione frowned.

“He wasn’t there in Godric’s Hollow or at Gringotts or the Ministry though, was he?”

“I can’t show him Godric’s Hollow without showing him what happened between Harry and I and he…he doesn’t want to see that,” Hermione said with a shake of her head.

“Look, I need to straight-up ask you a question,” Lilly said bluntly, “Is there a part of you that still loves Harry?”

“No,” Hermione said with a shake of her head, “There’s a pang there when I think about it, but I’m not in love with him anymore. I always saw this perfect boy when we were growing up, but during the war, I saw a darker side to him, and Daphne loves that Harry because he’s _her_ Harry. But…he’s not _my_ Harry. My Harry would never have tortured someone, Death Eater or not…he would never have used the imperius curse…I saw Harry torture; I saw him kill and I just can’t shake that.”

Lilly nodded thoughtfully.

“And it makes no sense,” Hermione added, “It makes me a hypocrite because I know Draco has done the same, if not worse and I can still love him.”

“It makes perfect sense,” Lilly promised, “Seeing Harry do bad things, turn a little dark, that was hard for you because you had always seen him as perfect. But Draco…you had always known him as bad so to know that he’s done bad things, it isn’t such a shock. And as for why Harry’s perfect for Daphne, she never knew that perfect boy that you did. Her Harry has worked in shades of grey since she met him, that’s normal to her, but it’s not the Harry you fell in love with.”

Hermione smiled weakly, “You give the best advice. This is why everyone talks to you.”

“I know it is,” Lilly said with a warm smile, “Now get home and apologise to your future husband. I’m sure now that he’s cooled off, he’ll apologise to you as well.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	63. Down Memory Lane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the flashbacks in this chapter are from Part One of this series, "Last Call for Sin" so if you want to read more on the Draco/Pansy or Harry/Hermione backstory head over there for a read :D

Draco had been banished from Number 11 Grimmauld Place which meant the door threw him back when he knocked on it, literally. He also couldn’t get in via floo because his signature had been blocked.

So he resorted to standing on the roof garden shouting of number 12, “Theo! THEO! I NEED TO TALK TO YOU. I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME THEO. JUST LET ME IN THE BLOODY HOUSE!”

This went on for about ten minutes before the door to the roof garden opened. Theo stepped out, “What the hell do you want?” he shouted across the rooftop. The houses were terraced, but the houses narrowed toward the roof, so there was a small divide between the two roof gardens.

“I want to apologise,” Draco said honestly.

“You really think an apology is going to make everything better?” Theo asked irritably.

“Just hear me out, please.”

Theo crossed his arms but made no move to leave the roof garden.

Draco sighed, “You were my Harry Potter, you’re right. In fact, you were more than that. You were the one person who cared about me enough to try and get me through the hardest years of my life. You are the strongest person I know, the _bravest_ person I know.”

Theo scoffed, “Braver than Harry Potter?”

Draco nodded, “Yes, braver than him. He did what he needed to do, he fulfilled a prophecy that had been written about him, and yes, he was brave to do that. But it’s not the same bravery that I saw in you day in and day out. To stand up to your father when you knew what was coming, to overcome that fear and stand there taking a beating? To be subjected to the cruciatus curse and not make a sound? That is a whole different level of bravery Theo. You aren’t the weak one. You are the one who has been through the most, so you are the one with the most material for dementors and the like to target. But the fact you survived it all, it makes you the strong one.”

Theo actually looked a little tearful.

“And I don’t know what I would have done without you,” Draco said honestly, “I don’t even know if I would still be here. If I had been forced to take the dark mark at the start of the summer…I would have been forced to do horrible things. As it was, you kept me safe, and then Hogwarts kept me safe. If I had to bear a summer like the one after sixth year…I don’t think I would have survived it. You were always there for me, Theo, and you did protect me. So for me to say that I was alone, that I had no one…that was wrong and selfish of me.”

Theo nodded and hastily wiped his eyes, “Thank you, Draco. That means…that means a lot.”

“I don’t care what everyone thinks, I’m the sidekick here, not you,” Draco finished, “And you’re the bravest man I know.”

Theo sucked in a sharp breath, “Oh, for Salazar’s sake. The things I do for love.”

Draco frowned and was about to ask him what he meant when Theo began to climb the railing of the roof terrace.

“Theo, you’re gonna kill yourself, you bloody idiot!”

“I’ll be fine; it’s a tiny gap,” Theo said. He stood on the ledge and jumped, landing deftly on the roof of number 12. He vaulted the railing and hugged Draco tightly.

“That was stupid,” Draco muttered.

“I know, but I’m an idiot, and you’re an idiot,” Theo shrugged, “We’re the co-presidents of Club Idiot.”

Draco laughed and pulled back from the hug, “Are we back together?”

“Get me a drink and tell me that you’re the sidekick again and the wedding will still be on,” Theo joked.

Draco laughed and put an arm around his friend, “Deal.”

* * *

When Hermione walked into Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Draco wished that Theo was still there because he expected a fight. He had said some awful things to Hermione, and he figured that she would still be angry.

Draco jumped in alarm and yelled when she stepped silently into the kitchen.

“Twitchy little ferret, aren’t you Malfoy?” Hermione asked calmly.

“Sweet Salazar Hermione,” Draco said, he clutched his chest, “Don’t do that to me!”

Hermione fixed him with a serious look, “I think we need to talk.”

“I think we do too,” Draco agreed.

He frowned at the box that was levitating behind her. She placed it on the table and opened it to reveal a pensieve.

Draco frowned, “Uh…what?”

“I need to show you some memories from the war,” Hermione said by way of explanation, “I think it might be the only way to make you understand what I went through.”

Draco nodded slowly, “I think I need to show you some of my memories to make _you_ understand what _I_ went through but I am worried about it.”

Hermione sighed, “So am I. You aren’t going to like everything you see, and some things…some things might scare you off.”

“I feel the same about showing you my memories,” Draco assured her, “I’m afraid you’ll just nd up seeing me the way that I see myself.”

“Better to do it now than after we’re married then I suppose,” Hermione said with a sigh as she reached out to take his hand.

He grasped her hand tightly and together; they dove into the pensieve.

_They were in the Ministry, in the Department of Mysteries. A battle was raging between Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna, and the Death Eaters. Draco’s own father was amongst the men fighting the school children._

_Hermione raised her wand and yelled, “Stupefy!”_

_The spell sped straight for Alfred Nott who had a tight grip on Harry. He loosened his grip and fell back into a shelf. A whole shelf of prophecies wobbled precariously then topped down on top of him._

_Hermione grabbed Harry’s hand, and they ran together._

_As the battle continued, Hermione carried on fighting, and she managed to stun another Death Eater. Then she silenced Dolohov before he could bring the rest of the Death Eaters to the battle._

_When Dolohov sent a curse at her, she let out a small gasp of, “Oh!” then collapsed to the ground while the battle raged on._

* * *

_“How are you doing?” Harry asked as he perched on the edge of her bed in the hospital wing._

_“Sore,” Hermione admitted._

_“What did he do to you?” Harry asked. His brow knitting into a frown._

_“That curse that he used was home-made,” Hermione said quietly, “Madam Pomfrey thinks it’s some sort of combination of a fire spell and a cutting curse.”_

_Harry’s frown deepened._

_“It causes internal injuries,” Hermione explained, “I need to take ten potions a day, and I will be in for a while.”_

_“But you’re going to be okay?” Harry asked, “Everything inside is going to heal?”_

_Hermione nodded and winced, “My ribs hurt, and one of my lungs was punctured. Madam Pomfrey said it was a good thing that it hadn’t struck my stomach.”_

_“Why?” Harry asked curiously._

_“Because if it had, it would be very unlikely that I would ever have children in the future.”_

_Harry shook his head, “If I come face to face with him again, I’ll kill him.”_

_“No,” Hermione said, taking his hand, “You won’t, because you’re better than him. You are better than all of them, Harry.”_

* * *

_The Battle of the Lightning Struck Tower raged all around. Death Eaters were duelling members of the DA and the Order in the corridors leading away from the staircase to the Astronomy Tower._

_In the midst of it, Hermione duelled Alecto Carrow while Ginny duelled her brother Amycus. Killing curses flew past their heads, and jinxes bounced off of walls and portraits._

_Hermione lost her focus when a feral growl sounded, followed by a yell of pain._

_“Bill!” Ginny cried._

_As Ginny drew back, both of the Carrows advanced on Hermione and backed her into a wall. She defended well, but she had no choice but to try and dodge the darker curses that they were sending her way._

_“Hermione!”_

_The call had come from Neville who pushed her to the side and stunned Alecto Carrow. Hermione jumped back into the duel, but the two of them were no match for Amycus. They shielded as best as they could, but Amycus used an unshieldable cutting curse and sliced Neville’s leg. Hermione moved in front of her friend as he fell to the ground in pain._

_While he was momentarily feeling smug, Hermione managed to stun him. Then she fell to her knees next to Neville._

_“It’s okay, Neville,” She said as her hands shook, “I can heal it.”_

* * *

_“So what should we do with the filthy mudblood?” Bellatrix asked._

_“She has outlived her usefulness,” Lucius answered._

_Bellatrix cocked her head at Greyback, “Are you hungry?”_

_The werewolf grinned._

_“Greyback is rather fond of those with dirty blood,” Lucius Malfoy said distastefully, “Personally I wouldn’t touch her with a barge pole. Would you Draco?”_

_Draco swallowed and caught Hermione’s eye. She silently pleaded for help._

_“Draco?”_

_“No, Father,” Draco said quietly._

_“Go ahead Bellatrix,” Lucius said._

_Bellatrix’s eyes flashed wickedly, “Perhaps Greyback can help loosen your tongue, amongst other things.”_

_Greyback licked his lips and stepped forward, and Draco couldn’t take it anymore._

_“No!” He shouted as he ran forward, “She’s a mudblood, but she doesn’t deserve that!”_

_“Enough, Draco!” Lucius snapped. With a click of his fingers, Draco’s feet were frozen to the floor, “Hold your tongue, you foolish boy!” he hissed, and with another click of his fingers, Draco was silenced._

_“The boy has a point Lucius,” Rodolphus said calmly, “Perhaps we should try other methods to extract information before we resort to that option.”_

_Bellatrix rolled her eyes, “Boring!”_

_Rodolphus shrugged her comment off, “Make her a work of art, my darling, and make it hurt.”_

_Bellatrix grinned wickedly and began to carve the word “Mudblood” into Hermione’s arm._

* * *

_Hermione was curled up in a bed with bloodshot eyes as two voices spoke to her through a pastel blue door._

_“Hermione, are you okay?” Harry’s voice called._

_“She hasn’t moved in 2 days,” Ron’s voice whispered anxiously._

_“She was tortured, you idiot. Do you really think she’s going to be fine after that?” Harry asked Ron irritably._

_Hermione screwed her eyes shut tightly, “Just leave me alone!”_

_“We can’t leave you alone, we’re worried about you,” Harry said softly._

_“I’m fine,” Hermione lied as tears streamed down her cheeks._

_“Hermione, you need to tell us what happened when you were alone up there.”_

_“No, I don’t,” Hermione said firmly, “I’m fine. Just leave me alone.”_

_“I don’t know what more we can say to her,” Ron whispered, “Maybe you should go in.”_

_Harry sighed, “I doubt she’ll tell me anything.”_

_There was a moment of silence, and Draco half-expected the memory to shift. Then Harry walked into the room and knelt in front of Hermione’s bed._

_“Hermione, please. Please tell me what happened to you back there because I’m terrified. The more you don’t talk to us, the more scared I am of what they did to you.”_

_Hermione swallowed and sat up in bed. Silently, she lifted her sleeve and showed him the cut on her arm._

_“It was a cursed blade,” Hermione said, her voice lower than a whisper, “It will scar.”_

_The word, ‘Mudblood’ was still so red, so angry._

_“She tortured me,” Hermione whispered, “Bellatrix. She used the cruciatus curse on me.”_

_Harry looked up into her eyes._

_“Hermione,” Harry said, his voice choked in his throat, “It’s going to be okay.”_

_“No,” Hermione said. Her voice was a little louder, but it still sounded broken, “It’s not.”_

_He sat down on the edge of her bed and looked at her. Tears pricked at her eyes, but she didn’t move to wipe them away, “I can feel myself changing Harry,” she said quietly, “Every choice I have to make, every bad choice, every mistake it changes me.”_

_“I’m sorry,” Harry said, averting his gaze, “For being one of those bad choices.”_

_Hermione swallowed and looked at the window._

_“I feel like I’m killing part of myself,” Hermione said. She sat with her back against the headboard, her knees drawn tightly underneath her, “Like I’m ignoring my heart until it becomes blind and deaf. I can feel myself growing harder every day.”_

_“Then don’t,” Harry said, “Don’t.”_

_Hermione caught his eye._

_“Don’t grow harder,” Harry said, “You’ve never been alone, and you never will be. Ron and I will always be here so talk to us, lean on us. Let us help you. Don’t lock yourself away and grow harder, please.”_

* * *

_The final battle was raging all around. Hermione, Ginny and Luna were all duelling Bellatrix Lestrange, and it was clear that they were struggling._

_Bellatrix cackled and grinned wickedly as she threw lethal curses at the three girls. Hermione had such hatred in her eyes as she cast curses that Draco would never have imagined she would have deemed morally okay to use at the woman who had tortured her._

_There was no doubt about it, Hermione would have killed Bellatrix giving half a chance. They watched the scene until one of Bellatrix’s killing curses narrowly avoided Ginny, and Molly stepped in to kill the dark witch._

When they came out of the pensieve, Draco took one look at Hermione and decided that she wasn’t up for talking just yet. He silently extracted some memories from his own head and placed them in the pensieve.

Hermione wiped her tears away and dropped his hand.

“No,” Draco said quietly, “You showed me yours, so I’ll show you mine.”

He took her clammy hand and dragged them into his world.

_“He’s back Narcissa. He’s back!”_

_“I know Lucius!”_

_“Then you know what this means.”_

_“It means he will come for our son,” Narcissa hissed._

_Draco sat atop the stairs, listening to his parents talking. He was 15, just home from his fourth year._

_“Draco will be proud the day he takes the mark, just like I was,” Lucius said._

_“What if Draco doesn’t want that? He’s a good boy Lucius, a smart boy!”_

_“A wonderful asset for the dark lord, as soon as he is of age of course.”_

_Draco sat with his head in his hands._

_“No Lucius, you cannot take my son!” Narcissa said dangerously, “I will let you hurt me, and I will let you control me but not him, **never** him.”_

_There was a sigh, “Narcissa, I don’t want to have to resort to this again. I do not take pleasure in placing you under the imperius curse but if you will not do my bidding as a good wife should-”_

_“I will never let you hand our son over to that monster,” Narcissa spat, “Never Lucius!”_

_Draco shook his head as tears burned in his eyes. He knew what was coming, but he still jumped when he heard the words, spoken harshly._

_“Imperio!”_

_Then there was just silence, a deadly, long silence. Draco held his breath for fear of being discovered, but it was too late._

_“Draco! How dare you listen in on our conversation?” Lucius hissed._

_“S…sorry Father,” Draco stuttered as he got to his feet._

_“How much did you hear?” Lucius asked. He cocked his head at his son._

_“Enough,” Draco replied, keeping his eyes cast downwards._

_“Enough to know that you will join the Dark Lord and serve him as I have?” Lucius asked._

_Draco nodded._

_“Does that fill you with pride, Draco?”_

_“Yes, Father,” Draco replied quietly, “May I go to bed now?”_

_Lucius gave a brisk nod, “The next time I catch you eavesdropping, you will not get off so lightly.”_

_“Yes, Father. Sorry, Father.”_

* * *

_Draco screamed in pain then fell to a heap, panting and gasping for breath._

_“Now Draco,” Lucius said calmly as he stood in his Death Eater robes, “What were you told about coming downstairs during my meetings?”_

_“I’m sorry, Father,” Draco gasped, “I didn’t know you had a meeting.”_

_“Let the boy stay Lucius,” Voldemort said quietly._

_“I’m sorry, my lord?”_

_“He will join us soon,” Voldemort said from beneath his cloak, “Let him watch the proceedings.”_

_“Sit Draco,” Lucius said briskly._

_Draco sat down and kept his eyes cast downwards._

_“I killed three muggle families this week,” A Death Eater said._

_Draco flinched as he continued, “Less scum in the world. You should have heard them begging; it was just like the Potters all over again.”_

_Draco shut his eyes tightly at that comment._

_“We need to keep recruiting,” Another Death Eater said, “The giants need more persuading.”_

_“We shall persuade them. Perhaps Draco could help our cause?”_

_Draco looked up a little, terrified of looking Voldemort in the eye, “Help?”_

_“My lord,” Lucius hissed, “You must address him as such.”_

_“My lord,” Draco added hastily._

_Voldemort’s eyes flashed wickedly, “A spy within Hogwarts…yes. Report back to your father, Draco. Tell him everything that Harry Potter does this year.”_

_“Y…yes my lord,” Draco said, then he cast his eyes downwards again._

* * *

_“Theo! Theo, help me, please!”_

_Theo opened the door of Nott Manor and let his best friend in, “What’s happened?”_

_“I need your help,” Draco gasped, “Please, is your father home?”_

_Theo shook his head, “No, he’s out. How did you get here?”_

_“I ran,” Draco gasped._

_“You ran? Draco, what the hell is going on?”_

_“Let me stay here, hide me please Theo,” Draco begged, “They want to give me the mark and I can’t. I can’t do it; please hide me here.”_

_Theo nodded and grabbed his arm, “Come on. You can hide in the old summer house. Nobody will know that you’re here unless your father comes looking for you, but I’m a good liar.”_

_“Thank you, Theo.”_

* * *

_“He was just here.”_

_“Who? My Father?”_

_Theo nodded and sat down, gingerly, “He wanted to know where you were.”_

_“Did he hurt you?” Draco asked._

_“No, no, Lucius Malfoy doesn’t like to get his hands dirty,” Theo said, he grimaced, “He made my father use the cruciatus curse while he interrogated me, but don’t worry. I’m used to it; you know how curse happy my father is.”_

_“I’m sorry, Theo.”_

_Theo shook his head, “I’m not going to let you become a Death Eater Draco,” he promised._

_“Do you know what they make you do when you join?” Draco asked quietly._

_“Kill someone?” Theo guessed._

_“Kill a muggle or a muggle-born,” Draco replied, “Someone with…dirty blood…someone like Granger.”_

_Theo looked up at him, “There are a lot of muggle-borns at our school, why did your mind go straight to the Gryffindor princess?”_

_“Because when my father told me I would be joining the Death Eaters one day…it was her face I saw. Every time I have a nightmare, I’m being forced to kill her while they **brand** me,” Draco said quietly._

_Theo straightened up and grimaced again, “It’s because you like her; you have for ages.”_

_“I have a girlfriend,” Draco reminded him._

_“Yeah I know,” Theo said with a wave of his hand, “You’re dating Daphne, and Pansy’s still head over heels for you. But you secretly want the Gryffindor Princess.”_

_“Or maybe I just don’t want to kill her,” Draco said quietly._

_“You won’t have to,” Theo promised him, “I’ll keep you safe until we go back to school.”_

* * *

_The door of the summer house burst open, and Lucius Malfoy stepped inside with Theo hot on his heels._

_“I didn’t tell him Draco I swear; he got Snape to use Legilimency on me!” Theo called from behind Lucius._

_“I knew that he was hiding you somewhere,” Lucius hissed, “How dare you run from who you are? You cannot escape this Draco!”_

_“No, I won’t do it, Father! I do not want to join him!”_

_“You do not have a choice, you foolish boy!” Lucius hissed, “Now come with me willingly, or I will make you come.”_

_Draco stood still and didn’t move a muscle._

_“Crucio!”_

_Theo winced as his best friends scream filled the room. Draco fell to his knees and tried to grin and bear it, but the pain was too much. Lucius twisted his wand and flicked it to move Draco’s limbs in directions that they should not have moved._

_By the time he was done, Draco was unable to resist going with him. He got up shakily and allowed his father to drag him across the grounds of Nott Manor._

* * *

_“Ah, Draco!” Voldemort said eagerly, “Come for your initiation?”_

_Draco was in the back room of Borgin and Burkes. He said nothing as he was placed in front of the dark lord._

_“Now Draco, you could look a little more excited,” Lucius hinted._

_Draco said nothing._

_Voldemort cocked his head at him, “To prove that you are serious about ridding the world of the scum that dilute our magic, you must show me that you are capable of murder.”_

_Draco winced as a girl was thrown down on the floor in front of him. Her arms and legs were tied together, she didn’t look much older than him and to make matters worse, she had brown curly hair. He swallowed and shut his eyes._

_“Kill her Draco, or I will kill your mother,” Voldemort said calmly._

_Draco’s eyes snapped up and widened when he saw that Voldemort had his wand to his mother's throat._

_“I…I…”_

_“This foolish muggle girl or your mother Draco,” Voldemort said, “A simple choice, no?”_

_Draco took a shaky breath and looked at the girl on the floor, she was crying, and she looked positively terrified._

_“But…I…I can’t.”_

_“Then your mother dies,” Voldemort said._

_“My lord, no, please,” Lucius said, he stepped forward, “Please spare my wife. She has only ever been loyal to you.”_

_“If your son does not kill the muggle girl, then he cannot join us, Lucius,” Voldemort said, “Clearly he needs a little motivation.”_

_Lucius looked at Draco and gave him a minuscule nod. Somehow, Draco understood what it meant._

_He turned back to the girl and raised his wand. He took another shaky breath and said the words, without meaning them at all, “Avada Kedavra!”_

_Behind him, Lucius, who had his wand concealed in the sleeve of his robes, flicked his wrist in the direction of the muggle girl. If Voldemort noticed where the flash of green light came from, he didn’t say anything._

_“Well done Draco,” Voldemort said with some sick sense of pride, “You are now one of us. Mark him!”_

_He was grabbed, and the arm of his shirt was ripped off. Then Bellatrix began to burn the mark into his arm and Merlin; it hurt. He gritted his teeth and tried his best not to cry out as his skin was burned. The smell made him feel sick, the taste made bile rise in his throat, but he did not scream out in pain. He wouldn’t give them that satisfaction._

* * *

_“You coward!”_

_“Father-”_

_“Crucio!”_

_Draco fell to the ground and screamed in pain._

_“Your cowardly ways nearly killed your mother tonight!” Lucius roared, “Do not think I stepped in to save your guilty conscience, I stepped in to save your mother! You are weak Draco, and you are a coward! You had better not fail this year!”_

_“I won’t fail, Father,” Draco sobbed through the worst cruciatus curse he had ever experienced, “I won’t fail.”_

_“Prove your worth Draco, or I cannot in good conscience send you back to school with this mission,” Lucius hissed._

_Draco swallowed, “What do you want me to do, Father?”_

_“Kill a muggle. I don’t care who, pick a bad one if you must, but your initiation is not complete until you kill one. Do it, or I swear to Salazar, I will hand you over to the Dark Lord myself,” Lucius said coolly._

_“I…”_

_“Do it tonight. I will know if you have.”_

_Draco didn’t see another way out, so he nodded, “Yes, Father.”_

* * *

_He had wandered the streets of London for a while, wondering how he could just pick someone then bring their life to an end._

_He had all but given up on living, after all, if this was the way his life was going to be now. What was the point? Then he heard a cry for help, and he dashed around the back of a night club that had just shut down for the night._

_A homeless man had robbed a teenage girl of her purse and ripped her dress off of her. It made anger rise in Draco, the sort of anger required to cast an effective killing curse._

_He didn’t think about it; he just raised his wand and said the words, “Avada Kedavra!”_

_There was a flash of green light, and then the man fell to the ground. The girl started screaming, so Draco obliviated her. Then he left the homeless man lying there and walked back down the street._

_His grey eyes had gotten a full two shades darker because it didn’t matter that his victim had been a terrible man; it only mattered that Draco was now a killer._

* * *

_The moment Draco stepped through the doors into Malfoy Manor, his father smiled with some sick sense of pride._

_“You did it.”_

_Draco simply nodded._

_“You are capable of more than I thought. Perhaps you can do as the Dark Lord asked.”_

_“I will not fail,” Draco repeated, the words had been bouncing around his head all night._

_“You will kill Albus Dumbledore.”_

_A dangerous darkness passed across Draco’s face._

_“I will kill Albus Dumbledore.”_

* * *

_“You’re a Death Eater.”_

_“Daph, hear me out please,” Draco begged, “I didn’t want it-”_

_“So they just forced you to kill a muggle and take the mark then, did they?” Daphne asked coolly, “This whole year you’ve acted so weirdly and I thought it was me, but this is why you didn’t want to have sex with me, isn’t it? You didn’t want me to see the mark and find out, and you hid it from me, all fucking year!”_

_“Daphne-”_

_“No Draco, this is over!” Daphne snapped, “Even though you were my boyfriend for a little while, you were my friend long before that, and you shouldn’t have kept this from me, you fucking bastard! Just run back to your Dark Lord and serve him like the little bitch that you are!”_

* * *

_“She was out of line to say that to you.”_

_“To say what?”_

_“Everything,” Pansy said, she sat down next to Draco in the empty Slytherin common room, “Where’s Theo?”_

_“Off somewhere with Sadie,” Draco replied quietly._

_“You’re not a Death Eater Draco.”_

_“The giant fucking snake on my arm would suggest otherwise Pans.”_

_Pansy shook her head, “Maybe they forced the mark on you but you aren’t a Death Eater. The Draco Malfoy I know would never kill someone.”_

_“Then I’m not the Draco Malfoy you knew. My father killed the muggle at my initiation. Then he made it look like it was me,” Draco said quietly, “But he made me kill a muggle to prove that I wasn’t weak. I picked a bad one, a homeless man about to rape a girl but I still killed him, Pansy…I tried to explain this to Daphne but-”_

_“She flew off the handle because she’s Daphne. You know what she’s like Draco,” Pansy said softly._

_Draco looked up at her, “I’m terrified to go home, Pansy. My father is making me come home for Christmas and…I’m terrified of what he’s going to do to me or what the Dark Lord will make me do.”_

_“Don’t go home then. Stay here with me,” Pansy said, she reached across the sofa and took his hand._

_“I can’t,” Draco said, “They will come looking for me.”_

_“Give them a good excuse then Draco,” Pansy said, “What are they making you do? I know something is going on, you’ve been so distant lately.”_

_“They want me to kill Dumbledore,” Draco whispered, “And to do that, I’ve been working on a vanishing cabinet that will allow Death Eaters to travel from Borgin and Burkes to Hogwarts.”_

_“Then tell them you need to stay here over Christmas and work on the vanishing cabinet while the school is quiet,” Pansy whispered back._

_“Why are you helping me?” Draco asked as he looked her in the eye, “What I’m doing is horrible. Daphne dropped me like a hot coal the minute she caught wind of it, and she doesn’t even know the whole story.”_

_“I’m not Daphne,” Pansy said simply, “She’s one of my best friends, but that doesn’t mean that I agree with all of her decisions. I’m more interested in keeping you alive than I am in saving that old twisted wizard.”_

_Draco’s frown deepened._

_“Daphne is going home for the holidays, she might calm down a little while she’s away,” Pansy said, “But she can’t live with what you are. She’s too black and white for a Slytherin. I’m like you Draco; I see things in shades of grey. I focus on what needs to be done, and I prioritise, right now, my priority is keeping you alive.”_

_Draco gave a nod, “I’ll contact my Father.”_

* * *

_“He’s letting me stay! Salazar Pans, I could kiss you!” Draco said, he had grabbed her on her way to class and pulled her into a broom closet._

_Pansy smiled, “See? That wasn’t so hard.”_

_“I will need to do some work on the cabinet, so he doesn’t work out that I’m lying,” Draco admitted, “I’m fairly sure he has Severus spying on me.”_

_“But you’re safe from his, and Voldemort’s, grasp for now,” Pansy said._

_“I am,” Draco agreed, “And that’s all thanks to you. Thank you.”_

_“Anytime.”_

* * *

_“Draco!”_

_Draco jumped when she grabbed him. But when he realised who it was, he stopped reaching for his wand._

_“Pansy, you scared me.”_

_“I didn’t know if you would come back, I was scared,” Pansy said, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into the empty compartment on the train._

_“I didn’t have a choice,” Draco said bitterly, “What with them making it illegal not to come to school and all.”_

_“What did they do to you over the summer?” Pansy asked as she reached up and traced a deep cut on his face._

_“Nothing good,” Draco said as he averted his gaze, “And now they are here…I’m scared about what they will do to the people that I love…people like you.”_

_Their eyes met, and in a flash of emotion, they kissed._

_A scoff from the doorway made them break apart._

_“Wow, that didn’t take long,” Daphne said as she glared at them, “But you are welcome to him Pansy. Personally, murdering Death Eaters don’t do it for me.”_

_She stalked off, with Sadie and Tracey hot on her heels._

_Theo slipped into the carriage, “She’ll cool down, Draco, just give her time.”_

* * *

_“Pansy!”_

_She lay in a heap on the floor of the dungeons, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily._

_“What did you do to her?” Draco hissed at Amycus Carrow._

_“Nothing that I haven’t already done to you,” Amycus said dangerously, “I do not like it when pupils talk back to me Draco. You ought to know how that ends.”_

_“Do whatever the hell you want to me, but do not dare touch her,” Draco hissed._

_“Whatever I want?” Amycus asked with a raised eyebrow, “Hmm…crucio!”_

_“Draco,” Pansy groaned as she reached out, but she couldn’t reach her wand._

_“Just go,” Draco said through gritted teeth._

_“I can’t leave you here.”_

_“Go, Pansy,” Draco groaned, “I’ll be fine. Go!”_

_Pansy got to her feet and scrambled out of the dungeon while Amycus laughed uncontrollably and tortured Draco._

* * *

_“I need your help.”_

_Daphne looked stonily at him._

_“Daphne, I know I hurt you, Salazar knows I fucked up,” Draco said, “But Pansy is in the Dark Tower, and I can’t get her out alone.”_

_Daphne didn’t say anything._

_“I know I hurt you Daphne but…I love Pansy,” Draco admitted, “And you were my friend once. I want to get that back if I can.”_

_Daphne sighed, “Fine.”_

_Draco pushed himself to his feet, he breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her, “Thank you.”_

_“I’m not doing it for you,” Daphne said as she shoved him off, “I’m doing it for Pansy.”_

_“That’s good enough for me,” Draco said honestly._

* * *

_“Pansy, pansy wake up!”_

_Pansy opened her eyes groggily as Draco carried her out of the dark tower, “Draco?”_

_“Sorry it took so long to get you out,” Draco said while flashes of light bounced around the walls behind him, “I needed to get the cavalry on board.”_

_Pansy didn’t say anything; she was still groggy. They got to their secret bathroom hideout, and all took a moment to catch their breath._

_“Daphne?”_

_“I’m sorry for being such a bitch Pansy,” Daphne said, she sat down next to her friend, “There’s a war going on in this school, and if we want to survive it, we all need to be in it together.”_

_Pansy smiled, “Thanks for getting me out.”_

_“We all did,” Tracey said as she and Sadie stepped forward._

_Theo nodded, “We weren’t going to leave you up there Pans.”_

_Draco leant down and kissed her, “You’re going to be okay baby, just get some sleep.”_

* * *

_“Do you think we’re stupid?”_

_Draco rolled over in his bed to look at Pansy, “Why would I think we’re stupid?”_

_“For trying to help the light,” Pansy whispered, “Should we have just kept our heads down to stay alive?”_

_“What’s the point of staying alive if you have to live with a guilty conscience?” Draco asked._

_Pansy ran her hand gently along the dark mark on his arm and Draco flinched._

_“What does he want of you now?”_

_“Not much yet,” Draco sighed, “But I live in fear that he will call me in for a favour.”_

_Pansy closed the gap and kissed him, “I won’t let that happen.”_

_“You don’t have power over the Dark Lord Pans,” Draco said gently, “Just over me.”_

_“I think you underestimate how much I love you Draco Malfoy,” Pansy said softly._

_Draco smiled into her kiss, “I love you Pans, so bloody much.”_

* * *

_“Draco.”_

_Draco frowned, “Why have you been crying? What’s wrong?”_

_“It’s…I found something out today,” Pansy said, she swallowed hard._

_Draco stepped forward and grabbed her hands, “What is it? Did someone die? Is it news from home?”_

_“No,” Pansy said quietly, “Nothing like that. It’s just that I…I’m…I’m pregnant Draco.”_

_Draco’s eyes widened, “Pregnant?”_

_Pansy nodded, searching his face for a sign of fear or something in that vein, “I thought I had a stomach bug, but then the sickness never went away, and I was running late so…I had Daph do a test.”_

_“Daphne knows?”_

_Pansy nodded, "And Tracey, she told me how far along I was. From the dates, it must have been the night after you got back from the Manor."_

_"I...oh no...Pansy, it's my fault. I was in a state, I forgot to cast the charm," Draco whispered._

_"I forgot too," Pansy reminded him._

_Draco laughed weakly, "Sweet Salazar, Theo will get a right laugh out of this one. He sleeps with half of our year group and doesn't get anyone pregnant then this happens to you and me."_

_"Theo knows," Pansy said weakly, "He overheard our conversation earlier."_

_Draco nodded numbly, "Of course he did."_

_“How do you feel about the whole thing?” Pansy asked nervously._

_“Shocked,” Draco said honestly, “I mean I’m happy about it but…we’re in the middle of a war, and that scares me.”_

_“I know, it scares me too,” Pansy admitted._

_“You can’t leave this bathroom anymore," Draco said._

_“Draco-”_

_“Pansy, you can’t,” Draco said firmly, “The thought of losing you is bad enough, but the thought of losing this baby right after you’ve told me about it…I just can’t bear it.”_

_Pansy sighed, “So you want me to sit on my laurels and do nothing for the rest of the war?”_

_“Yes,” Draco said firmly, “Think of what a cruciatus curse could do to an unborn baby. Please, just take a step back, for me.”_

_Pansy watched him for a minute, then nodded, “Okay,” she said reluctantly._

* * *

_“Did you hear that?”_

_Draco nodded, “Was that…”_

_“The babies heartbeat yeah,” Pansy said with a smile._

_“I like that sound,” Draco mused as they lay together._

_“Me too.”_

_Draco sighed and looked up at the top of the four-poster, “I’m scared, Pansy. Something is building…I can feel it, the meetings are being called more regularly, and I can tell how angry the Dark Lord is. I think Potter is close…”_

_“That’s a good thing,” Pansy said, “That means that it will all be over soon.”_

_Draco frowned, he wasn’t so sure of that, “He seems to think that Potter will come to Hogwarts and if he’s right, then there is going to be a battle here. People are going to die.”_

_Pansy looked him in the eye, “What are you getting at here, Draco?”_

_“If it comes to that, get out of here,” Draco said, he looked at her desperately, “Go to that room of Longbottoms and get out.”_

_“Run away, you mean.”_

_“Yes,” Draco said, “Run away, far away, and if I survive it, I’ll come and find you.”_

_Pansy frowned, “And if you don’t?”_

_“Call the baby Draco?” He joked._

_Pansy smiled slightly, “What if it’s a girl?”_

_“Draco is a unisex name,” He argued._

_Pansy hit him, “You’re an idiot.”_

_“I know,” Draco said, he kissed her, “But you love me.”_

_“I do, and I will run, I promise,” Pansy said, “I love this baby as much as you do. I don’t want anything bad to happen to it.”_

* * *

_Draco shot Pansy a look across the hall when push came to shove. Voldemort’s voice echoed around the room, and Harry Potter stood amongst them._

_“Run,” Draco mouthed._

_Pansy nodded._

_They couldn’t talk, not with everyone around, but he understood that to mean that she would go. He was dragged off after Potter, but he saw Pansy leave the hall and head in the right direction._

* * *

_When he saw her, standing in the middle of a duel, his heart leapt into his throat._

_“Pansy, no!” Draco called as he jumped into the duel and pushed her aside, “Run for heaven's sake! I told you to run!”_

_“I tried, but the route was blocked with Death Eaters,” Pansy said breathily._

_“Get out of here,” Draco said desperately, “However you can, please. Get out or hide Pansy.”_

_She took a step back but didn’t make a move to leave. Draco dodged a curse and threw up a shield charm big enough to cover them both. He turned back to the Death Eater he was duelling, “Pansy, please go. I can’t lose you; I can’t lose our baby, I’ve lost too much already.”_

_When he heard nothing, he assumed that she had heeded his advice and left. But when he chanced a glance over his shoulder, he saw her lying there in a heap with Dawlish standing above her._

_“Pansy! Pansy!”_

* * *

_Draco cried harder than he had ever cried in his life when he sat in front of her grave._

_“We had it all planned out baby,” Draco said through his tears, “Survive this goddamn war and get married. Raise our baby together…you weren’t supposed to die Pans and not hours before the end either.”_

_He let his head drop into his hands as he repeated the same words over and over again, “You weren’t supposed to die.”_

When Draco pulled them out of his memories, they both had tear-struck faces, and at first, they couldn’t look each other in the eye.

“I’m sorry for suggesting I had it harder than you,” Hermione whispered.

“I’m sorry for not seeing how hard it was for you,” Draco said, just as quietly.

They fell into silence again, it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable either.

“I never really understood how painful it must have been for you to lose Pansy and your baby, all at the same time,” Hermione said as she raised her gaze to meet his, “And you were right. I was tortured for a day, and you were tortured for years.”

Draco sighed, “I’m sorry that I didn’t realise how much of a mark the war left on you or how much Harry meant to you.”

Hermione swallowed, “You had Pansy before me, and I had Harry before you. I think we need to come to peace with that.”

Draco nodded and reached out to take her hand, “I can come to peace with it if you can.”

Hermione nodded tearfully and threw herself into his arms, “I’m sorry for acting like such a spoiled, selfish princess.”

Draco held her tightly and breathed in her familiar scent while he did so.

“I didn’t realise until I saw it back like that,” Hermione said through her tears. She drew back with red eyes and looked him directly in the eye, “I blocked out a lot of what happened at Malfoy Manor but if you hadn’t stepped in when you did Draco…Greyback would have…” she trailed off.

Draco shook his head, “Come here, love.”

She fell into his embrace.

“He didn’t, I would never have let him hurt you like that,” Draco said firmly.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t realise it sooner,” Hermione said tearfully, “But you saved me from a much worse fate than having muggle-born carved into my arm.”

Draco held her tightly and shut his eyes.

“And despite everything I just showed you Hermione…all that I went through…you healed me after it all,” Draco said softly, “I didn’t think I could love again, not after Pansy. The thought of having kids was so painful, but then there was you. Even though I didn’t want to love again, I fell in love with you fast and hard. You made me want all of those things again, and I didn’t think that was possible.”

Hermione squeezed him tightly, “And you healed me after the war when everyone else had tried, and nobody else had managed.”

“So I guess we’re just meant for each other then,” Draco said as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

“I guess we are,” Hermione whispered as a small smile graced her lips.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	64. The Godfather

“How are things with you and Draco?”

“Good,” Hermione replied with a smile, “Is that why you brought me lunch?”

“We haven’t spoken in like a week and a half,” Harry said, he put the brown bag down in front of her, “And although Draco told me things were okay, he didn’t tell me much more than that.”

“So are you concerned or nosy?”

“A bit of both,” Harry admitted, “Fancy a walk?”

“Sure,” Hermione said, she got to her feet and grabbed her coat. They slipped out of the Ministry together and restarted their conversation.

“Things are fine with Draco and I. It took a pensieve to show us how the other one had lived, but we got there,” Hermione said honestly, “It just took some unpleasant truths.”

Harry frowned, “What did you have to show him?”

“He had to see for himself how things had been during the war for us,” Hermione admitted.

“What like between _us_?”

“No, not like that,” Hermione scoffed, “Just all the terrible things that happened during the war.”

Harry blew out a sigh of relief, “Thank Merlin for that.”

Hermione shot him an amused look, “And I had to see how things had gone down between him and Pansy which…well that shed light on a lot, to be honest.”

Harry nodded, “I know about the baby too, and honestly…I don’t know how I would have coped with that.”

“No…it broke his heart,” Hermione said with a weary sigh.

“But you put it back together,” Harry reminded her, “Did it help though, seeing things from each other's perspective?”

“Yes,” Hermione admitted, “It did.”

Harry smiled slightly, “So, you’re good?”

“We’re good,” Hermione agreed.

“Good,” Harry said, “Draco came to me for advice after you two fought and I was worried that I had said the wrong thing, but I’m glad that I didn’t.”

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, “Harry. Since you’re here, can I run something by you?”

“Of course,” Harry said, he handed her a muffin out of the bag.

Hermione took a bite, “I just caught wind of something in the Auror department before you dropped in for lunch. A girl came in to give a statement to the Aurors, she was slipped a potion on a date, and then when she woke up the next morning she discovered that she’d had sex, but she didn’t remember any of it….you get the gist right?”

Harry nodded, “That’s disgusting. Are they looking for the guy?”

“That’s the thing, they are, but Rachel says that they can’t charge him even if they find him because there is nothing to say it’s illegal,” Hermione said.

“What?” Harry snapped, “That’s fucking disgusting!”

Hermione sighed, “I thought the same thing, but I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it.”

“There might be something that I can do about it,” Harry said, “Just keep an eye on the progress of the case and keep me in the loop, okay?”

Hermione nodded, “I will, thanks, Harry.”

“We’ll fix this fucked up DMLE,” Harry promised her, “One case at a time.”

“It will be easier when you all receive your invitations to join the Wizengamot,” Hermione agreed.

“I know,” Harry sighed, “But Draco said that might be as late as the end of the year.”

“Well, when it happens, change is going to come,” Hermione said confidently.

“Yes,” Harry agreed, “Yes, it is.”

* * *

There was a knock at the door of Potter Manor on Halloween evening. Daphne and Teddy had just gotten Teddy dressed up as a pumpkin, and they were about to take him into Godric’s Hollow trick or treating.

Harry had been unsure of the idea at first, he remembered how he had seen the kids playing and trick or treating when he watched Snape’s memory of his parents death. But Daphne had talked him around with talks of fresh starts and all, and he knew that she was right. He couldn’t avoid Halloween forever, not now that they had a child who got very excited about the holiday.

Harry answered the door and was surprised to see Ron on his doorstep. They hadn’t spoken in a good few weeks.

“Happy Halloween mate! We’re about to take Teddy trick or treating, do you want to come?”

Ron smiled at Harry, “Hey mate, I’d love to but I can’t sorry. I just came by to tell you the news. Ginny went into labour this afternoon.”

Harry frowned, “Did she? I thought she wasn’t due for a couple of weeks yet.”

“Her due date was the 7th of October, so it’s about a week early, but the baby is okay,” Ron said, “She’s a good weight and all, they named her Hope. Ginny wanted me to let you know.”

“Wow, they had her today?” Daphne asked, “What a birthday, Halloween.”

Ron chuckled, “I said that. Ginny hit me when I said that she would always get a good meal on her birthday when she went to Hogwarts.”

Harry snorted, “It’s quite funny, though.”

Ron grinned, “Yeah, I thought so too. Katie’s fuming mind you, she was due on the 24th, and the baby still isn’t shifting. She’s going to have to go into St Mungos to get induced if it's not made an appearance by the 6th of November.”

“Poor Katie,” Daphne chuckled, “Is Ginny up for visitors then?”

“Yeah, she’s keeping well. The birth was pretty smooth sailing, according to Blaise,” Ron said, “It was quick too. I think she’s allowed visitors up until 9 pm tonight.”

“Alright, we’ll take Ted trick or treating and head straight over. Thanks for letting us know Ron.”

* * *

“Oh,” Daphne said quietly when they walked into Ginny’s hospital room, “She is so tiny and beautiful.”

Ginny smiled at her, “She really is.”

“You look exhausted, Gin,” Daphne said, “Do you want me to hold her for a bit?”

Ginny nodded and handed the baby to Daphne.

“Ron said you named her Hope?” Harry asked as he looked at the baby girl.

She had Blaise’s dark skin tone and thick curly hair, and right now, she was waking up. Daphne chuckled at the little girl as she stretched and yawned.

“Yeah,” Ginny said, “Hope Zara Zabini. We thought it was fitting because she’s our hope for a better future.”

“It’s a lovely name,” Daphne said softly, “And a beautiful sentiment.”

“Look, Teddy, it’s a baby,” Harry said in a whisper.

Teddy made a face.

Harry chuckled, “Do you want a baby, Teddy?”

“No!” Teddy said firmly.

“Well that’s that,” Harry laughed.

Daphne smiled, “She’s so tiny, isn’t she?”

Teddy made a face again.

Ginny laughed, “I guess you two aren’t having another any time soon.”

“We aren’t,” Daphne laughed, “It wouldn’t be fair to Ted, we need to make sure he’s well and truly settled first. But seeing this little one makes me feel so broody.”

“Which is dangerous,” Harry said, he shot Ginny an amused look.

Ginny smiled, “Would you be her Godfather, Harry?”

Harry looked up in surprise, “I would be honoured, if that’s what you want.”

“Blaise and I couldn’t agree, naturally,” Ginny joked, “So we agreed to pick one Godparent each. I picked you, and Blaise picked-”

“Me.”

Harry spun around and grinned at the girl who had just walked into the room.

“Blanche, hey.”

Blanche smiled back, “I got you the extra strong coffee you asked for Gin.”

Ginny took it, gratefully, “Thanks, Blanche.”

Daphne watched the exchange with interest, “So where is this little ones Daddy then?”

“At home, sleeping off the birth,” Blanche joked, she shot Ginny a grin, “He’s traumatised for life, isn’t he?”

“I think so,” Ginny chuckled.

“Ron said it was quick?” Harry questioned.

“Oh, it was quick alright. She was sitting in the drawing-room this afternoon with a bit of a sore stomach, and then two hours later, I got called in from the waiting room to meet my goddaughter,” Blanche said, her eyes fell on the baby in Daphne’s arms, “But she’s a good weight considering that she was a week early.”

“What weight is she?” Daphne asked.

“7 lbs 6,” Ginny yawned.

“How long are they keeping you in for?” Harry asked, sitting down on the edge of Ginny’s bed.

“A couple of days,” Ginny replied, “Then I get to go home, which for the moment is High-Top House.”

“Blaise is just putting the finishing touches on the house,” Blanche reminded her, “It won’t be long.”

Ginny smiled, “Mum tried to get us to move back into the Burrow. She was adamant I’d need all the help I could get because I wouldn’t be able to manage on my own, but I’ll be fine, and I know she’ll do more harm than good by crowding me and taking over.”

“You’ll be just fine, Ginny,” Daphne said as she handed Hope to Blanche, “You’re a strong person.”

Ginny smiled sleepily, and Blanche ran her hand along Hope’s cheeks, “She’s just so _precious_ , don’t you think?”

“I never put you down as the baby loving type, Blanche,” Harry teased.

“If you tell anyone at training, I’ll kill you,” Blanche warned him.

Harry laughed, “You’d need to beat me in a duel first.”

“Harry,” Daphne scolded, “No boasting in front of the baby.”

“Sorry,” Harry said with a sheepish grin.

Daphne shook her head and smiled at Ginny, “She’s beautiful, congratulations Ginny.”

“She’s so tiny,” Harry said as he looked at the little girl, “I can’t remember Teddy being that tiny even though I know it wasn’t that long ago.”

“You don’t realise how fast they grow,” Blanche said, “Isn’t that right Hope? And Auntie Blanche is going to be the coolest auntie around.”

A chuckle went around the room, but Harry noticed that Ginny had gone suspiciously quiet. When he looked over at her hospital bed, he realised why; she was fast asleep.

“Well I think we ought to go and leave guys to get to know baby Hope,” Harry said diplomatically.

Daphne nodded; she hugged Blanche and gave her a knowing smile, “Congratulations, to all three of you.”

Blanche raised an eyebrow at Daphne. In response, Daphne just said, “I’m a pureblood too, I notice these things and you’re not exactly hiding it sweetie.”

Blanche seemed speechless and Harry bit his lip in amusement, “Come on, let’s go home before Lilly finds out you’re calling other girls sweetie, she’ll get jealous.”

Daphne shot Harry an amused look, but took his arm anyway.

“See you tomorrow, Blanche.”

“See you tomorrow, Harry,” Blanche agreed.

* * *

“What did you mean when you said, congratulations to all three of them?”

Daphne chuckled as they left the hospital together, “It’s a show marriage, Harry.”

Harry frowned, “Because Blaise is sleeping with his sister?”

“No,” Daphne scoffed, “Because Ginny isn’t straight.”

“What? But she…she is!”

“She thought she was,” Daphne said. She smirked at Harry, “Until I snogged her in a broom cupboard during the war.”

“So you turn straight girls gay now, do you?” Harry chortled as they stepped out together. The frosty air bit at their skin and Teddy cuddled into Daphne.

“My track record would suggest that,” Daphne grinned, “I turned Ginny gay and Lilly bisexual.”

“Lilly’s not bisexual,” Harry sniggered, “She just enjoyed kissing you, that’s not unusual, is it? You’re a bloody good kisser.”

“I have been told that several times,” Daphne mused, “I’m just glad that Ginny didn’t ask me to be Hope’s godmother because that would be weird.”

“Why?” Harry asked slowly.

“Because I’ve slept with her dad and turned her mum gay,” Daphne answered.

Harry snorted.

“The point is, Ginny and Blanche are a thing. I can guarantee you when they move into that house that Blaise has built, all _three_ of them will move in,” Daphne said.

“And Blaise will be alright with that?”

“Have you met Blaise? He doesn’t give a shit about anything,” Daphne said, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

“True,” Harry laughed.

* * *

“So has everyone met Hope then?” Hermione asked conversationally as she pulled a pizza out of the oven.

“We met her the night she was born,” Harry said, “She’s lovely.”

“So tiny and cute!” Daphne agreed, “Oh watch Hermione, the garlic bread is burning.”

“Oh, shoot,” Hermione cursed, “We met her the day after. I even got Draco to smile when he was holding her.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “I’m not completely heartless.”

“She is so tiny and cute though,” Hermione agreed.

Neville smiled, “We met her the night she was born too. Gin floo-ed me not long after she had given birth. I couldn’t believe how tiny she was; I was scared to hold her in case I broke her.”

“I didn’t hold her, I was too scared,” Lilly admitted, “I like them when they are Teddy’s size, you know? They’re a bit less breakable.”

“Teddy’s still breakable,” Daphne snorted, “That the last time I let you babysit.”

Lilly just stuck her tongue out at Daphne in response.

“We were a little later in visiting,” Theo admitted, “Sadie wasn’t feeling great at the start of the week. We visited her at High-Top House, didn’t we?”

Sadie nodded, “She’s settled in there great, you know? Zara loves her, and she and Blanche are very friendly too.”

“Very friendly,” Daphne murmured in Lilly’s ear.

“Like as friendly as we were in Paris?” Lilly whispered back.

“Oh, way more friendly than that,” Daphne shot back.

Lilly snorted, “Does Blaise know you turned his wife gay?”

“Oh probably,” Daphne returned.

“What are you two whispering about?”

“Nothing,” Daphne said innocently.

“Did you hear anything we just said?” Sadie asked her friend in amusement.

“No,” Daphne admitted, “Sorry.”

Theo snorted, “We were just saying how weird it was to hold a baby.”

“Theo was shitting himself, basically,” Neville chipped in.

“He wasn’t the only one,” Sadie admitted, “To think we’re going to have two of them pretty soon. But oh my gosh, Hope is cute.”

“Isn’t she just?” Daphne agreed.

“I’m happy for Blaise,” Theo said, “I didn’t think he’d ever get married, you know? He was never really the marrying type.”

“True,” Draco mused, “I never thought he would marry a Weasley, either.”

“I don’t think any of us did,” Daphne pointed out.

“Anyway,” Lilly cut in, “Isn’t the point of tonight to eat pizza and spend time together? Since we all have to work way too much these days?”

“Until Teddy wakes up screaming in five minutes and Harry and Daphne have a fight over who has to go deal with him and eat their pizza cold,” Hermione joked.

“He always does it in this house!” Harry said.

“Probably cause it’s old and evil and shit,” Neville shrugged,

“Who knows, maybe we’ll get through a slice of pizza each this time,” Daphne said as she took a bite.

Harry took a cautionary bite too then they heard it.

“Ahhhh!”

“Ugh, it’s really your turn.”

“It really isn’t.”

“I had a hard day today; I need pizza and wine more than you!”

“You broke one curse, I won two duelling contests!”

“Harry, pleaaaaase.”

Harry rolled his eyes and got to his feet, “Fine!”

Once he had left the room, Daphne grinned, “Every time,” she chirped as she took a huge bite out of her pizza.

* * *

When the floo roared to life at ‘unsociable’ hours, it freaked Harry out. It made him jump out of bed, with his heart pounding, fearful that someone had been hurt.

As it was, when he answered the floo at 6 am in nothing, but his snitch patterned boxers, it was happy news.

Ron smiled through the fire at him, looking pretty exhausted, “Katie had the baby, last night mate. Kept us going till the last minute, she was meant to be getting induced tomorrow.”

Harry smiled broadly, “Great, Ron! Is everyone okay?”

“They are both fine,” Ron replied, “Katie did great. I’ve told the family, but I figured you might want to visit too since you are his godfather.”

“Him?” Harry asked, “You’ve got a little boy, then?”

“Yeah, he doesn’t have a name yet. We’re between two,” Ron admitted, “I want to name him Fabian, but Katie wants a more normal name, so she’s thinking Jackson.”

Harry chuckled, “Well I’m thrilled for you, I really am. Let me chuck some clothes on, and I’ll head over straight away. Daph would come too, but she needs to stay here for Ted.”

Ron shook his head, “Don’t worry. I totally get it. See you soon mate.”

The floo disconnected, and Harry smiled. Despite the circumstances, he knew that Ron would make a great Father. He threw some clothes on, kissed Daphne on the cheek and left her sleeping as he headed for St. Mungos.

* * *

Harry grinned when he slipped into Katie’s hospital room, “He’s got the trademark red hair.”

Katie laughed; she looked exhausted, “He definitely has.”

The baby had a full head of red hair, and he was currently fast asleep in his cot next to Katie’s bed.

“Two godchildren born within a week of each other,” Harry chuckled, “And I just adopted my own kid.”

“They’re like buses mate,” Ron joked quietly.

Harry chuckled at the analogy, “How are you all doing?”

“I’m sore and tired, but otherwise okay,” Katie said honestly.

“I’m going to move in with Katie for the first few weeks,” Ron informed Harry, “Just to help out with the baby and make sure that she gets some sleep.”

“That’s good of you,” Harry said proudly, “Ron was saying you couldn’t decide on a name?”

Katie nodded, “Ron wants to honour someone, but I just want him to have a normal name.”

Harry sat down on the edge of Katie’s bed, “Well, forgive me if this is an insensitive suggestion, but how about Fred?”

Ron frowned a little then looked over at Katie, “Fred is a bit too…it would be a bit too much to have another Fred so soon but how about-”

“Frederick,” Katie said at the same time as Ron.

“Fred for short, or Freddy,” Ron agreed with a smile.

“And that way his name honours someone that we both miss,” Katie agreed, she smiled too and looked down at the baby, “Frederick Bell-Weasley…kind of has a ring to it.”

Ron’s smile didn’t shift as he nodded, “Yeah, it does.”

* * *

“Hey babe, where were you this morning?”

“Naming a baby,” Harry said, grinning at his fiancé.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “You gonna elaborate on that one?”

“Katie had the baby, Ron floo-ed at an ungodly hour this morning so I left you to sleep,” Harry explained, “They couldn’t pick a name. Ron wanted to honour someone, but Katie wanted a normal name, so I suggested Fred.”

Daphne smiled, “Of course you did.”

“So my latest Godchild is called Frederick Bell-Weasley.”

“How many do you have now?” Daphne joked.

“Two since Teddy doesn’t count anymore,” Harry chuckled, “Theo and Sadie better make Hermione and Draco Godparents because I’m going to be poor at this rate.”

Daphne laughed and smacked him on the arse with her rolled up edition of the prophet, “Stop being a smart arse and get to work, or you’re going to be late.”

“Yes ma’am,” Harry grinned, he kissed her on the cheek and grabbed a slice of toast, “Bye babe, love you.”

“Love you too,” Daphne called as he rushed down the hall.

* * *

“Harry…”

“Hermione…”

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, “Why are you always out here with Dave when I come by in the evenings?”

“Because it’s my routine,” Harry said matter of factly, “Have dinner, play with Teddy, bath Teddy, put Teddy to bed. Come out here, feed Dave and chill with him for a bit then go inside and have rampant-”

“- I don’t want to hear the end of that sentence,” Hermione rolled her eyes, “Did you hear that Katie got out of the hospital today?”

“Yeah, Ron’s moved in with her to help with Freddie,” Harry replied.

“He’s cute, isn’t he?”

“Are you getting broody? “Harry asked with a grin.

“No, oh no way,” Hermione scoffed, “I’ve got my job to focus on. Draco and I won’t be having children for a while yet.”

“Unless you do a Sadie and get pregnant on your honeymoon,” Harry teased.

“Not happening,” Hermione said firmly.

Dave lifted his head and hissed.

Harry scoffed, “Dave, quit flirting with her, she can’t even understand your language, and she’s not a snake so it would never work out between you two.”

“Do I want to know what he said?” Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry shook his head, “No, you really don’t. Anyway, I’m sorry about what happened with your date rape case by the way.”

Hermione frowned and turned around, “What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you hear?” Harry asked, “They caught the guy, and he got off with a slap on the wrist after his hearing.”

“Seriously?” She asked in disbelief, “How did you hear about that?”

“I was keeping my ear to the ground, after what you said last week,” Harry admitted, “Are you going to do anything about it?”

“What can I do about it? I’m not a lawyer. I’m in my training year in the DMLE I hardly have any authority do I?”

“No,” Harry agreed, “But I know someone who is training to be a lawyer. Besides, you don’t need to be a lawyer to call for an appeal. You just have to know enough about the law to do it.”

“Who do you know whose training to be a lawyer?” Hermione asked curiously.

“My fiancé’s sister,” Harry said with a smirk, “You could hook up with Astoria and appeal it, you have 30 days from the day the crime was committed, so you’re still well within the parameters of that.”

Hermione paused for a moment, “Let me look at the legal side of it in a bit more depth tonight then I’ll get back to you okay?”

“Deal,” Harry agreed.

* * *

“Why are you reading wizarding law in your spare time?” Draco asked conversationally when he stepped into the drawing-room that night.

“Because someone raped a girl and got away scot-free,” Hermione said darkly, “And there are hardly any laws against that in this fucked up world that we live in.”

Draco frowned, “Seriously? I mean, I know my Dad got away with a lot of shit that he shouldn’t have done. But even I would have assumed that rape is illegal.”

“Well, according to the tiny section on it here in the law,” Hermione said, “It is illegal to abduct or contain someone against their will and subject them to sexual abuse. But there is nothing in here about bringing a girl into your home then drugging her and raping her.”

Draco’s frown deepened, “Does it specifically mention the use of compulsion charms or the imperius curse?”

“Nope, so no doubt people have gotten away with that too,” Hermione fumed, “It is sick Draco, bloody sick!”

“It is,” Draco agreed darkly, “Are you going to appeal it?”

“I want to,” Hermione admitted, “But I don’t see how I can. If there’s nothing in the law about it, what can I do?”

“Talk to Astoria about it and see if she thinks it’s worth appealing,” Draco said honestly, “She’s got a really good head for law and politics.”

Hermione sighed and shut the dusty old book heavily, “Alright, I’ll owl her in the morning,” she promised.

* * *

When Hermione sat down to have coffee with Astoria, she felt irrationally nervous, and she had no idea why. She remembered Astoria from school; she remembered her as timid and kind.

However, the Astoria who walked into the café was not the girl she remembered. She looked more like Daphne than she ever had before, and she was clearly channelling her sisters ‘business’ look. Astoria wore a dark suit, her hair was pulled up into a perfect bun, and she wore deep red lipstick.

It made her look incredibly intimidating until she sat down and smiled.

“Hey, Hermione. Your owl intrigued me. I’m not actually studying law anymore because Father asked me to take over the business, but if I can help you find something to use in an appeal I definitely will.”

Hermione smiled back, “Thank you, Astoria.”

Astoria ordered a coffee then said, “So give me a break down of the case.”

“Right,” Hermione began, “A girl came in to give a statement. She went on a date with a guy she had met in a bar. You know the story, they owled a couple of times then met up. Anyway, he invited her back to his place for a drink, and she went. He put a sleeping potion in her drink, she passed out, and when she woke up, she was in a state of undress. She panicked because she didn’t know what had happened, so she went to St. Mungo’s and when they examined her, they found traces of semen.”

“So he raped her,” Astoria said, she shook her head in disgust, “And the guy got off?”

“He was given a slap on the wrist, but because she willingly went to his house it wasn’t classed as rape,” Hermione explained.

“That is sick,” Astoria muttered, “But it also doesn’t surprise me. There are a lot of aspects of wizarding law that are vague.”

Hermione nodded, “I noticed that when I was researching this case. The law is so vague on the use of love potions, for example.”

“That’s definitely an area of contention,” Astoria agreed, “The problem is that there are varying degrees of love potions. The ones sold by Weasley Wizard Wheezes and made by lovesick Hogwarts students are very weak. They create a mild crush, not anywhere near powerful enough to make someone sleep with someone they don’t want to.”

Hermione followed Astoria’s words with interest.

“But the likes of Amortentia? Those should certainly not be sold freely, but they are,” Astoria continued, “And when it comes to trying to make a conviction when a love potion is involved it’s tricky because how do we know that the duped person slept with the other person unwillingly? If Draco had used a love potion on you in your eighth year and you had slept with him, we could have argued that you might have done that anyway. However, if Draco had used a love potion on Harry in eighth year and Harry had slept with him, _we_ would know that was rape, but the Wizengamot would have no way of knowing if the sex had been willing or not.”

Hermione’s frown deepened, “But surely anyone who sleeps with someone under a love potions doesn’t do it willingly?”

“They _do_ do it willingly, that’s the problem,” Astoria explained, “If we look at their memory, they are consenting to the sex but only because the love potion is making them do so. There is no evidence to suggest that they would not be willing, had a love potion not been used.”

“Right,” Hermione frowned, “But still..”

“It’s wrong, I know,” Astoria agreed, “But there is very little that we can do about it. Like with polyjuice potion, if we ban the sale of amortentia it would just give the black market more to work with because people are always going to want to buy it. Illegal brewers would find a way, and it would just further crime.”

Hermione bit her lip, she wanted to argue, but Astoria’s points were iron-clad.

“People use polyjuice potion for the same reason,” Astoria added, “If someone was to polyjuice into Draco and sleep with you, of course, it would be rape but how would we prove it? You might not even notice that it had happened, and even if you had, finding the person who had transformed into Draco would be almost impossible.”

“It’s so screwed up, Astoria,” Hermione said eventually.

“It is, but unless you can come up with an ingenious solution, it’s the way that things are right now,” Astoria said sadly.

“In this case, though, someone gave a girl a sleeping draught then slept with her,” Hermione pointed out, “Surely there’s something that we can do about that?”

“There might be,” Astoria said, “But it is a longshot. There is a clause in the Prohibition of Dangerous Substances act. It defines misuse of substances classed as safe and the definition it gives is something along the lines of, using a product to conduct illegal or illicit affairs. We could argue that the use of a sleeping potion without consent was illicit, even if it isn’t illegal.”

“And we could use the clause about consent,” Hermione added, “Isn’t there a clause in that same act about only using potions or products with someone’s consent? Unless they are in a position where they are unable to give consent, such as if they are gravely ill.”

“Exactly,” Astoria smirked, “Between those two clauses, we have a leg to stand on. But it is still a longshot, and it might gain you a few enemies in the DMLE. They might think you are trying to be too big for your boots because you’ve only been in the door for 5 minutes.”

“I don’t care,” Hermione admitted, “I don’t work there because I want people to like me. I work there because I want change.”

Astoria smiled slightly, “Then let’s do it. I’ll call for an appeal in writing later today, and once the request is granted, we will have a week to come up with evidence in our victim's favour. Then we present it at a hearing.”

Hermione nodded eagerly, “Thank you, Astoria. I really appreciate your help.”

“Anytime,” Astoria said, she picked up her cardboard coffee cup, “We’ll change the ministry, one bullshit law at a time.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	65. Be the Change You Want to See in the World

“This is completely pointless.”

“It’s never pointless,” Astoria said, she refilled Hermione’s mug without looking up from the document she was perusing, “You never know when you’re going to find something.”

Hermione sighed and looked over at the younger girl, “How can you keep going when you know it’s a losing battle?”

“Because it’s only a losing battle when you give up,” Astoria said, she refilled her own mug and looked up at Hermione, “I could have given up on having a father a long time ago. My father spent years resenting me and belittling me, but here we are 18 years later, and he’s adopting me.”

Hermione frowned slightly.

“Everyone keeps telling me to give up on the business,” Astoria added, “Greengrass Industries used to be the biggest importer and exporter of wizarding goods on the continent until the war. But now it’s a shadow of what it was. All of the resources are still there, but there isn’t enough money, there aren’t enough buyers, and it probably would be easier to give up, but I won’t.”

Hermione smiled at her, “I admire you for that, and I can see that you and Daphne are very alike in that way.”

Astoria shrugged, “If nothing else, our father taught us to be industrious, and a big part of that is never giving up.”

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, “So how are you going to save the business?”

Astoria laughed, “I don’t have it all worked out yet, but I have ideas. The trouble with the way it used to be was that it was old fashioned. We waited for people to approach us, we didn’t go out there and try to convince new companies to use us, and we didn’t poach services away from other companies, but it’s a more aggressive world now, so we have to do that. I’m hiring a team of Business Representatives to help with that. But there’s more to it than that, we need to expand our brand and import and export further afield than the continent. Canada would buy good British firewhiskey, and the Japanese think that we have the best butterbeer in the world.”

“You really do sound like you have it all figured out.”

“I have the ideas, I just need the revenue,” Astoria admitted, “And without a big donation to kickstart us, that’s going to take a while.”

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, “I might be able to help you out with that big donation.”

Astoria frowned, “What do you mean?”

“I would have to talk to him about it, but I know that Draco saved a large portion of the sale of Malfoy Manor for when he decided to buy a house himself,” Hermione explained, “As it was, he was given the Black title and home by Harry, so we used a fraction of that money to renovate the house.”

Astoria’s eyes widened, “No, Hermione, you can’t ask that of him. We barely even know each other.”

“No, but Daphne is one of my best friends, and she cares about you a lot,” Hermione said honestly, “I’ll talk to Draco tonight,” she promised.

* * *

“Draco?”

“What do you want?” Draco asked. He looked up from his book.

“How did you know that I wanted something?” Hermione asked with a frown.

“Because you made my name sound like a question,” Draco said, a smile tugged at his lips, “So what do you want?”

Hermione bit her lip.

“Don’t do that unless you want me to ravage you tonight,” Draco said as his eyes shifted to her lips.

Hermione’s cheeks flushed, “Draco!”

“Spit it out, Hermione,” Draco teased.

“You know the money from the sale of Malfoy Manor? The money you were saving for when you bought a house?” Hermione said very quickly.

Draco narrowed his eyes at her, “Yes. What do you want me to spend it on?”

“Well…what is it set aside for now?”

“Nothing,” Draco replied, “Why?”

“Well, I have a proposal for you,” Hermione said slowly, “I thought you could make a charitable donation to a company-”

“You want me to fund the upstart of Greengrass Industries,” Draco cut in.

Hermione nodded and caught his eye, “Well…I…yes, I do.”

“I saw that coming from the moment you got friendly with Astoria. Did she put you up to this? Because if she did, that might be the first Slytherin thing I’ve seen that girl do,” Draco mused.

“No, it was my idea,” Hermione said, “But it’s a good one, don’t you think?”

“I don’t owe Astoria anything,” Draco reminded Hermione.

“No,” Hermione agreed, “But you owe Daphne a hell of a lot. She’s one of your best friends, she stood by you in the war despite some of your more questionable choices, and she was there for you when Pansy had died, and Theo had abandoned you.”

“Thanks for the guilt trip,” Draco muttered under his breath.

“Don’t you think you owe it to Daphne?” Hermione asked, “Astoria is her sister, and the company is hers too.”

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, “Sweet Salazar, you’re so Slytherin sometimes Hermione. Is it wrong that it turns me on?”

Hermione smiled slightly, “Draco, I’m trying to have a serious discussion with you right now.”

Draco smiled, “I’m sorry. Anyway, I will fund the upstart of the company. I don’t have any objections to doing so. But it will not be a charitable donation, I will make terms with Astoria. If I’m throwing this much money at the business, at the very least, I ought to be a shareholder.”

“Right.”

“And this is the difference between you and me,” Draco said, an amused smile played on his lips, “You just want to throw money at people and not expect anything in return. If I’m throwing money at people, I want to gain something from it too.”

“Typical Slytherin prince,” Hermione said playfully, “Always out for your own gain.”

Draco’s eyes flashed mischievously as they met hers, “Typical Gryffindor princess. Always trying to help those in need.”

* * *

“Don’t you think it’s kinda weird?”

“What? That I’m feeding Dave mice today? We’ve been over this, he’s getting too fat with the diet of rats and-”

“Harry shut up, I’m not talking about Dave’s diet,” Daphne said, she folded the last of the washing and put it in the basket.

“But you said that just as I was telling you about Dave’s new diet,” Harry frowned.

Daphne looked over at him, “Were you? Sorry, I wasn’t listening. I was thinking about Hermione and Astoria. Don’t you think it’s weird?”

Harry’s frown deepened, “That they are working together to prevent injustice? No, not really. Why would it be weird?”

“Just because Hermione is my friend,” Daphne said, “And she’s getting all chummy with Astoria. It’s weird.”

Harry laughed, “Are you actually jealous?”

“What? No!” Daphne scoffed, “But Astoria is more Hermione’s cup of tea, you know? She likes law, she likes justice prevailing. She can spend all night researching with coffee and actually finds it fun.”

Harry cackled, “Wow, I can’t believe what’s happening here.”

“What are you talking about?” Daphne asked irritably, “What’s happening here, exactly?”

“You’re worried that Hermione is going to like Astoria more than she likes you,” Harry said.

Daphne snorted, “No, I’m not. That’s ridiculous, Hermione and I have been friends for months. She’s known Astoria for like one minute.”

Harry smirked at her.

“Stop it.”

“I’m right, admit it.”

“You are not right,” Daphne said as she grabbed her washing basket and stomped up the stairs, “Ice queens do not get jealous.”

“Oh give it up baby, the ice queen melted a long time ago,” Harry called as she made her way up the stairs.

“Fuck you, Harry.”

“Watch your language! Teddy’s up there.”

“And there’s a silencing ward on his bedroom so, fuck you, Harry!”

Harry chortled and shook his head in amusement.

* * *

“What are our chances of winning this thing?” Hermione asked. She stood in a smart suit next to Astoria outside a courtroom.

“50%,” Astoria said honestly, “It kind of depends on which judge we get and how lenient they are.”

Hermione noticed the smirk on the younger girls face, “Why are you smirking? Do you know something that I don’t?”

“No,” Astoria replied smoothly, “I was just thinking about all the judges we might get.”

Hermione shot her a confused look as they stepped into the courtroom.

On one side was the accused, a cocky guy in his mid 20’s. On the other side was the defence, a nervous-looking girl in her early 20’s. They were the defence’s lawyers, but the accused had his own lawyer too.

Beyond that, there was no jury. The decision would just be down to a judge, but that judge had not taken their place at the podium yet. A man in dark robes stood in front of the podium and said, “All rise for the Honourable Andromeda Tonks.”

Hermione’s eyes widened. She chanced a sideways glance at Astoria, and the younger girl said, “Oh, that’s convenient.”

Andromeda stood at the podium and said, “I am here today to preside over an appeal raised by the defence; Hilary Watson. The defence appeals the decision that the accused; Nigel Harris, is not guilty of one count of rape.”

She opened a document in front of her, “The decision was taken at a preliminary hearing not to prosecute Mr Harris for the crime due to a lack of evidence to support the case. Would the defence please take the stand and explain their reasoning behind the appeal?”

Astoria got to her feet and walked to the stand, “Thank you, your honour. This appeal was raised because the judge at the preliminary hearing did not take the entirety of the law into account. The case was dismissed because the defence willingly went to the accused’s home. However, there are two clauses in the Prohibition of Dangerous Substances act that put that decision into dispute…”

Astoria argued their case, and then the accused had his lawyer take the stand.

“With all due respect your honour,” He said, “The defence is clutching at straws. The defendant willingly went home with the accused and therefore would likely have engaged in sexual activities with him in due course.”

“Objection your honour!” Hermione said.

Andromeda nodded.

“The defendant did not have that choice, hence why it was rape,” Hermione said, she tried her best to contain her temper.

“Does the accused have an alternative reason for putting a sleeping draught in the defendant’s drink?” Andromeda asked calmly.

“The defendant had been complaining of a long day at work,” The accused’s lawyer said, “He wanted to help her relax.”

“Objection your honour,” Astoria said.

Andromeda nodded once more.

“Under the Prohibition of Dangerous Substances act, giving the sleeping potion to the defence without her consent is illegal,” Astoria said.

Andromeda nodded, “Indeed, Miss Greengrass. This court has come to a decision. Order!”

She hit the hammer against the gavel, and the courtroom fell silent.

“Nigel Harris. You are hereby charged with drugging a victim without due consent under the Prohibition of Dangerous Substances act. You are sentenced to one year’s incarceration in the low-security sector of Azkaban.”

“A year?” Hermione hissed under her breath.

They got to their feet, and Astoria whispered, “It’s better than nothing, still a win at the end of the day.”

Hermione glanced over at the poor girl they were defending and silently debated whether it was a win. But she knew Astoria was right, it was better than nothing.

* * *

“Did you win your appeal then?” Daphne asked when Hermione and Astoria slipped into Cygnus’s hospital room later that day.

Hermione smiled at her, “You know we did. It was you who got Andromeda to be the judge, wasn’t it?”

Daphne frowned, “No…but that is too convenient to be luck. Did you set it up, Harry?”

Harry shook his head and handed Hermione and Astoria wine in plastic cups, “Nope, that’s a very Slytherinesque thing to do. Maybe you should ask the other Slytherin in the room who knows Andromeda if it was her.”

Astoria smirked.

Draco whistled, “Astoria Greengrass, showing your true colours. I’m so proud, I have a tear in my eye.”

Astoria rolled her eyes, “Shut up, Draco.”

Cygnus smiled slightly, “I see what Daphne meant about you two being two much like siblings to ever be able to date.”

“Not to mention the fact that he’s head over heels for his favourite muggle-born,” Daphne joked as she shot Draco a grin.

Draco smiled at Hermione, “Well, there is that. Have you had the pleasure of meeting Hermione yet Cygnus?”

“I have, she was in here discussing staffing ideas for the business just the other night,” Cygnus said, “If she weren’t so invested in her job at the DMLE I would poach her and make her Head of Staff.”

Hermione laughed, “Maybe one day, Mr Greengrass.”

“Why all the celebrations, my dear?” Cygnus asked Astoria curiously, “Did you acquire a silent partner?”

“We acquired a new partner,” Astoria said, “But I very much doubt he will be a silent one.”

Draco smirked, “I donated a large amount of money to Greengrass Industries. In return, I asked for 14.5% of the annual yield.”

“14.5%?” Cygnus mused, “That’s a very specific number.”

Astoria smirked, “He asked for 20%, and when he left, he thought he had a good deal.”

“And I always thought you were too nice to be a businesswoman,” Draco said with a shake of his head.

Cygnus smirked too, “That’s my girl. I knew making you head of the business was a good idea. How did you manage to convince him to put up the money?”

“I dropped a few subtle hints to his fiancé and waited for him to come to me,” Astoria said, she shot Hermione an amused look.

Hermione’s jaw dropped, “You did that on purpose?”

“Of course she did, she’s a true Slytherin,” Draco said with a slight smile, “And I knew she was doing it the whole time.”

“So why did you put the money up?” Harry asked with a frown.

“Because Greengrass Industries wasn’t the biggest shipping company on the continent for nothing,” Draco said honestly, “They can get back on track, and when they do, the money will come rolling in.”

“Slytherins,” Hermione muttered with a shake of her head.

Harry caught her eye and chuckled, “It’s a different world, isn’t it? I’d have just left an anonymous check.”

Daphne scoffed, “You Gryffindors are too nice for your own good. That’s why you need Slytherins in your life to stop you throwing all of your possessions and money at those in need.”

“She has a point,” Harry said to Hermione.

Hermione just chuckled and glanced at her watch, “Is your mother still coming tonight, Draco?”

Draco glanced at the clock behind her, “Yes, she’s probably just running late because she was waiting on Andromeda coming home from work. She’s bringing Teddy with her.”

“Narcissa is coming?” Cygnus asked with interest, “Why is that?”

“As the mother of your new partner, I thought she might like to be here,” Draco replied, “And she jumped at the chance.”

“I bet she did,” Daphne muttered to Hermione.

Hermione frowned and whispered, “What does that mean?”

“Narcissa and my father went to school together, I think my Father had a little bit of a crush on her,” Daphne whispered back, “But there was one small issue. My father’s best friend back then was Lucius Malfoy.”

“Ah,” Hermione chuckled, “I see.”

Daphne just rolled her eyes in response, then the door opened. Narcissa stepped in with Teddy on her hip. She smiled broadly at Cygnus.

“Cygnus! You are looking well!”

Teddy scrambled to get down, “Dada! Mumma!”

Narcissa chuckled and popped him down, “On you go then poppet.”

The little boy ran for Harry and Daphne.

“It’s lovely to see you Narcissa,” Cygnus said after he looked at her for a moment longer than he should have done.

“And you,” Narcissa said, “I expect we shall see a little more of each other when you get well. After all, your Grandson is my niece's child.”

“Your niece?” Cygnus frowned.

“Andromeda’s daughter, Nymphadora, is Teddy’s biological mother,” Narcissa explained, “However she and her husband Remus were killed during the war, so care of Teddy fell to Harry who was his Godfather.”

“I see,” Cygnus said simply.

“Alright,” Daphne said loudly, “Let’s celebrate! The instatement of Astoria as CEO of Greengrass Industries!”

“Cheers!”

“The rebirth of Greengrass Industries!”

“Cheers!”

“And, our new silent partner, Draco Black.”

“Cheers!”

* * *

“Daph, Daph!”

“I’m dressing Teddy, what is it?”

Harry dashed up the stairs with a letter in hand, “Look what just arrived in the post!”

Daphne looked up with a frown, “It’s a piece of parchment?”

“It’s a letter,” Harry said excitedly, “Let me read it to you…”

_“Dear Lord Potter,_

_Please accept this letter as an invitation to take your seat on the Wizengamot and with it accept your title as Earl. Our records show that you have adequately passed your N.E.W.T’s and that you are now of age._

_The Potter family seat has been vacant for several years, as such if you do not reply within 30 days in writing to confirm that you wish to take the seat, it will be released and gifted to another wizarding family._

_We would_

_Please inform us of any changes to the family motto, crest or spelling of the surname in writing when you accept or reject your seat._

_We look forward to hearing from you._

_Gregor Fisher,_

_Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.”_

Daphne smiled slightly, “Which part of that got you excited, exactly? The fact you were referred to as Lord Potter or the fact you can take your place on the Wizengamot?”

“Both,” Harry grinned, “But it’s exciting, isn’t it? Why don’t you have a letter?”

“Because I’m not the only Greengrass in line,” Daphne replied, “The seat was vacant until I came of age, but now my father could take it, or Astoria could.”

“So what happens then?” Harry asked with a frown.

“It goes to a vote. The three of us sit in a room together and decide who is best suited to take the seat,” Daphne replied, “And honestly, I think it would be Astoria.”

“Or you,” Harry said, “But your father is of the older generation. I don’t know how easily he would fall in line with our ideas…”

“I don’t know if he would either,” Daphne admitted, “But that’s a conversation for another day. You had better reply and let them know that you wish to take your seat. I need to get this little guy fed and over to his Great Aunt Cissa before 9am.”

“Alright,” Harry said, “What does it mean about the motto and crest?”

“You need to tell them if the family motto has changed, or if you have added anything to the family crest,” Daphne answered, “You haven’t… have you?”

“I didn’t even know we had a motto,” Harry said sheepishly.

Daphne looked up in amusement, “Non Desistas. Non Exieris.”

“What?”

“It’s what's written on the family crest, you know the huge one in the stain glass window in the hall?” Daphne pointed out with a laugh, “It’s the family motto.”

“And it means?”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “You really ought to learn Latin if you want to succeed. It’s also vital for spell-creation.”

“I’ll teach myself,” Harry shrugged.

“It means ‘Never Give Up. Never Surrender’. That’s the Potter family motto,” Daphne explained.

Harry smiled, “Well, why would I change that?”

“It is rather fitting,” She agreed, frowning at the window as another owl flew in and dropped a letter addressed to Harry.

“It’s for you.”

“Can you open it?” Harry asked as he frantically buttered his toast, “I’ll throw up if I try and train on an empty stomach.”

Daphne opened the letter and scanned it with wide eyes. When she was finished reading, she dropped it on the table.

“What is it?” Harry asked through a mouthful of toast.

“They have upgraded your family title,” Daphne said, staring at her fiancé in disbelief, “Due to your families efforts and sacrifices in the war.”

“So?” Harry frowned.

“So the Potters were Viscounts then they were made Earls after the first war,” Daphne said quickly, “And now they are making you a Marquess.”

“A what? Sounds kind of French.”

“Oh, sweet Salazar, I’m going to be a Marchioness!” Daphne exclaimed excitedly.

Harry looked at her blankly.

“Harry, you idiot! It’s only the best title you can have unless you’re a direct descendant of Merlin or a bloody founder!” Daphne said when she saw his blank expression.

“Yeah, but what does it mean?”

“It means status, and respect,” Daphne answered honestly.

“And…why does that matter?”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “You’re such a half-blood sometimes,” she said as she got to her feet.

“I can usually tell if that’s an insult or a compliment, but right now I can’t,” Harry joked.

“That’s because right now, I’m not sure which it is,” Daphne chuckled. She leant up to kiss him, “You’re clueless, and I love you.”

“I know,” Harry said. He leant over and kissed her, “Love you too, and love you, little man!”

“Buh-Bye, Dada!”

“Have a good day!” Daphne called as he rushed out the door.

* * *

“Draco!”

Draco smiled slightly, “Yes, I got my letter this morning. I thought you might be excited about it, is that the first time you’ve ever been addressed as a lord?”

“It is, and do you know what? I rather like it,” Harry said smugly.

Theo snorted, “You would, how your ego fits through the front door of this place I don’t know.”

They all stepped into the training centre together.

“Did you get a letter too, Theo?” Harry asked, ignoring the Slytherins jibe.

“Indeed, I did.”

“So Neville is the odd one out then,” Draco said, “The Lord-less one.”

“I may not be a lord, but I do have a seat on the Wizengamot,” Neville’s voice said from behind them, “I won it last night actually.”

“Through conversation or violence?” Harry asked curiously.

“Violence,” Neville grinned, “I’m much better in a duel than my cousin.”

“So the four of us are on the Wizengamot,” Harry mused, “Do you think that’s going to make enough of a difference?”

“Depending on what Greengrass gets the seat, maybe,” Draco replied honestly,

“Sadie’s brother is on side too, and he sits in the Cauldwell seat,” Theo reminded them.

“And if we all got letters, Susan will have done too.”

“She might not pick up on it within the 30 days though,” Harry said, “If she’s off gallivanting with Percy.”

“Good point, I’ll send her a Patronus when I get home tonight,” Neville said.

“So what happens now then?” Harry asked.

“Well, once they have received our replies, that’s it. We will all get keyrings, and when they call the Wizengamot, they will burn to let us know that our presence is required,” Draco replied.

“Like the fake galleons you made in fifth year,” Neville said.

“Which Hermione modelled on the dark mark,” Harry admitted sheepishly.

Draco nodded, “But this is different, it won’t be burned onto my skin for a start.”

“So when does the Wizengamot sit?” Harry asked.

“Whenever they need to,” Theo replied, “Every time the Minister for Magic puts forward a new law for one. But once we have our foot in the door for a few months, we are also entitled to put forward new laws for consideration. The Minister has to sign off on them first, but then he can put them to the Wizengamot.”

“So this is the start of that change you talked about,” Draco said, “Right back at the beginning of eighth year.”

Harry nodded thoughtfully as they dumped their things in the locker room, “Are any of you guys going to change your family mottos? I only found out what mine was this morning.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Neville laughed, “I don’t think I’ll ever change ours, it sums up how I feel rather well.”

Harry looked at him, blankly, “Just assume I’m a half-blood who knows nothing, okay?”

“Why should we assume when it’s the truth?” Theo teased.

Draco and Neville laughed as Harry lunged at Theo, but the Slytherin ducked away from him.

“Humility Kills Pride,” Draco chuckled, “That’s the translation of the Longbottom motto, isn’t it?”

“Neville nodded, “Humilitas Occidit Superbiam.”

“Seriously, am I the only person who doesn’t know Latin?” Harry asked in disbelief.

The three purebloods looked at him incredulously, “Yes, how can you _not_ know Latin? Every spell you use is in Latin.”

“I just memorise them,” Harry admitted.

“No wonder he’s so bad at Transfiguration,” Draco mused.

Theo nodded, “And spell creation.”

“Fuck this, I’m going to teach myself Latin,” Harry muttered.

Now that they were all changed, they headed outside for practice. Draco said, “I’m thinking about changing the family motto, but I need to talk to my mother and Andromeda about it.”

“Is it a big deal to change the family motto, then?” Harry asked,

“When it’s for an ancient family like the Blacks, yes,” Draco answered, “I always view the Blacks as better than the Malfoys, but from a prejudiced point of view they are just as bad. I mean the Malfoy family motto was ‘Purity Will Always Conquer’, and the Blacks is ‘Always Pure.”

“Toujours Pur,” Harry said.

“I thought you didn’t know Latin?”

“I don’t, but I had to clear out Grimmauld Place, and that was written on _everything_ ,” Harry snorted.

“Not that it’s true anymore,” Theo snorted, “You marrying a muggle-born and all.”

“It has never been true,” Draco scoffed, “But I guess ‘Always pure because we cast out anyone who dares not to marry their cousin’ doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

At this, they all burst out laughing.

* * *

When Draco sat before his mother and his aunt and said the words, “I am thinking of changing the Black family motto,” he half-expected a slap.

Instead, he got a, “Thank goodness,” from Andromeda.

And a, “Please do,” from his mother.

Draco frowned in surprise, “Oh. I expected some resistance.”

“From me?” Andromeda scoffed, “Toujours pur, mon cul!”

Draco smiled in amusement, his aunt had taken to swearing in French when she started to look after Teddy.

“It is, and always has been, a lie,” Narcissa agreed, “We are not pure, and we are no longer ashamed of that.”

“Do you have any thoughts about what you would like to change the family motto to?” Andromeda asked curiously.

“My initial thought was, Lux ex Tenebris,” Draco admitted, “But I think I have a better one.”

“Light from darkness?” Narcissa mused.

“It would certainly be fitting,” Andromeda agreed, “But do tell us what your other idea is?”

“Per Aspera Ad Astra,” Draco said, his Latin was flawless.

Narcissa and Andromeda both smiled. His aunt nodded, “Through Hardships to The Stars.”

“It’s a beautiful phrase,” Narcissa said, “And befitting considering that those in our family tend to be named for the stars.”

Draco nodded, “And we have all endured our own hardships.”

“It is perfect, Draco,” Andromeda assured him, “You have my consent.”

“And mine,” Narcissa said, smiling proudly at her son.

Draco smiled back at them. Change was coming, and the world felt a whole lot brighter because of that.

* * *

When Harry was called to his first Wizengamot session a week later, he actually felt very nervous. As he walked into the Ministry with Neville, Draco and Theo, he voiced this opinion.

“You’ll be fine,” Theo assured him, “And you get to sit in the comfy seats with us.”

Harry frowned, “What do you mean?”

“You’re a lord,” Neville said with an amused smile, “All the lords get the comfy seats while the rest of us are shoved on benches.”

Harry’s frown deepened, “How do they decide who's a lord and whose not exactly?”

“Every original member of the sacred twenty-eight had a lordship,” Draco answered, “But some of them were stripped from their owners.”

“What for?” Harry queried.

“The Weasley’s got a double whammy, they lost their lordship and their seat on the Wizengamot for being blood traitors,” Draco replied in an undertone, “They warned them that they were going to die out if they kept breeding with muggles, but they ignored the Wizengamots advice and carried on, which was why they were thrown out.”

“I know you think it’s prejudiced,” Theo said, “But back then, it really looked like the Weasley name would die out. They had bred with Muggles so much that more Muggles than Witches or Wizards were being born with that name. After they lost their seat and their title, they pretty much all left the wizarding world apart from Septimus Weasley. He married a Black, who was disowned for it.”

Harry followed this story with interest.

“And they had two children, one of whom was Arthur Weasley who has saved the family name from extinction in his quest to give his wife a daughter,” Theo finished with a grin.

Harry laughed, “That’s crazy, though, isn’t it? That one person can turn the tide like that? What did your family get their title stripped for, Nev?”

“Yeah, Nev,” Theo grinned, “Tell your bestie.”

Draco smirked too.

“Oh jeez, what did one of your ancestors do?” Harry asked, shooting his best friend an amused smile.

“It was way back at the turn of the century, 1903 or something,” Neville said with a wave of his hand, “My ancestor, Alexander Longbottom, ran a sanctuary for humanoid magical creatures who had been cast out. When he was found to be having sexual contact with some of them, we had our lordship stripped.”

Harry bit his lip to try and contain himself, but the minute Draco and Theo started sniggering, he was gone.

“How did they find out?” Harry asked through his laughter.

“Because he got a bloody mermaid pregnant and don’t ask me how because I don’t want to think about it,” Neville answered with a roll of his eyes.

“It’s not as bad as the Fawley's,” Draco said, glancing behind him then lowering his voice, “They got their lordship stripped of them after what Stuart Fawley’s father did.”

“The Fawley’s have a seat on the Wizengamot?” Harry asked.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Draco replied.

“What did his father do?” Harry asked as his frown deepened.

“Married his daughter, Annabella, off to Kevin Brown when she was only 16,” Draco whispered, “It wasn’t illegal, but it was really frowned upon. Imagine pulling your daughter out of Hogwarts to marry her off? Before she can even get her N.E.W.T’s.”

“But the Fawley family are scum so,” Theo shrugged.

Harry nodded but said no more on the subject as they reached the large courtroom where the Wizengamot sat.

“Come this way, Harry,” Draco murmured as he veered off to the right. Theo went in that direction too, so Harry followed them with an apologetic glance at Neville. He found himself sitting in comfortable, velvet chairs on a balconied area with a few other people. Down below were ‘the rest’, in wooden pews.

They sat there silently as everyone else filed in. When the large doors were shut, Kingsley stood up at a lectern at the front of the balconied area and boomed, “Let the first meeting of the 1999 to 2000, session of the Wizengamot commence. Today we welcome several new families and welcome back yet more. For this reason, we shall begin with a roll call.”

Harry swallowed nervously.

“Earl Howard Abbott of Abbott Castle.”

A man with shoulder-length blonde hair rose to his feet behind Harry.

“Viscount Draco Abraxas Black of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black.”

Draco rose to his feet.

“Baroness Susan Sara Bones of Bones Manor.”

Susan rolled her eyes at Harry from where she sat a few seats down, but she also rose to her feet.

“The Honourable Kevin Brown of Lakeside House.”

A man with short blond hair and sharp features rose to his feet in the area below them.

“The Honourable Sorenson Cauldwell of Cauldwell House.”

Sorenson pushed himself to his feet from his spot beside Neville down below.

“Baron Julian Crouch of Crouch House.”

Harry peered at the scruffy man who pushed himself to his feet. He looked a lot like Lareina, only not as well-groomed. His blonde hair was a little darker, and he had messy facial hair. He also looked and smelled, drunk. He knew that this was Daphne’s Uncle Julian, but apparently, Lareina had distanced herself from Julian after he blew all of the Crouch money on gambling, illegal potions and prostitutes.

“The Honourable Michael Corner Senior of Ivy House.”

A middle-aged man who looked like very much like the Michael Corner who they had gone to school with, got to his feet in the section below.

“The Honourable Stefan Cornfoot of Oak End.”

A dark-skinned man rose to his feet.

“The Honourable Stuart Fawley of Fawley Manor.”

Harry couldn’t help himself, he glared at Stuart Fawley as he rose to his feet. Harry also noticed that he was sitting as far away from Neville as possible.

“The Honourable Matthias Jones of Jones House.”

A man with dirty blond hair rose to his feet.

“The Honourable Neville Frank Longbottom of Longbottom House.”

Neville got to his feet and shot Harry an amused look from below.

“Laird Hamish MacDougall of MacDougall Castle.”

A man in front of Harry got to his feet. He had long brown hair which was currently pulled into a ponytail, and he was dressed very smartly.

“Viscount Ernest Macmillan of Macmillan House.”

Ernie got to his feet, and Harry had to bite back a snort when he saw him puff out his chest out importantly.

“The Honourable Graham Montague of Montague House.”

A Slytherin who had been a few years above them in school rose to his feet.

“Viscount Theodore Roosevelt Nott of Nott Manor.”

Theo pushed himself to his feet and tried to look majestic, Harry thought he was failing, and he figured Draco did too because the blond man was trying very hard not to smirk.

“Earl Oberon Parkinson of Parkinson House.”

A greying man whose hair had obviously once been jet black rose to his feet. He glanced to the side and gave Draco a brief nod, which Draco returned respectfully, but then he looked back out over those standing below them.

“The Honourable Gareth Perks of Rose Lodge.”

A self-important man wearing a ridiculously fancy suit jacket rose to his feet down below.

“Sally-Anne’s Dad,” Draco murmured in Harry’s ear.

“Marquiss Harry James Potter of Potter Manor.”

Harry’s cheeks flushed a little as he rose to his feet. Theo swivelled to look at Harry, and Draco’s eyes looked ready to pop out of his head. Neville looked like he was trying not to laugh at how uncomfortable Harry looked as everyone stared at him.

“At this point, I would like to congratulate the Potter family on their ascension,” Kingsley added, turning to smile at Harry.

Harry smiled back, weakly.

“Viscountess Clara Grace Selwyn of Selwyn House.”

Harry turned around in surprise as Clara rose to her feet. She smirked at Harry in response.

“Baron Horace Slughorn of Cherry End.”

Slughorn smiled at Harry from his spot a few seats along, and he rose to his feet.

“The Honourable Ezekiel Smith of The Willows.”

A man who was so smarmy there was no way he _wasn’t_ Zacharias Smith’s father got to his feet.

“The Honourable Percy Ignatius Weasley of the Burrow.”

Percy looked so out of place as he stood up next to Neville. He was dressed in a smart suit, and if it wasn’t for the longer hair, the earing and the tattoo just visible on his wrist, he would have looked like his old self.

“The Honourable Oliver Wood of Wood Villa.”

Oliver got to his feet with a natural smile.

“And, The Honourable Belinda Zabini of High Top House.”

A beautiful, dark-skinned woman with long, curly hair rose to her feet.

Kingsley clapped his hands and a curtain on the back wall fell away. Beneath it was the name of each family, along with their crest and family motto.

“As you will see, we are one family down today,” Kingsley boomed, “The Greengrass seat remains vacant until a decision can be made as to which member will represent the family. Now that we are all acquainted with one another let us begin.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	66. Time is Ticking

“Why didn’t you tell us that you were a Marquiss?”

Harry shrugged, “I didn’t think it was a big deal. I’m so happy that all three of those laws were-”

“I’m sorry, can you just rewind?” Theo asked in disbelief, “You _didn’t_ think it was a big deal?”

Neville sniggered, “I told him that when he told me four days ago.”

“You told _him_?”

“He’s my Auror partner and my best friend,” Harry snorted, “You two tell each other everything.”

“Still,” Theo grumbled, “You’re a fucking Marquiss.”

“At least Daphne will get the title she wanted when she was dating me,” Draco said with a roll of his eyes.

“But you’re a Viscount,” Harry frowned.

“That’s because I’m the Black heir now. If I had taken the Malfoy seat, I would have been Marquiss Malfoy,” Draco said with a sigh.

“Is this the first time you’ve regretted changing your name?” Neville asked, shooting his friend an amused look.

“Yeah…a little bit,” Draco whined, “I’m just a Viscount now.”

“Just a Viscount,” Neville scoffed, “You’re an ungrateful arse.”

“It sucks though,” Theo said, joining Draco in his misery, “And also, how do the Abbotts have a castle? I want a castle, Draco.”

“Sorry, Theo, I’m not buying you a castle,” Draco snorted.

Harry chuckled too, and the air felt light-hearted again. He lowered his voice and murmured to Neville, “He’s really pissed off that I’m a Marquiss, isn’t he?”

Neville grinned, “Oh yeah.”

“How much more pissed off do you reckon they’ll be when they find out you’re being made an Earl as soon as the deeds for Longbottom House are all checked and accounted for?” Harry asked his best friend in a whisper.

Neville just smirked and said, “I’m sure they’ll be thrilled for me, Harry!”

* * *

“Hey! How was your first time on the Wizengamot?”

“Enlightening,” Harry said, he kissed Daphne lightly, “Is Teddy asleep?”

“Yeah, I didn’t know how late you would be so I put him down half an hour ago,” Daphne said, “There’s pasta in the pot, do you want me to reheat it for you?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll do it,” Harry said as he walked to the stove, “Have you decided who's going to take your seat yet?”

“No, Astoria and I are waiting for Dad to get better before we have that debate,” Daphne said, “But enough about me. Are you going to tell me what happened tonight?”

“Well, Kingsley put forward a few new laws for consideration,” Harry said as he stirred the pasta in the pot.

“Uh-huh, which ones?” Daphne asked eagerly.

Harry smiled at her, “Lupin’s Law. To give werewolves the same rights as witches and wizards. They still have to register, but it’s more so that they can be caught if a violent crime is committed. Like how we keep the fingerprints of all known criminals on file.”

“Was it passed?” Daphne asked.

“It was passed,” Harry grinned, “We needed 13 votes to pass it, and we just managed it. We thought it was going to be right on the mark then Slughorn was our 14th person.”

“That is a surprise,” Daphne said, “It’s against a lot of his family policies.”

“But Remus was his friend, and that was enough,” Harry said, “Kevin Brown put up a big fuss when it was passed because of what happened to Lavender.”

“It was awful what happened to her, but Greyback is an exception. Most werewolves are good people.”

“That was what Percy told him,” Harry admitted, he spooned some pasta into a bowl and pushed himself up onto the kitchen counter.

“So what other motions were raised?” Daphne asked eagerly.

Harry laughed, “You’re really into politics, babe.”

“I’m really into reforming this shithole Voldemort created,” Daphne said with a raised eyebrow, “So what else happened?”

“The second law raised was for Veritaserum Vetting. The small print was that every member of the ministry had to undergo it or if they refused, be released from their contract. And that all new members must undergo it prior to being appointed.”

“I bet that wasn’t a landslide,” Daphne said, “I know a lot of people thinks it’s ethically wrong, the Cauldwells for one.”

“To be fair, Sorenson didn’t have much choice,” Harry shrugged, “Same as Belinda Zabini. They work in the DMLE, it would look suspicious if they didn’t.”

“So the law got passed then?” Daphne asked in surprise.

“Yep, 19 votes to 6,” Harry chirped.

“Really?” Daphne asked, hopefully.

“Really,” Harry said, “There’s going to be a big walkout from the Auror department. Kingsley thinks more of them are dirty than clean.”

“I could believe it,” Daphne admitted.

“The best one was the last one,” Harry said honestly, “Theo actually cried, and he wasn’t the only one. Have you seen Theo cry before?”

“On occasion,” Daphne frowned, “But not very often. Go on…”

“It was called Almina’s Law,” Harry said.

Daphne’s hand flew to her mouth, “Really?” she asked as tears shone in her eyes.

Harry nodded, “I’m sorry, sometimes I forget that she was your aunt.”

Daphne cleared her throat, “A law against domestic abuse?”

“Spousal abuse more specifically,” Harry corrected, “Frankly, it’s disgusting that it wasn’t illegal before now. But from now on, if someone is being subjected to domestic abuse they can report it to the ministry, and they will immediately be taken to a safe house, given protection and their partner will be arrested.”

“Almina’s Law,” Daphne said softly, “Merlin…how many women could that have helped?”

“Think about how many women it _will_ help.”

Daphne nodded, and Harry said, “And I’m sorry if this is too bold of me but…I know you don’t talk to your Uncle Julian, but, he was touched by that law. He voted against Lupin’s Law and Veritaserum Vetting, but he made a point of standing up and saying ‘aye’ very loudly when we were passing Almina’s Law.”

“She was his sister,” Daphne said. She cleared her throat, “Regardless of how badly he has messed up his life, I’m sure he still misses her.”

Harry nodded as he surveyed his fiancé.

“It sounds like you made a real difference tonight,” She said.

“It wasn’t just me,” Harry said honestly, “This new Wizengamot is what our country needs Daph. There is so much young blood, and it’s exciting!” he shoved some pasta in his mouth, “I mean of course there are still the traditionalist pricks like Smith and Fawley, but I reckon there are more young people than old.”

Daphne nodded thoughtfully, “I really do approve of some of the new families they invited to take the abolished seats. I mean the Zabini’s for a start, they are a very prominent family, and the Weasley should never have had their seat taken from them.”

Harry swallowed his mouthful, “Giving the Jones a seat was inspired. Their politics fall in line with ours far more than they do with the likes of your uncle.”

“You said it a long time ago, Harry, and now it’s happening.”

Harry smiled brightly at her, “Change is coming, baby.”

“It certainly is,” Daphne said proudly.

* * *

“So what did you girls want to discuss?” Cygnus asked cheerfully as he sat with Teddy on his knee. He was doing much better, he could sit up now and get out of bed for short stints at a time.

“I’m sorry if it’s a controversial subject,” Daphne began, “But it’s about the Wizengamot seat.”

“Ah,” Cygnus realised, “The debate for who represents the family?”

Daphne nodded, “Now I would like to put forward the argument that it ought to be me. I fought in the war, I saw both sides, and because of that I can be impartial-”

“No,” Cygnus cut in.

“No?” Daphne asked with quiet anger.

“No,” Cygnus reiterated, “It can’t be you. You are marrying Harry Potter, and he is the only Marquiss on the Wizengamot. That seat is powerful, and therefore one of the most respected. If Harry has to go away on a mission, you, as his wife, will have to take his seat by proxy. In that case, who would represent the Greengrass seat?”

Daphne opened her mouth to argue, but Cygnus continued, “And then there is the matter of you and your husband both having seats on the Wizengamot. That’s a slippery road if you ever disagree on a policy, that’s why it isn’t the done thing. I mean look at Cauldwell and Nott, Sorenson sits on the Cauldwell seat because it would be a conflict of interests if Sadie were to sit in the Wizengamot with Theodore.”

“As much as I think you would be great for the seat Daphne, he has a point,” Astoria admitted.

Daphne sighed, “Fine, so you think Astoria should take the seat, then?”

“No,” Cygnus said again.

“No?” Astoria asked with a frown, “You trusted me with the business Father. Why would you not trust me with the Wizengamot seat?”

“It is not through lack of trust,” Cygnus promised, “I propose that I take the seat temporarily. Astoria, you are swamped with the business, but once it is back on track again and things have settled down, the seat is yours.”

Astoria nodded slowly, “I can agree to those terms.”

“So can I, I suppose,” Daphne muttered.

“Why do you object to me taking the family seat so much Daphne?” Cygnus asked curiously.

“Because new reforms are being pushed through Father,” Daphne said irritably, “Reforms that myself, Harry and our friends feel passionate about, but they are not the reforms that you would vote for which means Harry has just lost an ally on the Wizengamot.”

Cygnus raised an eyebrow at her, “Tell me of these reforms, and I will tell you how I would vote. You may be surprised.”

Daphne crossed her arms and stared him down, “Lupin’s Law. Giving werewolves the same rights as witches and wizards so long as they register in the case of a violent crime being committed.”

“I would vote to pass that reform. Werewolves are stronger than the average person, and if they could legally be employed, I could recruit them as an industrious workforce for Greengrass Industries,” Cygnus replied, “Perhaps that is not the reason why you would vote to pass the law. Still, the result is the same, is it not?”

Daphne narrowed her eyes at him, “Veritaserum Vetting in the ministry. Every existing member and all new staff members must be vetted under veritaserum.”

“I would pass that reform too. The ministry would be more functional if it was clean. If there were less dirty Aurors, we would have a more secure DMLE, which means that if anything were to happen to those I loved, it would be investigated correctly,” Cygnus replied.

Daphne ignored Astoria’s amused smile and said, “Almina’s Law. Domestic abuse to be punishable with time in Azkaban like every other violent crime. And those who are being abused would be given protection by the ministry from the moment it was reported.”

“I would pass that one too. Arranged marriages are dangerous. When people are forced to marry and have children with people they don’t love, people get hurt, and children get hurt. If your mother had not been forced into an arranged marriage with me, she would not have had an affair, and she may not have tried to kill me. You could argue that what she did, was a form of domestic abuse.”

Astoria nodded, “That is a fair point.”

“So you see Daphne, my moral compass is not as far out of line with yours as you may think,” Cygnus said gently.

Daphne sighed, “Fine, then I guess I’m happy with you representing the seat, but please don’t get into any fights with Harry over reforms.”

Cygnus smiled at her, “Deal.”

* * *

When Harry stepped into the drawing-room of number 11 Grimmauld Place, he called out, “Sadie! Are you decent? I’ve brought ice cream!”

“I’m in the kitchen!” A muffled voice came back.

Harry jogged down the stairs and grinned when he saw her, “Are you attempting to bake?”

“I’m bored!” Sadie complained, “I’m so bloody bored, and I tried to write the book about Snape, but I have writer's block, and I’m just so bored!”

Harry laughed, “Well, I might have a way of solving that,” he said, motioning to something under his arm.

Sadie frowned, “What is that?”

“It’s a project that I need your help with,” Harry said with a wide smile, “And I brought you peanut butter ice cream.”

“Oh, I love you,” Sadie said, grabbing the tub from him and taking a couple of spoons out of the drawer. She threw one to Harry who caught it deftly.

“Sit down, and explain,” Sadie demanded, pointing the spoon at him as if it were a wand.

Harry chuckled and sat down across from her, “How is your knowledge of the spells required to enchant magical portraits?”

Sadie frowned, “Are we talking a basic magical portrait that is a likeness of the person? Like the Fat Lady, who doesn’t really know who she was in life but has retained some of her subjects key phrases?”

“No,” Harry admitted, “That would be too easy, and you know I don’t like to do things the easy way.”

“So you’re talking about a sentient magical portrait with the memories and personality of the person?” Sadie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah…”

“The ones that are super hard to create, which is why only the Headmasters portraits in Hogwarts are like that?” Sadie added.

“That’s the ones, yeah,” Harry agreed.

“Do I need to give you the ‘talk’ about the dangers of that and how it can drive the best people insane to get someone they love back when that person isn’t _really_ back? Or are you well enough acquainted with the Tale of the Three Brothers to get the gist?” She asked, then she shoved a spoon of ice cream into her mouth.

“Pregnancy has made you sassy,” Harry snorted, “And a bit bitchy.”

Sadie shook her head and swallowed her mouthful, “Nope, I’ve always been like this. I just haven’t felt comfortable enough around you to be myself until now.”

“Well in that case…I’m honoured but also slightly offended.”

“Story of your life,” Sadie retorted.

Harry barked out a laugh, “I see why Theo married you now.”

She hit him on the arm with her spoon, “Oi!”

“Ouch!”

“So you didn’t see why he had married me before?” Sadie quipped.

“Yeah, okay, sorry,” Harry said as he rubbed his arm, “So the magical portrait? If it’s super difficult, does that mean you can’t do it?”

“No, of course, I can do it,” Sadie said with a roll of her eyes, “But I am interested to know why you didn’t ask Lilly. She’s smarter than me, and you guys are closer.”

“For the record, I don’t think she’s smarter than you,” Harry said, “But there is a reason why it needs to be you. It’s _your_ memories that are going to be required to make this work, yours and Theo’s, and Draco’s.”

Sadie smiled sadly, “I get it now.”

“What?” Harry asked.

“Why she keeps you around,” Sadie admitted as she pulled the cover away from the portrait, “Underneath that clueless façade, you really do understand her.”

Harry bit his lip, “And this is the point where I point out how terrible a future husband I am and tell you that it wasn’t my idea, it was Lilly’s. She noticed how much Daphne was missing her and asked me about getting a portrait. I just put the idea into motion.”

Sadie gazed down at the portrait of Tracey “It’s a perfect likeness,” she said as tears shone in her eyes.

Harry nodded and grabbed Sadie’s hand, “Are you going to be okay doing this? I don’t want to upset you.”

“No, I’m not crying because I’m sad,” Sadie admitted, “I’m crying because I know how happy this is going to make Daphne and for the record, you aren’t a terrible future husband. You’re a good one because you listened to her best friend and you heeded her advice.”

Harry got to his feet and hugged Sadie, “Does it bother you? That she and Lilly are so close?”

“No,” Sadie admitted, pulling away from Harry and wiping her eyes, “Because it’s not forever. Things push people apart and pull them together again. I know there will come a time when I’ve got babies and she’s got a toddler, and we’ll be closer again. In that time, Hermione and Lilly will get closer as the two child-less ones. Everything changes in our lives all the time, and we turn to different people at different times.”

Harry smiled, “That’s very wise of you.”

Sadie shrugged, “Do you have a timescale on this? It might take me a couple of weeks to work out how to do the more difficult spells.”

“I need it for Christmas,” Harry said. It was a bit of a white lie, but he didn’t want Sadie to guess the date of their surprise wedding, “So that gives you over a month. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine,” Sadie replied honestly.

Harry walked towards the door, “Hey Sadie?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you a question about Daphne?” Harry asked, “It’s been on my mind for a little while.”

Sadie surveyed him with interest, “Go on.”

“Does she always kiss her best friend? Is that a thing or something?”

Sadie laughed at that and nodded, “Yeah, and she’ll do it whenever she’s drunk, so get used to it.”

Harry shook his head in amusement.

“She’s always been very flexible in her sexuality, not to mention confident and over-amorous,” Sadie said with an amused smile, “And she just likes kissing girls, I guess.”

Harry chuckled, “If that’s the worst I’ve got to put up with, I’m sure I’ll manage. Thanks, Sadie.”

“Don’t mention it,” Sadie returned.

* * *

Ginny had been expecting it for a while. She and Blanche both knew that there was something between them, they couldn’t ignore the chemistry forever, and now that Ginny was no longer pregnant with her brothers baby, she knew it was only a matter of time until Blanche made the first move. That thought both excited her and terrified her, at the same time.

She was in the kitchen early one Monday morning, Hope was still asleep, but Ginny had woken up when Blaise got up to have his pre-work shower.

As Ginny stood with a cup of coffee, looking out of the window at the rising sun, she was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice that somebody else had walked into the kitchen. Not until two arms snaked around her and a chin rested on her shoulder, “You look positively flawless this morning.”

Ginny set her coffee down on the worktop and spun herself around in Blanche’s arms, “Flawless?” she quipped, “I gave birth less than a month ago.”

“You would never know,” Blanche said softly.

Ginny caught the older woman's eye, “So we do flirting and hugging in the middle of the kitchen of your family home now, do we?”

“I don’t know, do we?” Blanche asked smoothly.

Ginny bit back a smile but said no more.

“I can think of something I’d rather do in the middle of the kitchen,” Blanche added and she cast her eyes down to Ginny’s lips.

Ginny’s cheeks flushed, but when Blanche smirked at her, her eyes gleaming playfully, Ginny couldn’t help herself. She snaked her arms around Blanche’s waist and pulled her closer, tilting her head up to meet Blanche’s lips.

Blanche didn’t hang around either, they had both beaten around the bush for months already. She pulled Ginny against her and ran her tongue along Ginny’s lip, making the younger girls mouth open with a soft, “Oh.”

The last time Ginny had kissed a girl was back in the war when Daphne had dragged her into that broom cupboard, but she had always suspected that the reason guys didn’t compare was because she was more into girls than them.

Kissing Blanche cemented that fact. It wasn’t a fight for control or a battle of wills like it had often been when she kissed Blaise. It was sweet relief, Blanche moved her hands to the sides of Ginny’s face and kissed her deeply, and Ginny melted into the kiss.

She could have stayed there for hours, if it wasn’t for the interruption.

“Morning Gin. Where’s my court tie? I have a big case today.”

Ginny pulled away from Blanche and looked at Blaise with red cheeks, “What?” she squeaked.

“My court tie,” Blaise explained as he looked in the washing basket, “One of the elves didn’t wash it, did they? I was sure I left it on the back of this chair.”

“The…uh…the black shiny one?” Ginny asked.

“Yes,” Blaise said, “Have you seen it?”

“It’s on the back of the door,” Ginny said, motioning to the door with a frown.

“Ah, thank you,” Blaise said. He grabbed the tie from the door and said, “I’m running a little late, but we can discuss Blanche moving into the house with us when I got home, okay?”

“Uh…” Ginny floundered.

Blaise took a few steps towards her and kissed her lightly, “I love you. Hope was just stirring when I came downstairs, so you might want to check on her. Have a good day at training, Blanche!”

Without another word, he swept out of the kitchen, and Ginny looked at Blanche in disbelief.

Blanche bit back an amused smile, “I did tell you that he lives up to his name.”

Ginny shook her head in disbelief, “I’m…I’m just going to go and get Hope. See you tonight.”

“See you tonight,” Blanche said, perhaps a little too suggestively as she grabbed her coat and disappeared out of the house after Blaise.

* * *

Hermione’s time in the Auror office came to an end in November, and she spent the remainder of the month working with the ministry’s team of Hit Wizards. She liked aspects of the job, like communicating with the muggle law enforcement and coming up with cover stories for the guys when she sent them off into the muggle world. But morally, she struggled with other aspects of the job, like deciding which cases were important enough to assign hit wizards for. After all, you were basically sending a team of assassins after someone, and morally, Hermione wasn’t sure where she stood on that one.

Harry and his friends were more than a little wary when they found out that a new class was being introduced on Monday morning. They were getting into November now, and the workload was only increasing.

“Good morning, recruits!” Carter chirped.

Not many people classed a Monday morning as good, but she still led every early morning class with this opener.

“Welcome to Muggle Relations,” Carter continued as she paced the room, “In this class, you are going to learn all about muggles. We are not going to tell you how to talk to them and leave it there, we are going to teach you how to blend in because there will be times when you _must_ go into the muggle world undercover, and we can’t have you breaking the statute of secrecy, can we?”

They all shook their heads.

“There will be times when you need to co-operate directly with muggle law enforcement. You will also be sent out on clean-up missions. Being able to blend in and communicate with muggles is, therefore, essential.”

Draco felt like rolling his eyes, “This class is ridiculous.”

Harry and Neville snorted.

“Shut up, _Malfoy_ ,” Harry whispered.

“I thought your ‘riddikulus’ pun in third year was witty,” Theo whispered.

“You’re just stroking his ego,” Neville sniggered.

“As long as that’s the only thing he’s stroking in public,” Harry chuckled.

“Boys!” Carter exclaimed, “Eyes front!”

They all looked over at the Senior Auror.

“I could spend this class talking at you,” Carter said, “Or I could throw you into the simulation room to see how much, or how little you know about muggle culture.”

Harry grinned over at Neville, he loved tasks which involved the simulation room because he found lessons boring. Neville looked a little more apprehensive because he didn’t have an excellent track record with speaking to muggles.

Theo, on the other hand, …well he was probably fucked given how badly he had screwed up muggle studies at school. It was perhaps for that reason that he looked so bloody ecstatic about the idea.

“Great,” Draco muttered under his breath.

“You will be assessed on how you do on an individual basis, so if you all let the two half-bloods do the work for you, we will know,” Carter added.

Harry and Emily, the two half-bloods in question, shared an amused look.

“We’re also pulling your Trainee Healer into this one to see how she copes without a wand,” Carter explained, “Because that’s the big one here, you’re going in unarmed.”

The purebloods eyes widened, “Unarmed?”

“No wands,” Carter said, “Because how do you explain a wand if you are captured, or arrested? The answer is, you can’t. So we can’t risk it.”

“But we can still use wandless magic?” Harry asked.

“Yes Mr Potter, but most people are not as adept with it as you are,” Carter said with an amused smile, “Most of us can use it to shut doors, turn lights on or generally perform very basic spells.”

Harry shrugged and said with a smile, “I’ve had the brightest witch of her age training me up since I was about 14.”

He saw a small, proud smile on Draco’s face.

Carter smiled, “I see. Are we ready to head down to the simulation room then?”

* * *

When they stepped into the simulation room, three of them took control of the situation because they had been raised in the muggle-world.

“Okay, so before we go in there,” Lilly said, pointing at the police building up ahead, “We all need to change.”

“Into?”

“Detective clothing,” Lilly answered, “And we can’t use transfiguration so we’ll need to find another way.”

“We do have this bag,” Neville reminded her, “Carter said it would have useful things in it.”

Lilly nodded and opened it, “Perfect,” she said. Then she threw clothes at them all and instructed them to slip into an alley and change. When they all emerged, they looked very smart.

“Right, now what?” Draco asked.

“We solve a crime while looking fabulous?” Theo said, “I am loving this trenchcoat.”

Emily rolled her eyes, “We go inside and say we’re the detectives that the police asked for, then they give us the breakdown of the case.”

Harry nodded, “Come on, guys.”

They all traipsed into the building, and when they emerged half an hour later, Theo’s first question was, “What did he mean when he said home-made bomb?”

“A bomb that somebody made at home,” Harry answered quietly.

“And it’s dangerous?” Draco asked.

“They are often filled with shrapnel, so when they explode, tiny shards of metal fly everywhere,” Emily answered, “They are lethal.”

“Just look at some of the horrific bombings in Ireland during the troubles,” Lilly agreed.

“Yeah, we need to find it, quickly,” Harry concluded, “And we need to do that without wands or four-point charms, or diagnostic charms. Any ideas?”

The purebloods all looked completely lost without their wands, so Harry figured it would be down to him, Emily and Lilly to finish this task.

“Right,” Harry said, “Lil, you’re a Londoner. If you want to cause maximum damage, where do you put a bomb?”

Lilly frowned, “One of two places. Either somewhere crowded like Trafalgar Square or…in the underground and time it for the commuter train.”

Harry looked at the large clock on the wall of the police station, “It’s 7 am.”

“Underground it is then,” Emily said.

Harry shook his head, “You’re right, Lilly, it has something to do with commuters, but I don’t think it’s the underground. Every time we have a simulation like this, they base it on actual events.”

Lilly frowned, “Like the attacks on the train stations,” she realised.

“Exactly. Do you remember when a bomb went off at Victoria Station and killed a bunch of people, the year we started Hogwarts?”

Emily nodded, “My dad was firefighter, and they pulled him up from Kent to work the case. It was an IRA attack.”

“Which fits the description of the bomb they gave us.”

“So what do we do? Head to Victoria Station and hope we’re right?”

“There were two bombs though,” Lilly said.

Emily’s eyes widened, “But the one at Paddington went off early, it went off at 4am remember? Then the Victoria one went off at about half 7.”

“Right, I’m calling it,” Harry said, “Executive level decision, we’re going to Victoria Station. Come on, let’s use this alleyway to apparate there.”

They all followed Harry because, in this situation, he seemed to know more than the rest of them put together. When they emerged in the back of the station, Draco asked in a whisper, “How are we going to find it?”

“I have a suspicion,” Harry admitted, “The IRA were like the Death Eaters, Draco. They had things that they did, signature things.”

“Like the dark mark?”

Harry nodded, “They tended to hide bombs in bins, so usually I would say do a diagnostic charm on every bin in this place, but we don’t have wands.”

“So we’re going to have to search every bin?” Blanche asked distastefully.

“Yeah,” Harry said, “We are and-”

“-we need to be careful,” Lilly finished, “Bombs often have anti-handling devices on them and the IRA bombs often used tilt switches.”

“Which means?” Ophelia asked.

“You tilt the bomb, or lift it, and it explodes,” Lilly answered.

“I hate this case,” Theo remarked.

“I’m sure the muggle police back in 1991 did too,” Harry said simply, “Let’s split up into four groups and check every bin in here. Okay?”

They all nodded, “Everyone in their Auror pairs, and Lilly, you’re with Draco and Theo-”

“But-”

“No buts, you’re his fiancé and your one of my best friends,” Harry said calmly, “It’s harder for us to be objective.”

Lilly didn’t look happy about it, but she walked over Draco and Theo anyway.

“Are there any communication devices in there?” Harry asked Blanche.

“There are these bracelets?”

Harry nodded, “Everyone, put one on and if I’m right…” he pressed the only button on the metal wristband and said, “Hey everyone.”

The ring of light around the button flashed on every other wristband then Harry’s words came out of them.

“Great. If you find it, call us to your location immediately and do not try and defuse the bomb, you especially Theo.”

“Got it,” Theo said.

“Right then team, let’s move out.”

* * *

In the end, they didn’t find the bomb, the bomb found them.

More specifically, Draco, Theo and Lilly were knocked out, and when they came to their senses, one of them had a bomb attached to them.

“Oh no…”

“Please tell me that’s not a bomb!” Theo exclaimed as he looked down.

“Okay,” Lilly said calmly, “It’s a kitten. It’s an adorable, exploding kitten.”

“Not helping, Lilly!”

Draco swallowed and said, “I hate to make a bad situation worse, but is that a timer?”

Lilly nodded and pressed the button on her communication bracelet, “Guys, Theo has the bomb attached to him, and it’s gonna blow in five minutes. We’re locked in a storage room at the back of the station.”

“Well…” Draco said, “There are worse ways to die. At least we won’t have to get hugged by Voldemort.”

Lilly snorted.

“And if we’re going to get blown to pieces, at least we’ll die together,” Draco added.

Theo rolled his eyes, “Mate, stop taking the piss.”

Draco grinned, “We’re in the basic simulation room, Theo. If that bomb goes off, all that happens is we fail.”

“And I never let you in the muggle world on your own,” Lilly muttered.

“You got captured too!”

“I’m a Healer, you’re the Aurors!” Lilly objected, “You’re meant to protect me.”

“She makes a good point, Draco,” Theo said.

Draco rolled his eyes in response, and at that point, the cavalry arrived.

“It’s always you, isn’t it, Theo?” Harry asked with a shake of his head.

“It’s a change from it always being me,” Neville muttered.

Blanche frowned at the device, “I’m no muggle bomb expert, but it looks basic.”

“It is basic,” Harry said.

“Couldn’t you do the old ‘cut the wire’ trick that they do in all the action movies then?” Neville asked.

Harry shook his head, but before he could explain why, Emily jumped in, “Even basic bombs have anti-tamper devices on them. If we touch the wrong thing, the bomb could explode.”

“It’s home-made which also makes it more temperamental,” Harry added

“So what are you going to do?” Theo asked.

Harry smirked, “The one thing that I can do. I can’t handle it or tamper with it in a muggle way, but muggle terrorists don’t magic-proof bombs, Theo.”

“We don’t have wands, dumbass,” Maxwell cut in.

Everyone looked at him in disbelief, “Did you just call Harry Potter a dumbass?” Blanche asked.

“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Maxwell argued, “You were a Slytherin too.”

“Yes, but I have a lot of appreciation for what Harry Potter has done,” Blanche said firmly, “Chiefly saving Ginny Weasley in her first year at school because otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to snog her brains out this morning.”

Harry snorted in amusement at that.

Maxwell made a face, “Oh yes, I forgot that your family had unconventional relationships with _blood_ traitors.”

“Oh no, you don’t,” Blanche barked.

“Guys! I have a bomb on me!” Theo reminded them.

“I know, Theo,” Harry said, “I’ll get to that in a minute.”

“But it’s a _bomb_ , Harry!”

“Yeah, I know so stay still and be quiet, okay?” Harry remarked. He glared at Maxwell, “You, shut up and stopped being a prejudiced twat. Blanche, I’m very happy for you and Ginny but could you refrain from wandlessly hexing Harper in front of the very active bomb that is attached to Theo?”

Blanche glared at Harper but took a step back.

“Harry, there’s less than a minute on the bomb!”

“I know,” Harry said. He turned around and thrust his hand in Theo’s direction, “Impedimenta!”

The timer on the bomb stopped, and Harry stepped forward and uttered a banishing charm, placing his hands on Theo’s shoulders. The bomb vest disappeared, and Harry smiled, “Right, some poor deer in the Forest of Dean is about to shit himself when that goes off in the deepest lake I could think of, but we’re all good!”

At that point, the simulation faded away, leaving them in a white room. They looked up at the window expectantly as Carter and Sheppard peered out at them.

“Well done for causing a conspiracy theory in the Forest of Dean,” Sheppard said sarcastically, “The muggles would have been banging on about aliens for longer than they did after Roswell.”

Harry smirked, “Better than blowing up a muggle train station though, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Carter agreed, “Potter, Wilde, Moon, congratulations. You’ve passed Muggle Relations with flying colours, and you don’t need to worry about attending the next three classes. As for the rest of you…”

“We’re useless?” Theo suggested,

“You are not very well-educated on the muggle world,” Carter said diplomatically, “But we have three classes to fix that. I will come along on the next one with you to give you some pointers.”

“Does this mean we get a free period now?” Harry asked eagerly.

“You and Wilde do,” Carter agreed, “Unfortunately you don’t Moon. Frasier is a stickler for the rules, and she views it as an extra hour for you to spend in the hospital wing.”

“Of course she does,” Lilly chuckled.

“Well done though guys, I was really impressed with your knowledge. Particularly with how well you all remembered the 1991 attack,” Carter said with a smile, “Now run along to your next class and Black?”

Draco looked up, “Yes?”

“Perhaps you and Nott ought to get Miss Granger to give you some tips before next weeks class?”

“Yeah,” Theo said, looking at Draco in amusement, “That might be a good idea, right?”

“Yeah,” Draco agreed sheepishly, “We will, ma’am.”

* * *

“Hey Princess, how was your day?”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “What do you want?” she asked as she looked up from her book.

Theo was hovering in the doorway of the library with Draco.

“We need a favour,” Draco admitted.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at them, “Okay?”

“We sort of failed a test today,” Draco said sheepishly, “Rather badly, actually.”

“Was it about muggles?” Hermione asked.

“How did you know?” Theo asked in disbelief.

“Because you two are typical purebloods and despite being with me for a year now Draco, you are still useless every time you come out with me and a muggle relative or friend,” Hermione said simply. She crossed her arms over her chest and said, “Come in and sit down. I don’t like it when you hover.”

“She’s getting bossy,” Theo said, grinning at Draco, “We’re going into full-blown bossy Granger mode.”

Draco bit back an amused smile and Hermione hit Theo over the head with her book “If you want my help, shut up and explain.”

“We have this new class called Muggle Relations-”

Hermione snorted.

“Yeah, it went about as badly as you probably expected it to,” Theo admitted grudgingly.

“Theo got a bomb attached to him,” Draco said, “Harry diffused it and blew up a lake in the Forest of Dean.”

Hermione shook her head, “What is it with him and that forest?”

“You must have made it memorable,” Theo teased, “Ouch!”

“Shut up then you idiot,” Draco laughed as his best friend nursed his sore head.

Hermione brandished the book at him, and Theo said, “Oi, would you stop that? It’s book abuse! You can’t just damage a beautiful copy of The Tale of Beedle the Bard like that!”

Hermione actually laughed, “Sometimes, I think I’m with the wrong Slytherin.”

“Oh yeah, I think that all the time,” Theo said sincerely, “I think why the fuck didn’t I pick Draco all those years ago?”

This time Draco hit him on the head with a book and Theo looked beyond affronted, “You are meant to love me! She just puts up with me _because_ you love me!”

Hermione bit her lip in amusement as they began to bicker.

“Right, enough!” She said eventually.

Both men turned to look at her as she got to her feet.

“Come, Draco.”

Theo snorted in amusement as Draco got to his feet, “That’s more about your sex life than I ever needed to know.”

“Fuck you, Theo.”

“Where are we going, Princess?”

“To watch some television,” Hermione said, shooting a smirk over her shoulder, “But pay attention because there will be a pop quiz at the end.”

“Why is there always a pop quiz with her?” Theo muttered under his breath as they traipsed through the house a few steps behind Hermione.

“I don’t know, but she did it to me after sex once,” Draco whispered back.

“Did you get all of the questions right?” Theo sniggered.

“No, I got one wrong, and she bit me.”

“I can hear you, you know?” Hermione called over her shoulder.

“Sorry, love.”

“Sorry, Princess.”

* * *

When Blaise and Blanche got home from work that night, they both stepped into the bedroom that Blaise and Ginny shared.

Ginny looked up as she rocked Hope in her arms, “Here we go.”

“Do you expect a fight?” Blaise asked calmly.

“You walked in on me snogging your sister this morning,” Ginny reminded her husband, “So there _should_ be a fight.”

Blaise shook his head, “No, I knew you and Blanche had feelings for each other. You made it very apparent.”

“Did we?” Ginny asked.

“Yeah, everyone knows,” Blanche said calmly, “Even Harry knows.”

“That’s only because he’s dating Daphne,” Ginny snorted, “She’s the observant one, not him.”

“Oh, of course, she is,” Blaise remarked. He sat down on the edge of the bed and rolled out a long scroll of parchment, “This is the floor plan for the house. It is modest-”

“Modest?” Ginny asked in surprise, “Blaise, you said it was a small country cottage.”

“It is,” Blaise said.

“No, it isn’t,” Ginny said, “This place has five bedrooms.”

Blaise frowned, “That’s small. Don’t you think, Blanche?”

“Yes, but for a girl who grew up in a raggedy house with rooms that kept getting glued on?” Blanche pointed out.

“Ah, I see,” Blaise said with a nod, “Well, in any case, there is a bedroom on the ground floor here which I thought could be mine.”

“Don’t you mean ours?” Ginny asked.

“No,” Blaise replied, “The bedroom on the ground floor has a connecting door to the study, so I thought it would make sense for it to be mine. The room at the top of the house here would be better for you and Blanche.”

“Me and…”

Ginny’s head hurt, and Blanche grinned in amusement, “Did you think he was kidding this morning when he said he wanted to discuss me moving in?”

“Yeah…I did,” Ginny admitted.

Blaise shook his head, “So, the room at the top of the house? Do you want it?”

“Uh, yeah. Of course, we do,” Blanche answered for Ginny, “It has the biggest bathroom, not to mention the balcony.”

“Hang on,” Ginny cut in.

Blanche’s face fell, “Oh…don’t you want me to move in?”

“No,” Ginny said. She put Hope down in her moses basket and walked over to Blanche, “No, of course, I do. I just don’t know if that’s the best room because it has a balcony, and that’s where Hope will be sleeping. Isn’t it?”

“Of course, you are feeding her. She would be better with you,” Blaise answered.

“But we put wards up on the balcony, Gin,” Blanche assured her, “They will only allow an adult onto the balcony. If Hope tried to crawl through, she’d get knocked back as if she had crawled into a glass door.”

“Right,” Ginny said, “So we’re all going to move into the house then?”

“If you are in agreement,” Blaise said calmly.

“And you’re okay with Blanche and I’s arrangement?” Ginny asked her husband.

“Are you happy?” Blaise asked Ginny.

Ginny frowned, “Of course I am.”

“Then I am happy,” Blaise said calmly, “This suits me just fine. At the end of the day, Ginny, we have a child together and a lovely little family. At one point, I doubted I would ever have that. I am quite content with my own company and you know that I am very focused on my work.”

Ginny nodded, “But does this mean you’ll see other people too then?”

Blaise shook his head, “No, I don’t particularly feel the need. I enjoy your company, but I can take or leave sex.”

“I can’t,” Blanche said, shooting Ginny a suggestive look.

Ginny’s cheeks flushed, and Blaise smiled in amusement, “Unlike my sister, who has quite the appetite for it. I am sure you two will get along just fine.”

“This conversation just got weird,” Blanche said, “So I’m going to go across the hall to my own bedroom. Give me a yell if she’s up all night again, Gin.”

“Don’t be silly Blanche, you need to work in the morning.”

“Ah, it’s only a Tuesday,” Blanche said offhandedly, “Don’t worry about it.”

Ginny smiled at her in amusement, “Alright. Goodnight Blanche.”

Blanche took a step forward and kissed Ginny lightly, “Night, Gin.”

She reached into the moses basket and murmured, “Goodnight, Hope,” then she slipped out of the room.

Ginny threw herself onto the bed and sighed.

“Are you okay with all that we discussed?” Blaise asked as he began to undress.

“No,” Ginny muttered, “I feel like such a pureblood!”

“Ah well, between Blanche and I, we will make a proper pureblood of you yet,” Blaise teased.

Ginny shot him an amused look and threw a pillow at him. Blaise cracked a genuine smile in response and disappeared into the bathroom adjoining their room.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	67. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

As November wore on, Harry and Daphne’s surprise wedding loomed ever closer, which led to some interesting wedding planning ‘meetings’. Harry and Neville went for a walk and spent about five minutes of the 40-minute walk talking about the wedding.

“Daphne wants me to discuss wedding plans with you,” Harry said with an amused grin, “She thinks it’s going to take a long time to work out what colour the hem on the robes should be.”

Neville scoffed, “Easy, whatever the colour theme is for the wedding, hem the robes in that colour.”

“Done,” Harry grinned, “Oh, and can I have your opinion on wedding rings?”

“Sure,” Neville laughed.

“Do they need to match?” Harry asked.

Neville frowned, “No…why?”

“Because I want gold,” Harry explained, “I’m a Gryffindor, you know? I like gold.”

“But Daphne wants silver?” Neville guessed.

“No,” Harry scoffed, “Have you met Daphne Greengrass? She wants platinum, just like she wants ice sculptures and just like she got her dress from a designer shop in France. She thinks I don’t know how much it cost, but I’m not stupid.”

“She’s high-born,” Neville said with a grin, “She’s hot, and she’s classy as fuck, but you’ve got to pay the price, _literally_.”

“Tell me about it,” Harry snorted, “Thank Merlin that I’m a millionaire.”

Neville chuckled, “Any other wedding-related things to discuss?”

“She wants me to tell you to make sure you actually write your speech down, and she wants you to practice it on someone to make sure it’s not terrible,” Harry said with a wave of his hand, “But we’ll just have Draco or Theo lie and say you practised it on them. You come out with your best stuff when you talk from the heart.”

“Do I?” Neville asked.

Harry shot his best friend a look, “ _We lost Harry tonight, but he’s still with us, in here.”_

“You memorised my speech?” Neville asked with a shake of his head.

They reached Dave’s cabin, and Harry opened the door, “Of course I did, it was your greatest moment.”

“My greatest moment,” Neville laughed, “Hey, Dave.”

Dave hissed a greeting and Harry sat down on the floor with him. Neville sat down on a wooden bench and handed Harry the bag of dead rats and mice.

“It was your greatest moment,” Harry said, “I can’t talk about it specifically in front of Dave, or he’ll get upset, but what you did to that Horcrux, it turned the tide of the war and that speech…it gave me hope, Nev.”

Neville looked out of the window thoughtfully, “It’s starting to feel like it was a long time ago, isn’t it?”

“Far more like a distant memory than a new wound,” Harry agreed. He hissed, “ _How are you, Dave?”_

_“Miserable,”_ Dave hissed back.

Neville watched them converse with interest.

“ _Why_?” Harry asked.

“ _This country is so cold. This white thing, this white demon, I hate it.”_

_“It’s called snow Dave_.”

_“It is diabolical. I crave heat. I need more heat.”_

“ _I’ll get Hermione to make the cabin hotter_ ,” Harry hissed at the snake, “ _And I’ll keep you in here until it gets warmer_.”

_“I feel caged, like a beast.”_

Harry rolled his eyes, “ _Rather be getting hunted for your skin, would you_?”

_“No, I did not mean that you smarmy little human. I could crush you to death in thirty seconds.”_

“ _I know you could, but you won’t because I’m your friend_ ,” Harry remarked.

_“This means nothing. I have eaten my friends before.”_

“Gee, thanks Dave,” Harry snorted. He glanced over at Neville, “He’s threatening to eat me.”

“Sounds like your average Saturday night,” Neville sniggered, “He’s always threatening to eat you.”

“And yet he hasn’t done it yet,” Harry said, shooting Dave an amused look. He hissed, _“I can make your house bigger.”_

_“Yes. Do this. I also require a mate.”_

_“I’m your mate, Dave.”_

_“No, you foolish human. I require a mate of my own kind.”_

_“Dave, we’ve had this conversation. It’s not as simple as that, you know that female Boas don’t like to mate with just one male. She would get bored with you.”_

_“Not if you chose her wisely.”_

“Dave, I’m not choosing a mate for you,” Harry said in English and Neville snorted in amusement.

Dave hissed, “ _You disappoint me_.”

“I don’t care, I’m not on board with a litter of up to 64 snakes being born out here. Daphne would literally kill me.”

_“I will crush you to death if you do not consent.”_

_“Will you really, though?”_ Harry asked in parseltongue.

If snakes could roll their eyes, Dave would have done. Instead, he hissed half-heartedly and turned his back on Harry.

“And now he’s fallen out with me,” Harry said with a snort, “Come on, Nev.”

They left the cabin, and Neville said, “So how do snakes mate then?”

“Oh, the usual way, sex,” Harry said in amusement, “Some have live young, like Boa’s and others lay eggs. The females are the dominant party, they have sex with lots of males while the male gets attached to one female. Anacondas are terrifying, the female can eat the male during sex which is just horrific.”

“Like Black Widow spiders,” Neville mused, “So female snakes are slags then, yeah?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Harry snorted, “Just don’t say that around Daphne and Astoria or you _will_ get cursed into oblivion.”

“I’m sure I would,” Neville laughed.

* * *

“Okay so last on the agenda is the top table.”

“Oh here we go,” Lilly muttered, “There’s going to be a catfight over this one.”

Astoria raised an eyebrow at her, “Lillian, Daphne and I have _never_ had a catfight.”

Daphne smirked as Lilly looked at her in disbelief, “Can you make her stop calling me Lillian?”

“No can do,” Daphne chirped, “She doesn’t like you, so she won’t use anything less than your full name.”

“Why doesn’t she like me?”

“ _I_ can talk for myself, and I don’t like you because you are too forward and coarse.”

“Oh, so I’m too common for you,” Lilly countered, “Your sister doesn’t mind.”

“My _sister_ has always liked them on the rough side.”

Daphne winked at Lilly behind Astoria’s back.

Lilly had to bite back an amused grin, “Okay rich girl. You don’t like me, I don’t like you, but we’re both involved in planning this wedding so let’s just agree to disagree?”

Astoria nodded, “Agreed.”

“Glad you worked that out, Cagney and Lacey,” Daphne smirked, “So, top table?”

“Yes, well. Are you going for the traditional layout?”

“I don’t see how we can,” Daphne answered Astoria, “Three people who should be there can’t be because two are dead and the other is a homicidal maniac who is living out the rest of her life in Azkaban.”

“She was still our mother.”

Lilly shot Daphne a knowing look, “That’s beside the point. The way I see it, you can do this one of two ways, no actually…three ways. Option one, you go with the traditional layout and find people to fill in the gaps. Option two, you decide who matters to you and who will be giving a speech and make sure they are at the table. Option three, you say fuck it and don’t have a head table. You and Harry just chill out by yourselves up there.”

“They can’t not have a head table!”

“Why not? It’s just a bloody table!”

Astoria took a deep breath here, “Just to be on the same page. You are saying that there is no top table, whatsoever?”

“The same page?” Lilly scoffed, “Hun, we’re not even in the same fucking library.”

Daphne couldn’t help herself, she let out a reluctant laugh. Astoria glared at her and Lilly shot her a grin.

“Girls, could we please have a civil conversation about this?” Daphne asked through her laughter.

“We cannot have a simple conversation when _Lillian_ degrades every idea that I have,” Astoria said irritably, “She said that ice sculptures of peacocks would be too pretentious.”

“They would be too pretentious, to be fair,” Daphne muttered, “I’m not marrying Draco Malfoy anymore.”

“No, but you are still going to be a Marchioness,” Astoria pointed out.

Lilly rolled her eyes, “What is this, bloody _Upstairs, Downstairs_?”

“Well, I know where you would be,” Astoria muttered.

“Yeah, so do I,” Lilly retorted, “Upstairs, with my husband _Earl_ Neville fucking Longbottom.”

“Pretty sure his middle name is Frank, Lil,” Daphne said as she laughed at the argument between the two of them, “And I’m guessing he got his title then?”

“Yes, he did,” Lilly said, crossing her arms over her chest, “So like it or lump it, sweetheart, when I marry him I’ll be Countess Longbottom, regardless of how common you think I am.”

Astoria didn’t say anything, so Lilly said, “I’m going downstairs for a coffee. Think about those options, Daph.”

“I will, Lil.”

When she left the room, Astoria scoffed and said, “She is impossible! She is rude and coarse and opinionated!”

“I know,” Daphne said with a smirk, “I love her.”

* * *

“Morning, guys!” Blanche chirped as they walked to their Monday morning class together, “Want to see a cute baby picture?”

“Oh come on, you know me,” Harry grinned, “I always want to see a cute baby picture of my goddaughter.”

Blanche pulled a polaroid of Hope out of her pocket and said, “She’s holding her head up really well now. Isn’t she adorable?”

“She’s sweet,” Harry said with a smile, “How’s the house coming along?”

“Good,” Blanche replied, “W – They – move into it in a couple of days.”

Harry shot her a grin, he had spotted her little slip-up, “We?” He mouthed.

Blanche rolled her eyes, “Shut up,” she said simply as she put the picture back into her robes.

At that point, Harry said, “Well bye guys! Have fun in Muggle Relations, I’m off to take a nap!”

Emily shot Harry an amused look, “I’m going to get some extra duelling practice in. Do you want to join me?”

“Nope. My part werewolf son chewed through everything soft on his bed last night. Daph and I were using ‘reparo’ for about an hour, it really doesn’t work on a feathered duvet, by the way.”

Neville sniggered in amusement.

“So I’m going to head up the common room, you know the one that we never use? And I’m gonna sleep for a whole, glorious, golden hour,” Harry said cheerfully.

“Thanks for the moral support, mate!” Neville called after him.

“You’re welcome!” Harry called back.

“Do you reckon Hermione’s teaching is going to make this week easier?” Theo asked Draco in a whisper.

“I doubt it,” Draco replied, “Those muggle TV shows seem a bit far-fetched.”

Neville snorted in amusement but said no more on the subject as they all took their seats.

Carter smiled at them all, “Morning guys! Today you’re going to be heading up to Scotland to work with the muggle police on a murder case.”

Draco and Theo shared a grin.

“Yes!” They exclaimed in unison.

Carter raised an eyebrow at them, “Are you fond of Scotland, boys?”

“No, ma’am,” Theo replied, “But I guess this means the six hours of “Taggart” that his missus subjected us to last night will come in handy.”

“Subjected you to?” Carter asked.

“She bound us to the sofa until it was finished,” Theo explained.

“Then gave us a pop quiz.”

“I…I think I’ve heard enough,” Carter said while Neville roared with laughter.

* * *

Later that day, the Auror trainees were gathered together in the lecture hall that they had gone to for the selection process.

“Good morning, recruits!” Sumner boomed, “As we near December, we inevitably near Christmas. You will do well to learn early on that Christmas is a luxury that we cannot always afford in this job. Every year someone has to man the ship while everyone else gets pissed and starts family arguments.”

There was a general snort of agreement.

“So,” Sumner continued, “The two trainees who are on Christmas duty this year are Recruit Nott and…Recruit Potter.”

Harry had to fight to keep the disappointment from his face. It was his first Christmas with Teddy, Daphne had been looking forward to it so much as they worked out what gifts to get him and what family traditions they would implement. The thought of missing that to work made him feel sick to his stomach.

He glanced over at Theo, he looked equally as disappointed.

“Is that a problem?” Sumner asked.

“No, sir,” Harry and Theo both replied.

“Good, dismissed then Recruits!”

* * *

“Harry, you alright?”

Harry sighed and nodded as he and Neville walked out of the centre together, “Yeah, just a bit down. You know it’s Teddy’s first Christmas with us as his parents and I just…I’m gutted that I’ll not be there.”

“And Daph is going to go mental, isn’t she?”

“Fair chance, yeah,” Harry said, rubbing his eyes, “But it is what it is. Sumner is right…this is going to happen in our line of work.”

“Still,” Neville frowned, “It’s Teddy’s first Christmas with you guys.”

“It is what it is Nev,” Harry said stiffly, “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” Neville said, frowning deeply as he apparated back to Longbottom House.

* * *

“Hey, Draco, what’s up?” Theo asked as he stood at the doorway that connected their basements.

“I just wanted to check that you were okay, with the whole Christmas thing?” Draco said.

Theo sighed, “I just have to be, don’t I? Sadie’s upset obviously because her family are big on Christmas and she’s pregnant and emotional but at least this way, I’ll probably get next Christmas off with the babies.”

“I know,” Draco frowned, “But it doesn’t feel fair, does it?”

“Life is hardly fair,” Theo pointed out, “Are you coming in for a drink or are you just going to hover in the doorway all night?”

Draco glanced at the time, “I’ll come in for a drink, but don’t tell Hermione.”

“Deal.”

* * *

“Would you mind if I had to work on Christmas Day?”

Lilly looked up with a frown, “You guys have to work Christmas?”

“Just two of us,” Neville said, “But if I had to, would you mind?”

“I won’t lie and say that I wouldn’t be upset, because I would be,” Lilly replied, “But I would understand. We would just have to make the best of it and have a Christmas Night instead of a Christmas Day.”

Neville breathed out a sigh of relief, “Thank you. I need to talk to Sumner on Monday morning and ask to take Harry’s place. They put Harry and Theo on Christmas Day.”

“The one with a kid and the one with two kids on the way?” Lilly asked in disbelief, “That’s a bit insensitive.”

“I know,” Neville agreed, “And it’s Harry’s first Christmas with Teddy since the adoption. He can’t miss that.”

“No, he can’t,” Lilly said with a nod, “As much as it will suck not to spend Christmas with you, it’s far more important that Harry gets to spend it with his son.”

Neville smiled and kissed her, “You’re a beautiful person, inside and out, and I love you so damn much for it.”

Lilly smiled into the kiss and mumbled, “Closet Hufflepuff right here.”

“You and me both baby,” Neville said, deepening the kiss and backing her up against the kitchen worktop.

* * *

“Love?”

Hermione glanced up from her paperwork, “Yeah?”

“How would you feel about me working Christmas?” Draco asked cautiously, “I know we’re supposed to be spending it with your family this year.”

“If you have to work, my parents would understand,” Hermione assured him, “And so would I, as much as I would miss you.”

“Two of us have to stay on duty for Christmas,” Draco explained, “The two who were allocated the job were Harry and Theo.”

Hermione scoffed, “That’s stupid.”

“I kind of thought the same thing,” Draco sighed, “So I thought if I volunteered then Theo wouldn’t have to work it and he could spend it with Sadie. Merlin knows, she needs him right now.”

“Of course she does,” Hermione agreed, “She’s having a horrible time of it with her pregnancy. On the bright side, twins are almost always born early, so hopefully, her ordeal will be over sooner than she expects.”

Draco hummed thoughtfully, “Thank you.”

“What for?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Being so open and accommodating,” Draco said, kissing her on the forehead, “You understand my job and don’t question it, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.”

Hermione smiled, “I just spent two months working in the Auror department. What you do for our country is a noble thing Draco. I won’t begrudge little things like missed Christmases or birthdays for the sake of that.”

“Still,” Draco said, holding her chin in his hand so that she was forced to look him in the eye, “I love you all the more for it.”

Hermione smiled and kissed him softly, “I love you too.”

* * *

“Excuse me, sir,” Neville said, jogging alongside Sumner on Monday morning as they did their loop of the track.

“Yes, Longbottom?”

“I wanted to ask you if you would switch Harry and me for Christmas duty,” Neville said.

“You _want_ to do Christmas duty?” Sumner asked in disbelief.

“Not really sir, but Harry can’t do it,” Neville said, “He would never say anything, but it’s his first Christmas since he and Daphne adopted their little boy. He can’t miss that sir, he shouldn’t have to, and my fiancé is fine with me having to work so if you could swap us out, I would appreciate it very much.”

Sumner surveyed him for a moment, “I will think about your offer Longbottom,” he said, before picking up the pace and running ahead of Neville.

Neville sighed and dropped back slightly. At the very least, he could say that he had tried.

* * *

_Knock. Knock._

“Come in.”

Draco stepped into Sumner’s office, “Sorry to bother you at the end of the day, sir.”

Sumner shook his head, “What can I do for you, Recruit Black?”

“I just wondered sir…is it possible to change the roster for Christmas Day? I just feel like Theo should be at home with his wife. She is pregnant with their twins, and she needs him, especially at a time like Christmas. I, on the other hand, would be forced to spend Christmas dinner with my future wife’s in-laws who are very boring dentists so I would quite happily switch places with him.”

Sumner leaned back in his chair and smirked.

“If that’s possible sir,” Draco added.

Sumner hummed, “That is an interesting perspective, Recruit Black. I will think about your offer.”

“Right,” Draco said, he took a step back towards the door.

“Dismissed Black!”

“Yes sir,” Draco said, exiting the office as quickly as he had entered it.

* * *

The following morning, the recruits were all called back to the lecture theatre, and Sumner stood to talk to them all once more.

“Good morning again, recruits!”

They all echoed a ‘good morning’ back at Sumner.

“You are gathered here today because I told you all a little lie yesterday. Once you qualify as an Auror, you will be required to work Christmas, but right now, you are not. I simply used the timing to set you a small task which you all passed. I needed to see if those with loyalties out-with Auror training would put their family or their career first and Recruits Potter and Nott, you both put your career first so passed with flying colours.”

“I also wanted to test your bond with your Auror partner,” Sumner added, “Since both Recruits Longbottom and Black came to me and asked to switch places with their partner, you both pass too.”

Maxwell Harper raised a hand, “Why didn’t you test us, sir?”

“Because Harper, the rest of you haven’t been doing well enough to warrant it.”

The others snorted in amusement at this witty retort.

Harry shot Neville a grin, “Thanks Nev,” he murmured under his breath.

“Don’t mention it,” Neville said calmly.

On their other side, Theo was hugging Draco in a theatrical, overly affectionate show of thanks. And Draco was grumbling while he tried to shake him off.

Harry snorted, “Some things never change.”

“Clearly,” Neville said through his laughter.

* * *

“So,” Harry said, cornering Daphne in the kitchen of Potter Manor one evening early in December, “How do we keep a secret wedding a secret then?”

Daphne smirked, “Don’t worry, I have it all planned out. Everyone already knows that we are having a huge New Years Eve party which is starting at 7 pm. That’s actually going to be our wedding reception, but they won’t know until they get here.”

“Right,” Harry said, “And what about the others? I mean should we tell anyone else?”

Daphne shook her head, “As it stands the only people who are in on the secret are my father, Astoria, Neville and Lilly. I’m thinking we ask the bridal party and the groomsmen to come over earlier to help set the party up and then when they get here, we tell them that they are actually at our wedding.”

Harry chuckled, “Yeah…that works.”

“And as for keeping it secret? There’s only a month to go, and with everyone getting so excited about Christmas, I doubt they will notice anything amiss with us.”

“Alright, you have it all under control,” Harry agreed with a smile, “Of course you do. I’m sorry that I ever doubted you.”

Daphne grinned at him, “You should be,” she smirked as she stepped out of the kitchen.

* * *

“Have you ever heard of polyjuice prostitution?”

Harry raised an eyebrow at his best friend, “This is what you wanted to meet up and talk about a _week_ before Christmas?”

“Seriously Harry, have you heard of it?”

“No,” Harry said, handing Hermione a cinnamon latte and heading out into the frosty park with her, “Why?”

“Because I unearthed it while working for the Hit Wizards last month and it is beyond wrong,” Hermione told him, “There is a brothel in Knockturn Alley.”

“I know, prostitution isn’t illegal in wizarding Britain,” Harry said in an undertone.

“It should be,” Hermione muttered, “But that’s not the point anyway, well not really. This particular brothel uses polyjuice potion, so this is how it works. You get the hair of someone you want to sleep with, take it to this brothel, pay a _fortune_ and you get one hour with that person.”

Harry frowned, “That’s…”

“Disgusting?”

“ _How_ is that not illegal?”

Hermione shrugged, “If I knew, I would tell you. I asked Draco if he would propose it to Kingsley when the Wizengamot meets tomorrow for the last session before Christmas, but he was pretty reluctant.”

“Well, I can understand why,” Harry admitted, “We have only sat in on a few sessions. It would look like we were being pushy if we tried to propose laws so soon.”

“But you know Kingsley,” Hermione pushed, “And you don’t normally care about doing the right thing, even if other people don’t want you to.”

Harry smiled at her, “I’ll propose the law, but don’t get your hopes up. They might not allow it with me being a new member and all.”

Hermione beamed and shoved a folder into his hands, “Here’s the proposal, just drop it into Kingsley’s office when you get a chance.”

Harry shook his head in disbelief, “You are way too organised for your own good, and you owe me big time for this one by the way,” he said as he walked away from her.

“I know!” Hermione called after him.

* * *

“Draco,” Hermione said as she slid a plate of food onto the table, “Don’t get annoyed with me but…I sort of asked Harry to put forward that law for the Wizengamot to consider.”

Draco looked up at her in disbelief, “Seriously? I said no, so you ran to Harry, who you know is superior to me?”

“It has nothing to do with titles or how much respect one family apparently has,” Hermione said shortly, “It has everything to do with the fact I saw the case files of the girls working in that disgusting place! I saw how young they were, I saw their horrific backstories, and I saw how they had been forced into that life. It is so goddamn wrong Draco! I think of how those girls are going to spend Christmas this year, and I feel sick, so I need that law to be proposed! I went to Harry because you weren’t willing to put it forward and I understand why, Harry did too.”

“But Harry doesn’t mind putting his neck on the line, because he never has done,” Draco said testily.

“Harry doesn’t care about politics in the same way that you and Daphne do,” Hermione argued.

“I hate to break it to you, Hermione,” Draco cut in, “But Harry is Marquiss Potter now, and Neville is Earl Longbottom. They care about politics because they _have_ to, whether they like it or not.”

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest huffily, and Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

“Harry just wants to do the right thing, regardless of how many people it pisses off or how many noses it puts out of joint,” Hermione countered, “You play the long game, the clever, political game which is incredibly intelligent of you but Harry doesn’t have that in him.”

“So what you are in fact saying, in a particularly roundabout way,” Draco said with a slight smirk, “Is that you just used your best friend?”

“I…” Hermione cut herself off.

Draco’s smirk widened, “My my, Hermione Granger, I really have rubbed off on you.”

Hermione glared at him, “I didn’t use him-”

“So asking him to do it because you know he doesn’t understand politics enough to say no, wasn’t using him?” Draco countered, he leant back in his chair and surveyed her.

Hermione sighed heavily and sat down across from her fiancé, “So maybe I did use him a little bit. Why do you look so happy about it?”

Draco laughed, “I just think that I have trained you well, young padawan.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “I’m regretting showing you Muggle movies for that damned class of yours.”

“Hey, I got an A in that class thanks to you,” Draco said with a smile, “Harry and Neville got a bloody O obviously, but an A is still a pass. You must be a good teacher.”

Hermione smirked at him, “Obviously.”

* * *

“Hey babe,” Daphne said, kissing Harry lightly and putting a plate down on the table when he walked into the kitchen, “How was your day?”

“Good, how was yours?” Harry asked, hanging up his coat and sitting down.

“Busy,” Daphne replied, she put a plate down in front of Teddy on the high chair and said, “Now, if you throw that on the floor there will be _no_ jelly.”

“Uh-huh.”

Harry chuckled, “You’re more of a domestic goddess than usual today. Did you break a particularly difficult curse or do you have bad news?”

“It’s a bit of both,” Daphne admitted, “We did have a pretty interesting, but really creepy curse today. It looked like a haunted house, but it was actually a cursed chest in the basement with a,” she looked at Teddy who was busy stuffing his face with mashed potato then mouthed to Harry, “body inside.”

Harry frowned, “Yep, that’s creepy.”

“And Bill is more mopey than usual at the moment too,” Daphne added with a wave of her hand, “But the other thing is, I finished early today, so I visited Dad in the hospital.”

“Yeah? How is he doing?”

“Good,” Daphne replied, “They are happy to discharge him at the end of the week, but until he’s properly on his feet again, they will only discharge him into the care of a relative and Astoria has such a tiny flat-”

“Of course he can stay here,” Harry interjected to save her having to go off on a tangent.

Daphne breathed a sigh of relief, “Are you sure? He is difficult when you have to spend a lot of time with him, and it means our free time will be even less our free time than it is right now.”

“And it’s not going to be forever, just until he’s walking by himself and eating properly again,” Harry said, “So it’s fine. Can you get away early on Friday to pick him up?”

“I doubt it, Bill and I have that international case over in Belgium on Thursday and unless it’s a quick one to close, I don’t think I’ll be back,” Daphne admitted, “I was going to ask if you could do it?”

“I can’t on Fridays Daph, I have the simulation room all afternoon,” Harry reminded her.

Daphne cursed under her breath, then frowned, “I suppose we could always ask Narcissa to do it?”

Harry raised an eyebrow at him, “Are you trying to set your dad up with Draco’s mum?”

“No,” Daphne said, making a face, “The thought is horrific, but she would do it. My dad is her friend.”

Harry nodded, “She would do it, you’re right. Whose dropping Teddy off tomorrow morning?”

“You are, I’m off to Surrey first thing,” Daphne replied.

“Alright, I’ll ask her when I drop in then. Are you picking him up tomorrow? I’ve got the last session with the Wizengamot before the Christmas break,” Harry said, glancing over at his little boy.

“I know, I’ll be fine to pick him up,” Daphne replied.

“How has he been today?” Harry asked conversationally.

“Hyper since I picked him up,” Daphne chuckled, “He had fun visiting Dad at the hospital. Andromeda said he had been pretty quiet today though.”

“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Harry said, cocking his head at the little boy.

Teddy looked up with a mouthful of carrot and grinned.

Daphne chuckled in amusement, “Agreed, but I’m pretty sure he’s adjusting just fine.”

“Me too,” Harry said through his laughter.

* * *

“Hey! How did it go?”

“Sweet Salazar!” Draco jumped.

“Sorry,” Hermione said sheepishly.

“You could have let me take my coat off before you jumped on me,” Draco said, hanging his coat and scarf up, “Have you been waiting in the hall?”

“No, I just came in when I heard the front door,” Hermione admitted sheepishly, “So how did it go?”

“It’s killing you that you can’t sit on the Wizengamot, isn’t it?”

Hermione scoffed, “It’s hardly democratic, is it? Letting the lords of the country decide the laws for all of us.”

“Luckily for you, the lords of this country seem to like you,” Draco said, shooting her an amused look, “Your golden best friend persuaded Kingsley to propose the law.”

“And?” Hermione asked eagerly.

“It passed,” Draco replied, “By a landslide vote. Polyjuice prostitution is now illegal and anyone who runs an illegal brothel, or uses one, will get time in Azkaban.”

“What about the girls forced to work there?”

“They will be re-educated and given respectable jobs,” Draco replied, smiling softly at Hermione, “You are changing this world Hermione Granger, one favour at a time.”

Hermione smiled tearfully and hugged him tightly, “Thank you, Draco!”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	68. I'll Be Home for Christmas

“Do you think he’ll find them?” Daphne asked, looking at the pile of Christmas presents for Teddy on the top shelf of their wardrobe.

“Daph, he's a toddler!”

“Exactly!” Daphne exclaimed, “He’s into everything! He climbed inside the sofa yesterday, Harry, _inside_ it!”.

Harry snorted in amusement, “I don’t think he can climb our wardrobe yet though, and if you are so worried about it, there’s an easy fix.”

“Is there?”

Harry shot her an amused look and said, “Colloportus.”

“Oh shit,” Daphne muttered, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Take that one up with Hermione,” Harry grinned, “She’s the one who said, _but there’s no wood!_ When Ron told her to set a fire to scare the devil's snare.”

Daphne shook her head in amusement, “Are you going to wind her up about that forever? She was eleven!”

“Yeah and you’re 19 so you have no excuse,” Harry said, grinning at his fiancé.

“Oh I forgot to ask when I got in,” Daphne said offhandedly, “Is Narcissa okay with picking Dad up on Friday?”

“Yep, I’ve added him into the blood wards so he can let himself into the manor,” Harry replied, “Narcissa said she would stay with him until I get home from work.”

“Is she bringing Teddy back too then?” Daphne frowned, “Because I worry that might be too much, my Dad is still pretty reliant on other people.”

“Andromeda is off on Friday so Teddy will stay with her until I pick him up,” Harry said, “It’s all worked out so don’t worry. Just enjoy your case in Belgium. It’s an interesting one, isn’t it?”

“It’s a high profile one,” Daphne said, “The family is very influential and rich apparently. We don’t know much about the actual case yet, just that the supposedly cursed object is some sort of jewel.”

“Talk about too much money being a curse,” Harry joked.

Daphne shot him an unimpressed look, “You really have started making Dad jokes lately.”

Harry laughed and watched her pack her case, “You break off for Christmas after this case, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Daphne said excitedly, “And we are _so_ taking Teddy to the parade in Diagon Alley on Saturday.”

“You know I’m in,” Harry smiled, “I know how much you love Christmas.”

Daphne’s smile widened, “This year is going to be all the more special because of Teddy. Did Andromeda confirm that she would be here?”

“Yep, her and Narcissa are both coming,” Harry replied, “And your Dad will be here too now.”

“I’m glad he got to come home for Christmas,” Daphne admitted, “I think Draco and Hermione will pop by for a bit in the evening so that they can see Narcissa and Teddy, but the Grangers roped them into Christmas dinner.”

Harry grinned, “Oh, that’s brilliant! Draco is going to have to watch the Queen's speech!”

“Why are you cackling about that?” Daphne asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Because it’s fucking hilarious!”

Daphne shook her head and hid an amused smile, “I swear to Salazar, I do not understand you sometimes.”

* * *

When Narcissa walked into Cygnus’s hospital room, he was already sitting on the edge of the bed with his bag packed at his feet. He smiled over at Narcissa when he saw her.

“You look much healthier, Cygnus,” Narcissa said with a smile.

He still needed to put on some weight, but he no longer looked gaunt around the face, and there was some colour in his cheeks again. His hair had been cut, and he was in his own clothes. He almost looked like himself again.

“I feel it,” Cygnus said, he grabbed a cane that rested against the side of the bed and used it to push himself up.

Narcissa frowned slightly as her eyes lingered on the cane.

Cygnus followed her line of sight, and then realisation flashed through his eyes, “Oh, it is only a temporary measure Narcissa until I am strong enough to walk unaided. I will not need it for life like Lucius did.”

Narcissa swallowed and nodded, “I apologise Cygnus. I just have several bad memories surrounding Lucius and his cane.”

Cygnus sighed, “I wish you had never been forced to marry that brute.”

Narcissa smiled sadly, “I once wished for the same thing, but had I not married Lucius, then I would not have Draco.”

“And if I had not married Lareina, I would not have my girls,” Cygnus agreed, “But I would still never wish a marriage contract on either of my children now that I have endured all I have.”

“Nor would I,” Narcissa sighed, she walked to the window and kept her gaze on the false environment outside, “Our children fought for the right to marry for love, I could never take that from them. They are an inspiration Cygnus, the change that they are bringing to our world…”

“Did you hear about Almina’s law?” Cygnus asked. He sounded closer.

Narcissa shut her eyes tightly, “Yes. If only such a law had existed 20 years ago,” she turned around and smiled sadly at him, “But back then, we simply had to play our part and hope that would be enough for us to escape punishment. Almina…she was always too rebellious to sit on the side-lines as the perfect housewife and pretend that was enough for her.”

“Gifted witches should never be forced onto the side-lines,” Cygnus agreed as he caught her eye, “You could have been a great Healer, you know.”

Narcissa smiled sadly and glanced towards the door as it opened. A Medi-Witch walked in and smiled at them, “You look ready to go home, Mr Greengrass.”

“Trust me, I am,” Cygnus said with a warm smile, “You have given me the most fantastic care over the past few months, but it will be lovely to have a little more freedom.”

“Of course,” The Medi-Witch said kindly, “I just need you to fill out these discharge papers.”

Narcissa took the papers from her and filled them out. She handed them back, and the Medi-Witch scanned them then looked up with a smile, “Perfect, you are free to go Mr Greengrass.”

Narcissa smiled at Cygnus and hooked her arm through his. They were silent as they walked through the hospital.

When they stepped outside into the cold winter air, Cygnus breathed in deeply, “Daphne always loved this weather as a little girl.”

“And now Teddy loves it,” Narcissa said with a soft smile.

“You seem rather fond of him,” Cygnus noted.

“I am,” Narcissa said softly, “I moved in with Andromeda after the war. We reconciled after Lucius was sent to prison and at the time, Andromeda was looking after her Grandson. Harry and Daphne returned to school to finish their N.E.W.T’s, you see. I grew very fond of him, and I still care for him regularly while Harry and Daphne work.”

Cygnus shook his head, “I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that I went to sleep during a war then woke up to find my daughter marrying the chosen one and Draco being best friends with him.”

Narcissa chuckled, “That year the children went back to school changed everything,” she said honestly, “For the better, I do believe.”

“It certainly seems so,” Cygnus said honestly, “How are we getting to Potter Manor?”

“Side apparition,” Narcissa said, leading Cygnus into a back alley, “It isn’t far, just to Surrey.”

“When was it restored?” Cygnus asked curiously.

“Just recently,” Narcissa replied, “Are you ready?”

Cygnus nodded. He shut his eyes, anticipating the nauseating feeling that came with side apparition. It came, and it was worse than he remembered.

When they reached the gate of Potter Manor, Cygnus was as white as a sheet.

Narcissa glanced at him anxiously, “Ah, I was worried that it may drain you. Come now, it is just a short way up the path then we can get you settled.”

Cygnus took a moment to catch his breath then let Narcissa lead him up the path. He placed his hand on the front door, and it granted him entry, Narcissa helped him into the entrance hall.

“Daphne decided it would be best to give you the room on the first floor,” Narcissa said as she let Cygnus lean on her while they ascended the stairs, “It is the only bedroom on this floor, so you will have plenty of privacy. You also have your own private bathroom, and there are not too many stairs for you to cope with.”

Cygnus smiled, “That was very considerate of her.”

“She cares greatly for you, Cygnus,” Narcissa assured him, “Both of the girls do.”

“Oh, I know,” Cygnus said honestly.

They fell silent as Cygnus struggled up the stairs. Once they reached his bedroom, Narcissa helped him into bed and stood up, “I will leave to let you get settled-”

“Narcissa,” Cygnus interrupted, “Please, stay for tea?”

Narcissa paused halfway to the door.

“It would be nice to catch up properly,” Cygnus elaborated.

Narcissa smiled and sat down next to his bed. She clicked her fingers and summoned Kreacher.

“Mistress Black,” Kreacher said, bowing lowly, “Kreacher is most honoured to serve you.”

“Thank you, Kreacher,” Narcissa said gently, “Would you be so kind as to fetch myself and Cygnus a tray of tea?”

Kreacher’s eyes widened, “Yes, Mistress Black. Kreacher is pleased to see so many purebloods again now that Master Potter is to be married. No more blood traitors and filth to serve, no.”

The elf disappeared with a crack and Cygnus raised an eyebrow at Narcissa.

Narcissa chuckled, “Kreacher was my Aunt Walburga’s house-elf. He has a certain disregard for Muggle-borns, and before Harry met Daphne, he did not have much knowledge about pureblood culture.”

“I see,” Cygnus chuckled, “Speaking of purebloods, did you say that Nymphadora Tonks had a child with Remus Lupin?”

“Yes,” Narcissa said, “She did.”

“The Remus Lupin who we saw sorted in our fifth year?”

Narcissa smiled slightly, “Yes, there was a rather large age gap between them.”

“Indeed,” Cygnus said.

Kreacher arrived with the tea, and Narcissa busied herself with pouring it out.

“How bad was he to you?”

Narcissa frowned, “That is not a proper thing to discuss Cygnus.”

“Perhaps not,” Cygnus agreed, “But I need to know Cissa. He always had a nasty streak while we were at school, so I need to know. How bad was it?”

Narcissa sighed and cradled her cup of tea, “It was not a pleasant experience. After the first war, it was bearable. He was never a caring, loving husband, but he was not violent, either. When the dark lord returned…”

“He hurt you.”

“He controlled me mostly,” Narcissa said, keeping her eyes downward, “He loved me in his own way, but when I got too stubborn, he placed me under the imperius curse for months at a time until I agreed to do his bidding of my own free will. He stopped me from saving Draco from the fate of being branded by the dark lord.”

Narcissa paused to take a breath, “But he also killed a muggle to save me when Draco was incapable of killing to complete the ritual required to become a Death Eater.”

“If you think that is love, your idea of love is very sick and twisted,” Cygnus said quietly.

“Of course it is Cygnus,” Narcissa said as she placed a teacup in his hands, “I spent years at the hands of a monster.”

“How you survived it is beyond me,” Cygnus said, “But you were always strong, even as a girl.”

Narcissa cleared her throat and changed the subject, “Now, on a happier note. I do believe we will be spending Christmas together this year.”

“Oh, you aren’t spending it with Draco?”

“He is obliged to spend Christmas with Hermione’s parents this year,” Narcissa explained, “But he will be dropping in later in the evening. Harry and Daphne kindly asked if I would like to spend Christmas here as Andromeda and Teddy will be here.”

“That was very kind of them,” Cygnus said, smiling at her.

“You will find Cygnus, your future son-in-law has much kindness in his heart,” Narcissa said as she rose to her feet, “Now, get some sleep. You need to rest up so that you can enjoy Christmas day with your family.”

“I will,” Cygnus promised, “Thank you, Cissa.”

Narcissa smiled at the old nickname, “Of course, Cygnus.”

* * *

When Theo finished training for Christmas break and got home, he stopped in his tracks when he saw his wife sitting on the sofa with her knees pulled up under her, crying.

“What is it?” Theo asked, dropping his bag and rushing over to her, “Are you okay? Are the babies okay?”

“I’m fine, and the babies are fine,” Sadie said. She smiled sadly at Theo and motioned to the portrait on the table in front of her, “But the portrait is finished. I just need to say the final incantation, and it will come to life and I just…I…”

Theo nodded, “Do you want me to say it?”

Sadie swallowed hard and nodded.

Theo sat down next to his wife and said, “ _Animari.”_

Portrait Tracey’s eyes swivelled madly for a moment. Then she moved one arm and another. Then she kicked one leg and the other. It was like watching a puppet work out that it had strings. Theo took Sadie’s hand as they watched the portrait frown and hold her head.

When she eventually turned to look at them, she said, “My subject was called Tracey. She meant a lot to you.”

Sadie nodded, “She did. I imbued your portrait with my memories of her so you can embody her personality traits.”

Portrait Tracey nodded, “She was sarcastic but caring. She loved very deeply, and she died.”

“She did,” Sadie said quietly, “It will take a couple of days for all of that knowledge to sink in and settle so if you need to ask me any questions, I’ll keep you hung in the drawing-room. You know the girl in your memories called Daphne?”

The portrait nodded.

“You’re a gift for her. She loved your subject, and she misses her very much,” Sadie explained.

“I see. I shall endeavour to embody my subjects traits before I am to be gifted then.”

Sadie nodded and buried her head in Theo’s chest.

“Are you okay?” He murmured in her ear.

“It’s not her,” Sadie said. Her voice was choked, “She can learn how to be _like_ Tracey, but it’s not her.”

“It can’t be baby,” Theo said softly, “No spell can bring back the dead, you know that.”

“I just hope Daphne realises that,” Sadie said, looking up at Theo with bloodshot eyes, “She needs to understand that she doesn’t have Tracey back. She’s still dead, this is just a small way to keep her alive in our hearts.”

Theo nodded, “If she doesn’t understand that, then we will just have to help her understand,” he assured Sadie as he looked at Tracey’s portrait carefully. It was a dangerous game, magical portrait-making.

* * *

Harry had never been much of a fan of Christmas. He had never seen the magic of it growing up, he had just seen Dudley get spoiled rotten but still throw at least one temper tantrum about how he hadn’t gotten what he wanted.

When he had come to Hogwarts, Christmas had become a great excuse not to have to go home to the Dursley’s but, as much as he enjoyed it, he had never thought much of it.

However, that Christmas morning when Teddy ran into the kitchen, Harry truly understood the magic of Christmas. His eyes had lit up when he saw the small pile of presents next to the fireplace and Harry had never felt as content as he did, sitting in a comfortable chair with a cup of coffee watching the love of his life help their little boy open his presents.

He knew he probably looked ridiculous, sitting there with a smile on his face and occasionally saying, “Wow Teddy!” when the little boy showed him one of his presents. Harry didn’t care, though, he just liked to see Teddy happy.

Once he had torn into all of his presents and was munching on his toast while refusing to let go of his new, giant cuddly Hippogriff, Harry pressed a mug into Daphne’s hands, “Drink your coffee, it’s going to be a long day.”

Daphne laughed, “Teddy loves his presents though. I just got you something small this year since we decided that Christmas was about Teddy.”

She reached under the tree and pulled out an envelope. Harry opened it and smiled, “A Puddlemere season ticket? You shouldn’t have done that Daph.”

Daphne smiled, “It’s your thing, you love taking Teddy to the games.”

“Thank you,” Harry said, kissing her again, “It was very thoughtful. I do have a gift for you too, but I’ll give it to you later.”

“Dada! Broom?”

Harry glanced at Daphne, “Can he play with his new broom?”

Daphne looked up at the clock, it was 9am, “Yes, but wrap him up warm.”

Harry grinned at Teddy, “Alright, little guy, let’s get you dressed in some warm clothes and then we can play outside!”

Teddy grinned and ran up the stairs excitedly, Harry followed him up, and Daphne let a fond smile slip onto her face as she watched them go.

“Motherhood suits you, my love.”

Daphne chuckled and turned around to see her father, “How did you slip in unnoticed?”

“I discovered a secret passage from my wardrobe which lets out in the pantry,” Cygnus said, easing himself into a chair, “It is rather useful for an old cripple like myself.”

“You are hardly an old cripple Dad, you’re just recuperating,” Daphne said, “Would you like a coffee?”

Cygnus nodded, so Daphne poured him a cup and set it down in front of him, “Merry Christmas.”

Cygnus smiled, “You always did love this time of year.”

“I still do,” Daphne admitted, “All the more so now Teddy is in our lives.”

“He is a lovely boy,” Cygnus agreed, “Narcissa said she was spending the day with you?”

“Yes,” Daphne replied, “Her and Andromeda are coming over for Christmas lunch then once Teddy goes to bed tonight, we’re having our friends over. It will probably get a little loud, so I do apologise if we keep you up. There is a balcony overlooking the drawing-room right across the hall from you, and the sound tends to carry.”

Cygnus shook his head, “It is Christmas Daphne, enjoy yourself and do not worry about keeping me up.”

Daphne smiled and sat down across from him, “Astoria is coming for Christmas lunch too, you know? She is bringing her new boyfriend with her.”

Cygnus narrowed his eyes at his daughter, “Do you know who he is?”

“I do,” Daphne admitted, “And I am not entirely convinced that you will approve, but we shall see when he gets here.”

“How very Slytherin of you,” Cygnus remarked.

Daphne’s eyes flashed mischievously, “I learned from the best Father.”

* * *

When Daphne stepped into the garden, a broad smile lit up her face. Teddy was playing in his new broom and occasionally bumping Harry, who dramatically ‘fell’ from his broom into the snow.

She laughed heartily as she watched them, and Harry grinned at her. He dismounted her broom and ushered her over.

Daphne picked her way through the snow to join him by the barn.

“Are you ready for your Christmas present?” Harry asked cheerfully.

“My Christmas present is in the barn?” She asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Harry grinned and stepped into the barn. A few minutes later, he returned with a big black bundle in his arms, “Say hello to your Christmas present.”

Daphne’s eyes widened, “A dog?”

Harry nodded eagerly, “I know you always wanted one. I haven’t named him yet, figured you would like to do that, but he’s very friendly.”

Daphne grinned and took the dog from her, she had assumed it was an adult at first, but when the dog started yapping and licking her face, she realised that it was just a very big puppy.

“Oh my gosh, a Newfoundland puppy! Harry, how did you know that this was one of my favourite breeds?” Daphne asked excitedly.

Harry smiled, “I had a chat with your Dad about it, he gave me a few pointers.”

Daphne laughed as the puppy excitedly began to lick her again, “This little guy is going to get very big and very strong, and he’s pretty excitable so do you know what I think we should name him?”

“Hagrid?” Harry joked.

Daphne laughed and shook her head, “No, Padfoot.”

Harry paused, his face fell, and for a moment, Daphne thought she had said the wrong thing, “Unless that’s too-”

“No,” Harry said quickly, he cleared his throat and tried to clear the tears in his eyes, “No Daph, Padfoot is perfect, and the fact you came up with that… _you_ are perfect,” he stepped forward and kissed her, “Merry Christmas.”

Daphne smiled back, “Merry Christmas,” she said softly.

* * *

“Where is my favourite nephew? I have lots of presents for him!”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at her sister as she walked into the drawing-room with an armful of gifts, “He’s your only nephew, and don’t you think you’ve gone a bit overboard?”

“I have the right to go overboard for my only nephew,” Astoria said offhandedly, “Hey Teddy! Happy Christmas!”

“Aunt ‘storia!”

Teddy hugged Astoria then looked at the presents with wide eyes.

Astoria laughed, “This one is for your mummy, this one is for your daddy, and this one is for your grandad,” she said as she handed out the rest of the presents, “But all of these ones are for you.”

Teddy looked up to Daphne, and she smiled, “On you go, baby, open them up.”

The little boy wasted no time, he dove into the presents straight away.

“Where’s your other half? I thought he was joining us for Christmas lunch,” Daphne said as she opened the gift from Astoria.

“He’s running late, so he’s going to floo straight here,” Astoria replied smoothly.

“This is lovely Astoria, thank you,” Daphne said, the gift was a diamond charm with the word ‘sister’ for the matching charm bracelets that she and Astoria had gotten as children.

“And thank you for the chocolate,” Harry added, she had given him a Honeydukes box.

Cygnus smiled over at her, “Thank you Astoria,” he said, holding up the quality quill and inkpot set, “It will come in handy now that I can write again.”

“I had it engraved,” Astoria added.

Cygnus looked down and read the small print. It simply said, “To Father. Merry Christmas. Love, Astoria” but it still brought a tear to his eye.

“You definitely win favourite daughter this Christmas, I just got him a cashmere jumper,” Daphne joked under her breath.

Astoria laughed, but before she could say anything else, there was a cry of, “MUMMA! DADA! LOOK!”

Harry looked over in disbelief, and Daphne’s jaw dropped.

“Astoria,” Harry began slowly, “Did you seriously get our toddler a _Niffler_?”

Astoria smirked, “So? The kid likes animals.”

“And his mother likes shiny things,” Harry pointed out, “Can you see how those two things don’t go together _at all_?”

The Niffler darted across the room and nabbed Daphne’s engagement ring from her finger, “Astoria!”

A loud, barking laugh sounded from behind them, and for a moment, everyone was confused until they realised that the sound had come from Cygnus who was positively beside himself with laughter.

Daphne glared at her sister as she caught the Niffler and gave it a good shake in order to retrieve her engagement ring, “You-” she said to her sister, “- are taking this back. It’s not staying in my house. I can handle Harry having a goddamn Boa Constrictor in the back garden and Neville building Teddy a greenhouse with a baby venomous tentacula but I cannot handle that thieving monstrosity stealing all of my expensive jewellery!”

Harry grinned at his fiancé, “You know baby? Sometimes I forget that you’re Daphne Greengrass; Slytherin Ice Queen, high maintenance pureblood. But then there are times like this that you just prove you haven’t changed that much.”

Daphne rolled her eyes and dropped the Niffler into Harry’s lap, “Get that out of my sight right now.”

“What do you want me to do with it exactly?” Harry asked, looking over at Teddy who was now preoccupied with a moving Quidditch set.

“Does Dave like Niffler?”

“Daphne!”

“Who is Dave?” Cygnus asked.

“Dave is my Boa Constrictor Cygnus,” Harry replied, “And although he will eat literally anything, Daphne knows that it would be morally wrong to feed a living Niffler to a snake.”

Daphne scoffed, “Give it to Hermione then. She likes anything small and furry, it can steal Draco’s expensive family jewellery instead of mine.”

Harry snorted, “For now, I think I’ll just pop it in the greenhouse. There’s nothing shiny in there so what harm can it do?”

“Famous last words,” Daphne muttered.

Astoria didn’t even have the courtesy to look sheepish about the whole thing.

* * *

When Harry was returning to the house after depositing the Niffler in the greenhouse, he was greeted by Andromeda and Narcissa who had just been let in by Kreacher.

“Merry Christmas,” He said, kissing Andromeda on the cheek and giving Narcissa a hug.

“And you,” Andromeda said, “Have you had a good morning?”

“We have had a brilliant day so far,” Harry said, unable to hide his grin, “There has just been the one snag which involved Astoria buying Teddy a Niffler.”

Narcissa’s eyes widened, “No?”

“Yes, I have just deposited it in the greenhouse,” Harry chuckled, “But Daphne would have had me feed it to Dave given half a chance.”

“Dave?” Narcissa frowned.

“Harry’s Boa Constrictor,” Andromeda said.

Narcissa’s eyes widened, “You have a deadly snake around Teddy? And you allow this Andromeda?”

“Harry is a parselmouth, Cissa,” Andromeda explained with a smile, “He talks to the snake as a companion. It would not harm him, Daphne or Teddy but it would attack if he asked it to.”

“I see,” Narcissa frowned.

“Anyway,” Harry said, “Would you like to come up to the drawing-room for a pre-dinner drink? Everyone else is already here.”

“Of course,” Andromeda said, and the two women followed Harry up into the drawing-room.

When they entered the room, Teddy shouted, “Gramma!” and threw himself at Andromeda. She laughed and picked him up, then was told, “Look!” so she sat down to play with him.

Narcissa hung back a little and smiled as she watched her older sister with her grandson.

“Merry Christmas Narcissa.”

Narcissa glanced over at Cygnus, “Merry Christmas Cygnus,” she said.

Harry handed her a glass of wine, and she sat down next to Cygnus on the sofa, “We always expected our families to come together, but never like this.”

“No,” Cygnus agreed, “I always expected Draco to marry one of the girls.”

“But Daphne fell in love with the saviour of the wizarding world, and Draco fell in love with a Muggle-born,” Narcissa said with a smile, “I think he must have gotten more from his Aunt Andromeda than I realised.”

“I think at heart, Draco was always more of a Black than a Malfoy,” Cygnus said honestly.

“Unfortunately he had to hide the best parts of himself for so long, in order to please his father,” Narcissa sighed.

“But that is not something to discuss on Christmas Day,” Cygnus said, resting his hand on top of hers.

“No,” Narcissa agreed, “It is not.”

Andromeda shot her sister a knowing smile from the other side of the room, but Narcissa made no move to take her hand out of Cygnus’s.

The floo whirred to life, and everyone turned their attention to it.

“Access granted,” Harry said, he, like Daphne, knew who Astoria’s new boyfriend was.

The fire turned green, and a stocky, tattooed redhead stepped out of it. He smiled at Astoria, “Merry Christmas, everyone. Sorry that I’m running late, I had to give the creatures in the Forbidden Forest their Christmas dinner before I could get away.”

There was a stunned silence around the room.

Daphne broke it by smiling at the man, “Merry Christmas Charlie. What can I get you to drink?”

“A firewhiskey would be great, Daphne,” Charlie replied cheerfully.

Astoria hooked her arm through the older mans and said, “For those of you who don’t know, this is Charlie Weasley, my boyfriend.”

Cygnus cleared his throat, “And how much older than you is this man, Astoria?”

Astoria raised an eyebrow at her father, “Nine years if you must know Father, but if you deem me old enough and mature enough to run your company then by association you must also deem me old enough and mature enough to make my own decisions.”

Cygnus, annoyingly enough, could not fault this logic.

“Well,” Andromeda said, surveying them, “How on earth did you two meet?”

“Daphne,” Astoria said.

While Charlie answered, “Bill.”

Daphne laughed and said, “Harry, Teddy and I went to Bill and Fleur’s for a pre-Christmas night out, and I invited Astoria because I thought she could use a little time away. As it turned out, Bill had invited Charlie because he was lonely in the aftermath of a break-up, and low and behold, the two of them got talking.”

“Got talking?” Cygnus questioned, “Whatever could you have in common with a…” he frowned, “Weasley?”

“Well Father, this Weasley happened to be a dragon tamer for several years before returning to the UK to work at Hogwarts,” Astoria said matter of factly, “But he chose that career because he likes magical creatures, not because he lacked the intelligence to do anything else. We got talking about the company, and I quickly realised that Charlie could have had a fantastic career in the Ministry if he hadn’t been terrified of a desk job, so I invited him to a dinner meeting which sort of became a date.”

“And she also got you a new job,” Harry grinned, “When do you start at Greengrass Industries?”

Charlie chuckled, “After the Christmas break, Rolf Scamander will be replacing me. I’m sure he’s more than qualified enough, considering who his Grandfather is.”

Charlie then addressed Cygnus directly, “I’m sorry I haven’t met you until this point sir, but Astoria wanted you to recover a little more before she shocked you with the news. I am well aware that the age gap is large. If it truly is an issue then, of course, I would not continue to court your daughter without your consent-” at this Astoria quirked up an eyebrow in Charlie’s direction, “-But I think we both know that your daughters both have a way of getting their own way and I think it would go against both of our best wishes to upset either of them on Christmas day.”

Cygnus narrowed his eyes slightly at the man, “Why don’t you bring that firewhiskey over here son, and we’ll continue this discussion?”

Charlie shot Astoria a vaguely amused look and replied, “Of course, sir.”

He disappeared to the other side of the drawing-room with Cygnus, and Narcissa made herself scarce by going over to wish Teddy a happy Christmas.

Daphne grinned, “He took that better than I thought he would.”

“Well Charlie can play the political game as well as either of us can,” Astoria reasoned, “You ought to tell your future husband that so he can stop getting played by his best friend.”

“Give him more credit than that,” Daphne said in an undertone, “He knew what Hermione was up to, but he thought that she had a point, so he presented the case to the Wizengamot anyway. Those bloody heroic Gryffindors have got to stick together with their righteous attitudes after all.”

“I can hear you, you know?” Harry said, from his spot a few metres away, “I’m literally right here.”

“Yes, we know,” Astoria replied.

Harry rolled his eyes, “Bloody Slytherins.”

“Harry, look around you,” Daphne said with a sly smile, “Who are you spending your Christmas with?”

Harry frowned as he glanced around the room, from Daphne and Astoria, to Andromeda and Narcissa, to Cygnus.

“Holy shit,” Harry muttered under his breath, “When did I sign up to fill my manor with Slytherins for Christmas?”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “When you asked me to marry you?”

“She makes a good point, you know?”

Harry snorted and turned around to look at the Marauders in their portrait, “Dad, you can’t be on their side. I need you to be on my side as a fellow Gryffindor.”

James laughed, “Sorry, Harry, but you don’t really think that everyone in our family was in Gryffindor, do you?”

“Well,” Harry frowned, “You were, and so was Fleamont, and Charlus.”

“Their wives weren’t,” Sirus said with a grin, “Dorea is a Black mate, she was in Slytherin.”

“And Euphemia was a Greengrass,” Astoria smirked, “She was in Ravenclaw.”

“How on earth did a whole generation of Greengrass’s end up in Slytherin, exactly?” Sirius asked Daphne and Astoria.

“Our mother was a Crouch,” Daphne answered, “And a homicidal maniac.”

“Who was sleeping with her brother-in-law.”

“Sounds legit,” Sirius remarked.

Remus rolled his eyes, “Would you quit using modern slang?”

“I’m trying to be down with the kids, Moony,” Sirius quipped.

Harry shook his head in amusement and turned back to the room, “Potter Manor, full of Slytherins. I never thought I would see the day.”

“You aren’t having second thoughts, are you?” Astoria quipped, “Because it’s a little late if you are.”

“Never,” Harry promised, “I cannot wait to call your sister my wife, Astoria.”

Astoria made a face, “If you two are going to act like this, I think I’ll take my chances with Dad and Charlie.”

“Be my guest,” Daphne said, nudging her sister in that direction with a snort of amusement.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	69. Happy Christmas, War is Over

“You and Cygnus looked rather cosy.”

Narcissa shot Andromeda a reprimanding look, “Andromeda, he has just returned from the dead, and I have barely been divorced for a year.”

“I just said that you looked cosy Cissa,” Andromeda said with a slightly sly smile, “No need to read into it that much.”

Narcissa resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she looked over at Teddy, who was still playing away happily with his new toys.

“Alright,” Daphne called loudly, “Dad if you have finished interrogating Astoria’s latest catch, it’s time for lunch!”

Andromeda chuckled as she got to her feet and lifted Teddy, “Have I mentioned how much I like Daphne, Cissa? I feel like Harry made a fantastic choice when he asked her to become his wife.”

Narcissa smiled too, “As do I,” she said honestly.

* * *

Christmas lunch passed smoothly, Charlie successfully made small talk with everyone at the table and only brought up dragons once, which resulted in Astoria elbowing him in the ribs rather painfully.

When they had finished eating, Teddy was exhausted, so he said his goodbyes to everyone and went up to bed a little early. Harry and Daphne had not long returned to the drawing-room when the floo roared to life once more.

“Floo signatures: Draco Black and Hermione Granger.”

“Access granted,” Daphne said.

Moments later, Draco and Hermione stepped out of the fireplace, looking a little irritated.

“You are never getting invited back there for Christmas again,” Hermione muttered irritably,

“Look I said sorry,” Draco complained, “I warned you that I am a pureblood prat who doesn’t understand muggle shit, I literally warned you _this morning_!”

Harry grinned, “Oh, dear God. What did he do?”

“Don’t even get her started Potter,” Draco said, glaring at the Gryffindor boy.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, “Go on, Hermione, what did he do?”

Hermione shook her head in disbelief, “When the Queen's speech came on, he asked my parents who this Queen was anyway? And when they explained, he questioned why she even had any authority and proceeded to rant about the fact that the Queen doesn’t even know about wizards and doesn’t make laws so has no real authority and therefore might as well be overthrown,” she rattled off.

Harry whistled.

“And do you know what?” Hermione added angrily, “He might have gotten away with it, if he hadn’t finished with, ‘Maybe I should replace her? I would look damn good in a crown’.”

By the time Hermione had finished, Harry was literally crying with laughter. Charlie wasn’t much better, and Astoria was just shaking her head in disbelief.

Amongst the chaos, Daphne led Draco towards the drinks cabinet and whispered, “Good job, you definitely won’t have to spend Christmas with them next year.”

Draco smirked, “I’m counting on it.”

Meanwhile, by the fireplace, Harry regained his composure and said, “Do you reckon he did it on purpose so that your parents don’t invite him back for Christmas?”

“I’m fucking sure of it,” Hermione fumed, “I swear to Merlin, I will kill him tonight.”

“Nah, you won’t,” Harry said, patting her on the back, “You love him too much. Come on, get yourself a drink before the others arrive.”

“Yeah. I think I – Charlie, what are you doing here?” Hermione asked, frowning when she saw him.

“Just passing by, you know?” Charlie grinned, “Wishing my favourite adopted brother a Merry Christmas and all.”

“In person?” Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Why not?” Charlie shrugged.

Draco re-joined Hermione and rolled his eyes, “You have got to be kidding me.”

“What?” Hermione asked cluelessly.

Draco had turned his attention to Astoria, “You can’t seriously be dating him?”

“What?” Hermione said in disbelief.

“Stop saying what love, it’s making you look a bit dim,” Draco said offhandedly.

Hermione whacked him around the head, much to Harry’s amusement.

Astoria raised an eyebrow at Draco and took Charlie’s hand, “I fail to see why it matters to you anyway, Draco.”

Draco scoffed, “I can’t believe this. I mean it was bad enough when _you_ got together with Harry fucking Potter Daphne-”

“Middle name is James actually Draco-”

“Shut up Potter,” Draco interjected, “But now Astoria and a Weasley? Cygnus, how can you let your daughters do this to you?”

Cygnus smiled slightly, “Let’s be honest, Draco. I do not _let_ my daughters do anything. They do as they wish, regardless of my intentions.”

“Well let’s be real Dad, your intentions were for me to marry Draco which is a horrific thought,” Daphne said, “And for Astoria to marry Theodore Nott which is probably the worst idea you have had in…well, ever.”

“Harsh Daph.”

They turned to the door where Theo and Sadie stood hand in hand.

“Why didn’t you use the floo?” Daphne asked.

Sadie raised an eyebrow and pointed at her stomach, “Uh, pregnant with twins remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” Daphne realised.

Harry snorted.

“How much have you guys had to drink today?” Theo asked with an amused grin.

“A lot,” Daphne admitted.

“She stumbled through Teddy’s bedtime story,” Harry chuckled.

“Well, the little shit had to go and pick Babbitty Rabbitty, didn’t he? Do you know how hard that is to read when you’re a bit drunk?” Daphne complained.

“Imagine being 6 years old with your drunk Dads trying to read you The Hunchback of Notredame when one of them is from the East End of London, and the other one is Irish.”

There was a collective snort of amusement as Neville and Lilly stepped into the drawing-room.

“What excuse do you two have for not using the floo?” Hermione asked, with an amused smile.

“Neville was too drunk to use it, so I side apparated him here,” Lilly grinned, “My Mum and my Dads kept plying him with drink until he fell asleep in front of the TV during the Queen's speech.”

“That’s the best way to get through the Queen's fecking speech,” Neville muttered.

Draco grinned, “Yes! Neville come here and get a drink, let’s discuss this farce that is the Queen.”

“You are skating on thin fucking ice Draco Malfoy,” Hermione muttered.

“It has been Black for quite some time now love,” Draco said, ushering Neville to the side.

Lilly shook her head in amusement, “I’m not even going to ask what that was about but Merry Christmas everyone! Is Suse still coming?”

“She said she was, but you know Susan, she’s always late,” Daphne said with a wave of her hand.

At that moment, the floo buzzed.

“Floo signatures: Susan Bones and Percy Weasley.”

“Access granted,” Harry said.

Susan stepped through looking very cheerful, and Percy followed her looking far more like his old self in smart jeans and a jumper, rather than his bounty hunting gear.

“Merry Christmas!” Susan shouted when she walked in, “Oh shit, you have a baby now!”

“A toddler,” Daphne corrected, “And Christmas has exhausted him, I don’t think a hurricane would wake him up right now. Merry Christmas Suse.”

“And I guess we must be the last to arrive as always because Susan takes so long to get – Charlie! What are you doing here?”

Charlie snorted, “Is nobody just happy to see me? Merry Christmas to you too Perce.”

“I mean yes, Merry Christmas Charlie,” Percy frowned, “But, why are you here?”

“I just thought I would spend Christmas with my girlfriend,” Charlie said offhandedly from where he was perched on an armchair near the fire.

Percy’s eyes scanned the group then widened, “Oh…right. Well, …that is a shock. I would have thought that Charlie was too young for you, Mrs Malfoy.”

Draco spat out his firewhiskey, Narcissa looked incredibly offended, and Charlie guffawed with laughter.

Susan looked at him in disbelief, “Percy, how can you be so stupid? Why the hell did I marry you?”

There was an echo of, “What?”

“Oh yeah,” Susan said with a grin, “We sort of eloped. I don’t even know if it was legal, though.”

Charlie grinned, “I’m dating Astoria by the way, and what country did you elope in?”

“Bolivia,” Susan replied.

“Did you get married by a guy in a loincloth who could barely speak English?”

“Yep,” Susan replied.

“Nope, not in any way legally binding,” Charlie said in amusement.

“Go figure,” Susan laughed, “Shall we just grab close family and head to Gretna after the new year then Perce?”

Percy smiled at her, “I’m fine with that, and my apologies Mrs Malfoy.”

“Narcissa, please,” Narcissa corrected him, “I am a Black now, not a Malfoy.”

“Of course,” Percy said sheepishly, “I thought Astoria was still in school, Charlie.”

“Hey,” Charlie said testily, “You do not get to give me a lecture about dating someone younger than me.”

“The difference is that Susan is only 4 years younger than me and she isn’t 17,” Percy said.

“I’m 18 actually Percy,” Astoria said matter of factly, “And I am the CEO of Greengrass Industries, so my maturity really should not be questioned. If I were you, I would endeavour to stay on my good side if you want to keep your contract with The Red Stone Group, because they are a sub-division of my company.”

Percy grinned and hit Charlie on the back, “I like her.”

Charlie laughed, “I thought you might. Come on, get yourself a drink.”

“I did not know that they were that close,” Harry said as he watched the two Weasley’s.

“Yeah, that’s a recent development,” Susan remarked, “About as recent as Percy’s decision to tell the ministry to fuck themselves and become a bounty hunter.”

Now that they all had drinks, they split off into smaller groups to catch up. Draco found himself standing next to Daphne, as their eyes lingered on the same spot.

“You did this.”

“Not intentionally,” Daphne promised.

Draco crossed his arms and looked at the spot where their parents sat on a sofa, very closely together, laughing.

“Are you trying to set my mother up with your father?”

“No,” Daphne said, she made a face, “That would be weird, don’t you think?”

Draco cocked his head at the pair, “It would be weird, but I think it would also make my mother very happy and…I can’t remember the last time I saw her happy.”

Daphne hummed thoughtfully, “I don’t think I could begrudge my father happiness after everything that happened.”

Draco groaned, “They are totally going to have sex.”

“Not in my bloody house,” Daphne muttered under her breath, “No geriatric sex and no fucking Nifflers.”

“Do you want to explain the part about Nifflers?” Theo asked as he appeared behind them.

“My _sister_ bought Teddy a Niffler for Christmas,” Daphne muttered irritably, “Don’t suppose you want it, Sade?”

“Definitely not,” Theo interjected, “No animals in my house. Animals and me don’t mix.”

“Neither do plants and you!” Neville called, “Want a venomous tentacula for your birthday?”

“Fuck off, Neville!”

“Draco, do you want-”

“I do not want a Niffler,” Draco cut in, “Hermione would think it was cute until it stole all of the cutlery then I would be the one who had to find a nice home for it and pretend I hadn’t thrown it in a river.”

Neville frowned at him, “Uh…what did you throw in a river exactly?”

“Nothing…it was just a thought I had once about that ugly cat she had,” Draco said sheepishly.

“Draco, I loved Crookshanks!” Hermione said, then she promptly burst into tears.

“I know you loved him, Hermione,” Draco said, patting her on the head unhelpfully.

“But you still have to admit that he looked like he ran into a wall as a kitten and never recovered," Theo said, "He was fuck ugly, and you know it."

"But he was my companion,” Hermione sobbed.

“Holy fuck, she’s drunk,” Susan sniggered.

Lilly grinned, “Is it wrong that I’m finding it a bit funny?”

“No, because you’re not the only one,” Neville whispered, “God, I love Christmas.”

* * *

As the night wore on, Cygnus, Narcissa and Andromeda made themselves scarce. Sadie was tired and as a result, left relatively early too. Theo got up to go with her, but Hermione told him to enjoy himself. As she was tired anyway, she took Sadie home.

Draco and Theo were quite happy with this arrangement as they sat on a sofa laughing about something and drinking their way through a bottle of whiskey.

Harry got to his feet to try and slip away, but Daphne caught him, “Where are you going?”

“Nowhere,” Harry lied.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “What are you up to?”

“I was just going to bring Dave in for a little bit,” Harry admitted.

“No,” Daphne said firmly.

“But Daph, it’s Christmas,” Harry objected, “He’ll get lonely.”

“No, he won’t. He’s a snake, they are solitary creatures,” Daphne said irritably, “You’re not bringing him in here.”

“You’ve got Padfoot in here!”

“Yes, because he is a dog. He’s cute and slobbery, and people love him. He doesn’t crush prey to death, does he?”

“Fine,” Harry muttered, “Then I’m going to go and see him.”

“You do that.”

“I even bought him a possum for Christmas dinner,” Harry added.

“Did you get him a squeaky toy too?” Daphne asked sarcastically.

“No, because that would be condescending,” Harry said, glaring at his fiancé, “He’s highly intelligent, you know?”

“No, I don’t know because I don’t speak snake!”

Neville got to his feet, “I’ll go out with you if you’re going to see Dave, Harry.”

Harry nodded and was about to thank Neville when Theo asked, “Can we come too?”

“No,” Harry replied simply,

“Why not?” Draco asked, affronted.

“Because you’re drunk. He might lunge at you, he could easily break your bones. Look at how scrawny you are,” Harry remarked.

“Scrawny?” Draco retorted, “I could kill you if I wanted to, Potter.”

“Yeah?” Harry countered, “So could another human being.”

Draco frowned.

“So could a dog,” Harry added as Padfoot tried to chew his shoes off.

Draco’s frown deepened.

“So could a dedicated duck,” Harry remarked, “You aren’t special, Draco.”

Neville grinned in amusement at Draco’s confusion.

“But Neville’s drunk too,” Theo objected.

“No, he’s not,” Harry said.

Neville frowned, “You noticed that?”

“That you’ve been transfiguring all of your drinks into water? Yep, it was pretty obvious.”

“I didn’t notice,” Theo whispered to Draco.

“Because you don’t look soulfully at Neville like Harry does.”

“Nah he’s too busy looking soulfully at you instead, Draco,” Neville jibed.

Harry snorted, “ _Why_ have you been transfiguring your drinks, Neville?”

“I just felt bad, with it being Christmas and you being the only one who couldn’t drink,” Neville admitted, “I figured I’d just stay sober too so if things got silly, we could wander off to chill out with Dave together.”

“Fuck me, this is too much,” Theo said as he made a face, “I wouldn’t stop drinking if you became an alcoholic. I’d just be like one for me, one for you Draco – oh no, you don’t drink, do you? – oh well, two for me then!”

“Thanks for the support, Theo,” Draco snorted.

“Would you stop drinking for me?” Theo countered.

“No, but I’d pretend I had when I was with you then I’d sneakily drink at home.”

“Oh because that’s _so_ much healthier!”

“It _is_ healthier than drinking twice as much, just to be a dramatic bellend!”

“Come on, Nev,” Harry sniggered, “You know what those two are like when they get started.”

“Could be at it for hours,” Neville chuckled.

“And then there’s the sex,” Harry joked, making Neville laugh loudly as they headed out of the Manor.

* * *

“Okay, what gives?”

Astoria looked up at her sister, “What?”

“What gives?” Daphne asked calmly, “Because you have been rude to Lilly for a week now and sorry, but I fucking love her to bits, so you don’t get to be rude to her unless you have a very good reason.”

Charlie watched this argument with interest from where he sat next to Astoria.

“I just-”

“Don’t even think about calling her common,” Daphne cut in, “You don’t get to make bitchy comments about how I like them ‘rough’ because you are dating Charlie Weasley, you obviously like them rough too. No offence, Charlie.”

“None taken,” Charlie chuckled.

Astoria rolled her eyes, “Daphne, that is not a fair comparison-”

“Because Charlie’s from a pureblood family? So what? They have a seat on the Wizengamot, but they don’t have money, they don’t have a manor or a house or a lordship. I mean come on, even if _they_ did, he’s not the oldest. Bill would get it all, so give up the act.”

Astoria glared at her, “Perhaps there is a little bit of jealousy.”

“Because she’s a lowly muggle-born whose marrying up?” Daphne scoffed, “Oh come on, Astoria. You could marry up if you wanted to-”

“No, I couldn’t,” Astoria snapped, “What are my options exactly? The Abbotts have one child, a _woman_. The Black heir is engaged. The Bones heir is a _woman_. The Crouch heir is my bloody uncle! The Nott heir is _Theo-_ ”

“Oi!”

“Who I would never have married anyway, but who is also already married,” Astoria said, completely ignoring Theo, “The Parkinson heir is the same age as our father. The head of the Potter family is marrying _you_. The only Selwyn left is a _woman_. Slughorn was our fucking teacher, and the Shacklebolt heirs are both girls. So how could I marry up exactly? I’d have to pick between Hamish MacDougall and Ernie MacMillan. I think I would rather marry down, thank you very much!”

“Okay, fine,” Daphne exclaimed, “The outburst was not required. You could have just said, I love Charlie, and I’m not interested in marrying up.”

Astoria glared at her in response, and Daphne lowered her voice, “So why don’t you like Lilly?”

Astoria rolled her eyes, “Because she reminds me of Tracey, okay? And I don’t like that, in fact, it scares me.”

Daphne frowned, “Why would that scare you?”

“Because you loved Tracey,” Astoria said, “You and Tracey were like Draco and Theo, you were inseparable. I always figured when you got married, Tracey would be part of the deal. Draco and I used to joke about it, he said well at least their both hot, I could put up with that.”

Daphne’s frown deepened, and a knot tied itself in her stomach.

“And now you and Lilly are getting so close,” Astoria said, “As close as you and Tracey were and it scares me. I saw what losing Tracey did to you and she-” she nudged her head in Lilly’s direction, “-she’s reckless. Her job is dangerous, and if she dies…I dread to think what that will do to you.”

“I hate to take your sister's side, Astoria,” Charlie said quietly, “But you can’t _not_ love someone just because you’re scared to lose them, and it’s not your place to tell anyone who they should or shouldn’t love. At the end of the day, Daphne knows the risks.”

Daphne swallowed and said, “I know the risks. You know, we don’t have a four-way relationship like Draco, Hermione. Theo and Sadie do, but I do sympathise with one thing that Hermione told me. She and Sadie bonded over a mutual fear that when their other halves leave in the morning, they might not come home that night, not at all, or not in one piece.”

Astoria frowned.

“I go through that every morning too, but I go through it on my own,” Daphne admitted, “And I’m not just wondering if Harry or Neville might not make it back, I’m wondering if Lilly will too. There are two things you can do when you face that thought every morning. You can let it harden you, or you can just accept that the people you love are very brave for taking that risk every day.”

Daphne jumped when a voice from behind her said, “I love you too, Daph.”

Astoria actually smiled slightly as Lilly leant over the sofa and wrapped her arms around her best friend, “And you should know, those two have got a damn good Healer to look after them. I’ll always send them back as whole as possible.”

Daphne leant back to look up at Lilly, “What about you, Lil? Who's going to make sure you come back?”

“The two amazing Aurors who have always got my back,” Lilly said with a smile, “Forget Draco and Theo, they’re useless. They always let me get kidnapped, eh, boys?”

“Once!” Theo objected from across the room.

“We let you get kidnapped once!”

Lilly grinned down at Daphne and kissed her on the forehead, “I like being taller than you.”

“Don’t get used to it, short-arse.”

“Ta guile!”

“Blaireau.”

“What are they doing?” Charlie asked with a frown.

“Insulting each other in French,” Astoria said, “It’s their thing.”

“Ever since their eye-opening lesbian weekend in Paris,” Theo cut in.

Daphne and Lilly both looked over at him, and Theo instantly regretted the comment, “It was a joke! I’m drunk, I don’t know what I’m saying, Draco, protect me!”

Charlie and Percy both guffawed with laughter as Theo cowered behind Draco.

“Want me to hit him, guys?” Susan asked, “I’m within punching distance.”

“Please do, Suse,” Daphne answered.

“Ouch! Fuck! That is a damn good right hook.”

“I was a beater, dumbass,” Susan grinned. She shot Daphne and Lilly an amused look, and they called, “Thanks, Suse!” in unison.

Daphne turned back to her little sister and said, “I believe you have something to say to Lilly?”

Astoria sighed, “I apologise for calling you rough, just because you’re from the east end of London.”

“I am rough because I’m from the East End,” Lilly said with an amused smile, “Just like you’re a rich girl.”

“She won’t be if she marries a Weasley,” Susan said, plopping down next to Daphne on the sofa, “No offence Char. I love you guys, but for the daughter of an Earl to marry a Weasley? What a _scandal_.”

Percy rolled his eyes, “As scandalous as Baroness Bones giving up her title and her seat on the Wizengamot to marry a lowly Weasley?”

“Oh, that’s not scandalous,” Susan grinned, “Because _before_ we get married. We’re going to pass a law that states that if the female heir marries, she may double-barrel her name and retain her title _and_ her seat on the Wizengamot.”

“And that’s never going to fly because the Wizengamot is majorly run by…?”

“Men,” Charlie agreed.

“Oh you Weasley boys,” Susan said, shooting a sly grin at Astoria, “They are dim, aren’t they?”

“No,” Astoria chuckled, “They just don’t always see things the same way that we do.”

“Several of the _men_ who are sitting on the Wizengamot only have a daughter or daughters. Or in the case of Brown and Parkinson, have lost their only heir who was a female. It will be touch and go, very much a case of how the swing voters vote, but it is feasible that the law gets passed,” Daphne explained.

“So are you going to double-barrel your name to fight me for the Greengrass seat when Father gets too old for it?” Astoria quipped.

“No,” Daphne scoffed, “You’re welcome to it. I will be Marchioness Potter, and Marchioness’s don’t trouble themselves with politics.”

“You might be becoming a Marchioness, but you’re also a fucking drama queen.”

“Harry James Potter!” Daphne exclaimed when she looked up, “Get that fucking snake out of my drawing-room!”

_“Why do you keep this one as your mate? She is bitchy.”_

_“She’s also hot as fuck, Dave. Some of the things she does to make in the bedroom would turn you on, and you’re a snake.”_

Charlie snorted, “Mate, are you telling your snake sexy stories about your missus?”

Harry looked up in surprise, “You understood that?”

“I got a few choice words, yeah,” Charlie answered.

“You _speak_ parseltongue?” Theo asked in surprise.

“Yeah, I dated a guy who could speak it,” Charlie said offhandedly, “Bit of a pretentious prick, he was from Egypt, claimed to be descended from Slytherin in the female line or something. I met him when I was out there with Bill one summer.”

Daphne looked at Charlie, “What was he telling the snake?”

“That you’re kinky in the bedroom,” Charlie grinned, “Must be a Greengrass thing.”

“Charlie!” Three voices echoed.

_“Red one. You understand me?”_

“Uh yeah, Dave,” Charlie said, “I understand you.”

_“Get me a mate. My master refuses, and I must have one. My need for sexual copulation increases year on year.”_

Charlie made a face, “Yeah, I’m not going to do that, Dave.”

_“You offend me.”_

“Is he always this offensive?” Charlie asked.

“And sarcastic, yeah,” Harry replied, “It’s like keeping Draco as a pet.”

“You’d know what that’s like, Theo,” Neville joked.

“Hermione’s the one who ties him up when he misbehaves,” Theo sniggered.

“Oh for the love of Merlin,” Daphne muttered as Draco whacked Theo around the head.

“ _Speak my language, red one.”_

Charlie spoke in very broken parseltongue, and Dave hissed angrily, “ _Human, his pronunciation is offensive. I want to crush him. He is large, he would feed me for days. He would be very satisfying.”_

_“I’m sure Astoria thinks so too,”_ Harry snorted.

“What did he just tell that snake about me, Charlie?” Astoria asked with narrowed eyes.

“I didn’t say anything about you!” Harry lied.

Astoria rolled her eyes, “You said my name. Astoria is the same in parseltongue as it is in English, you idiot.”

“He said you find me satisfying,” Charlie said, smirking at his girlfriend, “Dave wants to eat me.”

“Oh my god,” Lilly muttered, “Right. Harry, that snake needs to go back outside because he’s causing a scene. Frankly, he’s a bigger drama queen than Daphne and Dave, _I know what game you are playing here. You want us all to fear you? Well, none of us fear you. If you wanted to crush us, you would have done it by now. Go back to your lovely little cabin which I spent three hours making warm for you on **Christmas Eve**_ **,** _you ungrateful little shit. And if you carry on misbehaving, I will stop killing ferrets for you when I go out on potion scavenging trips. Do we understand each other?_ ”

Everyone stared at Lilly in disbelief.

“What…the…fuck,” Theo said.

“You speak parseltongue?” Daphne asked in disbelief.

“Uh, yeah,” Lilly replied, “It’s just a language. The more you learn, the easier they are to pick up, and I can speak about six fluently and another six less fluently. I spent a few afternoons out in the cabin with Harry and Dave, and I picked up on it pretty quickly.”

“So you’re good with tongues?” Theo asked with a grin, “Maybe that’s why Daphne likes you so much.”

Theo yelled as four jets of light hit him at the same time.

“Draco, take him home,” Harry remarked.

Draco looked a little scared, “Why did you two hex him?”

“Because he was defending our fiancé’s honour,” Neville remarked with a shrug, “And we’re gentlemen. We wouldn’t let that happen.”

“Yes, we’re far more gentlemanly than you. Aren’t we Earl Longbottom?”

“Indeed, Marquiss Potter.”

“Viscount Black, please escort Viscount Nott from the premises.”

“Fuck you Earl Fatbottom and Marquiss Scarhead,” Draco remarked as he dragged his best friend into the fireplace.

* * *

The residents of Potter Manor, on the whole, slept in very late on boxing day to recover from their hangovers. All but one that was, Daphne had woken up, thrown back a vial of sobering up potion then followed it up with a very strong cup of coffee because Teddy had been standing at the door of his bedroom shouting for her and he didn’t care that it was 6am or that his mum was incredibly hungover.

As a result, she was trying to stay awake in a kitchen chair at 6.30am while Teddy threw toast all over the kitchen. She was jolted into alertness when she heard footsteps outside the kitchen, so she rose to her feet and looked out into the entrance hall.

She had to bite back a snort of disbelief when she saw Narcissa sneaking towards the front door.

“The floo is open if you would like to use it Narcissa,” Daphne said, unable to contain her smirk, “But you could always have a coffee first and say goodbye to Teddy?”

Narcissa raised an eyebrow at Daphne and stepped into the kitchen, “I know what you are trying to do here Daphne and, rest assured, I did not do what you think I did last night.”

“I suggested nothing of the sort,” Daphne pointed out.

“Not verbally, perhaps,” Narcissa said as she stood by the fireplace, “Your father is still ill, and I would never take advantage of that. However, I did fall asleep while keeping an eye on him last night.”

“I never asked you to explain yourself,” Daphne said, still smirking slightly.

“You did not need to,” Narcissa said simply, “I shall see you on New Year’s Eve.”

“See you then, goodbye, Narcissa,” Daphne said.

Narcissa threw some floo powder into the fire and disappeared. Daphne grinned at a bemused Teddy, “Great Auntie Narcissa wants to sleep with Grandad, Teddy! And I don’t know why I’m laughing about it because it’s a pretty disgusting thought.”

Teddy frowned and then threw some toast at his mother.

“And I guess that’s what you think about that,” Daphne said, she yawned and had a piece of soggy toast shoved into her mouth.

“Ugh Teddy, Mummy is still hungover, just don’t.”

Teddy clapped his hands together, “Mummy hungover!”

Daphne just shook her head at the little boy in amusement.

* * *

“You will never guess who did the walk of shame at 6.30am this morning,” Daphne smirked when Draco slunk into the kitchen at 9am, the first person to awaken apart from herself.

“If you say, my mother, I swear to Salazar, I will feed myself to Dave.”

“Well, that will be an interesting sight,” Daphne said, setting a cup of coffee down in front of him, “Do you want some toast? I’m going to do a big brunch when the lightweights wake up.”

Draco shook his head and sipped the coffee, “Our parents are going to get together.”

“Yep,” Daphne agreed, “Which wouldn’t be the worst thing, to be honest. My father loved your Mother, he would have married her if it hadn’t been for marriage contracts.”

“And the fact he was best friends with my father?” Draco pointed out.

“That had less to do with it, I think,” Daphne replied, “I think deep down, my dad always knew that your dad was a dickhead.”

“Harsh, but probably accurate,” Draco agreed.

Daphne chuckled, “And it’s not like they are _that_ old. I mean you can totally find love again at 44 and 49, right?”

Draco smiled slightly, “You’re trying to justify this to yourself, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Daphne admitted, she glanced over at Teddy to check he was alright, but he was too busy playing with his Christmas toys to notice the adult conversation.

“Yes, I think you can find love again at 44,” Draco said with an amused smile, “And I think two people who have had been dealt such crappy cards, are entitled to that. I do suspect that neither of them will marry again, having had such terrible experiences of marriage.”

“Hmm,” Daphne said, nodding thoughtfully, “I would agree with you on that one. She stayed here last night to keep an eye on my Dad, she really cares about him.”

“She always did,” Draco said calmly, “Don’t you remember the early birthday parties when we were young? They would be talking and laughing, and your mother would glare at them, or my father would whisk her away.”

“Ironic considering that they were both the victims of cheating spouses,” Daphne muttered irritably.

Draco shrugged, “Try to put that in the past and enjoy this time with your father.”

“I am,” Daphne promised him.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	70. It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Daphne said, frowning over at Harry, “Why?”

“Because it’s the 29th of December,” Harry said with a slight smile, “We’re getting married in two days.”

“Well, I don’t have any pre-wedding jitters if that’s what you’re referring to,” Daphne said with a chuckle. They were hanging up decorations in the drawing-room which would convert into a ballroom.

“Are we just going to banish this furniture into the attic room for the wedding?” Harry asked, glancing around the room.

Daphne nodded, “The sofas and tables will go, and we will replace them with tables for the meal. Then before the ‘New Years Party’ starts, we’ll get rid of most of the tables so that we have plenty of dance floor space.”

“We’ll need to get the stage ready too,” Harry said.

Daphne frowned, “What stage?”

“The stage,” Harry re-iterated, “This was designed as a ballroom. We just tend to use it as a drawing-room in everyday life.”

“I know, but I helped restore this place, and I don’t remember there being a stage,” Daphne pointed out.

“Well there is one,” Harry said, he walked to the far end of the room and pointed his wand at a large portrait of one of his older ancestors, “Alohomora!”

The portrait slid away, revealing a small stage with deep red curtains pulled across it. When Harry opened them, a lot of dust was displaced.

“Right, we will need to get that ready then,” Daphne agreed with an amused smile, “It should be big enough for the Weird Sisters.”

“I reckon so,” Harry agreed.

“Dada! Puppets!” Teddy exclaimed.

Daphne laughed, “I think we’ve gotten enough done for the wedding today so go on.”

Harry grinned and jumped up onto the dusty stage, “Time for the Potter family puppet show creation…the mysterious ticking noise!”

Daphne shook her head in amusement and continued to hang decorations while Harry amused their son.

* * *

“Alright so this is my, I’m now slightly nervous that I’m getting married tomorrow, checklist,” Daphne rattled off as she sat in the kitchen with Astoria and Lilly the following morning.

Astoria chuckled, “Go on.”

“I have my wedding dress, and I have dresses for you, Sadie, Hermione and Susan,” Daphne said, ticking a box, “Harry his dress robes and he picked up the robes for Neville, Theo, Draco, Ron and Bill.”

“Bill is one of the groomsmen?” Astoria asked in surprise.

“Yeah,” Daphne said, “I’ll be honest, I didn’t see that one coming but apparently he’s Harry’s favourite brother.”

“Wow, sucks to be Ron,” Lilly remarked.

“Lillian-” Astoria began to say.

“I mean you get attacked by a sentient chess piece, go into a chamber full of evil snakes, face a werewolf head-on, destroy a Horcrux and save a guys life, only for your hot, badass older brother to be his favourite,” Lilly continued, “That’s a pretty shit deal.”

“Astoria, don’t lose your temper, she’s being sarcastic,” Daphne said quickly, “And you, Lillian Moon. Regarding Ron’s presence at the wedding, _no fighting_.”

“I don’t fight, I’m a lady,” Lilly said calmly as she leant back in her chair.

Daphne shot her a knowing look, “Shh.”

“Did you just shoosh me?”

“Yes, so shoosh.”

“I don’t shoosh for anyone, even Daphne Greengrass.”

“I’m going to get that put on a t-shirt,” Harry said as he leant in the doorway in a dressing gown.

“Harry, would you like to put some clothes on since we have polite company?”

“Polite company? I just see Astoria and Lilly.”

“Fuck you,” Lilly said, giving Harry the middle finger.

Harry grinned at her, “Coffee, Lil?”

“Yeah,” She replied grudgingly.

“Tea for you and Tori, babe?”

“Uh-huh,” Daphne said calmly.

“By the way,” Harry called as he crossed the room, “As much as I can’t wait to tell Neville about your impassioned defence of Ron. I actually said that Bill was my favourite brother because Ron didn’t count since he was my best friend.”

“If you tell Neville about anything you just heard, I will make sure that the only way the Potter family has an heir is if Daphne screws someone else. Comprende?”

“You’d have to disarm me first,” Harry said with a cheeky grin.

“Harry, shut up. We’re doing important last-minute wedding planning, and your presence is distracting me, so make us hot beverages then leave, please.”

“Bridezilla,” Lilly whispered.

“Seriously shoosh, or I will make you shoosh.”

“I will shoosh when you realise that we have everything planned and under control,” Lilly remarked, “You’re just starting to freak out because the wedding is in a couple of days and the fact you’re freaking out is freaking you out more because ice queens don’t freak out. So it’s like a freak out within a freakout.”

“Did that make sense to you?” Astoria asked her sister.

“Yes,” Daphne admitted, “And while you may be right Lilly, I would like to go over everything again anyway. So, I have Teddy’s little suit, and I have a little dress for Victoire. The ballroom is completely ready and set up. I have the house-elves on the meal and the wedding cake, so that’s fine.”

“Who is doing the ceremony?” Astoria asked.

“Someone from the Ministry, he’s booked in for 2pm,” Daphne said with a flick of her hand, “Dennis is doing the wedding photographs.”

“My ex-boyfriend, Dennis?” Astoria asked, raising an eyebrow at her sister.

Daphne smirked, “Consider that revenge for the Niffler.”

“Touché,” Astoria said with a slight smile, “Wedding favours?”

Daphne nodded, “Done. I have everything squared with the Weird Sisters, and the stage is all set for them. They are going to be here at about 6pm to set up.”

“Flowers?”

“Arriving first thing tomorrow morning,” Daphne said.

“What about a honeymoon?” Astoria asked.

“We aren’t really having one,” Daphne admitted, “Harry needs to be back at the training centre on the 3rd of January, so Andromeda is going to have Teddy for a couple of nights while we have a long weekend somewhere.”

“You haven’t even worked out where?” Astoria asked in disbelief.

“No, it’s all booked, but I haven’t planned it,” Daphne said with a smile as Harry handed her a cup of tea, “Someone wants to surprise me.”

Astoria rolled her eyes, “Gryffindors. Are you all this romantic?”

“Neville’s worse,” Lilly muttered.

“Oh god, yeah,” Harry agreed, “Does he apologise to you with quotes from muggle literature too?”

“Yes, what’s with that?” Lilly asked as she gratefully accepted the cup of coffee he was holding out for her.

“I don’t know, but it makes me uncomfortable, so I just hug him until he shuts up,” Harry shrugged.

Lilly grinned, “I usually just kiss him to shut him up.”

“Are you sure this isn’t a four-way?” Astoria asked.

“We’ve not all had sex yet so no, it’s not a four-way.”

“Yet?” Lilly and Harry echoed as they looked at Daphne.

Daphne waved her hand at them, “Shh. So, wedding shoes? Lilly, did you pick them up for me?”

“Yes, I have them. I still have no idea how you’re going to walk in them mind you, and I’m not letting that ‘yet’ comment go that easily, by the way,” Lilly added.

“Neither am I,” Harry said, perhaps a little too suggestively, which was why Lilly raised an eyebrow at him and said, “Down boy.”

Daphne snorted, “Harry, out.”

“Alright, I’m going out to see Dave,” Harry said with a yawn, “Call me in if you need me.”

The door shut behind him, and Astoria said, “He’s only wearing a dressing gown, and it’s like -3 out there?”

Daphne and Lilly shrugged, “It’s Harry,” they said in unison.

Astoria shook her head in amusement, “Accessories?” Astoria asked.

“Sorted, I dove into the family jewellery box,” Daphne said with an amused smile.

“Who is going to do your hair and make-up?”

“Susan, even if she doesn’t know that yet,” Daphne grinned.

“Do all the guests _know_ they need to be here for 12noon tomorrow, under the ruse they need to help set up?” Astoria asked.

“Yes, they do,” Daphne replied.

“Wedding rings?”

“Safe in a drawer upstairs.”

“And last but not least. Have you got your something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue?” Astoria asked her.

Daphne frowned, “Something old can be the tiara because that was Great Grandma’s. Something new…my dress?”

“Something borrowed and something blue?” Astoria asked.

Daphne shook her head.

“I figured you’d have forgotten about that part,” Lilly said as she slipped a bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Daphne, “So wear this. It’s emerald and diamond, it will look great on the Slytherin ice queen.”

“But Lil,” Daphne said, “That’s the bracelet I bought you in Paris.”

Astoria raised an eyebrow at her, “You bought her a Slytherin bracelet?”

“No, it’s just a coincidence that our birthstones are diamond and emerald,” Daphne said offhandedly, “But seriously Lilly, I can’t wear this.”

“You can and you will,” Lilly said simply, “Don’t argue with me, you’ve already told me to shoosh more than once this morning.”

Daphne smiled and leant over to kiss her on the cheek, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Lilly said with a smile.

“And I bought you this,” Astoria said. She handed her sister a box, “As your something blue. Consider it an early wedding gift.”

Daphne cracked the box open and smiled, “Aquamarine and diamond earrings? Astoria, these must have cost a fortune!”

“Well, your big sister only gets married once,” Astoria said softly, “And they will look beautiful on you.”

“Like everything else does,” Lilly chuckled.

Daphne smiled a little tearfully, “You two are brilliant, thank you.”

* * *

“Uh, babe!”

Daphne popped her head out of the shower, “Yeah?”

“Teddy’s in bed, but where am I sleeping tonight?”

Daphne frowned, “In the bedroom?”

“Are you sure?”

“Just come in!”

Harry slipped into the bathroom.

“What are you on about? Where else would you be sleeping?”

“Well, I’m not meant to see you the night before the wedding, am I?” Harry pointed out.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “You want to go with that old tradition then?”

“I don’t know, I just didn’t know if you did?” Harry asked.

Daphne shook her head, “Don’t be silly. Go to bed, I’ll be there soon. It’s going to be one hell of an early start tomorrow, not to mention a hectic day.”

Harry chuckled, “That’s an understatement. Night love.”

* * *

Daphne felt the first twinges of nerves the following morning as she waited in the entrance hall for the guests to arrive. She looked every inch the part of a party planner as she stood in her jeans with her hair in a bun and a clipboard in her hands so she hoped that they wouldn’t catch on before she wanted them to.

They arrived in groups; first Sadie, Theo, Neville and Lilly. Then Astoria, Charlie, Susan, Percy, Bill, Fleur and Victoire who had all been staying at Shell Cottage. Then Draco, Hermione, Narcissa and Andromeda. Finally, Molly, Arthur, George, Angelina, Ron, Katie, Frederick, Ginny, Blaise and Hope arrived.

Daphne’s father was already here, of course, he was leaning against the staircase with the support of his cane. Harry was upstairs finalising a couple of things, and Teddy was ‘helping’.

“Hey, everyone. Happy New Years eve!” Daphne said cheerfully, “Thanks for coming along to help out. Now I need to assign everyone some jobs so if you can just hear me out for five minutes, that would be great!”

They were all listening intently.

“Charlie, George and Percy,” Daphne began, “Make sure the front path is clear of ice and snow, please. Ginny and Katie, could you take the kids upstairs into the playroom and help keep Teddy occupied please?”

There were nods from those addressed, so Daphne continued, “Neville, Draco, Theo, Ron and Bill; I’m going to need you guys to go upstairs and find Harry so that you can get dressed.”

Some frowns were beginning to form now.

“Fleur, I’m going to need you to get Victoire into the dress I picked out for her,” Daphne continued, “Susan, I’m going to need you to do my hair and Sadie, I’m going to need you to do my make-up. Hermione, Lilly and Astoria? You guys are going to have to get into your dresses.”

The realisation was beginning to dawn on their faces.

“And Dad, I’m going to need you to get into your dress robes because you will be walking me down the aisle in,” she glanced at the clock, “an hour and a half.”

There was much laughter, clapping and shouting at this news.

Daphne grinned and said, “Welcome to our surprise New Years Eve wedding! We wanted you guys here for the ceremony, everyone else is coming for the party later on.”

“Oh my gosh, Daphne!” Sadie exclaimed, “I can’t believe you kept this a secret!”

“How on earth did you not slip up?” Hermione agreed.

“I had a select few people to discuss it with,” Daphne admitted.

Sadie laughed, “You knew then, Lil?”

“I knew,” Lilly said with a smile, “So did Astoria.”

Daphne grinned at them, “We decided to bring in the new year with style.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Susan laughed.

“Oi, Daph!”

Daphne looked over at Bill, “Yeah?”

“How come you didn’t tell me I was a groomsman?”

“You already knew about the wedding, I had to keep something as a surprise,” Daphne joked, “Go upstairs and sort Harry out, he’ll need all the help he can get.”

Bill laughed and nodded.

Meanwhile, Susan said, “Come on future Mrs Potter, let’s make you even more beautiful than you already are.”

Astoria smiled at her sister and said, “Have fun getting ready with your friends. I’m going to help Dad, he will struggle with all of the clasps on dress robes.”

Daphne nodded and smiled at her little sister, “Thanks Astoria,” she said as her friends swept her away.

“Come on, Daphne, we have to see this dress that you picked out without us,” Sadie said, giving her friend a pointed look.

“Hey, I am not as picky as you were,” Daphne teased Sadie, “I was perfectly capable of picking out my own dress.”

The other girls laughed at this as Daphne led them into the spare room that she had turned into a wedding dressing room. Her dress was hanging up on the wardrobe, and everyone bar Lilly gaped.

“You are going to look like an angel in that,” Sadie said tearfully.

“Hormones are making you crazy Sade,” Daphne chuckled, “You haven’t even seen it on yet.”

“We don’t have to,” Hermione said, “You are going to look beautiful in it.”

Daphne smiled and said, “Your dresses are in the other wardrobe. Trying to come up with a dress that would flatter you all was impossible because Hermione and Sadie are tall and Lilly, Susan and Astoria are tiny. Then there was the matter of Hermione having brown hair, Sadie having blonde hair, Susan and Lilly having red hair and Astoria having really dark hair,” she rattled off, “So long story short there are two different colours and styles.”

Daphne opened the wardrobe and took out the first style. These dresses were short and pastel blue, “So Susan and Lilly you are both in blue because pink would look awful with your hair, and I figured pale blue would be a good contrast against how dark Astoria’s hair is so she is in blue too.”

“Not at all harsh Daph,” Susan snorted as she took the dress from her friend.

Lilly sniggered, “Come on, we should be used to it by now.”

Daphne ignored their comments and continued, “Sadie and Hermione, you two are in pink because I figured it would complement your hair and skin tones.”

She held up long pastel pink dresses.

“You really thought this through,” Hermione said, hiding an amused smile.

“This is why I’m going to elope,” Susan muttered under her breath.

If Daphne heard her, she didn’t let on, “Right so hair and make-up, please girls!”

* * *

When the boys found Harry in the drawing-room, Neville grinned and said, “Nicely done.”

“You knew?” Theo asked.

“Of course he did,” Draco said with a roll of his eyes.

Harry shot them an amused look, “Oh come on, of course, I told Neville.”

“I knew too,” Bill smirked, “Daphne told me. I had no idea I was going to be a groomsman mind you.”

“Well if you don’t include Ron because he’s my best friend, you’re my favourite adopted brother Bill,” Harry said with a smile, “And you’ve done a lot for Daphne. I hope you know how much I appreciate that.”

“I think I do,” Bill said sincerely.

“Enough brotherly love and not so brotherly man love,” Theo said with a wave of his hand, “You’re getting fricking married! On New Years Eve?”

“Yep. You have met my future wife, haven’t you?” Harry laughed, “She has a certain flair for the dramatics.”

“Doesn’t she just?” Draco muttered under his breath.

“Has she given you guys your marching orders yet?” Harry asked them.

“We’ve got to get dressed,” Draco said with a roll of his eyes, “Please tell me you picked decent dress robes.”

“I’m sure you will approve,” Harry promised.

“Are we going to look like we’re from Beauxbatons like at my wedding?” Theo grumbled.

“Definitely not. I’ll show you once Teddy’s babysitters arrive,” Harry laughed.

“Here we are,” Ginny said as she and Katie walked into the drawing-room with their two-month-old babies.

“Are you sure the two of you will manage him with your own little ones?” Harry asked.

“He’ll be fine,” Ginny said with a smile, “Look at him, sitting entertaining himself.”

“He’s good at that,” Harry said, smiling proudly at the little boy.

“On you go, get dressed for your wedding,” Katie said, giving him a nudge.

“Alright,” Harry conceded, “Come up a couple of floors guys.”

They followed Harry into a spare room, a floor below the girls ‘dressing room’. 

“So there is definitely no Beauxbatons blue,” Harry grinned as he opened the wardrobe, “I went for subtle with a flashy hem.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “You have got to be kidding me.”

“I won’t be seen dead in that,” Theo agreed.

“Theo, you looked like a ponce in your dress robes for your own wedding,” Ron remarked.

Harry and Neville laughed loudly at this.

“You did,” Harry agreed, “What’s wrong with black dress robes?”

“I think it’s the gold hem they are objecting to,” Bill grinned, “I like it, very flashy.”

“I agree,” Neville said, “Since I helped pick it.”

Ron laughed, “Me too.”

“Of course you do!” Draco fumed, “It’s _gold_! Gold is a Gryffindor thing.”

“And I am a Gryffindor, and it’s my wedding day,” Harry smirked, “So shut up and get dressed. The robes will shrink to fit, it won’t be quite the same as when Madam Malkin fits them, but it was a surprise wedding so,” he shrugged.

“What made you want to plan a surprise wedding, anyway?” Ron asked curiously.

“We wanted to be spontaneous,” Harry said honestly, “And Daphne didn’t want the whole big white wedding thing.”

“Why New Years Eve?” Theo asked.

“Because,” Harry smiled, “When we had the big New Years Eve party here last year…I said to Daphne I was grateful that I had gotten that far because I never thought I would survive the war to see myself ring in 1999. She then said that she would be standing right beside me, to ring in the millennium in style.”

Neville smiled, “That’s one hell of a story.”

“That will be a good one to tell the grandkids one day,” Bill agreed with a wolfish grin.

Harry just chuckled, “I need to get dressed, then I need to try and remember my vows. I don’t want to have to write them on my hand.”

“You wrote your own vows?” Draco asked in surprise.

“Yeah, which I’m regretting now because every time the nerves kick in, I can’t bloody remember them,” Harry said with another nervous laugh.

Neville put his arm around his friend's shoulder, “Stop bricking yourself, Harry. You’re marrying the love of your life, the mother of your little boy so calm down and enjoy today.”

Harry took a breath and nodded.

“Now that is a good best man,” Theo said, smirking at Draco, “Not like the one who let me get lost in Vegas.”

“Oh, would you give that up you fucking prick?” Draco exclaimed, “It was not my idea to go to Vegas, and _you_ were the one who wandered off and got lost!”

Ron and George laughed loudly about this and asked, well begged really, to be filled in on the story while they got dressed. Harry was pretty glad because it took his mind away from how nervous he was.

* * *

When Daphne finally walked out of the walk-in wardrobe wearing her dress, there was an awed silence.

“That’s good, right?” She asked, surveying them all tentatively.

They all nodded.

Daphne had her hair in a loose bun with some curled strands coming down at the front. Her make-up was subtle, but her dress was stunning. It was white, floor-length and slim-fitting, which meant that it flattered Daphne’s figure perfectly. The bodice had long sleeves and was rather low-cut in a V style. The lace arms and bodice were decorated with diamantes, and the dress was pulled in around her slim waist with a rose gold ‘S’ shaped clip.

“You look every inch the high-class pureblood that you are,” Astoria said as she slipped into the room in her bridesmaid dress.

“Harry Potter is one lucky man,” Sadie agreed.

“And he knows it,” Hermione assured them.

Daphne smiled too, “How is Dad, Astoria?”

“Dressed and resting,” Astoria replied, “He doesn’t want anything to affect his ability to walk you down the aisle, so he has agreed to let Draco put him in a wheelchair and levitate him down the stairs to the ballroom.”

Daphne tried to hide the tears that swam in her eyes upon hearing those words. She cleared her throat, “And the boys?”

“All dressed and ready to go,” Astoria assured her sister, “Everyone is sitting down in the ballroom. Teddy is in his suit, he hasn’t spilt anything on it yet, but he is bouncing around the ballroom because there are so many people for him to talk to and Victoire is having a nap because she’s a baby, you know?”

Daphne laughed, “So we’re all ready to go then?”

“We are,” Astoria said, “But I believe your husband-to-be has a pre-wedding surprise for you first.”

Lilly glanced at Sadie, “You should go with her, Sadie.”

Sadie shook her head, “You’re her maid of honour, Lilly. You go.”

“But it’s-”

“You go,” Sadie said firmly.

Lilly nodded and took Daphne’s hand, “Come on, Daphne.”

Daphne frowned but let Lilly lead her out of the room, “Harry realised, with a little bit of prodding, that there was someone who you really wanted to be here today who couldn’t be-”

“Please tell me my mother is not out on day release,” Daphne said dryly.

Lilly shook her head, “No, Harry isn’t stupid. A bit clueless at times, yes, but not stupid. He did his best to make sure that this person could be here today, in some small way.”

Daphne’s frown deepened as they crossed the hall, “But the only person I would want here who couldn’t be here is Tracey, and she’s dead.”

Lilly opened the door to Harry and Daphne’s bedroom and motioned inside. Daphne stepped in and froze when she saw the portrait on her dresser.

“Your arse really does look big in that.”

“Tracey,” She breathed.

“Just remember,” Lilly said softly, “It’s a portrait, imbued with Sadie’s memories of Tracey so she can embody her, but she doesn’t have all of her memories or anything. It’s not _really_ her, it’s just-”

“-an echo,” Daphne finished. She tightened her grip on Lilly’s hand, “I know.”

“So you’re really marrying the chosen one?” Tracey asked with a smile, “The boy whose name you scrawled on potions textbooks for a whole year?”

Daphne smiled slightly, “Yes, I am really marrying him.”

“Haven’t you come a long way?” Tracey said softly, “You look like a princess.”

Daphne frowned, “I don’t want to look like a princess. I want to look like a formerly evil ice queen who reluctantly redeemed herself for the side of good.”

“You read too much,” Tracey chuckled.

“Damn right, I do,” Daphne remarked with a sad smile.

“Alright, make the eyeshadow a darker shade of blue, darken up the eyeliner a bit, put the mascara on thicker, and you will be good to go,” Tracey said with a grin.

Daphne smiled too, “What happens to you after the wedding?”

“Well, I think I’ll see the wedding because your new BFF is going to hang me in the drawing-room, right?”

“Yep,” Lilly replied, “Where you will hang for the rest of your days.”

“I’m going to become great friends with the Marauders, I can tell,” Tracey said with a cheeky grin, “And I’m glad you’ve got Lilly, you know? I never thought the quiet, weird girl who used to fall asleep in the library would become your best friend, but I can see why it works.”

Daphne tightened her grip on Lilly’s hand and tried her hardest not to let her tears spill.

“Woah woah, you do not get to ruin that make up,” Tracey objected, “Hold it together, Daph.”

“Do you want a hug?” Lilly asked quietly.

Daphne nodded so Lilly wrapped her arms around her best friend.

Tracey smiled, “She’s cute, I like her.”

“Yeah, me too,” Daphne said, laughing tearfully.

Lilly murmured a quick charm to make Daphne’s make-up waterproof as she drew back from the hug. Then she glanced at the clock on the wall, “It’s only 5 to 2pm. Does this mean that Daphne Greengrass is not going to be fashionably late on this occasion?”

“I think on this occasion, I owe it to Harry to show up on time,” Daphne said with a soft smile.

Tracey smiled, “Wow. The Ice Queen really has melted.”

“Oh yeah,” Lilly grinned, “She melted a long time ago.”

“Don’t tell anyone,” Daphne quipped.

“I’d never dream of it,” Lilly chuckled, “Ready?”

“Ready,” Daphne replied.

The dress she had chosen didn’t have a train which made life easier. Lilly placed a beautiful golden tiara on her head then attached her veil to it.

* * *

“Stop looking at the clock,” Neville whispered, “She’ll be late.”

“She always is,” Draco added from Neville’s other side.

Harry swallowed a lump in his throat, “I can’t help it, sorry.”

“You have nothing to be nervous about,” Neville whispered in his ear, “You know she isn’t going to do a runner. You two adopted that amazing little boy together, marriage is hardly commitment after that.”

Harry smiled at the spot in the front row where Teddy was playing with a couple of cuddly toys. He knew that Neville was right, “It’s an irrational sort of nervous, but I can’t shake it,” he admitted.

“It’s your wedding day, Harry,” Neville smiled, “If you are ever allowed to be irrationally nervous, it’s today.”

Harry chuckled and scanned the room. He was very glad that Daphne had wanted a small, intimate wedding because his hands were shaking and he felt nauseous with nerves. He couldn’t imagine if there were hundreds of people here, rather than just close family and friends.

The clock ticked to 2pm, and his heart began to beat faster than ever before while his eyes remained fixed on the door.

* * *

When the bridal party arrived outside the ballroom, Cygnus was waiting for them in the wheelchair that he hated to use. When he saw Daphne, he pushed himself up using his cane and smiled tearfully.

“You look beautiful, my love,” Cygnus said softly. He kissed both of her cheeks, then drew her in for a hug.

Daphne smiled back, just as tearfully, “Thank you, Dad.”

“I am so grateful that I did not miss this day,” Cygnus promised her.

Astoria smiled from the sidelines while Lilly lined up the bridal party so that they would walk into the ballroom in the correct order.

“Ready when you are Daphne,” Lilly said once she was finished.

Daphne smiled and held out her hand to her father.

“Astoria,” Cygnus said, holding out his cane to his youngest daughter.

Daphne frowned, “Dad, you can’t walk without your cane.”

“I will walk my eldest daughter down the aisle unaided,” Cygnus said firmly. He held out his hand to her, and she hooked her arm through his.

Daphne put her veil down, then with a wave of her wand, Astoria opened the doors to the ballroom, and the bridal march began to play.

Daphne took a breath and stepped into the room. Her Father walked slowly, but steadily, a look of pride shining in his eyes.

Daphne’s eyes found Harry’s immediately, she could see him visibly relax a little when he saw her.

On Harry’s part, he could not believe quite how lucky he had gotten. He had gone back to school for an eighth year, not really knowing what he wanted to do with his life, and it had, in all honesty, _made_ his life. If anyone had asked him how he expected to spend his life, having survived the war, he would never have answered that he would marry a Slytherin, that they would adopt his godson together and that she would complete him. But they had adopted Teddy, he was marrying her, and she _did_ complete him.

As she glided down the aisle, looking like an angel, Harry really had to thank his lucky stars.

When they reached the front row, Cygnus whispered, “I am so proud of you Daphne,” then he lifted her veil.

The officiator conducting the service asked, “Do you give this woman to this man?”

Cygnus smiled and placed Daphne’s hand in Harry’s, “I do.”

Daphne turned her tearful smile to Harry as her father sat down, and he smiled nervously back at her.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Harry James Potter to Daphne Lareina Greengrass. Today Harry and Daphne will be united in body and soul for life through the binding of their magic. However, before we can begin, I must ask if any man can show just cause as to why Harry and Daphne may not be lawfully joined together. Let him speak now or forever hold his peace.”

There was silence, which was always good.

Harry smiled at Daphne as the officiator continued, “Do you Harry James Potter, and you Daphne Lareina Greengrass, promise to comfort, honour, protect and be faithful to each other for as long as you both may live?"

"I do," Harry said sincerely.

"I do," Daphne echoed.

"Then I would ask you to give your vows to one another," The man said with a smile.

Harry took a shaky breath and began, “Daphne, when you came into my life, I was a broken man. I had survived a war that had taken so much from me, and there were holes in my soul that I did not think would ever be filled until you filled them. You give me strength in the most difficult times, and you provide light in the darkness. When I feel I cannot take the weight of the world anymore, you are always there to take the weight from my shoulders.”

Harry paused for a breath and was surprised to see Daphne looking close to tears, “My love for you has not, and will never, change. I promise that, here to you today, in the presence of our closest friends, our family and our son. I promise to love you until the end.”

Daphne did not often let her emotions show, and especially not in front of other people, but she did have to take a breath to steady herself and to stop the tears in her eyes from spilling.

All the same, her breath still caught in her throat as she began her vows, “Harry, you came into my life at a time when I needed some hope that someday things would get brighter. For a long time, I had been living in the darkness, content with my own loneliness until I met you. You changed everything, you challenged my opinions, you made me rethink the way that I looked at the world, you made me feel more alive than I ever had in my life. Before you, I don’t think I ever truly lived. Although I know I don’t express it often enough, I cannot tell you enough how deeply I love you so in the presence of our family, friends and most importantly our little boy, I vow to never let that love go to waste.”

Harry had tears in his eyes by the time she had finished, and plenty of their friends were crying. Sadie was practically having an emotional breakdown and Theo looked like he was struggling to keep a straight face while he patted her on the head.

The man conducting the service smiled and continued, “Do you Harry James Potter, take Daphne Lareina Greengrass, to have and to hold from this day forward? For better, for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish until death do you part?”

“I do,” Harry said, without a tremble in his voice.

“And do you Daphne Lareina Greengrass, take Harry James Potter, to have and to hold from this day forward? For better, for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish until death do you part?"

“I do,” Daphne said, her voice breaking slightly.

The moment was fraught with emotion. They both took a moment to catch their breath as their eyes met once more.

“Teddy, that way.”

“No!”

Harry bit his lip and saw Daphne fighting back laughter too as they turned to the little boy. Neville was trying to get Teddy to walk up to Harry and Daphne with the rings.

“You need to go give the rings to Mummy and Daddy,” Neville whispered.

“No! Mine!”

A ripple of laughter went around the guests. Harry couldn’t help but join in, he knelt down to Teddy’s level, “Come on over then Teddy, you can come up here with me.”

Teddy reluctantly walked over and let Harry pick him up. He apologised to the officiator, “Sorry for the less than conventional service.”

The man smiled and said, “This is normal compared to some of the wedding ceremonies I have seen.”

Harry chuckled, and the man said, “Place the ring on Daphne’s finger, Harry.”

Harry opened the box and took a ring. He sat Teddy on his hip and slid the diamond and platinum band onto Daphne’s finger.

“And would you place the ring upon Harry’s finger, please Daphne?” The man then asked.

Daphne slid a simple golden band onto Harry’s finger.

"I am now delighted to pronounce you, man and wife," The man said with a smile, "You may now kiss the bride!"

Lilly pried Teddy from Harry with the bribe of a square of chocolate. Then Harry leant forward so that he could kiss his new wife. A golden glow surrounded them as their magic combined, and all of their friends and family cheered.

“Mumma!”

Daphne laughed and took Teddy from Lilly, “Hey baby. Guess what? We all have the same surname now.”

“Technically he goes one better than us because he’s got two surnames,” Harry said, beaming at Daphne.

“Of course you guys got a golden wedding bond,” Lilly said with a grin.

“Just had to one-up Theo, you know?” Harry joked.

“Oh hush you,” Daphne said with a tearful smile, “It’s not about bronze, silver and gold like a medal. They mean different things.”

“Still,” Lilly said with a smile, “Gold is very _you_. Love, compassion, courage, passion and wisdom.”

Harry smiled at his wife, “Yeah, that is very us.”

“And silver is very Sadie and Theo,” Daphne said honestly, “Glamour, grace, sophistication and elegance.”

Harry nodded but was distracted by what happened next.

“Throw the confetti Victoire,” Fleur whispered from the front row.

Victoire, being a baby, took this literally and threw the whole pot of confetti into the air. Neville grabbed the tub before it hit anyone, but the confetti rained down all over the occupants of the ballroom regardless.

“Come on, everyone!” Neville said, quieting down the guests, “Everyone down to the entrance hall for photographs!”

* * *

By the time everyone reconvened in the ballroom for the wedding meal, plenty of photographs had been taken (with the Marauders photo-bombing several of them through Charlus’s portrait in the entrance hall) and plenty of glasses of prosecco had disappeared in the process. Harry was actually happy that the Marauders had done what they did because, in some small way, it meant that his parents were in his wedding photographs.

Everyone was seated for the meal, and more alcohol was served along with the food. As such, by the time the food had been consumed, everyone had loosened up a little, which was a good thing because it was time for the speeches. Not that it helped Harry because although he suspected that in time he would be able to drink alcohol again so long as it wasn’t firewhiskey, he was currently tee-total. This meant he couldn’t do anything to shake off the nerves.

Cygnus rose to his feet first, keeping himself upright with his cane. He cleared his throat and smiled, “I would like to thank everyone for coming today, especially because you had no idea that you would be attending a wedding. Thank goodness for transfiguration charms, or we would all have been in our comfortable clothes.”

There was a ripple of laughter at this.

“I would like to thank Astoria and Lilly for helping Daphne plan this secret wedding, and I would like to thank everyone who helped this day come together,” Cygnus continued. He took a breath and steadied himself, “So what can I say about Daphne? Well, it is a beautiful name for a beautiful girl, that was what I said to Daphne’s Mother the first time that I saw her as a newborn baby. Most people know the name ‘Daphne’ is Greek, but it actually means laurel tree or bay tree. In Greek mythology, Daphne was a nymph who was saved from an over-amorous Apollo by her father, the river god. As the father of _this_ Daphne, I am certainly no river god, but I am protective. Daphne is my eldest daughter, and she is strong, intelligent and has the sharpest wit. Harry, you are a very lucky man, but you had better keep your eyes open because I will warn you, I have taught her some wicked home-made curses over the years.”

The guests laughed, but Daphne was smiling tearfully because the speech he was giving was the one she had found attached to her marriage contract when she had opened the fateful box that changed everything.

“I once wrote up a marriage contract for Daphne, but I think deep down I knew that Daphne would always marry for love, not convenience and I had one condition concerning that,” Cygnus continued, “I would only allow Daphne to marry a man worthy of her and I think she might have taken that advice a bit too literally since she has just married the saviour of the wizarding world.”

Daphne rolled her eyes as the guests laughed and Harry grinned.

Cygnus smiled, “In all seriousness, I am very happy for Harry and Daphne, and I would like you all to raise a glass with me.”

Everyone raised their glasses.

“And toast their marriage,” Cygnus finished, “To Harry and Daphne.”

“To Harry and Daphne!” Echoed throughout the ballroom.

Cygnus sat down, and Daphne smiled at him, “Thank you, that was beautiful.”

Cygnus’s smile could not have been more genuine, “It was only the truth.”

Daphne was still smiling as Neville got to his feet, “Alright everyone, bear with me here. I’m very hit or miss in high-pressure situations. I either end up getting hung from a chandelier by pixies, or I behead a giant snake, so this could go either way.”

Harry grinned and leant back in his chair, he was expecting Neville to stumble and be awkward.

“So what can I say about Harry and Daphne?” Neville asked with a mischievous grin, “A lot! For starters, I never thought I would be standing here as Harry’s best man at his wedding to Daphne when we first went back to school for our final year. I mean yes, Harry was obsessed with Daphne, but I didn’t think she was going to look twice at him, to be honest.”

Harry rolled his eyes while Daphne smirked.

“But Harry kept trying and trying, _and trying_ ,” Neville said, “As his friend, it was a very trying time let me tell you.”

There was a ripple of laughter at these words.

“And eventually Daphne said she would go out with him, probably just to get him off her back, but here we are,” Neville chuckled, “I figured maybe he’d stop whining for a bit, but he just got smug. I mean let’s be honest, his head was already pretty big after he defeated Voldemort but now that Daphne’s married him, how is he going to get it through the front door?”

They all laughed at this, Harry included. Neville was doing a damn good job of this speech.

“But in all seriousness,” Neville said with a small smile, “Harry was lost after the war. I think we all were for a little bit. I worried for a while that he might not get a happy ending because of that, but Daphne helped him find himself in the aftermath of it, and every day since she has been there to help him heal.”

Harry smiled a little tearfully, and Daphne took his hand.

“And he changed her too,” Neville said, “He brought her out of her shell. He showed her that there was more to life than money and titles and class, although I think she’s still pretty happy about being a Marchioness-”

“Oh yeah,” Daphne grinned.

Neville chuckled, “But all the same, they taught each other a lot. They learn from each other every day. Daphne learns what a machine gun is and Harry leans about relatives that Daphne knows he had, that _he_ has no idea about.”

All the purebloods laughed at this one.

“So although Harry has stooped right down to the level of the Blacks – no offence Narcissa and Andromeda, offence entirely intended Draco – and married his second cousin. I think they are going to make each other pretty happy. Anyone with eyes can see how much they love each other and how much they adore their little boy. So like Cygnus, I would like to toast Harry and Daphne!” Neville said, raising his glass.

“To Harry and Daphne!”

Harry shot Neville an amused look as he rose to his feet, “I would like to thank Cygnus for his moving speech and Neville for his interesting one. It was definitely clear that you were winging it.”

“You told me that I speak best from the heart!” Neville objected, to the laughter of the guests.

“Clearly you’re better in a battle!” Harry joked with a grin. He then turned to the hall where everyone was waiting for him to begin his speech, “So I thought a lot about what I ought to say in this speech, and I think I should address a question that people ask you when you tell them that you are getting married. They always ask, "When did you know you were in love with her?" and I hate that question because I can't pinpoint one moment. I fell for Daphne over a period of time. It didn’t just happen, it took weeks or maybe even months in that time Neville so kindly referred to earlier,” there was some chuckling at this.

Harry smiled, “And little things at that time made me fall further and further. I don't know exactly which moment was the one that truly made me fall in love with Daphne. It might have been when she finally agreed to be my girlfriend on bonfire night, or when I saw how much she loved Christmas. It might have been when she was there for me after the events of Valentine’s Day. I don't know if it was during family planning week when she took to Teddy better than I thought possible. I think the closest moment that I can pinpoint of them all was when we took Teddy away for Easter. I’m sure it sounds crazy that an image of Daphne and Teddy walking hand in hand down a beach is what I think about when I cast a Patronus, but after the war, I didn’t think it would be possible for me to feel as happy as I did in that one, simple moment.”

Daphne smiled up at him, and he looked back down at her with a tearful smile, “But those moments are golden. Those were the moments when I looked at her and thought, Godric, I'm so lucky, and there were so many of them that I can't tell you exactly which one was _the_ one. There are still moments like that, all of the time, moments like today. So I prepared a little something to show Daphne how much I love her, how thankful I am for her and how much I appreciate her.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “You did?”

Harry grinned at her and nodded, “I did,” he said as he jumped down from the top table and climbed up onto the stage behind it.

“This is something that not many people know about me, not even you Daph. When I was a kid, I wrote poems. My cousin used to tease me something rotten for it, and during the war, Hermione told me that a poem is just a song without music,” Harry explained. He smiled over at his friend, and she smiled back proudly.

“So I have a little bit of help since I cannot play a single instrument,” he pulled the cord to open the curtains, revealing the Weird Sisters all set up on the stage, “And I don’t know how great my singing is, but we’re about to find out. Daphne, I’ve been working on this for a little while, and I hope you like it.”

Daphne looked just as stunned as everyone else as the music began to play. Harry took a breath and stood behind the microphone. He shut his eyes and began to sing, with a remarkably good singing voice. Daphne’s jaw dropped, “How did I not know that he can sing?” she asked the top table in general.

“Probably cause you never had to share a shower room with him after Quidditch, or at training,” Neville joked.

Daphne chuckled but then fell silent to listen to the song that Harry had written for her.

“ _I need a family, to drive me crazy. Call me out, when I’m low and lazy,”_ Harry sang, opening his eyes to look over at Teddy, “I _t won’t be perfect, but we’ll be fine cause I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine_ ,” he caught Daphne’s eye, _“You’ve got mine_.”

“ _We’ll have tiny boxes, for memories. Open them up and we'll set them free,”_ Harry kept his eyes on Daphne, “ _There’ll be bad days and some hard times, but I’ll keep your secrets, if you keep mine_.”

Daphne smiled, albeit very tearfully at him. She would always keep his secrets, and he knew that.

“ _You are the memory that won’t ever lapse, when 25 years have suddenly passed. Wherever you take me, it’s clear I will go cause your love’s the one love that I need to know_ ,” Harry sang beautifully.

“Who knew he was such a romantic?” Draco whispered to Hermione.

Hermione smiled softly, “I did, and I never underestimated how much Harry loves Daphne like you did.”

Draco smiled a little and grabbed Hermione’s hand.

“ _Take my picture and then you laugh, but I hate the way I look in photographs. Keep your memories, but don’t live in the past. I’m looking forward to the best days we will have_ ,” Harry said, his eyes flicking over to Teddy who was bopping his head in time to the song, even though it was relatively slow.

As Harry sang the chorus again, it was clear to see that Daphne wasn’t the only one who connected with the song.

“ _You are the memory that won’t ever lapse when 25 years have suddenly passed_ ,” Sadie caught Theo’s eye from where she sat at the top table. He noticed and smiled back at her, “ _Wherever you take me, it's clear I will go. Your love's the one love that I need to know_.”

Draco tightened his hand on Hermione’s and Neville caught Lilly’s eye along the top table too.

“ _You can cry away all your complicated memories, that keep you up so many times. But darling save your apologies, because I know that you’re scared, but I swear, you’ll be alright,”_ Harry said, looking Daphne straight in the eye.

Daphne swallowed a lump in her throat and raised her hand to dab away the few tears that she had allowed to fall.

“ _When the answers escape us, when we start to fade, remember who loved you and the ones who have stayed_ ,” Harry sang, and Daphne thought of their friends, of her father and of her sister.

“ _Cause my body will fail, but my soul will go on so don't you get lonely, I'm right where you are_ ,” Harry sang, and that lyric held more meaning than most people knew because Daphne was one of the few people who Harry had trusted with the truth about the fact he had been a Horcrux.

_“You are the memory that won’t ever lapse, when 25 years have suddenly passed_ ,” Harry sang for a final time, “ _Wherever you take me it’s clear will I will go cause your love is the one love that I need to know.”_

The song finished, and everyone clapped. Daphne wasn’t the only one who was crying either.

Harry made his way over to the top table, and she rose to her feet. She had dabbed the worst of the tears away, but a few more spilt as she kissed him and whispered, “Thank you. That was…that was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

Harry smiled back, “It took a lot of overcoming my stage fright, but Dave was a good listener.”

Daphne laughed weakly, “You practised on Dave?”

“Snakes are very critical, I needed that to improve,” Harry said entirely seriously, “He would have told me if I was tone-deaf.”

“I swear, you are unnaturally close to that snake,” Neville muttered which caused a ripple of laughter to go down the top table.

As people dispersed following the meal, Daphne whispered to Harry, “I’m going to nip out for a chat with my Dad. Are you okay on your own?”

“I’ll be fine,” Harry assured her, “I love you.”

Daphne smiled radiantly at him, “I love you too.”

She slipped out and left Harry to set the ballroom up for the party that would begin in the next hour or so. The guests had mostly gone to either the kitchen or the garden. Daphne was relatively sure that she would find her father outside somewhere. After all, he could hardly go far, and she liked to think that she knew him reasonably well. She smiled when he saw him, sitting on a bench looking up at the night sky.

She sat down next to him, and they were silent for a moment.

“I cannot tell you how proud of you I am today,” Cygnus said quietly.

Daphne frowned, “Why? All I did was get married.”

“To the man you love,” Cygnus said, turning to look at his daughter, “You went against typical pureblood etiquette, you went against your marriage contract, and you married for love. You were strong enough to do that, and that makes me very proud of you.”

Daphne looked away from him to the night sky, “All I did, all I ever tried to do, was what felt right to me. That was why I couldn’t stand by Draco when he became a Death Eater. I did love him, but I couldn’t love a man who was capable of that. Harry…he has his flaws, of course, the war left him with more mental scars than physical ones, but he is a good man, he is a good father, and I love him, more than I ever thought I could love a person.”

She sighed and continued, “You tried your best to raise Astoria and I without the prejudice that you were raised with, and you did a good job of it. I mean I married a half-blood and Astoria-”

“You know fine well you married properly,” Cygnus cut in, smiling at his daughter, “Harry Potter may be a half-blood but he has a title, a family manor and a hell of a lot of honour. Your sister's new boyfriend has no claim to any fortune.”

“Does it matter if Astoria is happy?” Daphne asked, “Her tastes were never that expensive.”

“Compared to yours,” Cygnus said, his smile turning into a smirk, “I know you love Harry and I know you married for love, but I doubt you see it as an inconvenience that he has money, a beautiful home, a title and a seat on the Wizengamot.”

“It isn’t about that, you’re right,” Daphne said honestly, “But all the same, I was raised a certain way, and I am a bit of a privileged princess, which Harry likes to remind me of every so often,” she smiled, “So yes, it would have been hard to live without that.”

“Do you think Astoria will realise, in time that she wants that too?” Cygnus asked.

Daphne leant back thoughtfully, “Do you know? I don’t think that she will because I genuinely don’t think it bothers her. Yes, she was raised in a nice big house with nice things and lots of money, but for a long time she never knew your love, so I think she craves love far more than nice things.”

Cygnus put his arm around her and sighed, “When did you get so grown up and wise, Daphne?”

Daphne smiled and kissed her Dad on the cheek, “When you had your big nap Dad,” she said softly.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that Harry sings to Daphne is:  
> Boxes  
> Artist: The Goo Goo Dolls


	71. Millennium

As everyone filed into the ballroom for the New Years Party, they had no idea that they were actually at a wedding. The guests who had witnessed the ceremony had been sworn to secrecy, and although the hall was decorated, there was nothing to suggest that it had been for a wedding.

Everyone was in their dress robes and smart dresses, but the hosts were missing. This was because Harry and Daphne were planning to make a grand entrance.

The curtains on the stage drew back magically, and the Weird Sisters (who nobody had known were playing) walked forward. This in itself was the cause for a massive round of applause.

“Thanks for the warm welcome guys!” The lead singer, Myron Wagtail, said when the crowd had quietened down enough, “We just want to welcome you to the Potter New Years party on behalf of Harry and Daphne. Your lovely hosts have asked me to inform you that there are free drinks in the bar downstairs, but without further ado, let’s welcome your hosts!”

There was a rumble as the music began to play, it was one of the bands slower songs.

“Wish a Happy New Year to Mr and Mrs Potter!”

There was quiet confusion as Harry and Daphne stepped out onto the balcony on the upper level of the ballroom. Theo set off a couple of Weasley fireworks to draw the attention of the guests to the balcony.

Once they saw Daphne in a wedding dress, they all erupted into cheers.

Theo, although this should have been Neville’s job, then shouted loudly, “Happy surprise New Years wedding! Now let’s have one hell of a party!”

The Weird Sisters struck up the first few notes of one of their most popular, rocky songs and the party well and truly began.

Everyone had a great time, Daphne spent the night dancing her feet off with her best friends with a brief break to walk her father back to his room when it all got a bit too much, but he had done so well that day. Harry enjoyed himself too, how could he not on his wedding day? He danced, he socialised, and he laughed with his closest friends.

Most of all, he watched Daphne and wondered how the hell he had ever gotten so lucky. But sometime around 11.30pm, he slipped outside for a break from the noise and the heat of the hall. He thought he was hiding pretty well in a secluded little corner of the garden, but someone found him.

“Hey, you all out of steam already?” The voice asked, “I lasted longer than you and that was with Death Eaters trying their best to ruin my wedding.”

Harry smiled slightly, “Hey Bill,” he said as the eldest Weasley sat down next to him.

Bill leant back and handed Harry a hipflask.

Harry shook his head and leant back against the cold wall.

“It’s water,” Bill said, nudging him in the ribs, “I’m not the worst brother in the world, you know? I know you’re a recovering alcoholic.”

“Why have you got a hipflask of water?” Harry asked with a frown.

“I drink it in-between whiskeys, in the only way I can keep up with Char,” Bill admitted with a grin, “But don’t go telling him that, alright?”

Harry laughed, “Alright.”

“What are you doing hiding out here anyway? Your wife has been looking around the hall for you for the last five minutes,” Bill pointed out.

“I just needed a minute to think about the people who should have been here today,” Harry said, his voice caught a little, “I don’t know if Daphne has given much thought to the fact that her mother isn’t here. I mean I doubt it with the way it all ended but…” he sighed, “I look at all I have, and I feel so goddamn lucky, I do Bill, but I also see the things I’ve lost.”

Bill nodded but said nothing.

Harry took a shaky breath, “I see Sirius getting too drunk and being an arse, only to get dragged away by Remus.”

“That is definitely how that would have gone down,” Bill said with a fond smile.

“And I see Tonks rocking out with all the younger ones to the Weird Sisters,” Harry continued, “I see Fred setting surprise fireworks off and pranking everyone with George.”

The fond smile on Bill’s face faltered slightly.

“And I-,” Harry’s breath caught again, “I see my Mum and Dad dancing, my Dad being silly about it and my Mum rolling her eyes and smacking him around the head.”

Bill sighed, “You have lost a lot, Harry, we all have but you more than most. I can understand why that is hitting you today, but you need to focus a little bit more on what you _do_ have. Fred isn’t here to set fireworks off with George, but Theo managed just fine as George’s accomplice when they turned your guests into flamingo’s earlier.”

Harry chuckled at the memory.

“And Sirius isn’t here to get too drunk and be reprimanded by Remus,” Bill agreed, “But I’m fairly sure you’re going to see a just as hilarious, if not more so, exchange between Draco and Hermione at some point if he doesn’t ease up on the firewhiskey.”

Harry smiled at the thought.

“And your parents aren’t here,” Bill finished, “Not in body anyway, but I think we both know that they have not missed a second of this day. You died in the final battle, and although you won’t talk about it, you know something. You have been so much more content since then because you know that there is _something_ after this. You know that wherever they are, they are together and they are happy.”

Harry couldn’t argue with that.

“So get your arse back into that ballroom and dance with your wife, kiss your wife, _love your wife_ because this is your wedding day. Once this day is over, you can’t get it back, so do not miss one second of it moping,” Bill said firmly.

Somehow, although it was harsh, it had been exactly what Harry needed. Feeling far less sorry for himself, he got to his feet and smiled at the Weasley, “Thank you, Bill,” he said before jogging back to the house.

When he got back to the ballroom, Daphne beamed at him, so he made a beeline for her.

“Hey!” She said, pulling him in close, “Where did you go?”

“Just outside for a breather,” Harry said quietly.

Understanding flashed in Daphne’s eyes, “Are you okay now?”

“Perfect,” Harry said honestly.

“Alright, everyone! I’m going to need the bride and groom up here to count us down to the millennium!”

A drunken cheer went around the hall as Daphne grabbed Harry’s hand and dragged him up onto the stage.

Harry smiled out at their friends and family and conjured up a giant, glittery countdown above the stage.

“Thanks for joining us for this extraordinary day everyone!” Harry said as he stood with his hand in Daphne’s, “We wanted to get married on New Year's Eve because Daphne made a promise to me last year that she would be standing next to me this year to ring in the millennium with style.”

“She wasn’t kidding!” Theo shouted.

“It’s definitely got style!” George added.

Harry laughed and said, “So we’re going to need your help to do that. Are you ready?”

There was a general cheer along with several shouts of “Yes!”

Harry grinned, as they approached the millennium he couldn’t help but think back on the last ten years and the fantastic memories he had made, even in the midst of a war.

Daphne squeezed his hand tightly as the countdown began.

“10!”

Harry thought of the previous New Year, of Daphne making her promise and kissing him in this very room.

“9!”

Harry thought of dancing around the tent with Hermione, laughing and forgetting for a while that they were surrounded by war and death and pain.

“8!”

Harry thought of the Weasley’s and how they had just taken him in, more so than ever in his sixth year.

“7!”

Harry thought of Sirius; of how he had stood there with a crooked smile, holding a glass of wine, grinning at him and smiling fondly at Remus in a way Harry hadn’t understood until much later.

“6!”

Harry thought of Cho and how tentative that first kiss of his had been. He thought of Cedric, and how much of a life had been wasted. He thought of Fleur and Viktor and the lasting friendships that he had made.

“5!”

Harry thought of Remus and that year when he had come into his life. He thought of that half-smile of Remus’s, of his tendency to offer chocolate to those in need.

“4!”

Harry thought of Ron and Hermione, and how they had stuck by him in second year. He thought of Hermione and how she had rushed at him when she woke up at the end of the year. He thought of Draco as he remembered how much the blond boy had glared at him for that one.

“3!”

Harry thought of his first Christmas and New Year at Hogwarts. He thought of Hagrid lugging the tree about. He thought about Flitwick decorating it. He thought about floating lanterns and fairy lights and Dumbledore with his twinkling blue eyes.

“2!”

Harry thought of the moment that he got that fateful letter. The day that he knew that his life was going to change. He thought about owls and Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express.

“1!”

Harry grinned at his wife and thought about their life together, the life they had built together. He thought of how happy she made him, of how seeing her with Teddy made his heart swell.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Somebody, Harry was pretty sure it was Theo, screamed that it was time to party like it was the millennium, but he wasn’t paying much attention. He was far too busy kissing his wife, thinking about the memories that they had made together and the memories that they would make in the future.

He knew, somewhere deep in his soul, that she would fulfil every wish and desire in his heart.

“Thank you.”

Daphne frowned as she broke away from him, “Thank you?”

Harry nodded, “Thank you,” he said sincerely, and somehow it needed no further explanation.

* * *

The party went on well into the early hours of the morning. After all, not only was it a wedding, it was also the only time that they were going to have the chance to ring in the millennium.

They had moved the party down to Harry’s little room of requirement/bar after they rang in the New Year as that was when the Weird Sisters went home. The only people who were left now were the hardcore drinker (and Harry). Even Theo had been forcibly dragged away by Sadie sometime around 2am.

They were unsure of the time, but it had to be somewhere in the region of 3-4am. Harry and Daphne were both very grateful that Andromeda had offered to stay in the guest room upstairs near Teddy so that they could enjoy their wedding night.

Harry smiled at his friends, those that were left were his closest friends. Fleur had gone home with Victoire hours ago, but Bill was still here with George. Charlie was sitting on a sofa with Astoria. Ron hadn’t passed out yet, and Percy was holding his liquor pretty damn well, although not anywhere near as well as Susan. Hermione, miraculously, was still awake and semi alert and Draco was pretty far gone, but still with them for the moment. Neville and Lilly were doing pretty well, but Lilly was obviously more sober than Neville, which was no surprise.

“I never thought I would see this day,” Harry admitted.

“What your wedding day?” Ron asked cluelessly, “I know you were a bit shit with girls, but that’s kinda extreme.”

Daphne snorted in amusement, “I think he meant he didn’t think he would live till the millennium Ron.”

Harry chuckled, “Yeah, I did. I thought that arsehole Voldemort would have killed me by now.”

“Nah,” Neville yawned, “We always knew you’d beat him.”

Hermione nodded and said unsteadily, “Well yeah…he was pretty fucking stupid.”

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, “Wanna elaborate?”

“Well,” Hermione said, pushing herself to her feet and then grabbing the bar for support, “What age was Dumblydore when he fell off the tower?”

“I think he had a bit of help from Snape,” Lilly snorted.

Hermione waved a hand, “Details, details. But he was like…one hundred and something right?”

“Yeah,” Harry said slowly.

“And Voldymort was what like 80?”

“Voldymort?” Harry sniggered.

“Shoosh,” Hermione hushed drunkenly.

“Yeah, he was like 70 or 80 or something,” Draco agreed.

“So,” Hermione said, “Having Horcruxes didn’t exactly help him live forever.”

“How many did he have again?” Lilly yawned.

“Like six. Well no – seven – if you include the one inside Harry.”

Ron snorted, “Mione! You’re not supposed to tell people that Harry was a Horcrux.”

Harry hit his head off the table, “Hermione, you are never allowed to drink again.”

Charlie raised his hand, “Fancy telling us what a Horcrux is?”

“Oh its really bad magic,” Hermione explained, “Like you put your soul in something else, but only a little bit, not the whole thing but you have to kill someone to do it, so it's very bad, very very bad.”

“So that’s why you had visions of Voldemort,” Bill said to Harry.

Harry nodded, “Yep, I was a Horcrux thanks for throwing that one out there, Mione.”

Hermione shrugged, “But seriously, Voldymort was so useless because he basically just thought magic was the answer to everything like a silly little pureblood even though he wasn’t even a pureblood.”

“She kinda has a point,” Lilly agreed, “If he just ate well and exercised he probably could have lived till at least a hundred, probably.”

“But no,” Hermione said dramatically, “He had to go and split up his soul and ruin perfectly good jewellery, what a fucking dumbass.”

“Yeah…” Draco agreed.

“And why did he have to go and fuck himself with the killing curse when Harry was a baby?” Neville asked.

“Yeah…Why didn’t he just throw him out of the window? Babies are fucking delicate man,” Ron added.

There was a general ripple or more of a roar as it was, of laughter at this.

Until of course, Bill said, “Kinda concerning that you came out with that since you have a two-month-old kid Ron.”

Before anyone could insult Ron for his parenting skills or lack thereof, a loud thud told them that Hermione had just passed out.

* * *

When Harry woke up the following morning, he felt exhausted but otherwise, in perfect health. That was one pro of being a teetotal recovering alcoholic. He reached over for Daphne but realised that the bed was empty, and that light was streaming in through the window.

Harry yawned, stretched and got up. He threw himself in the shower, got dressed and headed downstairs.

He felt the chill the moment he reached the entrance hall, so he headed for the backdoor where Daphne was wrapped up in a warm jacket.

“Careful baby!”

There was a soft thump then the sound of Teddy’s laughter. Harry smiled and snuck up behind her, “Morning babe.”

Daphne smiled and leant back against him, “Good morning. Have you seen what your son is up to?”

Harry looked out into the garden where Teddy was playing on a junior broomstick. He had just climbed back on and whizzed across the garden, only to fall off again into a snowdrift.

“He’s doing it on purpose,” Harry laughed as the little boy got up and beamed over at them.

“Don’t you think he looks just like a little teddy bear in his fluffy snowsuit?” Daphne asked.

“Hmm, he does,” Harry agreed, kissing her on the cheek, “I love you, thank you for marrying me.”

“You are very welcome,” Daphne said with a natural smile.

“How long have you been up for?” Harry asked, “And what time _is_ it?”

“It’s just after 11am,” Daphne replied, “And I’ve been awake since 7am. I didn’t feel great, not surprisingly after all of that alcohol last night, so I got up, threw up, took some hangover potion, had some toast then picked Teddy up.”

“He had a lie in this morning then,” Harry noted.

“Are you really surprised?” Daphne asked, without taking her eyes off of Teddy, “It was a busy day for him yesterday.”

“It was a busy day for all of us,” Harry yawned, “When did we hit the sack?”

“4am,” Daphne said with a shake of her head, “I’m going hit the wall this afternoon after my two hours of sleep.”

“I’ll let you have a nap,” Harry joked, “Did everyone get home okay?”

Daphne snorted, “Are you serious? Did you see the state that they were in last night? They are all still here, I managed to get some of them into the guest rooms, but the rest are sleeping in the bar downstairs.”

“It’s going to be a mess,” Harry grimaced.

“The house-elves don’t mind tidying it, but I asked them to wait until tomorrow,” Daphne said honestly, “They have to spend Christmas Eve cleaning and Christmas Day cooking, so I like to give them New Years off. We can handle a messy house for a couple of days.”

Harry smiled, “That’s very considerate of you, Hermione would be proud.”

Daphne just chuckled and called, “Teddy, time to come inside and get ready for lunch!”

“Play, Mumma!”

“I think you’ve had quite enough playtime in the snow!” Harry called out, “Listen to Mummy and come inside for lunch.”

Teddy huffed about it but dragged his broomstick inside anyway.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “He always listens to you first time.”

“It’s because I’m the authoritative figure,” Harry grinned, “You’re too nice, babe.”

“You would not have said that a year ago,” Daphne said, an amused smile slipping onto her face.

“Well, a lot can change in a year,” Harry said, looking down at the shiny new wedding band on his finger.

“It certainly can,” Daphne agreed.

* * *

The drunkards from the night before surfaced at lunchtime after Harry plied them with Daphne’s magical hangover potion and Daphne cooked a full, delicious smelling English brunch for them.

When they were all sitting around the table, in various states of hungover/disarray, Harry said, “So Hermione, do you remember telling everybody about me being a Horcrux last night?”

Ron snorted as Hermione’s face paled, “I…what?”

“Yeah, you told everyone about how Harry had a Horcrux in him,” Daphne said, putting a plate of sausages in the middle of the table.

“Oh…shit.”

“Hey, language!” Harry exclaimed, “No cursing in front of my son.”

“Sorry,” Hermione said sheepishly as Ron sniggered at Hermione’s expense.

“You were really drunk last night, Hermione,” Draco said, an amused smile on his face.

“Coming from you?” Daphne snorted, “Draco, you kept walking into the support pillars then apologising to them!”

Draco’s cheeks flushed as the others laughed at them.

“Bill, do you actually want me to cook this bacon?” Daphne asked, glancing over her shoulder at her colleague, “I mean the full moon is like…tomorrow?”

Bill nodded, “Just give it a quick blast in the frying pan, and it will be grand.”

Charlie shook his head, “Alright then wolfy.”

Bill nudged his younger brother and asked, “Where’s your other half?”

“Complaining that she’s dying and that she’s never drinking alcohol again and going on about some Niffler she found in her bed last night.”

Harry spat out the coffee he had just drunk and looked at Daphne, who was smirking, “Daphne! You didn’t?”

“What?” Daphne asked innocently, “Did the Niffler escape from the greenhouse last night? That is _so_ unfortunate.”

Charlie grinned, “Do you know what? I think I’m going to have to marry into this family after all.”

Harry barked out a laugh, “Anyway, back to the point. As I was saying, since Hermione told everyone about Horcruxes last night, I thought I better clarify. I’m sure you know that the reason Voldermort was defeated was because his Horcruxes were destroyed, but the Prophet didn’t tell anyone any more than that. But when everyone was at Hogwarts or fighting the war, Hermione, Ron and myself were hunting down and killing Voldemort’s Horcruxes so that when the battle came, he would be mortal and therefore he would stay dead. That huge snake that Neville so awesomely beheaded? She was the last Horcrux. When she died, Voldemort was mortal which was how I defeated him. As for how I became a Horcrux, Voldemort’s soul was so fragile that when he killed me, it split again without him realising and part of it latched onto the only living thing in the vicinity; me.”

“How did you get rid of it?” Charlie asked curiously.

“I died,” Harry said honestly, “When I died out in the forbidden forest, the part of Voldemort’s soul inside me died, but I came back, it had something to do with the fact my mother sacrificed herself for me out of pure love.”

“Wow, that is deep,” Susan said after a long silence.

“But Harry is no longer a Horcrux,” Daphne said, depositing a plate of well-cooked bacon for the ordinary people and a plate of barely cooked bacon for Bill, “And the only weird side effect is that he can still talk to snakes so let’s drop the issue, never talk about or think about Horcruxes again, and eat brunch. Okay?”

“Yes, Mum,” Charlie joked.

Bill chuckled, “You are kind of a feeder.”

“And you do look after everyone,” Harry said, smiling fondly at his new wife as she sat down next to him.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Great, I’m totally the Mum of the group,” she conceded, to the laughter of their friends.

* * *

After lots of hugs, and at least three “Be good for Grandma”. Harry and Daphne headed off on their very short honeymoon. It was only a couple of days away, but it was exactly what they needed after the stress of planning Christmas and a surprise wedding right at the back of it.

“So where are we going?” Daphne asked as Harry slung a bag over his shoulder and led her down the garden path towards the gates, “You have been very secretive about it.”

Harry smiled at her as he opened the gates, “It’s a surprise.”

“It’s Paris, isn’t it?”

“It’s not Paris,” Harry said, he clicked his fingers, “Because Paris is _your_ roaming ground, you already know it like the back of your hand.”

Daphne narrowed her eyes at him, “So where _are_ we going?”

At that point, a chariot descended from the sky and landed in front of them.

“Is that a winged horse?” Daphne asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, it’s just a Thestral that Charlie used some weird, but totally ethical charm on,” Harry grinned, “But do you get the hint?”

“Greece!”

Harry frowned, “No…Rome.”

“But winged horses are from Greek mythology,” Daphne pointed out.

“Are they?”

Daphne nodded and hid a smile behind her hand.

“Well…fuck. I messed that one up a bit.”

Daphne couldn’t help herself, she let out a snort of amusement, “I’ve never been to Rome though so don’t sweat it.”

Harry blew out a sigh of relief, “Alright, then I didn’t mess up too badly, that’s fine.”

Daphne laughed as he helped her into the chariot. Once the doors were shut, Harry hit the roof, and it took off. Daphne couldn’t help but smile as she looked out of the window at Potter Manor, the house that had very quickly become not only _her_ home but their family home.

Not for the first time, Daphne thanked the stars for all the luck that they had granted her.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	72. When in Rome

“Anyone else think this is weird? You know, drinking without Harry?”

“Nah, just you that’s missing your boyfriend,” Theo joked, slapping Neville on the back as he placed a drink in front of him.

Blanche snorted, “Coming from you, Theo? You couldn’t have been any gayer with Draco unless you were actually fucking him.”

Draco snorted and spat out of his firewhiskey.

“Which one of us lives with their brother and fucks his wife?” Theo retorted.

“That is rude,” Blanche pointed out.

“And they haven’t even had sex yet,” Ophelia smirked, “Blanche is very upset about that.”

“I’m not upset about it!” Blanche objected.

“You are, you’ve been pouting,” Ophelia said.

“I do not pout!”

“You do,” Neville chuckled, “And when you do get to that point, I’m sure you’ll have fun.”

Blanche narrowed her eyes at him, “What does that mean?”

“Just that Ginny’s rather good,” Neville said sheepishly, “In that department, you know? Do _not_ tell Lilly I said that!” he added, pointing at Draco and Theo.

The two Slytherins grinned widely in response,

Blanche just laughed, “Well, she is a fantastic kisser.”

“I think Harry’s wife agrees,” Draco said, shooting Theo a grin, “Remember that?”

“Remember Daphne snogging Ginny during the war then swooning about it? Hell yes,” Theo joked.

“You were desperate to see the memory,” Draco laughed.

“I don’t blame you,” Neville said, “I know she’s my best friends wife but come on, Daphne is hot. She’s classy and sexy, but sassy as hell. Any guy or girl would go there if they had half a chance. I don’t blame Lil for kissing her in Paris.”

“Now I’m jealous,” Blanche teased, “My kind of girlfriend _and_ your fiancé have both kissed Daphne Greengrass, but I haven’t?”

“Go to any party or wedding when she’s slightly drunk, and she’ll kiss you,” Theo snorted.

“She does tend to do that,” Neville mused.

“Do you reckon Harry cares?”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure it turns him on,” Neville joked.

“And I’m pretty sure he’s going to be enjoying his new wife _a lot_ right now,” Blanche grinned.

“Not as much fun as Theo did hopefully, or he’ll have two kids before long,” Ophelia joked, smirking at Theo.

Draco and Neville roared with laughter at that while Theo rolled his eyes, “Oh go on, joke all you want. I’ll be a great dad, thanks very much.”

“I’m sure you will be, but you still have to admit that you didn’t plan on being one so young,” Draco pointed out.

“True, fair point,” Theo shrugged, sipping his firewhiskey, “Did anyone actually invite Harper and Emily to pre-term drinks by the way?”

Ophelia snorted, “No, why would we? Harper is a dickhead.”

“Fair,” Theo snorted.

“He’s going to be even worse when he finds out that we’re joining you in the big boy simulation room after Christmas break,” Blanche smirked, “Sumner told us before we broke off.”

“Brilliant,” Theo said, “Congrats, guys.”

“You’ll be brilliant assets,” Neville agreed.

“And we’ll get to see you idiots sacrificing yourselves for each other,” Ophelia joked, “Would you jump in front of a killing curse for me, Blanche?”

Blanche considered this, “Hmm, maybe. Would it get me into Heaven even though God hates the gays?”

“Probably,” Ophelia laughed.

“Then yes,” Blanche grinned, “Would you do it for me?”

“Nah, you’re dispensable,” Ophelia joked.

“Oh, thanks Fee,” Blanche snorted, “I love you too.”

“I love you in a completely straight, friendship way,” Ophelia said, “Unlike that lot with their homoerotic BFF relationships.”

“Harry and I do not have a homoerotic relationship!” Neville objected.

Draco raised an eyebrow at him, “ _We lost Harry tonight, but he’s still with us – in here_!”

Theo joined in, “ _You’re worth twelve of Malfoy, Neville.”_

Neville rolled his eyes, “We don’t tell each other we love each other on Astronomy Towers though, do we?”

“How the fuck do you know about that?” Draco asked.

Theo hit him, “He didn’t, you idiot!”

“Oh shit,” Draco muttered.

Neville, Blanche and Ophelia all laughed.

“Come on guys, we all know you have a four-way. You live next door to each other, your houses are probably connected by a secret passage,” Blanche said with a smirk, “You’re just like you grandfathers.”

“It’s not even a secret passage, it’s just a door,” Theo admitted.

Ophelia snorted, “The big question is, are you screwing?”

“No!” Theo objected.

Draco wrinkled up his nose, “No, definitely not,” he agreed.

“Not unless your other halves are involved,” Neville chimed in.

“Oh great, thanks for dropping that one in, Nev,” Theo said irritably.

Neville smirked, “You’re welcome.”

“Nice,” Blanche said with an approving nod.

Ophelia nodded too, “Theo, your wife is hot, and Hermione Granger is Hermione Granger so yeah.”

Draco and Theo shared a slightly amused look, and Blanche ordered another round of drinks.

“Anyway, before we got off topic we were talking about Harper and Emily, weren’t we?” Ophelia asked now that things had calmed down.

“Yeah they aren’t going to last beyond first year, are they?” Neville asked. Although it was pretty much a rhetorical question. Despite that, the others all shook their heads.

“So cheers to us, for lasting this long,” Draco said, holding up his firewhiskey glass, “We’re like the Olympians of Auror Recruits.”

“What…the fuck…is an Olympian?” Theo asked.

“You mean like in Ancient Greece?” Blanche asked.

“Ancient Rome actually, but no,” Draco said offhandedly, “Olympians as in Muggle sportspeople?”

He was met with a sea of blank faces.

Draco rolled his eyes, “So the best of the best sportspeople in the Muggle world enter this competition called the Olympics every four years, and the country with the team of best sportspeople wins it.”

Blanche raised an eyebrow, “Sounds like a farce to me.”

Ophelia nodded, “Muggle conspiracy if I ever heard one.”

Draco frowned, “Uh… _how_?”

“I mean, who invented these Olympics?” Blanche continued, “Sounds like the kind of thing some billionaire investor would do to find the greatest humans and create a justice league, you know?”

“I can honestly say that I have never thought that Blanche,” Draco deadpanned.

“But,” Ophelia pointed out, “It makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” Neville agreed.

Theo nodded thoughtfully, “Yeah…I mean, or maybe the DMLE is behind it. Maybe the Olympics is a mass muggle experiment to see what Muggles are capable of.”

“Ooh, good idea Theo!” Blanche said while Ophelia nodded eagerly.

Draco shook his head in disbelief, “Right, forget I ever mentioned it!”

This, of course, did not happen.

“Speaking of conspiracy theories, most of the muggle ones can be explained away by magic,” Theo said.

“Oh here we fucking go,” Draco muttered under his breath.

“For example,” Theo continued, “Princess Diana, that was the hit wizards that were behind that one. I mean she was a bloody witch, wasn’t she? She could hardly keep using compulsion charms and love potions to worm her way into the hearts of the nation.”

Draco let his head drop onto the table.

“And!” Theo continued, “JFK? The second gunman, also a hit wizard from MACUSA obviously. He was threatening to expose the truth about wizards, obviously couldn’t let _that_ happen.”

Draco groaned, he had been subjected to this _too_ many times. Theo had hated Muggle Studies, but he had _loved_ conspiracy theories.

“And _everyone_ knows that Area 51 is actually the site of MACUSA’s Department of Mysteries, hence _aliens_ ,” Theo rolled his eyes, “So MACUSA basically invented UFO’s and the little green man. Come to think of it, they should get royalties from that film with the little alien dude on a bicycle.”

“Theo, would you please just _stop_?” Draco asked, although his voice was muffled because his head was still in his hands.

“No, no. I haven’t even gotten started on crop circles yet-”

“Ugh,” Draco groaned, letting his head hit the table, “I miss Harry.”

* * *

“Okay, so I love Rome.”

Harry grinned over at his wife, “I knew you would.”

Daphne laughed, it still sent shivers down Harry’s spine when he heard the beautiful, melodic sound. She threw her head back and leant against the railing as they stood outside the ruins of the Imperial Palace on Palatine Hill and looked out over Rome while the sunset.

“I feel naked when I’m with you, you know.”

Daphne turned her head to the side to look at him, “Well we are naked together, a lot,” she joked.

Harry shook his head and looked her in the eye, “No…that’s not what I mean. I mean that…it’s easy to take your clothes off and have sex. I mean people do it all the time, sometimes with people that they don’t even care about. But you see through the whole chosen one thing, you see past the fame and the war guilt, you look past it all and see _me_. I opened up my soul to you, I tell you my thoughts, my fears, my hopes and dreams for the future and…it makes me feel naked, to you.”

Daphne smiled softly at him, “That was deep.”

Harry shrugged, “Well, we are on our honeymoon.”

Daphne reached across and took his hand, “I feel naked with you too. You saw past my defences when nobody else could, you still do every single day actually. You see past the ice queen and the bitterness to see _me._ So by your definition, I feel very naked with you.”

Harry smiled at her.

“I also _like_ being naked with you,” Daphne added with a cheeky smirk, “A lot.”

Harry laughed heartily and pulled her in for a kiss, “By Merlin, I love you, Mrs Potter.”

Daphne grinned against his lips, “And I love you, Mr Potter.”

When they drew back, they both looked out contently, and Daphne sighed, “I don’t want to go home.”

“Neither do I,” Harry admitted.

“I have fallen in love with the villa we’ve been staying in,” Daphne said with a smile, “You chose well.”

Harry smiled, a little slyly, “Well, I’m glad you like it because it’s not going anywhere.”

Daphne frowned, “What?”

“It’s ours,” Harry said with a grin, “I picked our honeymoon based on the Potter property that I thought you would like best. The flat in Edinburgh is nice, but it’s too close to home. It’s not the right time of year for the villa in Greece. I really wondered about taking you to the apartment in Paris or the clifftop house with the sea view in Monaco.”

Daphne stared at him in disbelief.

“But I thought the historic farmhouse, stone-built eight-bedroom villa in Rome was the best bet,” Harry finished with a grin.

“We have property in Edinburgh, Paris, Monaco, Greece and Rome?” Daphne asked in surprise.

“And America,” Harry smiled, “We still have the ranch that came with Cordelia Cauldwell’s dowry when she married into the family.”

“You cheeky little shit!” Daphne said, smacking him in the arm, “You said all the Potter properties were gone!”

“I lied,” Harry teased.

“You’re getting better at that,” Daphne said, smiling at him.

“Only when I need to,” Harry assured her, “But we can come back here whenever you want.”

“And we can go to Paris for a weekend!” Daphne exclaimed.

“We can, and we can go with Neville and Lilly,” Harry said, “The Paris apartment has four bedrooms. It’s very nice by the way, marble floors, moving statues, the whole art nouveau thing. You’re going to love it.”

“I love you,” Daphne said with a wide grin.

“I love you too,” Harry said, capturing her lips in another kiss, “The suns set.”

“Mmhmm. Want to go back to the villa?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And have lots of fun without making an accidental baby?”

Harry laughed, “Way to take the romance out of it, baby,” he joked as he put his arm around his wife’s shoulders.

* * *

“I reckon you should come to dinner today.”

“With your family?”

Charlie raised an eyebrow at the girl lying in his bed, “Tori, you literally introduced me to _all_ of your family at Christmas. Like your scary Dad and his scary sort of girlfriend who also happens to be the wife of _my_ Dads sworn enemy. I reckon you can hack a bit of slagging and slightly overdone beef at the hands of my family.”

Astoria rolled her eyes. She got up, draped her silk dressing gown over herself and crossed her arms, “I am not afraid to meet your family if that is what you are insinuating Charlie. _I_ am a businesswoman, _I_ am the CEO of Greengrass Industries, and I can handle Molly Weasley any day of the week.”

Charlie smirked at her, “So _why_ are you so reluctant then? You had no problem telling your father where to shove it when he questioned that you were dating a Weasley, so what is your problem with me putting my family in their place?”

Astoria sighed and clicked her fingers to conjure the coffee pot, “If I explain, do you promise to be supportive and not judgemental?”

“Of course love,” Charlie said, accepting the cup of coffee she had just handed him.

She perched on the edge of the bed and sighed again, “I’m not scared, but I am nervous because your family dynamics could not be more different to mine. I am used to my sister and my mother, my father was rarely around, to be honest. Then there was my uncle who obviously is my biological father, but he was around even less, and he was always more interested in my mother than Daphne or I.”

Charlie smiled fondly, “You’re rambling.”

“I know,” Astoria rolled her eyes, “But my point is, I’m not used to brothers, and I know how you and your brothers are with your teasing and taunting, and that makes me nervous.”

“If my brothers tease you or make you uncomfortable, I’ll knock them for six,” Charlie assured her, “They might slag me for dating someone half my age, but they can’t tease you, can they? I mean _look at you_ , you are beautiful, intelligent, funny, you like dragons, you Astoria Greengrass, are perfect and far too good for me. So if they slag me, that is why.”

Astoria smiled slightly, “Alright, I’ll come.”

Charlie smiled back, “Good because if it makes you feel any better, I was dreading meeting your family. I like Daphne from what I’ve seen of her at the Burrow, and Harry is practically my brother but meeting your dad? That was scary for me.”

Astoria sipped her coffee, “I can understand that. Meeting my dad after he woke up…that was scary for me. But I am sorry that I didn’t realise how nerve-wracking it must have been for you meeting my family on Christmas Day. I just figured since you knew Harry and Daphne you wouldn’t mind…Harry sort of engrained himself into our family seamlessly, you know? It was like one minute he was dating Daphne at school and then the next thing I knew he was just so familiar, and my dad loves him too. It’s nerve-wracking for me because I feel like I’ll never get a boyfriend like that.”

“You put too much pressure on yourself,” Charlie said softly, “And on me. We’ll never be Harry and Daphne because those two are like the freaking power couple of our generation. But we don’t have to be them, it’s okay to just be _us_.”

“And how are your family going to feel about us?” Astoria asked anxiously.

“They’ll be fine with it,” Charlie assured her, “Just trust me on this one.”

Astoria searched his eyes for a moment before nodding, “Fine, I trust you, Charlie, I do.”

Charlie got up and kissed her lightly, “They’ll love you as much as I do,” he promised.

The words were already out of his mouth before he realised the impact they would have. Her eyes widened, and she nearly slipped off the bed, which would have been funny in other circumstances.

“You…you love me? Charlie, we’ve only been together for a couple of months-”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Charlie said quickly, “That was stupid of me to say it too soon. I’ve freaked you out, haven’t I?”

Astoria swallowed and shook her head, “Uh…no. You just…honestly, you just took me by surprise,” her expression softened, “You do that quite a lot actually.”

Charlie smiled, his shoulders visibly relaxed with relief, “Good. Now look, you don’t have to say it back until you’re ready, alright? No obligations at all.”

Astoria just nodded.

“I’m gonna have a shower then get ready for lunch,” Charlie added, kissing her again before slipping into the bathroom.

* * *

“Charlie!”

“You came, sweetheart!”

Charlie smiled at his family as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen. 

“Hey everyone,” Charlie said as he stepped aside slightly, “For those of you who don’t know, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Astoria.”

There was a stunned silence which Percy broke by smiling at Astoria, “Hi Astoria, how are you doing?”

“Good thank you, Percy,” Astoria replied with a nervous smile.

Bill stepped forward and raised an eyebrow, “Hi Astoria. Hey Charlie, not gonna lie, I’m still pretty annoyed about the fact I found out you two were dating when I caught you snogging at Harry and Daphne’s wedding though.”

Charlie fixed his brother with a long look, “Bill, don’t be judgemental about this just because I didn’t tell you straight away. I mean you can’t judge, your wife is seven years younger than you.”

“I’m not judging,” Bill said flatly, “But I am pissed off because _you,_ my brother and my best friend, did not tell me about this and Daphne, who I spend almost every day with in a small office with not much else to talk about, did not bloody tell me about this!”

“She did just find out before Christmas,” Astoria defended Charlie.

“But I mean I knew before you Bill,” Percy smirked, “And I thought _you_ were Charlie’s favourite brother.”

“Boys,” Molly warned.

“Percy knew before me?” Bill asked in disbelief, “Percy?”

“Come on Bill, he’s dating Susan Bones, she was at Potter Manor for Christmas too,” Charlie pointed out, “It’s not like I’ve been intentionally keeping it from you, you’re my best friend.”

“Whatever Charlie, we’re done. I need to go find a new favourite brother,” Bill said, smiling slightly as he did.

Charlie punched him in the arm, “You’re a fucking fanny, you know that?”

“Language, Charles!”

Astoria hid a smile behind her hand.

“Sorry, Mum,” Charlie and Bill said in unison.

Molly smiled at Astoria, “Hello Astoria, it is lovely to meet you. Daphne has talked about you a lot, of course.”

“Has she?” Astoria asked in surprise.

“Of course,” Molly said with a kind smile, “She always seemed very proud of you. Would you like to help me set the table?”

“Of course,” Astoria replied.

Molly handed her a pile of cutlery and asked, “So however did you and Charlie meet? Forgive me if I sound rude, but you do not exactly run in the same circles.”

Astoria laughed, “No, we don’t, you’re right. We met by chance actually. Daphne and Harry were going to Shell Cottage to spend the weekend with Bill and Fleur, and they asked me if I wanted to tag along. I didn’t realise that Bill had also invited Charlie to cheer him up after his break up, and while we were there, we got talking.”

“I see,” Molly said as she set glasses out on the table with a wave of her wand, “Terrible business his last break-up.”

“I know who he dated, don’t worry,” Astoria said before Molly could go into it, “Charlie was completely honest about his attempted relationship with his former flame.”

“So you know that it ended because Aurora did not want to have a family for quite some time and that Charlie did?” Molly asked.

_Subtle Molly_ , Astoria thought to herself. However, she just smiled and replied, “Yes, I knew that.”

“Oh good,” Molly said, smiling brightly, “A relationship is always better without secrets. Don’t you think?”

Astoria nodded her agreement, but before any more could be said, the backdoor opened once more.

“Oh Hermione, Draco, you made it,” Molly chirped as she hugged Hermione and smiled warmly at Draco.

Draco smiled back and handed her a bottle of firewhiskey, “A belated Christmas gift Molly.”

“Oh thank you Draco,” Molly said, as she set it down on the table.

Draco shot Astoria a grin, “You two must be official if he brought you here.”

Astoria smirked, “You’re just jealous because it took Hermione a year to bring you here.”

“And the rest,” Hermione chuckled, “But Draco _was_ a bit of a dick to almost everyone in this house for many years before I managed to reign him in. You and Daphne, on the other hand, are just nice people who happen to have been in Slytherin house.”

“Good point, well made,” Charlie said, putting his arm around Astoria and grinning at Hermione, “I saw that article you wrote about guard dragons for the prophet last week by the way. Kudos to you.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “Oh great, Tori, fancy a tour of The Burrows awe-inspiring farm gardens? Those two are going to be talking dragon welfare for at least half an hour.”

Hermione glared at Draco, “At least someone appreciates the work I am trying to do Draco!”

“See?” Draco mouthed to Astoria.

Molly chuckled, “Don’t be too long, dinner will be ready soon.”

“We won’t delay you, Molly,” Draco promised as he led Astoria outside.

Astoria hooked her arm through his as he ‘showed’ her the chicken coup, “What are you up to?”

“Partly, I don’t want to listen to my fiancé drone on about fucking guard dragons for any longer than I need to,” Draco said, shooting Astoria an exasperated look, “But also, I wanted to give you a word of advice.”

“About what? Dating Charlie?”

Draco nodded, “About dating someone of a different class.”

“Draco-”

“Just hear me out,” Draco said calmly, “This isn’t like your sister and Harry. Yes, Harry is down to earth and doesn’t realise how powerful or famous he is, but he is a Marquiss, he has a manor, a title and a place on the Wizengamot.”

“I don’t care about that Draco,” Astoria assured him, “I will have my own place on the Wizengamot when the business settles, I do not need to find one through a husband.”

“I know you don’t, and I know you don’t care about that stuff right now,” Draco said honestly, “But there will come the point when you realise quite how different you are. It might be something small, or it might be something big, but something will make you think; oh shit, I’m the Princess, and he’s the frog, you know?”

Astoria frowned, “No, I really don’t know.”

Draco sighed, “Basically Astoria, someday you will realise that you are a Greengrass with a rich Daddy, a good family name, and plenty of money and that he is a Weasley with no claim to anything. When that day comes, it will test your relationship, and if you don’t expect that day to come, it can really knock you for six.”

“You sound like you’re talking from experience,” Astoria said, shooting him a knowing look.

“Of course I am,” Draco admitted. He stopped in the orchard and leant against a tree, “I love Hermione, and I am fully committed to marrying her and raising a family with her, but that is _now_. It wasn’t always that way, and even now, most of our fights are about cultural differences. There was this point when it became make or break, and I either had to accept that things would change if I chose Hermione or break things off with her. Obviously, I accepted the changes, but I am not a Malfoy anymore, I lost my name, my title, my manor, my fortune, all of it. I’m a Black with a minor title, a seat on the Wizengamot not anywhere near as prominent as my old one and a relatively small house in London. My life changed because I chose love over status.”

Astoria sighed and leant against the tree too, “I know what you’re saying.”

“And?”

“And I can hack it, a life without status,” Astoria said, “Besides, I don’t think it should all be about who your husband is. I think it can be about how powerful you are as a woman, and I intend to bring Greengrass Industries into the 21st century.”

Draco smiled and pushed himself off of the tree, “Then I am sure that you will be just fine.”

Astoria followed him back in the direction of the house, “But I appreciate the heads up Draco, honestly.”

Draco shrugged, “If someone had given me a heads up, Hermione and I wouldn’t have struggled to adapt so much.”

They walked past the chicken coup and heard Molly calling that dinner was ready. Draco laughed and opened the door, “You had better hurry in quickly, you don’t want to face Molly’s wrath.”

* * *

Astoria had managed to make small talk with everyone over lunch. Once everyone had eaten, they migrated into the living room as they often did.

Charlie was sitting in the window seat, watching Astoria talk animatedly with Percy about economics, when he was tapped on the shoulder. He looked up and drew himself out of his thoughts, “What’s up, Bill?”

“You got a minute to chat? Quietly?” Bill asked.

Charlie frowned, but rose to his feet and followed Bill out of the room anyway. They slipped through the kitchen into one of the downstairs bedrooms, the one that they had shared as kids.

Their Mother used it as a laundry room now, but there were still remnants of their childhood, like the muggle posters of half-naked girls with tattoos, sitting on motorbikes, that they had attached to the walls with permanent sticking charms.

“I just wanted to have a chat with you, about Astoria,” Bill said honestly as he perched on a chair.

Charlie raised an eyebrow at him, “A serious one this time?”

“Yeah,” Bill said, he ran his hand through his hair, “Because the thing is Char, I _do_ know what it’s like to date someone when there is an age gap concerned. There are 7 years between Fleur and me but there are 9 years between you and Astoria and…you never think it’s going to be an issue, but it can be.”

Charlie sighed, “Go on?”

“When Fleur and I started dating, we fell in love really quickly. She was hot as hell and Merlin that French accent did things to me. I had never fallen head over heels for a girl like that. Still, when the adrenaline died out, and we were left exhausted with a screaming baby, we started to realise that we really didn’t have anything in common.”

“Bill-”

“Just hear me out Char,” Bill cut in.

Charlie raised his hands but shut up.

Bill continued, “But that could have happened to any couple, regardless of the age gap. Then we hit the killer one, I was quite happy with one kid, but Fleur wants more, she wants to have another baby then get back to her career. She said that I’ve had my career so I should take a step back for her, but Char I don’t want to step back. I’m only 30, yes I’ve taken on a less active role for Vic, but I can’t hack giving it all up, I’ve got a lot left in me yet. But Fleur’s only 23, she’s still so young and full of ambition. It just…it doesn’t always work out Char.”

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do,” Charlie said, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder, “But with all due respect Bill, you and Fleur rushed into marriage because of the war and Mum might not, but you and I both know that Vic, as amazing as she is, wasn’t exactly planned.”

Bill nodded reluctantly.

“Tori and I don’t have that problem,” Charlie said calmly, “And we definitely don’t have to worry about the ‘nothing in common’ thing. She is a die-hard Puddlemere fan, she loves tagging along to games with the Potters-”

“Okay, it’s weird that we can call them that now,” Bill interjected.

Charlie chuckled, “I know, but what I’m saying is that Astoria and me, we aren’t you and Fleur. No offence to her, but Fleur has always been a little immature. Astoria has had a harder life, she’s the CEO of a globally recognised company at 19 years old for crying out loud, sometimes I genuinely forget how young she is because Merlin knows she doesn’t act it.”

“I get that,” Bill promised, “And I’m sorry if I offended you, Char. I just don’t want you to make the same mistakes that I did.”

Charlie smiled sympathetically, “I appreciate that Bill, I really do. And I’m sorry things are still shit with Fleur, are they not getting any better?”

Bill shook his head and rubbed his eyes, “No, if anything things are getting worse. It’s just…Merlin Charlie, there’s just no love there anymore, only anger and resentment.”

“You’ve got to end it then Bill,” Charlie said, squeezing his brothers shoulder, “Before Vic gets dragged into the mess.”

Bill dragged his hands through his hair again and nodded, “I know I do. Deep down, I know that. We’ve been trying to make it work for her, but we’re making each other miserable, and we both know that.”

Charlie sighed, “I’m sorry, Bill, I really am. Here I am, stupidly happy when I should be helping you through this.”

Bill shook his head, “Don’t be stupid Char, it does me a world of good to see you stupidly happy. When you broke up with Rory, I worried I would never see that again.”

Charlie smiled and hugged his brother, “You’ll be happy again too, even if you do split up with Fleur. There’s light at the end of every tunnel Bill, you just never know how long that tunnel is when you’re in it.”

Bill hugged his brother back, “Thanks Charlie,” he said, hoping his brother wouldn’t be able to tell that his voice was slightly choked because he was holding back tears.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	73. Brothers & Sisters

When Daphne walked into the office yawning on the 4th of January, she expected a slagging from Bill.

“Coffee, with a shot of vanilla because it’s the new year so why the hell not?” Daphne said, in-between yawns as she placed the cardboard cup down in front of Bill, “Merlin, I am tired. I should have asked for the day off since I literally just got back from my honeymoon.”

“Uh-huh,” Bill said non-committedly.

Daphne frowned and sat down at her desk, “What’s up with you?”

“Nothing,” Bill replied.

“Cut the crap Bill,” Daphne said bluntly, “I’m too tired for subtlety. What did I do to piss you off?”

“Well, you never told me that your sister was dating my brother for a start,” Bill said irritably.

“Seriously?” Daphne asked in disbelief, “I found out _after_ we broke off for Christmas, and this is me just seeing you now when I’m not in a wedding dress getting drunk out of my mind, so what is this _really_ about?”

“It’s about this, alright?” Bill snapped as he threw a pile of parchment down in front of her angrily.

Daphne only had to glance down briefly to realise that it was a divorce settlement advice pack.

“It’s about the fact that I’m a failure as a husband and a failure as a father! It’s about my brother finding happiness with your sister of all people while my life is fucking falling apart! I have never been a jealous man Daphne, but right now, I am!”

“Stop,” Daphne said sharply as she pushed herself to her feet, “I have just had a hectic holiday, and I was up half the night with a teething werewolfy toddler so boss or not, I am not taking your shit today! You are not a shit father, by realising that you and Fleur are making each other miserable, you are being a good father because you are ensuring that your beautiful little girl will not grow up watching a toxic relationship and thinking that’s the norm! You are not a shit husband just because your marriage didn’t work out! You got married in a war Bill, you were bloody scared, I mean, of course, you were. You remember the first war, you remember the deaths, you remember losing your bloody uncles, you remember it all! You rushed in, and maybe that was a mistake, but you have created a wonderful daughter together, and you have had some great years together, so you _do not_ get to call yourself a failure, do you understand me?”

Bill sighed and sank back down against his desk, “Sorry, you’re right. I’m a twat.”

“You’re an idiot, there’s a difference,” Daphne said as she picked up his coffee and pressed it into his hands, “I’m sorry that it’s gotten to this point through Bill.”

“So am I,” Bill said quietly, “Because when the shit hits the fan, she’s going to fight me with that vicious French temper of hers and I know I’ll only get to see Vic every so often because that’s how it goes, the father never bloody comes into it when there’s a divorce.”

“Which is wrong,” Daphne agreed, “But you have good grounds to put forward the mixed custody argument. You are breaking up on amicable grounds because you have fallen out of love, you haven’t cheated or done something that would put a mark against your name as far as the judge is concerned. You also have an excellent job, I really think if we put forward the case of split custody, with you getting Vic every weekend, the judge signing off on the settlement will go for it.”

“We?” Bill asked, glancing over at her.

“Of course, we,” Daphne said with a roll of her eyes, “Do you really think I’m going to let you drag yourself through this on your own? Astoria and I will get our heads together and help you write up the best settlement plan that we can think of, and Charlie and Harry will make sure you don’t lose yourself in alcohol and self-pity. I can only imagine how shitty a time this is Bill, but you aren’t alone, I promise.”

Bill managed a small smile, “Thank you, Daphne.”

Daphne smiled back, “Drink your coffee.”

Bill laughed weakly, “Whose the boss here again?”

“Sometimes I wonder,” Daphne said, smirking over at the Weasley, “Now, what are we actually doing today?”

“Catching up on the two weeks’ worth of letters that came in over Christmas break,” Bill said, gesturing to the bundle of letters on her desk.

Daphne split them and chucked half onto his desk, “Get reading then, it will take your mind off of your current plight.”

Bill chuckled again as he picked a letter up, “Touché.”

* * *

When Harry jogged out onto the pitch that morning, he was expecting some sort of prank. But his friends just grinned and said, “Look, it’s the newlywed!”

Harry laughed as he joined them.

Theo raised a hand, “Join the happily married with kids club, dude.”

Harry hi-fived him and chuckled, “Thanks Theo,” he said as they began their first lap. For once, they were eager to run because it was the 4th of January. Therefore it was _freezing_.

“How was Rome?” Draco asked.

“Amazing, Daphne loved it,” Harry replied

“You knew she would,” Neville said, shooting his best friend a grin.

“Nev missed you while you were away, he thought it was weird drinking at The Phoenix without you,” Theo joked.

Harry snorted, “I was away two days Nev.”

“I didn’t miss you, I just thought drinking without you was weird because you’re always there,” Neville pointed out, “Not that you missed much, apart from Theo banging on about conspiracy theories while Draco tried to drink himself into a stupor.”

Harry positively cackled, “I’m sorry I missed it actually.”

Draco rolled his eyes, and Sumner shouted, “Pick up the pace girls! This is training, not a goddamn Sunday stroll!”

They picked the pace up, and Theo asked, “So what did you do in Rome? Apart from shag?”

“Unlike you and Sadie, we didn’t spend our honeymoon shagging like rabbits,” Harry teased, “But we did squeeze a lot into a couple of days. We saw the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus, then I took her to Palatine Hill to watch the sunset over Rome.”

“Merlin, you Gryffindors really are a romantic bunch,” Draco grumbled, “Hermione had better not expect that when we go on our honeymoon.”

“You need to set a date for the wedding before you start talking about honeymoons,” Harry joked.

“We have,” Draco argued, “Since we are getting married _this_ year now, Hermione figured that setting a date might be a good idea.”

“So when is the big day?” Neville asked.

“The 23rd of December,” Draco replied, “She wants a Christmas wedding, but nobody wants to go to a wedding on Christmas Eve, so I convinced her to go for the 23rd.”

“Where are you getting married?” Harry asked curiously, “Because her Muggle family will want to come, won’t they?”

“She’s not bothered about anyone apart from her parents, so it’s going to be a wizarding wedding,” Draco said, “No idea where she wants to have the damned thing though. She was adamant that she wasn’t getting married at Grimmauld Place.”

“Yeah, I really don’t blame her for that one,” Harry snorted, “You can use the manor if you want?”

“I don’t think she’ll go for that idea,” Draco said, “You got married there, and this is Hermione we’re talking about, she’ll want to do something different.”

“Knowing the princess, she’ll want to get married in a castle,” Theo joked.

“Or a library,” Neville chortled.

“Salazar knows,” Draco muttered under his breath as they passed Sumner once more.

“A little less conversation, a little more action, boys!”

Theo grinned at Sumner, “Didn’t know you were a fan of Elvis, sir!”

“Shift your arse, or you will be doing an extra 5 laps, Nott!” Sumner barked in response.

* * *

“How was your first day back at work?” Harry asked as he swept into the kitchen a little late that night.

“Awful, but tell me about yours first,” Daphne said, putting plates down on the table and a plastic bowl on Teddy’s high chair.

“Fine, minimal slagging from the guys for being a newlywed and no sympathy from Sumner about the fact we’ve all spent the last few days eating our body weight in food,” Harry said with a grin, “We’ve all gained a bit of weight, slowed down a bit you know? He gave us a week to get back in shape for a duelling contest on Saturday afternoon, spectators are allowed.”

“As much as watching you get all hot and sweaty in a duel would be enjoyable for _me,_ I don’t think it’s a good idea for Teddy to see that,” Daphne said, shooting him an amused look.

“Fair point, unfortunately,” Harry grinned, “What was so awful about your day? Tough curse?”

Daphne shook her head and sank down into the seat opposite him, “No, Bill and Fleur are getting divorced.”

Harry’s face fell, “Really? Oh sh – sugar plum fairies, I thought they could work it out.”

Daphne nodded glumly, “I thought they would too. I thought maybe it was just a slump after Vic was born and that they would get through it, but Bill doesn’t love her anymore and without love…there’s no chance.”

“So they are properly getting divorced then?” Harry asked sadly.

Daphne nodded again, “Astoria and I are going to help him write up a good settlement so that he and Fleur get shared custody of Vic, and I’m going to need you to help Charlie keep Bill from going off the deep end.”

Harry nodded, “I can do that, Bills like a brother to me…all of the Weasley’s are like family.”

“I know babe,” Daphne said, she shoved her food around the plate, “And really quickly, Bill has gone from being my boss to one of my best friends. I’m worried about him, you know? Heartbreak can do things to you and not being able to see your kid apart from on weekends…”

“I get it,” Harry said, resting his hand on top of hers, “If anything happened between us and I had to go from being a full-time parent to a part-time one, I wouldn’t cope well with it either so from that perspective I can relate to Bill. As for keeping him from going off the deep end, that one is definitely going to be up to Charlie. From everything I’ve heard about the Weasley boys when Bill does go off the deep end, Charlie is the only one who can bring him back.”

Daphne nodded and looked down at her untouched plate of food, “Yeah…I figured it was going to be that way. I’ll talk to Charlie about it tonight, once Ted’s in bed.”

“Alright,” Harry said, squeezing her hand, “But Bill’s going to get through this, as hard a time as it is for him because he has his family and he has us.”

Daphne smiled warmly at him, “Do you know something? That’s exactly what I told him.”

“Guess my ‘pointless optimism’ as you once called it, is rubbing off on you,” Harry said with a fond smile.

“Guess so,” Daphne chuckled.

“MORE PEAS!”

“And the moment is ruined by the pea hungry toddler,” Harry said, while Daphne laughed heartily.

“Here you go little man, I don’t really like peas anyway,” Harry chortled as he tipped a handful of peas onto the little boy's plate.

* * *

Daphne wasn’t entirely sure how much time Charlie and Astoria were spending together these days, so she tried Charlie’s place first. She figured if he wasn’t there, then she could floo Astoria and ask if he was at her place.

As it was, Charlie answered the floo call pretty quickly.

“Hey, Daphne, everything alright with Tori?”

“Yeah, everything is fine,” Daphne replied with a smile, it was sweet that his first thought had been Astoria, “But I do need to talk to you about something. Is it okay if I come through?”

“Sure,” Charlie replied, and his face disappeared from the fire.

Daphne stepped through and dusted herself off, then she looked around the living room.

Charlie lived in a little cottage on the edge of a large estate. The bare stone walls and cosy hearth made it feel hot and homely, it would have been quaint if it hadn’t been for all of the dragon memorabilia.

“Yeah, it’s pretty dragon heavy,” Charlie agreed with a chuckle as he saw her looking around, “Do you want a cup of tea?”

“Sure,” Daphne replied, and she followed him into the kitchen, which was pretty nice for the size of the place.

“You have a range?” Daphne asked as her heels clicked against the flagstones.

“I am a damn good cook I’ll have you know,” Charlie said with a grin, he put a kettle of water onto the stove to boil, “So, what can I do for you?”

“Well,” Daphne said as she leant against the kitchen counter, “This is about Bill.”

“I figured it might be,” Charlie admitted, “When I spoke to him yesterday at Mums…he seemed pretty down about the situation with Fleur.”

“He was miserable when I got in this morning, and it didn’t take much prodding to get to the reason why,” Daphne explained, “He threw a divorce settlement advice pack down on the desk.”

“So he’s going straight to divorce?” Charlie asked in surprise.

“Charlie, they’ve been trying to work through this since not long after Vic was born,” Daphne said softly, “He plays the hard man to you because you’re his baby brother, but he’s been struggling with his for a long time.”

“I know he has been,” Charlie admitted, “I just didn’t realise quite how bad it had gotten.”

Daphne opened her mouth to elaborate, but the kettle screeched loudly to let them know it had boiled. She shut her mouth and watched him make the tea.

Once he was done, he handed her a chipped blue mug with a red dragon on it and said, “So what are we going to do about it?”

“There isn’t much we can do about it,” Daphne admitted, “Besides handling the fallout. Bill is doing the right thing here, he and Fleur are miserable together and if Victoire grows up seeing that…she will think love is about resentment and anger and fights. It will put her off relationships from an early age.”

“Sounds like you’re talking from experience,” Charlie said, raising an eyebrow at her over his own coffee mug.

“I am,” Daphne said, cradling her mug, “I remember sitting in the cupboard with Astoria, covering her ears while my mother screamed at my father. I remember holding her till she fell asleep in our safe place which was this-”

“The bell tower room at the top of the house,” Charlie said softly.

Daphne looked up in surprise, “She told you about that?”

Charlie nodded, “And about how much it meant to you both.”

Daphne sighed and nodded, “I remember being that kid who hated to hear her parents fighting. I grew up wondering what the point of love and marriage was when it just made you miserable. If Bill and Fleur try to carry on the way they are right now, Victoire will grow up just like that, and nobody wants that for her.”

“No, you’re right,” Charlie agreed, “It would be far better for her to grow up with two loving parents who have acknowledged that they don’t love each other anymore.”

“But Bill is still going to struggle to adapt,” Daphne said, she sipped her tea, “How did you know how I take my tea by the way?”

Charlie chuckled, “I didn’t, I just made it the same way that I would for Astoria.”

Daphne smiled slightly at that.

“And you’re right,” Charlie continued, “Of course Bill’s going to struggle. He’s used to kissing Vic goodbye in the morning and going home to her every night so to go from that to just seeing her at weekends, it’ll be hard.”

“It will be harder if Fleur does what he thinks she’s going to do,” Daphne said darkly, “He thinks she’s going to kick off and take Vic back to France.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Charlie admitted.

“Which is why I’m going to ask Astoria to help him write up his divorce settlement so that from the instant the papers are submitted, they get shared custody,” Daphne continued.

Charlie nodded, “So it sounds like you have it all worked out. What do you need me for?”

“You know what I need you for Charlie,” Daphne said as she caught his eye, “By all accounts, the only person who can bring Bill back when he goes off the deep end is _you_. I’ll do what I can to make this as easy on Bill as I can from a legal perspective, but it’s going to take you to keep him together.”

“I can do that,” Charlie said as he set his mug down, “You know, I don’t know how much Bill talks about me but I am his best friend as well as his brother.”

“I know,” Daphne admitted, “Because he talks about you all of the time. He straight up told me you were his favourite brother, and he still feels guilty all of the time about what happened when you guys were kids.”

Charlie rolled his eyes, “I’ve been telling him for years to let that one go, but the old bugger never will.”

Daphne smiled, “You know Bill, he won’t just let something go when it hurt someone that he loves.”

“I know,” Charlie said, “And he’s lucky to have you as a friend Daphne, you went above and beyond for him, you didn’t have to do that.”

Daphne shrugged and set her mug down on the table, “Harry might not be a Weasley in blood, but he thinks of you all as family and as his wife, that makes you my family too. And despite the way I grew up, the Greengrass family motto is ‘ _Familia Ante Omnia’_ which means-”

“ _Family Over All_ ,” Charlie finished, “I’m not the stupid Weasley who ran off to play with dragons, you know?”

Daphne shot him a smirk, “I never thought you were the stupid Weasley. I’ve always attributed that quality to Ron.”

Charlie snorted in amusement, “You’re good for Harry, you know that? So you can consider yourself an honorary Weasley, as far as I’m concerned.”

Daphne smiled too, “Thanks, Charlie. Keep an eye on Bill won’t you?”

“Always have, always will,” Charlie replied as he walked Daphne back into the living room, “If he starts to get in too deep at work, floo me and I’ll sort him out.”

“Alright,” Daphne said, “We’ve got a deal.”

Charlie chuckled as he flew some floo powder into the fireplace, “Honestly, you Greengrass’s and your deals. We don’t have a deal, we just have a mutual friend who needs our help.”

“You Gryffindors and your hero complexes,” Daphne joked with a grin, “And unless you missed the huge surprise wedding last week, I’m a Potter now.”

Charlie grinned, “That’s going to take some getting used to.”

“Tell me about it,” Daphne laughed, she stepped into the fireplace and said, “See you later, Charlie.”

Charlie just waved as Daphne said, “Potter Manor!” and disappeared in a flurry of green flames.

* * *

“Hey, Sadie!” Harry said cheerfully as the Slytherin girl made her way into the drawing-room of Potter Manor.

“Hey, Harry,” Sadie said with a smile, “Do you have a spare half an hour? I could really use your help with the article about Snape.”

Harry smiled, “Sure. You decided not to go with the book idea then?”

Sadie shook her head, “He wasn’t Dumbledore, you know? There just wasn’t enough material for a book, but the Daily Prophet has offered me a good price for a lengthy article. All I’ve got at the moment is a prologue, but I wondered if you would let me read it to you first? I’d like to know if I’m on the right lines before I write anything else.”

“Yeah, of course,” Harry said, “Sit down, get comfy. Do you want anything? Tea? Coffee? Water?”

Sadie chuckled and shook her head, “No, I’ll be fine,” she said as she sat herself down in front of the fire and pulled a notepad from her bag, “Shall I just start?”

“Go for it,” Harry said supportively.

“ _This brief biography tells the untold story of Severus Snape: Potions Master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, former Death Eater and undervalued war hero. The bitter, cold-hearted man was despised by his students, but did anyone know what made him so? His story is one of love, pain, deceit, lies and death._

_There is no arguing that Severus Snape was an extraordinary man. However, the world is split into those who view him as a villain, and those who view him as a hero. The late Potions Master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was by no means a simple man, but his story is an interesting one, fraught with pain, suffering and death._

_Severus Snape was born in the small town of Cokeworth, England to a muggle father, Tobias Snape and a magical mother, Eileen Snape [nee Prince]. Eileen had discovered several valuable remedies and potions, and Tobias worked in what muggles call ‘the factory’. Severus was raised in the muggle world, but he always knew about Hogwarts and that he was destined to attend one day._

_When Severus was nine years old, he befriended sisters, Lily and Petunia Evans who were, as far as they were aware, Muggles.”_

“Slimy git!” James interjected.

“Shh!” Lilly said, hitting him around the head, “It’s just getting good.”

“That’s because you just came into the story!” James said.

“Yes, Lily-flower, very vain of you,” Sirius agreed.

“Guys,” Harry said, shooting them an amused smile, “Shut up and let her tell the story. Sadie, do continue.”

Sadie chuckled and did so, _“The two friends shared an interest in magic and Hogwarts. They remained friends throughout most of their time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When Severus went to Hogwarts, he was sorted into Slytherin, and Lily into Gryffindor. The divide was greater than they could ever have imagined and was what led Severus along the road that caused him to lose Lily in his fifth year of school._

_Misguided and misunderstood Severus left school and like so many others was drawn into the ranks of Lord Voldemort with the promise of wealth and power that any young man would find hard to resist. The Great Wizarding War transformed Severus’s life just as it changed the lives of almost every witch and wizard in Britain. Quickly realising that being a Death Eater was not what Severus had imagined it would be, he turned to the man he could always trust, Albus Dumbledore, and begged for a chance to right his wrongs._

_Severus Snape spent the rest of his life righting the wrongs he made as a young man, and he never stopped regretting the things he had said and done all those years ago. Arguably, this is what makes him the hero of Slytherin.”_

“The hero of Slytherin?” Sirius remarked in disbelief, “The bloody hero of Slytherin? That fucking slimy bastard? Regulus Black died in a cave, drowned by reanimated corpses to bring about the downfall of Voldemort, and yet Snivellus is still the hero of Slytherin?”

Sadie bit her lip and looked at Harry.

“It’s fine, he’s always like this,” Tracey said as she appeared in the portrait of the Marauders, “He’s more of a drama queen than Daphne, honestly.”

“Hero of Slytherin, my arse,” Sirius fumed.

“Sirius,” Tracey said, “I understand your frustration. Severus Snape was a bellend of the highest order to coin a phrase a friend of mine is fond of. _But_ Sadie could hardly write an article about Regulus, could she? It would be rather short. _Regulus Black, the hero of Slytherin, knocked up a muggle, suddenly regretted his entire life and all of his choices then put into place a half-arsed plan to bring down Lord Voldemort. It failed, he died, and the Horcrux that he recovered was eventually destroyed 17 years later._ See? It’s tragic, but it’s not interesting enough to keep the Daily Prophet readers interested.”

Sirius looked at her in disbelief, “Who are you, and how did you know all of that?”

“My subject was Tracey Davis, who was engaged to Dean Thomas. Dean Thomas’s real surname is Black. He’s your nephew,” Tracey said with a roll of her eyes.

“When did my brother knock up a muggle, exactly?”

“A few months before he died. She was still pregnant when he went into the cave.”

“That is sad,” Lily frowned.

“And tragic,” Remus added.

“But also a short story,” Sirius admitted grudgingly, “Although I don’t get what Snivellus did that made him so heroic.”

“Saved my life multiple times, all because of his long lost love for my mother,” Harry said with a roll of his eyes, “The whole thing was pretty creepy. He made me look at him while he was dying so he could pretend he was looking into her eyes.”

“That is creepy,” Lily admitted with a frown.

James nodded, “Told you he was the creepy, serial killer type. Didn’t I?”

“James! Not in front of Harry!”

“He was the creepy, serial killer type though Mum,” Harry snorted, “Regardless of his ‘tragic’ back story he was a douchebag.”

“But half the world thinks he’s a tragic hero,” Sadie pointed out, “Hence why I’m writing the story. He could become a hero to Slytherins.”

“You know who should become a hero to Slytherins?” Harry said, leaning back in his chair, “Draco Black, who renounced the name of ‘Malfoy’ for love. Who gave up his title, his fortune and his manor to marry the muggle-born that he was madly in love with. _That_ is the kind of person that young Slytherins should look up to, not Severus bloody Snape.”

“I am so telling him that you said that.”

Harry snorted and looked up, “Hey Theo. What are you doing here?”

“Just here to check on Sade,” Theo smirked, “But I’m telling him you said that.”

“Go for it,” Harry said simply.

Theo frowned, “But…seriously…I’m telling him.”

“Seriously, I don’t care. I’d tell him that to his face,” Harry said calmly.

“But…but…you can’t just be _okay_ with me telling him,” Theo huffed, “That takes the fun out of it!”

Harry snorted and turned back to Sadie, “I think the prologue is good, by the way. I just feel like you have to straddle the line a little more. Half of the world loves him, and half of the world hates him. Make sure you straddle that divide to avoid alienating half of your readers.”

Sadie smiled broadly, “Thanks, Harry, that was really helpful.”

“You’re welcome,” Harry said honestly.

* * *

Harry wasn’t sure why he was surprised the following morning when Theo ‘pranked’ him during training. They had just started running laps when Theo said, “So you’ll never guess what I walked in on in Potter Manor last night.”

“Harry and Neville fucking?” Draco joked.

“No,” Neville muttered, “I wasn’t even at Potter Manor last night.”

“Well, you were,” Harry said, “You were just in the garden fixing my greenhouse.”

“Yeah about that, never let a Niffler loose in there again, you idiot,” Neville said, shooting his best friend an amused look.

“Noted, I’ll let Daphne put it in Astoria’s bed straight away next time,” Harry said with a grin.

Neville snorted at that and Theo sniggered, “It was better than that anyway. I walked in on Harry confessing his secret love for you, Draco.”

“Secret? We all know about his obsession with me in sixth year,” Draco said, blowing out a breath as they paused for a minute-long break in-between laps.

“You were a Death Eater, and nobody believed me! How many times?” Harry muttered.

Theo smirked, “Want to hear what he said, Draco?”

“Go on,” Draco said warily.

Theo grinned and began dramatically, “You know who the saviour of Slytherin is? Someone who is greater even than me, Harry Potter, a local lad from Godric’s Hollow?”

“I do not speak like that,” Harry said, while Neville sniggered.

“Draco Black, that’s who! Draco Black with his shining silver hair and his stormy grey eyes, who gave away his title, his privilege and his future, all for love! To marry the muggle-born who he had blessed with his heart.”

“I did not say that!”

“He should be the shining light for all Slytherins, now and henceforth. Slytherin House should be renamed Black House, in honour of Draco’s greatness and of the sacrifices he made for the love of a girl, a wonderful girl by the name of Hermione Granger.”

Sumner usually had a very good poker face, but even he hadn’t been able to stop himself from laughing at Theo’s speech.

“Nott! As funny as that was, you also distracted everyone, so give me five quick laps, now!”

“Aw, sir!”

“Now, Nott! Or it will be ten!”

Theo smirked at Harry and jogged away. Neville was crying with laughter as they jogged after him, “I’ll just jog a bit faster and let you have a minute with the love of your life, alright, mate?”

“Fuck you, Neville!” Harry called after him.

Draco chuckled as he and Harry ran side by side, “I didn’t say any of that, by the way.”

“Yeah, it didn’t really sound like your words,” Draco snorted, “Sounded far more like Theo’s.”

“He took the gist of what I said and changed virtually everything about it,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “Sadie came over to read me some stuff for the article she’s writing about Snape. I got a bit irritated when she suggested that Snape could be a hero for Slytherins because I feel that what you did is far more heroic. You did give up your title, your fortune and your family home for love, and because you no longer wanted to associate yourself with the man who had dragged the family name through the mud. You are an inspiration to younger Slytherins, and I think you are a far better one than that greasy old bastard.”

“I hate to admit it,” Draco frowned, “But that means a lot to me, Harry.”

Harry smiled, “I know it does, Draco.”

“DRACO AND HARRY UP A TREE!” Neville sang as he jogged backwards to look at them.

“F.U.C.K.I.N.G!” Theo joined in.

“Nott! That’s another five laps!” Sumner bellowed.

“Aw, fuck.”

* * *

“How do you think things are going to go down between Bill and Fleur then?” Harry asked Daphne one evening early in January after Teddy had gone to bed.

Daphne sighed and continued folding laundry, “I don’t know, but Astoria and I have written up a great settlement between us. I have advised Bill to meet Fleur at the Ministry and hand her the settlement in front of a lawyer, so she can’t run away with Victoire.”

Harry hummed thoughtfully, “That’s a good idea…” he mused as he watched her fold the laundry, “You do realise we have a house-elf for that right?”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “You had better not let Hermione hear you say that.”

Harry snorted, “We give our elves holidays and clothes, we’re nice masters. But seriously, we have house elves to fold laundry and cook, but you still insist on doing it.”

“When I have time, I like to,” Daphne shrugged, “I find laundry folding therapeutic.”

Harry sniggered, “Alright, I won’t say anything about that because I can’t think of anything…nice.”

Daphne rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to insult him, but before she had a chance, the front door slammed loudly.

“Who the hell is that?” Harry asked as he looked up at the roof, hoping the noise hadn’t woken Teddy up.

“Daphne!”

Daphne shot Harry an exasperated look, “That would be my sister,” she muttered before calling, “In the kitchen!”

Astoria stormed into the kitchen, “I think I need to break up with Charlie.”

Daphne looked up in surprise, “Why? What has he done?”

Astoria crossed her arms over her chest, “I went to his place for the first time and I just…I’m sorry, but I can’t date a guy who has two pygmy dragons called Hamlet and Ophelia. I just can’t.”

Daphne snorted in amusement.

“Daphne, you are meant to be a supportive sister!”

Daphne smiled sweetly, “I’m being supportive, okay? He has pygmy dragons, of course, he does, he’s a dragonologist sweetie.”

“Don’t you _sweetie_ me like a little girl,” Astoria fumed as she turned around and saw Harry sitting on the kitchen worktop, “Hi Harry.”

“Hi Astoria,” Harry said, biting back an amused smile and sipping his coffee.

“He doesn’t just have pygmy dragons, Daphne, he _dresses them up_! He has pictures of them in Halloween costumes and Christmas hats. He lets them eat at the table in his kitchen, he treats them like bloody children!” Astoria continued, turning back to her sister.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, “If you are looking for someone to tell you how weird that is, or that you should leave him for it, can I just remind you that are talking to the person whose husband has a pet Boa Constrictor called Dave that he talks to?”

Astoria rolled her eyes, “Yes, but you should have expected that when you started dating Harry, I mean everyone knew he was a bit weird when we were at Hogwarts.”

Harry scoffed, “I’m literally right here.”

Astoria waved a hand nonchalantly.

“And you should have expected dragons when you started dating Charlie,” Daphne pointed out, “He _is_ a dragonologist.”

“Ugh!” Astoria said, stomping her foot like a child, “It’s not just about the dragons, okay? I mean at first, Charlie seemed great, he’s all gentleman-like, and the tattoos are hot obviously, not to mention the sex which is just mind-blowing-”

Harry made a gagging sound from behind, which made Daphne smirk.

“But we come from two different worlds,” Astoria continued, “It was never going to work! I mean I come from a pureblood family, I grew up in a nice house with nice things, and Charlie is a blood traitor who grew up in a hovel-”

“Hey!” Harry interjected, “I like that hovel! I made some of my best childhood memories there!”

“Harry, would you just butt out of this conversation?” Astoria asked irritably.

Harry looked at her incredulously, “I don’t just live here, you know, Astoria? This is actually my house, you know _Potter_ Manor? My name is literally on the gates.”

“It’s my name too babe,” Daphne pointed out, “Why don’t you go and have a chat with Dave?”

Harry rolled his eyes and walked out of the house, muttering irritably under his breath.

“You were saying?” Daphne nudged Astoria.

“Yes, I live in a nice flat in the uptown area of London, and where does Charlie live? In a shack, I mean it is literally a _shack_ in the middle of the fucking lake district with his _pet dragons_! I have a lovely original Van Gogh on my wall and Charlie has a dragon scale!”

Daphne smiled slightly, “Astoria, I know you, and I know that if you were completely sure that you wanted to break up with Charlie, you would have done it by now. Instead, you are here, telling me all of the reasons why you and Charlie shouldn’t be together because you don’t actually want to break up with him.”

Astoria sighed heavily, “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. I just don’t think two people from such different worlds could ever work.”

Daphne hummed thoughtfully, “You know, Dad said that this would happen?”

“What?” Astoria frowned deeply.

“At my wedding,” Daphne remarked casually, “He asked me if I thought you and Charlie would end up married. He reckoned you would never make it, what with you growing up with lots of nice things and Charlie being a Weasley.”

Astoria narrowed her eyes at her sister.

“But I said ‘No, I think you’re wrong Dad, I don’t think those things matter as much to Astoria as they do to me’,” Daphne said with a shrug, “I figured with you being the CEO of Greengrass Industries, you would make enough money to have all of those nice things without your husband having to supply them for you, but I guess I got you all wrong.”

“Daphne, stop being manipulative,” Astoria said irritably.

“Simply passing on snippets of a conversation, sweetie,” Daphne said politely.

Astoria rolled her eyes, “You are telling me about these snippets of a conversation because you think that if I _know,_ Dad wanted me to break up with Charlie, I, therefore, _won’t_ break up with him just to prove Dad wrong but _you’re_ wrong.”

“Am I?” Daphne asked calmly.

“You are,” Astoria said testily.

“So you’re off to break up with Charlie right now then?” Daphne asked, quirking an eyebrow up at her sister.

Astoria huffed and stalked out of the room irritably, but before she could reach the front door, she turned around and stomped back in, “Ugh dammit you’re right! I don’t want to break up with him because I love him!”

Daphne smirked, “You’re just going to have to learn to love the dragons, like I had to learn to love Dave.”

“You hate Dave!” Astoria objected, “You always tell me that you think he’s going to kill you in your sleep one day.”

“Okay so I hate Dave, but I had to learn to pretend to like Dave to keep Harry happy,” Daphne compromised.

“This is shit advice Daphne,” Astoria grumbled.

“Maybe you should go and talk to Hermione, she loves dragons,” Daphne shrugged.

“Why didn’t Charlie marry her then?” Astoria muttered irritably.

“Because Weasley’s don’t do it for Hermione, she likes a man with class,” Daphne smirked.

“What’s she doing with Draco then?” Astoria joked, causing both of the sisters to burst out laughing.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	74. By the Order of Merlin

When the floo roared to life, and Astoria’s face appeared, Draco smiled politely, “Hey Astoria, what can I do for you?”

Astoria smiled weakly, “It was actually Hermione that I wanted to talk to Draco. Is she home?”

Draco frowned, “Uh yeah…she’s just in the living room. I can get her-”

“If it’s not too much hassle, could I just come through?” Astoria interjected.

Draco’s frown deepened, “Yeah sure,” he said, granting her access and stepping back from the fireplace.

Seconds later, Astoria stepped through and dusted herself down, “Where is the living room?”

“Across the hall,” Draco replied, “Is everything okay?”

“Not really, but I just need some advice from her before I make a big decision,” Astoria said, stalking up the stairs in search of Hermione.

When she reached the living room, she knocked on the door before walking in.

Hermione looked up and frowned, “Hi Astoria, were you looking for Draco?”

“No, I need advice, from you,” Astoria said, sitting down in an armchair, “How do you learn to love dragons?”

Hermione smiled slightly, “Uh…well…if you don’t like dragons, then there isn’t much more to it than that I’m afraid.”

“No, I like dragons,” Astoria corrected, “I find them majestic, beautiful even. I can even admit that pygmy dragons are pretty damn cute. But what I cannot live with, if Charlie and I are to move in together, is dragons eating at my dinner table.”

Hermione made a face, “Yes, you are quite right. You will need to lay down the law, just like Daphne had to do with Dave.”

Astoria frowned, “What do you mean?”

“When Harry brought Dave home, he was all for keeping him in the kitchen, and Daphne was having none of it,” Hermione explained, “If Harry had it his way Dave would probably have slept in their bed, but Daphne lay down the rules. You would have to do the same, no dragons in the house, it’s not sanitary.”

“Exactly!” Astoria exclaimed, “So I should give him an ultimatum then?”

“Oh no,” Hermione said quickly, “No, that’s a very Slytherin perspective. I simply meant have a conversation about it…you know, calmly?”

“Calmly?”

“Over coffee,” Hermione finished.

Astoria frowned, “That seems very civil. I thought laying down the rules first then telling him it was me or the dragons would be more effective.”

“Not against Charlie,” Hermione said, deciding not to add her thought about how he would probably just pick the dragons.

“So…talk to him…over coffee?” Astoria said, sounding perplexed.

“Yes,” Hermione said, trying to hide an amused smile.

* * *

Astoria, to her credit, tried to take Hermione’s advice. She had invited Charlie over that evening, so when he arrived, she made him a coffee and sat it down slowly in front of him at the breakfast bar in her kitchen.

“So Charlie,” She then said, crossing her arms over her chest, “Here’s the thing; if we’re going to live together the dragons need to be out of the house.”

“Uh…okay?” Charlie said, utterly bemused.

“I mean don’t get me wrong I like dragons, I couldn’t have spent the last two months sleeping with you if I _didn’t_ because you do talk about dragons more than the average man,” Astoria rambled, “And maybe they don’t need to leave the house, but they need to be out of the kitchen because that is not sanitary. I get that with you, one man’s dragon is another man’s dog but dogs don’t eat at the dinner table, especially not when you have polite company over, like a girlfriend, for example?”

Charlie smiled slightly, “Fair point. You _are_ saying you want to move in with me though, aren’t you?”

“Uh, no,” Astoria said distastefully, “I do not want to move into that…uh, place…you call a house. However, you could move in here?”

Charlie scoffed, “Here? Why would I want to live here? There’s nowhere for my dragons for a start, and there’s too much glass. Not to mention the shiny-ness, why is everything in your kitchen shiny? What do you have against plain old wood?”

Astoria glared at him, “It is trendy and modern!”

“It’s fucking ugly, and then there’s the fact you _never_ cook because you can’t use that fancy oven. Just get a range and be done with it love.”

“Well, we didn’t all grow up on a bloody farm!”

“Course love, I forgot you had house-elves to cook you up whatever you fancied.”

Astoria growled, “I was right when I was talking to Daphne earlier, I should have just broken up with you!”

Charlie raised an eyebrow at her, “You _could_ , or we could just buy a new place that would suit us both. You know, a cottage with a nice garden so my dragons have somewhere to live since you stated very clearly that you don’t want them in the house.”

“You don’t get cottages in London.”

“Well that’s simple, I don’t want to live in London,” Charlie said, clapping his hands together.

“I like living in London, not to mention I work here!”

“Astoria love, you can apparate. You could live in the fucking highlands of Scotland, and it wouldn’t make a damn bit of a difference!”

“Ugh, you are impossible, Charlie!”

“And you’re a high maintenance pain in the arse!”

“Maybe we should just break up!” Astoria screeched.

“Maybe we should!” Charlie agreed irritably.

Their eyes met, and the next thing they knew, they were kissing, and Charlie was pinning Astoria to the kitchen worktop.

* * *

When Astoria entered Potter Manor the following evening for dinner with Daphne, Harry and her father, she was greeted immediately by her older sister.

“So, how did breaking up with Charlie go?”

Astoria shot her sister an irritated look, “How do you _think_ it went?”

“Knowing what I know about the dynamics of a relationship where one person is a strong-minded, opinionated Gryffindor and the other a cool, calculating Slytherin; I am going to hazard a guess that you fought, ended up having sex and now feel even more torn than ever,” Daphne said calmly.

“I hate how right you are,” Astoria grumbled.

Daphne smirked, “Does he know you love him?”

“I haven’t told him if that’s what you’re hinting at,” Astoria said, they reached the doors of the dining room, “And no mention of this in front of Dad.”

“My lips are sealed,” Daphne said, winking at her younger sister than stepping into the room.

Cygnus smiled when he saw them, “I do so love to see you two smiling together. Good evening Astoria.”

“Good evening Father,” Astoria said, kissing him on the cheek, “How are you feeling?”

“Much better,” Cygnus replied warmly, “And how are you?”

“Great, my plans for the business are coming along brilliantly,” Astoria said cheerfully as she took her seat, “We are building up a great staff now which is going to help with implementing all of the changes that I plan to bring around.”

Cygnus smiled, “And how does Charles fit in?”

“ _Charlie_ fits in brilliantly,” Astoria corrected, “He really brings a different perspective to the table which is enlightening.”

“So I hear,” Daphne joked, Harry looked down to hide his amused smile.

Cygnus, of course, didn’t notice.

“So Dad,” Daphne said, she clicked her fingers and bowls of soup appeared at the table, “Why did you call for a family dinner?”

“Does there have to be a reason to spend an evening with my daughters?” Cygnus asked innocently.

“No,” Daphne admitted, “Yet I still get the feeling that there _is_ a reason.”

Cygnus’s smile turned a little more sneaky, “There was something I wanted to tell you all, but that was not exclusively why I called for a family dinner.”

“Go on,” Astoria said, narrowing her eyes at her father.

“I wanted to firstly thank you, Harry, for allowing me to recuperate in your family home,” Cygnus said, smiling at Harry before turning to look at his daughters, “And I wished to inform you girls that I shall be moving out next week, now that I am virtually back to full health.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Oh Father, _wherever_ could you be going?”

Cygnus fixed her with a stern look, “Do not be like that Daphne.”

“I completely understand. You want to live your life without feeling like a burden to us,” Daphne said, raising her hands, “I am not offended in the slightest, but you could at least have the curtsey to tell us the _truth_. You are moving out because you woke up from your big sleep to a whole new world and you had an epiphany.”

Cygnus leant back in his chair, soup abandoned, and crossed his arms, “Did I?” he challenged.

“You did,” Daphne continued firmly, “You realised that you had treated your daughters like shit and that things had to change. _Then_ you realised that Lucius Malfoy was rotting on the other side of the world and that Narcissa Black, the first love of your life, was a poor sad little widow.”

“Daphne-” Cygnus said. There was a warning tone to his voice.

“So you are moving out to go and stay with her,” Daphne concluded, “Am I right or am I wrong?”

Cygnus looked steely, more like his old self than he had in a while, “While I do not appreciate the degrading view on my character, you are right.”

“Exactly,” Daphne remarked, “I knew it, Astoria knew, even Harry knew it and Harry doesn’t pick up on anything. Our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher had Voldemort on the back of his head for a year, and Harry just thought he smelled funny because he didn’t have great personal hygiene.”

Harry snorted, “I didn’t notice you running about telling everyone that Quirrell had Voldemort on the back of his head Daph.”

“Well if I had been best friends with Hermione that year, I would have noticed,” Daphne pointed out.

Astoria chuckled, “In case you wondered Dad, Harry was the reason we had drama every year at school.”

“I hardly caused drama _every_ year,” Harry argued.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at her husband, “Sorry babe, but you did. I mean second year, the chamber of secrets was opened, and everyone started hating on Slytherins because Voldemort wanted to kill you.”

“Not my fault,” Harry pointed out.

“Third year, the best DADA teacher we ever had turned out to be a gay werewolf who was in love with an escaped convict who we thought was trying to kill you, but was actually trying to protect you because…plot twist, he was your godfather,” Daphne continued.

Harry rolled his eyes at her description, “Remus wasn’t gay, was he? We’ve adopted the child that he had with a _woman_.”

“Yes but your godfather, his long-time lover was a _man_ ,” Daphne pointed out, “Anyway, fourth year, drama galore because some wannabe Death Eater entered you into the Triwizard Tournament which you royally sucked at and would never have survived without Hermione.”

“True,” Harry admitted sheepishly.

“Fifth year, you were suspiciously quiet because you were secretly running a freaking army and training Neville Longbottom up to be your sidekick,” Daphne said with a wave of her hands, “Sixth year, you had that crazy phase when you thought you were in love with Ginny Weasley. I mean honestly, what else happened that year besides _that_ and Hermione thinking that Ronald Weasley was good enough for her?”

“Besides Dumbledore teaching me about Voldemort so I could kill him?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at her, “Oh, I mean there was a battle, do you remember that? You know Bill Weasley, your new best friend-come boss, got mauled by Greyback and Snape freaking killed Dumbledore. Ringing any bells?”

“Alright, so a lot happened that year,” Daphne reasoned, “Then seventh year was just royally awful because of the war and the Death Eaters running the school.”

“It would have been much worse if you and your friends hadn’t protected the younger Slytherins,” Astoria pointed out.

Daphne shrugged, “What we did at Hogwarts was nothing compared to what Harry did.”

“I didn’t do much,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “I owe the fact we won that war to Hermione. But what you guys did and what Neville did at Hogwarts…you kept the younger students safe, and that is far more noble.”

Cygnus frowned, “I’m sorry, would you mind catching me up?”

Daphne sighed, “While I was in seventh year, the school was essentially being run by the Carrows, who _just_ loved torture. Draco, Pansy, Tracey, Sadie, Theo and I, sometimes with the help of Blaise, tried to keep the younger students safe. It started out that way anyway, but before we knew it, we were rescuing each other from the dark tower when the Carrows captured us, and it was…it was intense. Draco and Pansy were together, and I was still angry at Draco for taking the dark mark. But Sadie and Theo got closer that year…that was when they fell in love.”

“So it wasn’t all bad,” Harry said, reaching across the table and squeezing her hand.

Astoria gave her sister a small smile, “Harry is right, but how about we change the subject to something a little happier? Like congratulating Dad on his new girlfriend.”

Cygnus laughed, “Oh no, Astoria. Narcissa is a dear friend who has offered to take me in. There is nothing more to it.”

“Right now,” Astoria said, shooting her father a knowing look.

She could have sworn that she saw the faintest blush rise in his cheeks, and when she saw Daphne smirking, Astoria knew that she hadn’t imagined it.

* * *

Come the 15th of January, tensions were rife in the Potter/Longbottom household. This was due to the Ministry Ball that those who were being awarded Order of Merlins would be attending that evening. As far as Harry was aware, those people were himself, Neville, and Hermione.

It was an official dinner, followed by an awards ceremony and dance. It would be Harry and Daphne’s first outing as Marquiss and Marchioness Potter, so naturally, Daphne couldn’t wait. Lilly, on the other hand, was positively dreading it.

"So what are you wearing tonight?” Lilly asked as she lounged on a sofa in the drawing-room.

“I thought I would go for the classy, but sexy look tonight,” Daphne said. She used magic to bring the dress downstairs from her bedroom.

Lilly’s jaw dropped, “You can’t be serious.”

Daphne immediately went on the defensive, “What do you mean?”

“I mean you cannot wear that,” Lilly said incredulously, “You’re going to look like a total slag.”

“Are you calling me a slut?”

“No. I’m saying you’ll look like one if you wear that! That slit goes right up, you turn at the wrong moment, and somebody is going to get a right view of your arse,” Lilly said, suddenly sounding more like a Londoner than ever.

“I will look classy in it, it’s sexy and _classy_ ,” Daphne argued, “What are you wearing? If you’re going to be so judgy today!”

Lilly rolled her eyes and levitated her dress out of her bag.

Daphne looked at it in horror, “ _You_ can’t wear that!”

“Why not?” Lilly asked irritably.

“Because you’d be just as well going in a burlap sack!” Daphne retorted, “It’s plain, dull and common. You can’t wear it to a Ministry ball.”

“Plain, dull and common?” Lilly fumed, “Is that what you think of me?”

“You know fine well, that is not what I think of you,” Daphne said calmly, “But you _are_ going to be Countess Longbottom one day. You have to act like a pureblood, even if you aren’t one, and that means dressing like one.”

Lilly scoffed, “I’m not going to pretend to be a pureblood. I’m proud of my roots.”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Oh, you are impossible, sweetie.”

By this point, their argument had drawn Harry and Neville to the room. They had heard the raised voices from the floor below, and as it was unlike those two to argue, they dashed up to see what all of the fuss was about.

“Oh fuck,” Neville whispered from the doorway, “She called Lilly sweetie. The shit is about to hit the fan.”

Surely enough, Lilly’s face set and she said lowly, “What did you just call me?”

Daphne smirked, “I called you sweetie, _sweetie_.”

“Don’t call me sweetie again,” Lilly said firmly.

“Sorry, sweetie.”

“Right, I’ve had it up to here with you!” Lilly remarked. She reached for her wand just as Daphne reached for hers.

“Glacius!”

“Telum Magicum!”

The block of ice acted as a shield against the arrows that Lilly had shot from her wand.

“Predictable!” They yelled at each other in unison.

Harry bit his lip, “This could be dangerous.”

Neville just nodded.

“Reducto!”

“Protego! Relashio!”

“Oi!” Harry objected, “Play nicely in _my_ drawing-room!”

Lilly rolled her eyes, “Gelato Pedes! Tame enough for you, Potter?”

“Why does everyone revert to my surname when they’re pissed off with me?” Harry asked Neville.

“I don’t know, but people do it to me too,” Neville chuckled.

“Aguamenti!”

“Glacius! Ovis!”

As the block of ice narrowly missed Lilly, Harry whispered, “Is it wrong that I’m getting turned on watching this?”

“No,” Neville whispered back as Lilly took a step forward and threw a fireball at Daphne, “Because I am too.”

“Protego!” Harry said as Daphne ducked the fireball and it soared straight for a portrait of Nicholas Potter and Cordelia Cauldwell, “Guys! Tone it down!”

Daphne scoffed and took a step closer to Lilly, “Serpensortia!”

Harry rolled his eyes, _“Hey dude. They are having a catfight, just don’t get involved okay? I’ve got a cabin full of snakes out in the garden, you can go live out your days there instead.”_

_“Thank you, kind human.”_

Daphne glared at Harry and was caught off guard, which Lilly took advantage of, “Ventus!”

“Who do you think is going to win?” Neville asked as Daphne got back on her feet before Lilly could disarm her. The two girls were duelling at close range now.

“I don’t know,” Harry admitted, “They’re both good, and hot.”

Neville nodded, “They are both hot…”

“I wonder if they’ll have sex,” Harry joked.

“What?” Neville snorted.

“Is it just me that does that then?” Harry asked.

“Duels someone then has sex with them? Yep, just you,” Neville teased.

“Not everyone I duel, you arse, just Daphne,” Harry quipped, “Don't you and Lil do that?”

“No,” Neville said incredulously, “Lilly and I have never duelled. When we argue, we tend to just talk about our problems, have a cup of tea then go to bed.”

“Fucking hell Neville – right! No homemade curses in my drawing-room Lillian Moon! – you’re so boring,” Harry said.

Neville snorted, “Just because I don’t have a kinky sex life like you and Daphne, or Draco and Hermione? There is nothing wrong with normal sex, you know? Theo and I were having a discussion about this the other day and-”

At that point, he stopped talking because Daphne had just distracted Lilly with a trip jinx which had made her fall forward towards her opponent. Daphne caught her and kissed her, silently disarming her as she did so.

Neville’s jaw dropped, and Harry smirked, “Told you. It’s how she wins duels, with subterfuge and sex appeal.”

Neville didn’t seem capable of words as he watched his fiancé kissing Harry’s wife. It wasn’t like it was a peck either, it was a full-blown kiss, and it made him wonder how many times this had happened since Paris.

Lilly was the one to break the kiss. She pulled back and took a step away from Daphne.

“Would you stop doing that?” Lilly asked irritably as she glared at Daphne, “You can’t just kiss me every time you want to shut me up!”

“Why not? It works,” Daphne said.

Harry sniggered, “Who won?”

“I did,” Daphne said, waving Lilly’s wand above her head, “I kissed her, and then there was the disarming too.”

Lilly glared at her and crossed her arms over her chest, “If you think you can just kiss me and get your own way every time we argue, you have another thing coming!”

Daphne threw Lilly her wand back, “Oh, I don’t know,” she said smoothly, “It’s always worked in the past.”

Tracey scoffed from her portrait, “Yeah, with _me_ but that girl has a _lot_ more spirit. You’re going to have to get better at apologising, Daphne.”

“Your portrait best friend is right,” Lilly agreed.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “I’m sorry. Will you please let me play dress-up with you and show you how hot you’ll look as a pureblood Countess?”

Lilly fixed her with an irritated look, “You called me common.”

“You are common. You called me a slag,” Daphne remarked.

“You are a bit of a slag,” Lilly countered.

Harry and Neville watched this play by play with interest, half-expecting another duel to break out.

“Are you flirting, or fighting?” Neville asked cluelessly.

“I’m never quite sure,” Lilly admitted.

“That’s because it’s both,” Daphne chirped, “Come on, Lil, I’ve got loads of beautiful dresses. I’ll have to shrink them all to fit you but all the same, you will look amazing in them.”

“Putain.”

“Paysanne.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.”

Neville snorted, and Harry asked, “What did they just say?”

“My French isn’t that good,” Neville admitted, “But I’m pretty sure Lilly called Daphne a whore then Daphne called her a peasant.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at the girls, “So you’re all good then?”

“I think so,” Daphne said, catching Lilly’s eye.

Lilly nodded in response.

“How often does that happen?” Neville asked curiously, “The kissing thing? Cause it looked like it might have happened more since Paris.”

“Just once,” Daphne said, smirking at Neville, “On my unofficial hen night.”

Harry snorted, “You two better get a move on. We’ve got three hours, and I know how long it takes _you_ to get ready, Daph.”

The two girls dutifully disappeared, and Harry turned to Neville, “I’m so glad Teddy’s at Andromeda’s. That would have been a fun one to explain to a baby.”

Neville laughed in response, “Do you think I genuinely need to worry about this Lilly, Daphne kissing thing?”

“Nah, they just like kissing each other. They’re not going to run off together, don’t worry about it Nev,” Harry said, clapping his friend on the back.

* * *

When the girls joined their other halves in the entrance hall, they were both wearing different dresses from the ones that they had intended to. Daphne still looked classy and sexy, but without the ‘major’ slit that her previous dress had had. Instead, she wore a skin-tight pink dress, decorated with dark pink sequins in flower-patterns. The back was open and crisscrossed over her flawless skin. It was relatively low-cut, but Harry wasn’t complaining. As usual, she wore sky-scraper heels and her signature red lipstick.

“Looking gorgeous, as usual, babe,” Harry said, holding out a pale pink shrug for her.

“Wait until you see Lilly,” Daphne said, flashing a grin Neville’s way.

“Nobody is going to see me because I’m going to fall down the stairs in these stupid shoes,” Lilly’s voice said.

They all looked up, and Neville’s eyes widened. He had seen her in nice dresses, in fancy dresses, in bridesmaids dresses even. However, he had never seen her wear the kind of thing that Daphne tended to wear.

“This is a Yule Ball moment,” Harry whispered to Daphne, “You know when we all stared at Hermione and realised she was a girl?”

“We all know Lilly’s a girl,” Daphne said, shooting Harry an amused look, “You think she’s hot.”

“I think I said cute.”

“Pretty sure you said hot.”

Harry snorted and nudged Neville, “Help your fiancé down the stairs before she breaks her neck, Nev.”

Lilly looked stunning. The dress that Daphne had chosen for her was made from off-white lacy material, adorned with sequins that caught the light every time she moved. It had a darker, golden peter pan collar and it pulled in around the waist with a ribbon in the same colour. It stopped just above her ankles, and it was plain to see why she was struggling to walk because the heels Daphne had put her in were at least four inches high.

“You look…amazing,” Neville said when he reached her atop the staircase. Her dark red hair had been pulled up into a styled bun with a few curled strands left loose at the front.

“I feel like a little girl playing dress-up,” Lilly muttered.

“Daphne’s right though,” Neville said, “Unfortunately, you do have to look the part. The press will be there.”

Lilly nodded, “I know.”

“Come on, Lil,” Daphne called from the bottom of the stairs, “We’ll be late.”

Neville held out his arm to her, “I won’t let you fall,” he promised.

* * *

The ball itself was a grand occasion. They sat together for the meal to avoid making small talk with the others there. It was a Wizengamot occasion because the Wizengamot were the ones who handed out the Order of Merlin. That meant that all of the ‘big’ wizarding families were here.

As they mingled after the meal, Harry’s eyes scanned the room with interest. Howard Abbott was here with his daughter. Hannah had been giving Lilly evils all night, to which Daphne had whispered, “Bet you’re glad you wore that dress now, huh?”

Lilly had just shot her a playful look and told her to shut up. Draco and Hermione were here, partly because the Blacks had a seat on the Wizengamot but chiefly because Hermione was being gifted an Order of Merlin tonight. Susan was here too, as were all of the Weasleys. Harry didn’t think he had ever seen them so smartly dressed. Molly looked very proud, if a little uncomfortable, to have her family back in a position of honour. The Cauldwells and Notts were all here, Sadie was arguing in hushed tones with her mother while Sorenson glared at Theo, so all seemed to be as per usual there. Daphne’s Uncle Julian seemed to have embarked on a mission to drink his way through the free bar. Daphne rolled her eyes when she saw this and endeavoured to ignore him for the remainder of the evening.

Daphne’s father and Astoria were both here, now that Cygnus had taken his seat on the Wizengamot. They were currently talking with the Parkinsons while Charlie tried his best to slink away to get back to his own family.

“Don’t you scrub up well? I almost didn’t recognise you.”

Lilly grinned, “Clara!”

Clara smiled at her, “You look great.”

“So do you,” Lilly countered. Clara wore a slim-fitting, green sequined dress and had her make-up and hair done.

“A far cry from our usual look when we’re rescuing daft baby Aurors, isn’t it?” Clara said shooting said ‘baby Aurors’ a grin.

“These baby Aurors are getting Order of Merlins, I would thank you to know,” Harry joked.

Clara raised an eyebrow at him, “Have fun guys. I’m off to rescue Theo from Sorenson, the poor boy must be on fire under that glare.”

Harry laughed as she disappeared. All of the Wizengamot families were here, the Jones’, the Corner’s (Michael Junior kept making eyes at Lilly and Neville was not happy about it), the Cornfoots, the MacDougalls and MacMillans. Not to mention the Fawley’s.

Daphne shot the filthiest glare across the room when Stuart dared to look at her. He was with his sister Annabella who stood with her husband, Kevin Brown. Also standing in a group with them were the Smith’s.

“Look at the scum sticking together,” Daphne muttered.

“Kevin Brown isn’t scum,” Lilly whispered.

“He is, he votes against every law we try and pass,” Neville whispered, “I think it’s because he blames us for Lavender’s death.”

Lilly squeezed his hand as a dark look passed through his eyes upon those words.

Harry changed the subject by gesturing at Sally-Anne Perks who was currently trying to flirt with Graham Montague, “Never stops, does she?”

“Girls like her don’t,” Daphne said with a roll of her eyes, “They just keep trying to sleep their way to the top.”

Harry said nothing as he contemplated that comment. Kingsley was locked in conversation with Slughorn, and the Zabini’s were mingling throughout the room. Ophelia was here with her brother Oliver, and she was sticking with Blanche, Blaise and Ginny.

Harry bit his lip to hide his grin when he saw that Belinda was talking to Bill, and Charlie had just joined them, “Astoria’s going to go on the rampage,” he whispered.

Daphne laughed, “Would you quit it? You are _such_ a gossip.”

“Sorry,” Harry said, grinning sheepishly at her.

“I think it’s about to start,” Neville said, nudging Harry as Kingsley gathered the highest-ranking of the ‘lords’ together. Harry and Neville were excluded because they were getting Order of Merlins, but all of the Earls were being shepherded onto the stage. This group included Kingsley himself, Howard Abbott, Oberon Parkinson and Cygnus Greengrass.

“Welcome everyone!” Kingsley boomed, quieting the hall down instantly, “To the year 2000 and thus, the annual Order of Merlin Awards Ceremony.”

They all clapped dutifully.

“We are a little late in handing out the awards that were earned during the war. Due to the rebuilding of the wizarding world and modernisation of the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot, there was no award ceremony last year. We shall begin by handing out the third class medals,” Kingsley explained, “Would you do the honours, Earl Abbott?”

“Of course,” Howard said, smiling easily and stepping forward. On the lectern in front of him was a box full of medals, all with different coloured bands.

“The Third Class Order of Merlin, as I am sure you are all aware, is awarded to individuals who have made a contribution to our store of knowledge or entertainment.”

The room was hushed. Harry, Neville and Hermione had all been informed that they were to receive an Order of Merlin, but nobody else had been, and they expected there to be more than three.

“On this occasion, we shall award three Third Class Order of Merlins,” Howard spoke clearly, "One post-humously, unfortunately. For giving the magical population of Britain hope during our darkest hour. For informing people of the deaths of their loved ones. For keeping the magical population aware of Voldemort’s whereabouts and keeping them alert with information about Voldemort and the taboo on his name. The Wizengamot award a Third Class Order of Merlin to the creators and hosts of ‘Potterwatch’; Fred Weasley, George Weasley and Lee Jordan.”

Harry felt a lump rise in his throat as he looked at George. Tears swam in his eyes as he automatically looked to his right where Fred should have stood. Angelina kissed him and nudged him towards the stage. He dabbed his eyes on his way up and forged a smile as he stood next to Lee Jordan.

Howard Abbott pinned a golden medal that resembled the sun on Lee Jordan's dress robes. The medal shone brightly and hung on a white ribbon. He then placed one of George’s chest that had his name emblazoned proudly on it.

“Would you allow me to pin your brothers on this side?” Howard asked, gesturing to the left of George’s chest, “Over your heart?”

George nodded tearfully and looked down at the medal, which had Fred’s name engraved onto it.

Howard held out his hand to George, who took it and shook it firmly.

“My daughter and I learned about my wife’s death through your radio station,” Howard said, loudly enough for the audience to hear, “It gave my daughter hope while she kept the rebellion afloat at Hogwarts. We cannot thank you enough for the service you provided the wizarding world, or for the sacrifice that your brother made.”

George could only nod. Lee placed his hand on his friend's arm and guided him off the stage.

Daphne grabbed Harry’s hand as he wiped his eyes hastily.

“You aren’t the only one, babe,” She said softly, gesturing to the Weasley’s. Every single Weasley had tears in their eyes, Ginny was hugging Bill tightly. She had been one of the most severely affected by Fred’s death in the aftermath of the battle.

“Thank you, Earl Abbott,” Kingsley said with a small smile, “Could I please ask Earl Parkinson to award the Second Class Order of Merlins?”

Oberon Parkinson, a greying, older man who had obviously once been platinum blond stepped forward, “As you will all be aware, the Second Class Order of Merlin is awarded for achievement or endeavour beyond the ordinary, and in the aftermath of such a brutal, bloody war, there are more of these than average being handed out this year.”

He picked up a medal which was exactly the same as the Third Class, only with a purple ribbon. He said, “For his role in the defeat of Lord Voldemort, including the defeat of one of Lord Voldemort’s Horcruxes, we award a Second Class Order of Merlin to Ronald Bilius Weasley.”

Ron looked stunned. Charlie grinned and nudged him to his feet, and he walked onto the stage with bright red ears. Harry grinned proudly and caught Hermione’s eye, they clapped louder than anyone else in the room.

When Ron reached the stage, Oberon pinned the medal onto his dress robes and said, “We all thank you for your bravery, loyalty and commitment. You were integral in the defeat of Lord Voldemort, and the entire wizarding world owes you our thanks.”

“Thank you,” Ron said, blushing furiously as he left the stage.

Oberon continued, “For extraordinary achievement, being the mastermind behind Harry Potter who enabled him to hunt down Voldemort’s Horcruxes and defeat them. For remaining strong in the most difficult of times and for always keeping a clear head in a crisis. We award a Second Class Order of Merlin to Hermione Jean Granger.”

Hermione smiled nervously as she walked up onto the stage. Oberon smiled at her and pinned the medal onto the beautiful deep red ballgown that she was wearing, “We owe the brightest witch of her age a great thanks. Undoubtedly, without your aid, the war against Voldemort would not have been won so quickly and successfully. The wizarding world owes you our thanks.”

“Thank you, sir,” Hermione said shyly.

She left the stage, and Draco put his arm around her, smiling down at her proudly as the Weasley’s and Harry’s clapped until their hands hurt.

“For the defeat of Lord Voldemort’s right-hand in the heat of the final battle and thus, for undoubtedly saving many lives. We award a Second Class Order of Merlin to Molly Weasley,” Oberon continued.

Molly froze in shock. Arthur smiled and gave her a little shake, and Harry felt his eyes well up. Molly _had_ been integral, it had all ended because of her. Harry had taken the invisibility cloak off to protect her, she had been the reason he had gone into that final duel with Voldemort.

Bill and Charlie caught each other’s eyes and nodded. They each hooked their arms through their mother’s, and they led her up onto the stage. She looked stunned as she stood there with tears in her eyes, “Me?” was all she could say.

“You, Molly,” Oberon said with a smile, “You are not an Auror, nor an advanced dueller. You were a mother who was looking out for her child, and you defeated one of the most powerful dark witches we have seen since Morgana Le Fay. You deserve this.”

He pinned the medal onto her dress, and she looked down at it in disbelief.

“Congratulations,” Oberon said kindly, and it sounded like it came from the heart. Harry wondered if they knew each other, then Daphne whispered in his ear, “They were in the same year at school. Oberon was in Ravenclaw, and he and Molly were friends.”

Harry frowned and Daphne whispered, “The Parkinsons have never been a dark family. They weren’t involved in either war. The closest they get to the Death Eaters is through Hyacinth, Oberon’s wife. Her brother was the Death Eater Rowle, but she cut all ties with him after she was married. Pansy was just a bit of a stuck-up bully.”

Harry nodded thoughtfully and looked over at Molly. She was sitting down now, and she still seemed to be in shock.

“For protecting Hogwarts and its students in its time of need. For her role in the evacuation that saved hundreds of young lives and for the extraordinary ability that she showed in her defence of the school, we award a Second Class Order of Merlin to Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

McGonagall clearly hadn’t expected this either. Kingsley smiled and gestured at her to come onto the stage. She cleared her throat and held her head high as she did so.

Oberon shook her hand and said, “The parents of every child in your care thank you for the role you played in evacuating them to safety during such a troubled time. You went above and beyond your duty of care, and your efforts are profoundly appreciated.”

Harry wondered if that was hard for Oberon to say because McGonagall hadn’t protected _his_ daughter. She had died in school grounds in the course of the battle.

McGonagall bowed her head, thanked Oberon and left the stage.

“Finally, for running an underground faction of Aurors during the war. For aiding not only the magical population, but the muggles during this time, and for doing so at the expense of his own family we award a Second Class Order of Merlin to Senior Auror John Sheppard.”

Sheppard looked up in surprise, and Harry bit back an amused smile. Elizabeth Weir stood by his side, looking almost unrecognisable in a dress rather than standard training gear. She nudged him and murmured something in his ear, and he made his way onto the stage.

Neville whispered to Harry, “Told you they were married.”

Harry just laughed.

Oberon pinned the medal onto Sheppard’s dress robes and shook his hand, “I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to put your wife and children into a safe house and leave, not knowing if you would ever return to them. You sacrificed a year with your family to help those in need and the wizarding world sincerely thanks you for your sacrifice.”

“Thank you, sir,” John said proudly.

Oberon bowed his head, and John left the stage. At this point, Oberon took a step back, and Kingsley boomed, “Finally, to award the most distinguished medals of the evening, I give you Earl Greengrass.”

Harry looked up in surprise. He had known that he was going to be getting an Order of Merlin, but he hadn’t realised that his Father-in-Law would be the one awarding it. Daphne obviously had because she was smirking.

Cygnus looked so much healthier. He stood at the lectern without the use of his cane and took a medal from the box. It was slightly larger than the others, and it hung on an emerald green ribbon.

“The First Class Order of Merlin as I am sure you are all aware is the most coveted award that a witch or wizard can achieve. It is very rarely handed out because acts of outstanding bravery or distinction in magic tend to happen once in a blue moon,” Cygnus paused for breath, “But on this occasion, I am proud to hand out two medals.”

Harry smiled at Neville, who stood by his side.

“Outstanding bravery is the only way to describe what this man did. He ran a rebellion inside a school run by Death Eaters. He turned a group of students into Healers and warriors. He risked his own life, time and time again to help those less fortunate than himself. Then, when all hope was lost, he stood up to Lord Voldemort and gave everyone hope with the words, “I’ll join you when hell freezes over – Dumbledore’s army.” I am proud to award this First Class Order of Merlin to Neville Frank Longbottom.”

Lilly had tears in her eyes as Neville let go of her hand to walk to the stage. Daphne put her arm around her best friend and murmured, “Bringing back memories?”

Lilly cleared her throat and nodded, “Not all good ones, either.”

“I know, honey,” Daphne murmured softly.

On the stage, Cygnus shook Neville’s hand and placed the medal on his dress robes. Neville smiled nervously, and Cygnus said, “The wizarding world owes you our thanks. The role you played in the defeat of Lord Voldemort will never be forgotten. You have absolutely done yourself and the Longbottom name proud. Congratulations.”

Neville smiled and looked out at the crowd, desperately wishing that his parents or his grandmother could be here to see this. But he saw Lilly, with tears streaming down her face, Daphne’s arm over her shoulder while she fought tears herself. Daphne’s other hand was in Harry’s, and he was grinning from ear to ear proudly. Neville’s smile felt a little more genuine as he looked at them, _they_ were his family.

He left the stage and pulled Lilly into his arms the moment he reached her.

Back on the stage, Cygnus smiled once more, “This is the last award of the evening and of course, the most significant. This man was only a boy when his mission began. None of us can imagine how it would feel to have a destiny thrust upon us at one year old, to be a hero before we could even say our own name. Most of us feel that the second war with Voldemort began in 1994, but for this man, it began in 1981. He defeated Voldemort countless times before that final, fateful showdown in the Battle of Hogwarts. He lost many a friend, family member or loved one in his quest to defeat Voldemort once and for all. I am incredibly proud to award a First Class Order of Merlin to the man who defeated Lord Voldemort, my son-in-law, Harry James Potter.”

Harry smiled a little tearfully. Cygnus was a great public speaker, even after his ordeal and his words had really touched Harry. Daphne kissed him on the cheek, “Go on, babe.”

Harry stepped up onto the stage and shook Cygnus’s hand. The older man pinned the Order of Merlin onto his chest and said, “The wizarding world thanks you for all that you sacrificed to bring about the end of Lord Voldemort. You have undoubtedly made this world a better, safer place for your children and their children after that. The wizarding world has emerged from the ashes of the battle stronger than ever before, thanks to you and your sacrifice. We are all eternally grateful, and your name shall never be forgotten.”

Harry felt a little embarrassed as the room erupted into cheers and applause. He blushed profusely, and Cygnus smiled, “It’s good to see your still modest, son.”

Harry managed a weak laugh, “Thank you, Cygnus,” he said, shaking the man's hand again.

Kingsley shook Harry’s hand too, then he was able to escape from the stage.

Daphne kissed him properly when he returned, and Harry, who normally would have been outraged by such a thing, didn’t even care when he heard photographers snap their cameras in their direction. He broke the kiss and took her hand, entwining his fingers through hers, “Thank you,” he said simply.

“Thank _you_ ,” Daphne countered with a relaxed smile.

*** ~TBC ~ ***


	75. Breaking is What the Heart is For

Bill had never felt as nervous as he did that morning, sitting behind a table in the DMLE, tapping his fingers against the surface tunelessly.

“She will show up,” Astoria promised Bill gently, “If she doesn’t, and she takes Victoire out of the country, she will be breaking the law.”

Bill nodded, but until Fleur walked through that door, he would never be entirely sure.

When the door opened, and she swept in, her long blonde hair flipping behind her in its ponytail, his heart began to beat faster, and the palms of his hands began to sweat. She sat down across from him and eyed Astoria with intuitive blue eyes, “When I was summoned here, I thought zis was ze end.”

“I’m sorry Fleur,” Bill said, surprising himself when his voice cracked.

Fleur cleared her throat and looked him in the eye, “We are not happy, William.”

Bill shook his head, “No, and I’m scared about the effect that will have on Victoire in the long-term.”

“Yes,” Fleur said, sighing softly, “I agree.”

“So Astoria has helped me draw up a divorce settlement which I think is very fair, to both of us,” Bill said, glancing nervously at Astoria.

The younger woman slid the paper over the table to Fleur.

Fleur flipped it open and scanned the first page with the summary of terms, “You will give me ze house?” she asked in surprise.

“Of course I will,” Bill replied, “It’s the only home our daughter has ever known, and you love it, it reminds you of France.”

Fleur smiled a little tearfully, “Thank you. I cannot tell you what zis means, to not have to fight you for it.”

“Or for Victoire,” Bill said, “I think the agreement is fair on that front?”

Fleur turned the page and read the arrangements for custody of their child in more detail. Her brow furrowed and Bill began to panic, “You have her every weekend?”

“If you read more closely Fleur,” Bill said, pointing to a particular paragraph, “The sum I plan to pay you is such that you would be able to reduce your hours at the bank, enabling you to spend more time with Victoire during the week.”

Fleur opened her mouth to object, but Bill cut in, “And I know that you are ambitious and that you want to further your career so I asked around and there is a promotion up for grabs under Gareth, it’s a good department to work in, and he’s looking for someone on around 20 hours.”

Fleur pursed her lips and reread the section, thinking on his offer. It had to be the longest five minutes of Bill’s life, he was sure that she could hear his heart beating.

Eventually, she sighed and nodded, “Yes. I also agree about special occasions such as Christmas. One year she is with me, and you may visit, and ze next year, she is with you, and I visit.”

Bill nodded, trying to contain his sigh of relief.

“It is a very amicable divorce settlement Bill,” Fleur said, looking up at him, “Despite how awful things have been, you have been very considerate.”

“I’m sorry that we can’t seem to love each other anymore Fleur,” Bill said honestly, “But you are still the mother of my child, and I have the utmost respect for you where that is concerned. I want you both to be happy.”

He decided not to add the part about how he was desperate to ensure that he got to see his daughter regularly.

Fleur nodded and reached across the table to take his hand, “I am happy to sign this, and although you have not asked, I can sense ze question within you so I shall give you ze answer. Of course, for the sake of Victoire and her relationship with her father, I shall stay in England.”

Bill really did sigh with relief at that. He got up and walked around the table so that he could pull Fleur into a hug.

“Thank you,” He said, unashamed of the tears flowing down his cheeks, “And I really am so sorry.”

Fleur hugged him back, shutting her eyes tightly, “I am sorry too,” she whispered.

* * *

When Astoria walked into her apartment that night, she sighed when she saw Charlie sitting on the sofa.

Charlie raised an eyebrow at her, “I know we’ve been arguing a bit lately, but I expected a warmer welcome than that.”

“Well I’m not in the mood for it tonight,” Astoria said glumly, “I watched a couple who had obviously once been in love and who still had so much respect for each other, sign divorce papers today and it got me thinking, what the hell is the point in pretending that this is going to work? You’re from a completely different world from me Charlie, and you’re so much older, you want marriage and babies, and I want to focus on my career. It’s never going to work, so why let ourselves fall in love? Why not just cut it off now and save all of that hurt?”

“Maybe because I have more faith,” Charlie said stubbornly, “I won’t give up on us that easily.”

“Why not?” Astoria asked irritably, “You were quick enough to give up on every other girlfriend or boyfriend that you had before me!”

“Because none of them were anything like you,” Charlie said calmly, “You are something entirely different Astoria. You give me faith that I can be truly happy one day, I don’t care about class or any of that.”

“But you do,” Astoria cut in, “I care about class because I’m vain. That’s because I grew up surrounded by luxury and there’s a big part of me that doesn’t know if I can give that up. I don’t know if I’m cut out for a life in the countryside with a bunch of pet dragons for kids.”

Charlie opened his mouth, but Astoria raised a hand to silence him, “And you care too, but in a different way. Just like I don’t know if I can give up my world to live in yours, you don’t know if you can give up your world to live in mine. You don’t know if you’re cut out for moving into a big posh house with more rooms than you know what to do with. You don’t know if you’re cut out to be the son-in-law of a business tycoon like my Dad. You don’t know if you’re cut out for the country club, socialite life.”

“I know I’m not cut out for it,” Charlie snapped, “Because I hate everything about that world. I hate the dress robes, the entitlement of the people you probably call friends. I hate it all, but I thought, maybe wrongly, that you weren’t like the rest of them. I thought you were different.”

Astoria crossed her arms sternly, “So how the hell is it fair for me to give up my world and step into yours when you freely admit that you wouldn’t do the same for me?” she challenged.

Charlie scoffed and shook his head, “We’re not doing this tonight. If you want to break up with me, then that’s fine, but we’re not doing it through an argument when you’ve had a bad day. So take some time to work out what you want, and we’ll talk soon.”

He didn’t wait for Astoria to say anything further on the issue, he just stepped out of the flat and apparated home.

He stood outside his front door for a good few minutes, debating whether he should go and talk to the person who was on his mind, and eventually he made the decision and apparated away again with another crack.

* * *

“Master Harry!”

Harry jumped, “Uh, yes?”

Daphne smirked, “Don’t mind him, Kreacher,” she said, “He was just dozing in his chair like an old man.”

Harry shot her an amused look, “I’ve had a long day. How many duels did you have today?”

“That is not the point,” Daphne chuckled, “There’s someone at the door.”

“Is Mister Charlie Weasley,” Kreacher said, “He insists on talking to Master, and not nobody else.”

“Alright,” Harry said, getting to his feet and frowning at Daphne, “Reckon him and Tori have broken up?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they had,” Daphne shrugged.

Harry sighed and slipped out of the lounge into the hall. He met Charlie at the door and smiled as he let him in, “Hey Charlie, what’s up?”

“I need to talk to you about…compromising,” Charlie said, frowning all the while, “Does this huge bloody place have a man cave, with whiskey?”

“There’s the room of requirement with a bar, but I’ve got someplace I think you’ll like more,” Harry admitted, leading Charlie out of the back door into the darkened garden. As they walked, Charlie surveyed the beautiful gardens; they were typical of this type of elegant pureblood manor, which was everything that he hated.

“Here we go,” Harry said when they reached a small wooden cabin, “This is probably more your scene.”

Charlie frowned as he looked at the sizeable caged enclosure outside, “Is there anything in that?”

“Nah, Dave will be inside probably. He doesn’t like the cold in winter, comes from a warmer climate, you know?” Harry said, leading Charlie into the cabin.

Charlie was instantly blown away by the blast of heat. That and the greenery, there were tropical plants everywhere. He felt like he had stepped onto another continent.

“Sorry,” Harry said, “He’s from South America, he likes it hot-”

There was a loud hiss then Dave snapped at Charlie. Harry rolled his eyes and spoke to the snake in parseltongue. Charlie watched in amazement as the snake shook its head then spoke back.

“Did you just tell him I was a friend?” Charlie frowned.

Harry nodded, “How good is your parseltongue?”

“It’s okay I think,” Charlie answered. He said, “ _Hey, Dave. Probably stink me so bad, huh? Pygmy dragons I do have.”_

Dave hissed distastefully.

_“Why would one keep a pygmy dragon as a pet when they make such good snacks? Master, tell the red one to speak English. His parseltongue hurts my ears.”_

Harry snorted, “Did you catch that?”

Charlie laughed and nodded, “Well, Dave, if I had it my way I’d have a welsh green in my back garden, but that’s kind of frowned upon.”

“ _A far better companion, red one_.”

Harry chuckled, “He likes you. Do you want to meet the others?”

“You have more?” Charlie asked in surprise.

“Yep,” Harry replied, “Dave is the most dangerous, he’s an exception because he was my first and I rescued him. He also reminded me of the first time I talked to snakes, it’s kind of a long story. But either way, I don’t take in any dangerous snakes apart from him, because I do have a toddler, you know?”

Charlie nodded in amusement, “I get it, and yeah, I’d love to meet the others.”

“Come this way,” Harry said, “I keep them separate from Dave, he has a bit of a temper, and I wouldn’t put it past him to eat them if they pissed him off.”

Charlie snorted at that thought, “I had a dragon like that, you know her actually, Norberta.”

Harry grinned, “Yeah, Norberta! How is she doing?”

“Oh she’s great,” Charlie said cheerfully, “She was always my favourite, you know? Fiery but caring underneath it, she would only let a handful of trainers anywhere near her when she needed treatment, and it was the ones who rescued her as a baby. Dragons have long memories.”

“Like elephants,” Harry mused.

Charlie nodded, “I delivered her babies, nearly got myself killed in the process, but it was a great experience.”

“I don’t really have the same risks with snakes,” Harry chuckled, “Dave threatens to kill me once a week, but he never actually means it. There was one time mind you when I thought he might do it. He said if I fed him another Niffler, he’d choke me to death then slowly digest me. Poor guy was throwing up metal for weeks.”

Charlie snorted, “Did you actually feed him that Niffler that Astoria got Teddy?”

“Not intentionally,” Harry admitted sheepishly, “It escaped from the greenhouse and got too close to the enclosure, so Dave ate it. I wasn’t exactly bothered mind you, and neither was Daphne, but it’s probably best that you don’t tell Tori about that one.”

“Astoria and I are kind of on the rocks right now,” Charlie admitted.

“I kind of figured,” Harry admitted, he opened a door, and they stepped into a vast room. It felt like suddenly, they were in the depths of a jungle.

“Wow,” Charlie breathed.

Harry grinned and sat down on the mossy ground. A long green snake instantly began to coil its way around his shoulders. He greeted it in parseltongue then told Charlie, “This is Venom, he's a Rough Green. He calls himself venom because he thinks it makes him sound intimidating even though he’s not actually venomous.”

The snake squeezed Harry’s neck a little tighter. Harry chastised it in parseltongue then ran his hand along the back of another snake that was creeping towards him. This one was larger, and it was a mixture of yellow and brown, “Oh and this is Stanley, he’s a Bullsnake. That one over there is Betsy, she’s a Milk Snake. They are fascinating because they look very similar to Coral Snakes which _are_ poisonous, but Milk Snakes aren’t. It helps protect them from predators, you’ll get that working with dragons, won’t you?”

“Oh yeah, there are lots of dragons that have evolved cleverly like that,” Charlie said, sitting down across from him on the ground, “There is a breed of Ridgeback that has developed the venomous stinging looking tail, without the actual venom for example. Nature and evolution really are fascinating. Will they let me touch them?” he added as a snake began to move towards him.

“Most of them will, but avoid Betsy,” Harry advised, “She’s just buried her eggs, so she’s really antsy right now.”

“Do you crossbreed them?” Charlie asked curiously.

“Not intentionally, it has happened once, but I let them do their own thing,” Harry replied, “Most of the time they are pretty picky, the females in particular, so they tend to stick to their own type. That’s Garry, the snake who mated with Betsy,” he said, nodding his head in the direction of the snake that was currently slithering towards Charlie.

Harry hissed a warning at the snake and Garry, turned his head towards Harry, nodded slowly then began to slither up Charlie.

“I just told him not to hurt you because you were a friend of mine,” Harry informed Charlie, “But anyway, you said you wanted to talk about a compromise?”

“Yeah…” Charlie mused, “But did you do all of this yourself? The charms and all?”

“No,” Harry replied, “It was my idea, Lil did all the tricky little charms for me. She’s brilliant, as brilliant as Hermione but don’t ever tell her that I said that.”

Charlie laughed.

“Daphne thinks I feed Dave out here, she has no idea about what’s really in the cabin,” Harry admitted, “It’s not that I’m lying to her, it’s just that I know the truth would stress her out and it doesn’t need to know so I don’t see why I should bother her with it.”

Charlie hummed thoughtfully as Garry settled on his shoulders, “Well, the thing is, I don’t know if I can compromise enough to slot into the kind of life that Astoria wants, and I figured that you might be the person to talk to about that because you had to slot into this whole pureblood life when you and Daphne left school.”

“I did,” Harry agreed, “And there were compromises that had to be made there too. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love this house, and I like being on the Wizengamot because I can actually make a difference in the world. But being Marquiss Potter? Having to put on a smile and an act for the parties and the formal dinners? The posh teas with Narcissa and Andromeda? By Godric, I hate that side of it.”

“I hate all of it,” Charlie admitted, “The thought of being dragged to all of her events, black suit and tie, husband of the powerful CEO Astoria Greengrass you know? I don’t know if I can hack that life. I don’t want the big house, the posh dinners, I don’t want any of that. I just want a house in the country with enough space for my dragons.”

“I wanted a London townhouse,” Harry pointed out with a slight smile, “But when I realised there was a Potter Manor, my perspective changed. For me, it was because of the fact it was my family home. But the fact that it pleased Daphne helped too, this was the life that she was used to and I know that it would have been hard for her to adapt to something else.”

“I don’t think Astoria could either,” Charlie said, “Which is why we’re on the verge of breaking up unless we both compromise but I just don’t know how to do that.”

“Well,” Harry began slowly, “Sorry…Betsy is having a little spat with Vivian.”

Charlie watched in amusement as he had a short conversation with the Milk Snake and another Rough Green snake in parseltongue. When he was done, Vivian hissed in outrage and slunk away into the bushes, then Betsy settled down happily on the patch of earth where her eggs were buried.

Harry turned back to Charlie and rolled his eyes, “It’s like having kids sometimes, honestly. But anyway, as I was about to say; I think you could compromise on a couple of things. I get that you don’t want the big, posh house, but you could always buy a manor in the countryside. That way Astoria gets the house that she wants, and you get loads of land in a secluded area so you can maybe have something bigger than a pygmy dragon, assuming you and Astoria aren’t planning on having kids obviously because they are definitely more dangerous than snakes.”

“I think I’ll settle for dragons,” Charlie admitted, “I did want kids, and a part of me still does, but I appreciate the fact that I’m a lot older than her so by the time she wants kids, I might not be able to give her that.”

“Look, Charlie, I’m not getting into this really awkward conversation with you, but there are…facilities…at St. Mungo’s where you can put stuff on ice for when you need it.”

“Ahem,” Charlie coughed, “Garry, that’s a bit tight there, pal.”

The snake eased off, and Charlie tried to hide the colour that had risen in his cheeks, “Yup, uh, thanks for that, Harry.”

Harry smiled sheepishly, “Right, so like I was saying, you could compromise with the house in that respect. As for the parties? I don’t know if you’ll be able to get out of going to them, but Slytherins do love to bargain. I reckon if you play the part and go to her parties, make small talk like a pro, she’ll let you have as many dragons as you want. Heck, you could start your own dragon reserve mate.”

Charlie scoffed, “Damn, why didn’t I think of that?”

“You’re too much of a Gryffindor,” Harry chuckled, “It’s something I learned after the war. The best team is a mixed team because everyone has different perspectives and different ways of thinking. Sometimes it pays to think like a Slytherin.”

“Still, you’re pretty good at it,” Charlie pointed out, “Is that because of your relationship with Daphne?”

“That, and my friendship with Draco and Theo,” Harry answered, “But to be honest, it’s always been there. I mean I can talk to bloody snakes Charlie, and I was very nearly in Slytherin.”

“Seriously?” Charlie asked in surprise.

“Yeah,” Harry replied, “The sorting hat really wanted to put me there, but I asked it not to because at the time I thought Draco was a prick.”

Charlie snorted, “And look how that turned out for you.”

Harry laughed, “I know, but if the hat hadn’t put me in Gryffindor then I would never have become friends with Ron or Hermione, and I wouldn’t have all you Weasley’s as an adopted family, so I’m pretty happy that it played out the way that it did.”

“I guess so,” Charlie said thoughtfully.

Harry nodded, “So I guess you just need to take a step back and decide what you want to do. If you don’t want to compromise, then you’re going to have to call it quits, but to be honest Charlie, with your interests and career choice, I feel like you’ll always have to compromise in a relationship. Granted, this one has more compromises than most because of Astoria’s background, but the concept is the same, and she does love dragons.”

“Yeah,” Charlie agreed, “Thank you, Harry, that was surprisingly insightful.”

Harry just smiled in return.

“Do you mind if I hang out here for a bit longer?” Charlie asked, “I really like this place, although Dave is kinda intense.”

“Yeah Dave and I have a special bond, nobody else really comes close to being in Dave’s good books apart from Teddy,” Harry admitted, “And Daphne only lets Teddy see him very occasionally, he’d never hurt him though, he loves him to bits.”

“It just makes me miss the dragons in Romania,” Charlie sighed.

“I get it,” Harry said honestly, “But as hard as it is, you can start again, and you’ll form bonds just as strong with your new dragons as the ones you had in Romania.”

“I know, but starting over is always hard,” Charlie mused, “It felt like leaving my kids when I left Romania after all of that time over there.”

“I guess the question is, do you love Astoria enough to give up the dragons and the solitary Romanian life for suits and dinner parties?” Harry quipped.

“That depends, are you going to be there to keep me from losing my mind when they all start talking economics?” Charlie asked.

“I’ll definitely be at the dinner parties because most of them are in my bloody house and are hosted by _my_ wife,” Harry said with a roll of his eyes, “But you’re going to have to go the posh balls and fundraisers alone, sorry.”

“Damn,” Charlie cursed.

After that, Harry and Charlie fell relatively silent for a while as Charlie enjoyed the slightly surreal experience of being in a room filled with snakes from all across the world. Charlie asked the occasional question about a particular breed of snake or about a particular spell on the room. Still, apart from that, they both just unwound and enjoyed the experience, which Charlie came to understand, was just as relaxing as Harry had said it was.

* * *

When Harry eventually walked into the bedroom late that night, he was not expecting Daphne to still be awake.

“Hey,” He said in surprise when she looked up from her book. Even when she was in bed, in her nightclothes, with no glamour charms and her hair pulled up into a bun, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

“Hey,” She said softly, “Have they broken up?”

“Not yet,” Harry replied, stripping down to his boxers and climbing into bed with her.

“Are they going to break up?”

“I don’t know,” Harry admitted, “Charlie hasn’t quite made his mind up yet. Sorry that I was out there for so long.”

“It’s okay, I understand,” Daphne said honestly, “Did Charlie enjoy meeting your snakes?”

Harry frowned, “Snakes? It’s just the one snake actually.”

Daphne smiled at him in a slightly mischievous way, “Harry, when are we going to stop pretending that I don’t know about your cabin full of snakes and that you don’t know about my thousand galleon shopping trips to Paris?”

Harry turned to her in surprise, “You know?”

“Of course I know, you idiot,” Daphne laughed, “Why do you think there’s always human food out there? I get the house elves to put it in the cabin for you because you always go in there armed with enough rats and spiders to feed an army of snakes but nothing for yourself.”

“Is that how you worked it out?” Harry asked with interest.

“Well that was part of it, as big as Dave is, he doesn’t need _that_ much food,” Daphne said, “And I could feel the magic on the place, I could tell there was a big expansion charm on it, so I knew that you were hiding something. Also, I mean, there was no way you could spend five hours out there talking to Dave, was there?”

“I could actually,” Harry mused, “He’s really interesting. He has some amazing stories to tell and a wicked sense of humour. He also really gets politics which makes for some interesting conversations.”

“Harry, what are you going to do when Dave dies?” Daphne asked, raising an eyebrow at him “You’re really attached.”

“Hey!” Harry objected, “Don’t talk about Dave like that. He’s a young snake, they can live to over 40. He’s got at least another 30 years left in him.”

“Alright,” Daphne conceded with a vaguely amused smile.

“How long have you known about the cabin anyway?” Harry asked.

“How long have you known about my shopping trips?” Daphne countered.

“Ages,” Harry chuckled.

“Exactly,” Daphne said, smiling at him fondly, “Did it help Charlie?”

“I think so,” Harry said hopefully, “I hope so.”

“So do I,” Daphne mused, “For Astoria’s sake, but also for Bill’s. He and Fleur signed their divorce papers today, if he’s going to go off the deep end, he’s going to do it soon, and we need Charlie to be in a good headspace if he’s going to help Bill through that.”

Harry sighed and settled down in bed, “Weasley’s are doing my head in right now. Can we not just have a peaceful life?”

“We’re Potters,” Daphne pointed out with a smile, “So in short, no.”

Harry just chuckled and wrapped his arms around her lazily, “Good point, night Daph.”

“Night, Harry.”

* * *

When Daphne walked into work that morning, one minute before she was due to start, and found the office empty, she began to worry. Bill was _always_ here before her, every single day. She was never late, but she cut it fine every day which he liked to remind her of, and which she regularly blamed on Teddy when it had really just been due to her taking too long to get her glamour charms right.

All the same, there was a first time for everything, and with everything going on in Bill's life, she could hardly blame him for being late. So, she sat down at her desk and flicked through the letters that were sitting there, wondering what case was urgent enough to be tackled that day.

When the clock hit half past 9, and Bill still hadn’t arrived, she decided to floo Charlie.

“Hey Daphne,” Charlie said when he finally answered the firecall, “What’s up?”

“Bill hasn’t shown up to work,” Daphne frowned, “He hasn’t called in or anything, he’s just AWOL, and I’m kind of worried, what with him and Fleur signing the divorce papers yesterday-”

“That was yesterday?” Charlie interjected, “Oh shit. Don’t worry, I’ll find him. I think I have a pretty good idea of where he is anyway.”

“Alright, thanks, Charlie.”

* * *

As it so happened, Charlie found Bill in a muggle pub that they used to drink in when they were younger. It was open all night and started serving breakfast at 5am so it had quickly become their favourite place for a catch up when they both happened to be in the same country.

“Oh for the love of Godric,” He muttered when he saw Bill sitting at the bar with his head down.

“Sorry mate, he got divorced yesterday,” Charlie said to the man behind the bar who was making coffees.

“I know, he’s told every member of staff at least twice,” The man replied, “And he hasn’t paid yet.”

“How much is his tab?”

The man slipped a receipt over the desk, “Bloody hell Bill,” he muttered when he saw the number of figures. All the same, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of Muggle cash that he had converted before he came here because he had a feeling that Bill was in a self-destructive mood.

“That should cover it,” He said, putting it down on the bar and shaking his brother, “Bill, you got to wake up, man.”

Bill opened his eyes groggily and muttered something incoherent.

“Bill, it’s 10am,” Charlie said irritably, “You’re supposed to be at work.”

“Who cares about work, anyway?” Bill slurred, “What’s the point in living without love?”

“Oh sweet Salazar, you’re still bloody drunk,” Charlie muttered under his breath, glancing around to make sure the man behind the bar was out of earshot.

“No, I’m not,” Bill slurred, “Perfectly sober.”

“I hate to break it to you Bill, but you’ve always been a lightweight, and right now, you’re well and truly hammered,” Charlie said matter of factly, “Now Daphne floo-ed me because she was worried about you when you didn’t show up for work today, and by the looks of it, she had good reason to be. Is this all because you divorced Fleur yesterday?”

“I was a shit husband,” Bill lamented, he looked genuinely awful with heavily lidded eyes and an unsettling yellow-ish pallor which had Charlie hoping he wasn’t going to get vomited on.

“Falling out of love doesn’t make you a shit husband,” Charlie said calmly.

“No but cheating does, doesn’t it?”

Charlie frowned, “You cheated on Fleur? When?”

“Last night, in the bathroom with this girl with huge-”

“Yeah I get the point,” Charlie cut him off, “And shagging someone while you’re blind drunk after signing the divorce papers doesn’t really constitute as cheating Bill.”

“Stop using big words,” Bill complained childishly.

Charlie snorted, “Look, you spent last night drinking your sorrows away, and I spent it surrounded by snakes with Harry so all in, we’ve both had a weird couple of days. So why don’t we just go back to my place, you can sleep this off, and when you wake up feeling like a plonker tonight, I’ll do you a fry up. Sound like a plan?”

“Yeah,” Bill said, yawning through the word and getting to his feet shakily, “D’you say something about Harry spending the night with a snake?”

Charlie chuckled under his breath, “Not quite, I’ll fill you in when you’ve sobered up.”

“M'kay.”

“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” Charlie said, taking Bill’s weight as he dragged him out of the bar.

* * *

Bill was asleep the minute his head hit the pillow, so Charlie left the room and headed back to the lounge. He threw some floo powder in the fire and directed it to, “Gringotts Bank; the office of William Weasley.”

The floo connected and Daphne’s face appeared in the flames, “Hey, did you find him?”

“Yeah, I found him,” Charlie said, “But he’s definitely not fit for work, mainly because he’s still drunk.”

“Oh for Salazar’s sake,” Daphne cursed.

“I know,” Charlie agreed, “He’s sleeping it off here, I’ll have a word with him tonight when he sees sense, and I’ll make sure he’s at work tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry so much about that side of it,” Daphne said, “Despite what he thinks, I can manage just fine without him.”

“Of course you can, you’re brilliant,” Charlie said with a smile, “That’s why you’re his protégé. He knows it too, I think he just worries that if you get stuck and he’s not there, you could get into trouble.”

“I’m not stupid, I’ll stay away from fieldwork until he’s back,” Daphne promised, “And you can pass that on to him when he’s sober. Just look after him, Charlie.”

“I will,” Charlie promised, “And can you fill Astoria in? We sort of ended on a big fight and with this stuff going on with Bill, I won’t have the chance to talk to her straight away. Can you just tell her that I’ve been working through some things and that I think I’ve found a way to make it work?”

“Of course I will,” Daphne promised, smiling at the fact that he wasn’t planning on breaking her sister's heart, “Thanks, Charlie. Speak soon.”

“Will do,” Charlie said before he cut the connection and ended the call.

* * *

“Hey Astoria,” Daphne said cheerfully when she stepped into her sister's office at lunch-time later that day.

Astoria raised an eyebrow at her sister, “What brings you to Greengrass Industries? I thought you hated it here.”

“Oh, I do,” Daphne admitted, looking out of the window at the small bay behind the building, full of wizarding ships, “This is my least favourite part of London, and this building brings back memories of Father bringing me here and leaving me to read for hours while he sat through an important business meeting.”

She drew herself out of her thoughts and added, “But it’s your domain now, and I do like to see my sister on a lunch break, on occasion.”

“What do you want?” Astoria asked, smiling slightly at her sister's transparency.

“Just to pass on a message from Charlie,” Daphne replied, unsure how that would go down.

Astoria scoffed, “Really? He’s getting you involved now?”

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you two,” Daphne said honestly, “But I do know he spent hours, _literally hours_ , out in Harry’s snake sanctuary last night, so they were obviously talking about something in that time.”

“Something other than snakes?”

“Yes, something other than snakes Astoria,” Daphne said with a roll of her eyes, “And then Bill was AWOL this morning so I had to send Charlie to find him, which he did thankfully. But all the same, when Charlie floo-ed to tell me that Bill was okay, apart from still being drunk from last night, he also asked me to pass on a message.”

“Which was?” Astoria asked, reluctant about the fact she wanted to hear it.

“That you shouldn’t give up hope on him just yet because he’s been working through some things and he thinks he knows how to make it work,” Daphne relayed.

Astoria’s expression softened, “That means he’s willing to make compromises for me…I didn’t see that coming.”

“Fancy filling me in on what the issue was in the first place?” Daphne nosed.

Astoria sighed, “I told Charlie I couldn’t give up my high-class life to be with him, and I said I didn’t think he could give up his life to step into my world. He initially agreed but then said we needed some time apart to think about things.”

“I see,” Daphne mused, “No quaint little cottages for you, then?”

Astoria fixed her with an amused look, “Daphne, I’m the youngest CEO of a wizarding company since Regias Nott over 100 years ago. Can you really see my living in a quaint bloody cottage?”

“No,” Daphne smiled, “I can see you living in a lovely large country house, hosting dinner parties and fundraisers, being forever glamorous.”

“You just described yourself,” Astoria said, her lips quirking up in amusement.

“Well, of course, I did. Why would you want to be anything else when you have such a good role model before you?” Daphne grinned.

“You’re impossible,” Astoria chuckled.

Daphne laughed too, “I hope you and Charlie can work it out, you know? He’s a nice guy, I’ve got a lot of respect for him, and I reckon Dad will come around quickly enough now that this place is starting to take off again.”

“We’re almost ready for the launch,” Astoria agreed, “I just need to arrange a big opening party, with lots of press because we need as much coverage as possible.”

“We’ll get there,” Daphne promised, “And this place will be just like it was in its heyday.”

Astoria smiled warmly, “That’s my hope,” she admitted.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	76. Most People Are Good

“Well, well, well,” Daphne said when Bill walked into the office at 9.05am the following morning, “Look what the kneazle dragged in.”

Bill looked at her, sheepishly, “Yeah, I’m really sorry about yesterday Daphne. Did you manage okay by yourself?”

“I managed fine,” Daphne replied, “I filed every single letter we got over Christmas break, most of which aren’t worth investigating because a little bit of research proved that they were muggle pranks. Then I re-organised the entire filing cabinet, tidied both of our desks and dusted the whole office.”

“You were bored senseless, weren’t you?” Bill asked with an amused smile.

“Totally,” Daphne replied, “But I’m not stupid. I’m not fully qualified, I wouldn’t do fieldwork by myself.”

“Thank you for that,” Bill said, sinking into the chair behind his desk, “And thanks for sending Charlie to find me. I was in a right state.”

“So I heard,” Daphne commented.

Bill sighed, “I had my breakdown, and don’t get me wrong, I’m still feeling pretty down about it all, but I’m mentally stable now, I can assure you.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Daphne promised, “But I’m also going to be keeping an eye on you.”

“You and Charlie,” Bill said, rolling his eyes, “Charlie’s trying to convince me to move in with him. He’s saying it’s to help me find my feet again, but I know it’s so he can keep an eye on me.”

“Of course,” Daphne realised, “You promised Fleur Shell Cottage in the divorce settlement, didn’t you?”

Bill nodded glumly.

“So you have nowhere to go,” Daphne said with a nod, “If you don’t want to stay at Charlie’s, you could always stay with us? The Manor is a huge place.”

“No way,” Bill said, “I’m your boss, there’s no way I’m living at your house. I’ll stay with Charlie.”

Daphne turned around to get something out of the filing cabinet and smirked, _fell for that one hook, line and sinker Bill,_ she thought to herself, “That’s true, probably the best option anyway with Charlie and Astoria being on the rocks right now. You two can keep each other company through your misery.”

“You are just a ray of sunshine this morning,” Bill muttered under his breath, “Do you want to go solve a curse? Would that make you feel better.”

“ _So_ much,” Daphne grinned.

Bill rolled his eyes but smiled as he opened the filing cabinet, “You trainee Curse Breakers, always so eager. Wait till this is all you do, all day every day, you’ll tire of it.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “You never have,” she pointed out.

“Details, details,” Bill shrugged. He shut his eyes and reached into the ‘open’ section of the cabinet, “Let’s take a lucky dip shall we….”

He grabbed a letter out and scanned it, “Alright, to Aberystwyth we go!”

“Easy for you to say,” Daphne joked, grabbing her jacket and sweeping out of the office, with Bill hot on her heels.

* * *

Astoria had just settled down with a book and a glass of wine when a knock on her door sounded. She sighed and got to her feet, hoping it wasn’t some nonsense caller because that was the last thing that she wanted to deal with on a Friday night.

She unlatched the door and opened it, surprised to see Charlie standing on her doorstep.

“I can compromise,” Charlie promised as he handed her a bouquet of flowers, “Not on everything, but on some things.”

“You had better come in,” Astoria said, fighting back a smile. She turned her back to him and walked into the kitchen to put the flowers in water. She could feel Charlie following her, but he didn’t say anything.

“Do you want a drink?”

“I’d love a firewhiskey.”

Astoria poured one out, over ice as she knew he liked it and handed it to him. Then she leant against the kitchen worktop and surveyed him with interest. Charlie sipped from the glass then set it down.

“I can handle the big house, but it has to be out in the country, somewhere secluded,” Charlie began, aware that he was setting out terms in a rather business-like way, but he knew that she would understand that, “It needs to have lots of land and I mean _lots_ because one of my conditions is that if you get the big house, I get dragons.”

“I saw that one coming a mile off,” Astoria said, letting the smile slip onto her face.

Charlie just continued, because he had to get it all out, “And I will act the part, I’ll be the perfect boyfriend/husband/whatever of a big-time CEO female power-chief. I’ll go to the parties, I’ll make small talk, I’ll charm potential business partners. But my condition is that Harry has to go to them too so that when things get really dull, I have someone decent to talk to.”

“Harry would have been going regardless, he doesn’t have a choice,” Astoria said, a Slytherinesque smirk slipping onto her face, “He’s Harry Potter. If it’s known that he’s affiliated with the business, it will bring in custom _and_ charitable donations. He doesn’t know it yet, but Harry is going to become the face of Greengrass Industries.”

Charlie chuckled, “You really are sneaky.”

“Although everyone underestimated for my entire life, I am a true Slytherin,” Astoria pointed out with a smirk, “So I agree to your terms. But the kind of house I want, with the kind of land that you want is going to have to wait.”

“Oh I know,” Charlie said, “I mean I have a lot of money in savings because I didn’t use any of my earnings in Romania at all. They just went straight into an account here, but I understand that you will want to start the business up again first.”

Astoria nodded, “Once things are steady, we can think about the house and with it…marriage?”

Charlie smiled, “I know, you’ll want to be married before we move in together, you’re a pureblood, I get it.”

Astoria breathed a sigh of relief, “So we _are_ on the same page.”

“I think we are now, yeah,” Charlie said, that carefree smile back on his face, “And I don’t think taking things slow is going to kill us. Especially considering the fact I have my brother living with me at the moment.”

Astoria sighed, “How is he doing? It was rough the other week, watching them sign those papers.”

“I didn’t realise that it was them you were referring to,” Charlie admitted, “But yeah Bill is struggling. He’s sad, he’s missing his daughter, and he’s really throwing himself into work, but I’ll get him back to normal eventually, I have in the past.”

“Has he always been like this?” Astoria asked curiously.

“What, a total drama queen who takes break-ups badly?” Charlie joked, “Godric, yes, he’s a nightmare.”

Astoria laughed too, “Well since you’re here…do you want to stay for a drink, or two?”

Charlie smiled boyishly at her, “I might even stay for three.”

* * *

“So, have you gotten any further with the wedding planning, apart from setting the date?”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Harry, “This is the kind of question I expect from someone like Sadie, not you.”

“What? I can’t take an interest in my best friend’s wedding ?” Harry objected as they shared lunch in the courtyard of the Ministry.

“You can, I just didn’t expect you to,” Hermione said. She chuckled, “And no because we can’t agree about where we should have it. I would really like to get married in a castle, and there’s one where you can get married in the library, but it’s Muggle and Draco’s totally against a Muggle venue.”

“Trust you,” Harry laughed, “But if you have your heart set on it, don’t forget your soon to be husband and your best friend are trainee Aurors. We could just obliviate all the muggles, so you get your dream wedding.”

“You better be kidding Potter!”

“Course I am Auror Radcliffe,” Harry said, shooting a grin over his shoulder at a greying man who was having lunch with another Auror.

Hermione shot him a knowing look.

“What?” Harry objected, “I am,” he lowered his voice, “Mostly.”

“As sweet an offer as that is, it won’t be my dream wedding if my husband and best friend get fired or even worse, go to Azkaban,” Hermione pointed out with an amused smile.

Harry grinned, “You sounded like your old self there.”

“Don’t,” Hermione muttered.

“ _We could have been killed, or worse, expelled!”_ Harry said in a high-pitched voice.

Hermione hit him, “I did not speak like that!”

“You did,” Harry chuckled, “You were all squeaky back then with your big bushy hair…oh you were so cute.”

“Were?” Hermione snorted, “Thanks.”

Harry shot her a grin, “Remember Draco though? _Some wizarding families are better than others_ Potter,” he stuck his nose up in the air while Hermione stifled her laughter, _“You don’t want to go making friends with the **wrong**_ sort.”

Hermione bit her lip, “Shh.”

Harry’s grin didn’t shift, “Anyway, back to the point. I’m sure the two of you will eventually agree on a venue.”

“I hope so,” Hermione mused, “The only other thing that we _have_ agreed on is the wedding party. Oh speaking of which, I meant to ask, we would love Teddy to be the pageboy, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course I don’t,” Harry said cheerfully, “He’ll love it, he’s becoming a right little attention whore.”

“Harry!”

“What? He is!”

“Yes, but this is your toddler your referring to,” Hermione said through her laughter.

“Just ask Daphne, he is,” Harry snorted, “Whose your maid of honour again? It’s not Gin, is it?”

“No, it was going to be Daphne when Draco and I originally got engaged,” Hermione replied, “Then the whole…thing…happened with the door between the houses and those two and their profound bond, so Sadie and I got closer.”

“And Daphne started snogging Lilly,” Harry whispered with a roll of his eyes, “So your maid of honour is Sadie instead, basically?”

Hermione nodded, “Yes. The bridesmaids are Daphne, Suse and Ginny. I feel a little bad that Lilly isn’t one of them, but for the numbers to match up, I could only have three and Lilly, and I just aren’t _that_ close you know?”

“Did you know her before eighth year?” Harry asked curiously.

“I knew of all of them before eighth year,” Hermione answered, “Susan, I spoke to quite a lot in-between classes and at break. I used to spend time with her and Hannah because I hung around with Neville when you and Ron fell out with me.”

“Sorry,” Harry said sheepishly.

“Lilly, I only really knew to talk to in the library,” Hermione added, “But I knew Sadie, Daphne and Tracey pretty early on.”

“How did you meet them, exactly?” Harry asked nosily, “Because we were together literally all the time, we sat together in every class, and we hung out together at break, and we spent our evenings in the common room, apart from when you were in the library obviously,” Harry said.

Hermione smiled, “I became friends with them all at the start of second year.”

Harry’s frown deepened.

“Do you recall that train trip that I had to endure alone? Because you and Ron flew a bloody car to school like a couple of morons?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Oh…yeah,” Harry said sheepishly.

Hermione chuckled, “That was when we became friends, I shared a carriage with them for that entire trip.”

_“Hey, Hermione!”_

_Hermione smiled and waved nervously through the window of a carriage. The voice that had called her belonged to Susan Bones, who she had known in first year through the fact they had worked on a couple of projects together in Herbology._

_Susan jumped up and opened the door, “Are you looking for somewhere to sit?”_

_“Yes,” Hermione frowned, “I can’t find Harry and Ron. They weren’t on the platform either, don’t you think that’s odd?”_

_“I’m sure they will be here somewhere,” Susan said, “But you can sit with us if you’d like?”_

_Hermione looked into the carriage nervously._

_A small blonde girl smiled and said, “It’s okay, we don’t bite.”_

_“Or do we?” A dark-haired girl said, then she made a loud, gnashing sound._

_“Tracey!” The small blonde girl chastised._

_Susan laughed and beckoned Hermione in, “Hermione, these are my friends. This joker is Tracey, and this is Sadie, I call her baby spice.”_

_Hermione laughed at the reference._

_“And I have literally no idea what that means,” Sadie said._

_Susan grinned, “Tracey is definitely scary spice, and I’m ginger spice obviously. This is Daphne, she’s posh spice.”_

_Daphne, a taller blonde girl, raised an eyebrow at Susan, “Suse, your family manor is about ten times the size of the house I grew up in.”_

_“I know, but you just exude luxury Daph,” Susan said cheerfully._

_“So who is sporty spice then?” Hermione asked Susan jokingly._

_“Oh that’s my other friend Lilly, do you know her, Lilly Moon?”_

_Hermione laughed, “Yes, I have spoken to her a couple of times.”_

_“Everyone, this is Hermione Granger,” Susan said, dropping back down into her seat._

_Hermione sat down next to Susan._

_“Of course she is, we all know who Hermione Granger is,” Tracey said with a roll of her eyes._

_“Smartest witch in our year,” Sadie said, a hint of respect in her voice._

_“Has the most massive, obvious, crush ever on Harry Potter,” Daphne added, looking at her in amusement, “Salazar knows why.”_

_“Slytherins, they love that phrase,” Susan said, rolling her eyes._

_Hermione blushed, “I do not have any sort of crush on Harry, he’s my best friend.”_

_“Of course he is,” Daphne said knowingly._

_“Hey, is it true that you broke a million school rules last year and killed a giant dog?” Tracey asked with interest._

_“And that you kicked Voldemort in the face?” Susan added._

_“Uh…” Hermione frowned, “Well, I definitely didn’t kick Voldemort in the face.”_

_“But you did kill a giant dog?”_

_“I thought nobody was supposed to know about what happened,” Hermione said cluelessly._

_“It’s Hogwarts sweetie, everyone knows,” Daphne said with a wave of her hand._

_“See, Posh spice,” Susan whispered._

_Hermione smiled and said, “Well, no, we didn’t kill a dog. We snuck past it to get into the secret chambers beneath the school.”_

_“Then what did you do? Did Potter kick Voldemort in the face?”_

_“I really don’t think anyone kicked him in the face Trace,” Sadie said._

_“And I didn’t do much really,” Hermione said modestly, “I just told Harry and Ron to stop being idiots when they were wriggling to try and get away from the Devils Snare.”_

_Daphne rolled her eyes, “Imbeciles. Didn’t they listen in Herbology?”_

_“In short, no,” Hermione said, a smile creeping onto her face, “And I helped with this potion riddle thing, which was pretty dangerous because if I had picked the wrong one, we could have died. But I picked the right one, thankfully.”_

_“Wow, that is pretty heavy stuff to do at the end of first year,” Tracey said._

_“Yeah, Trace thought she was mature because she kissed Dean Thomas.”_

_“Oh my god, how many times? I didn’t kiss him! I was in the freakin’ classroom with him because he got us both in detention!”_

_Hermione chuckled._

_“Tracey’s a drama queen, in case you couldn’t tell,” Sadie said with an amused smile._

_“Sadie’s the bookworm,” Daphne put in._

_“And Daphne’s the ice queen.”_

_“Doesn’t really count when it’s self-nicknamed, does it?”_

_“Draco gave himself the nickname, Slytherin Prince, and that’s stuck, hasn’t it?” Daphne argued._

_“Has it?” Hermione interjected, “I call him the Slytherin prat personally.”_

_This sent a ripple of laughter around the carriage and broke the ice for good._

“And that was that,” Hermione finished, taking a bite out of her apple.

“Did you actually have a crush on me?” Harry asked with a grin.

“In second year?” Hermione chortled, “Uh yeah, a huge one.”

Harry snorted, “I find that hilarious. Did Daphne really call me an imbecile?”

“She was bundling you and Ron both into the imbecile category yep,” Hermione smirked.

“You didn’t tell her about your infamous little, ‘ _but there’s not any wood_ ’ comment though, did you?”

Hermione just rolled her eyes and said in a long-suffering tone, “Shut up, Harry.”

* * *

Astoria tapped her fingers against the clipboard in her hands a little too aggressively as she watched Charlie smiling and laughing in the meeting room across the hall. He had been working with the company for a month now, and he fitted in great. His job title was Logistics Manager (Magical Creatures). He organised the export and import of all magical creatures coming into or leaving Britain.

At this current point in time, he was in a meeting with Belinda Zabini. She was laughing at something that he had said now, which made Astoria roll her eyes. Charlie was such a flirt, and he knew it. He didn’t do it by accident like Harry did, he did it entirely intentionally.

When Charlie winked at her, Astoria decided that she had had enough. She stalked towards the meeting room, her heels clicking as she did so. When she reached the open door, she rapped on it hard and stepped into the room.

“At what point did you expect to schedule an unauthorised meeting and get away with it, Charlie?” Astoria asked calmly.

Charlie looked up in surprise.

“I realise that you are new here, but unauthorised meetings are what led this company down the path to destruction once,” Astoria said sharply, “I am running a tight ship, Charlie, unlike my Uncle Phineas. There will be no secret deals, no shady relationships. Everything goes in the book, and every meeting is scheduled. Am I clear?”

“Sorry Astoria,” Charlie said genuinely, “I didn’t view it as an unauthorised meeting. I viewed it as lunch with an old friend.”

“A lunch where you talk about business?” Astoria asked.

“Yeah,” Charlie said sheepishly.

Astoria sat down next to Charlie, “What sort of business?”

“Charlie wants to establish a link between your company and the DMLE,” Belinda explained.

“So that when the DMLE catch wind of cases involving illegally imported magical creatures, I can start prepping my team to get them home as soon as possible,” Charlie finished.

“The idea is fantastic,” Astoria agreed, “However, no offence intended Belinda. Why did you think that a judge was the best person to speak to about it, Charlie? Surely the Assistant Head or Head of the DMLE would have been a better choice?”

Charlie smirked at Belinda, “Normally, I would say that you were right. But in this particular case, the Head of the DMLE is a somewhat prickly character who only listens to his close advisors and, his mistress.”

Belinda smiled, “Me.”

Astoria shot Charlie a look, “Well-played.”

“You said it yourself love, I can play the political game with the rest of them,” Charlie said, leaning back in his chair.

Astoria raised an eyebrow at him, “Don’t call me love at work.”

“Don’t get jealous at work then,” Charlie countered with a grin.

“I’m not jealous,” Astoria said as she left the room, “I’m territorial,” she shot a look over her shoulder, “Jealous is when you want something that isn’t yours. Territorial is protecting what’s already yours.”

Belinda chuckled, “Well, aren’t you just bringing Greengrass Industries into the 21st century?”

“That’s my intention,” Astoria said smoothly as she stalked down the hall, heels clicking behind her.

* * *

“Harry!”

Harry stepped into the kitchen and looked up at his wife, “Yeah?”

“Look at the morning paper,” Daphne said, thrusting the Daily Prophet in his face.

Harry took it and looked down, examining the front-page article with a frown.

**CONTROVERSIAL LAW LEADS TO MASS WALKOUT AT MINISTRY**

_This morning, in a public service announcement, Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt announced the immediate launch of a controversial new law which will require all members of the Ministry to be subjected to Veritaserum questioning._

_The move is a risky one, designed to root out the ‘dirty’ Aurors, politicians and public officials who aided He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, financially or through services offered to him. It comes after a landslide vote by the Wizengamot, despite several families being opposed to the general idea of Veritaserum questioning on moral grounds. The success of the vote has mostly been attributed to the recent change in the Wizengamot. In the wake of the war, several vacant seats have been taken by heirs who are now of age, leading to the youngest Wizengamot the Ministry has seen in several decades. The inspiring member of this new Wizengamot is Harry Potter, who has helped to push through this law and a series of other revolutionary reforms._

****

Harry scoffed and shook his head, “They’re putting my name on this? They are trying to take it away from Kingsley by suggesting that it was my idea? I voted for it, but so did Neville, Draco, Theo, Susan and several others!”

“They aren’t famous though Harry,” Daphne pointed out, “Not like you are. They didn’t defeat Voldemort and save the wizarding world.”

Harry shook his head, irritably.

Daphne gave him a stern look and elaborated, “Harry, for the rest of your life, people are going to link you with important events and look at you as a figurehead. You’re not only famous, but you’re an inspiration to lots of people. There is no use getting irritated about the fact they are putting your name on this, all that matters is that it’s still a win. The law was passed, and yes you weren’t the only one who helped with that, but it was passed, and this publicity is _good_! But anyway, you need to read on because the interesting thing is further down.

Harry disagreed with her, but he thought it was best to keep quiet about that, so he kept reading.

_The announcement led to a mass walkout by Ministry officials. The most notable department to lose members was the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE), the department estimated to be the most corrupt. Tiberius McLaggen, Head of the DMLE, has informed us that those who have chosen to leave of their own accord will not be investigated or apprehended for this. However, anyone who is vetted with Veritaserum and is found guilty of any war crimes will face incarceration. It is estimated that the DMLE has lost around 40% of its staff and that the Auror force (already depleted due to the war) has lost at least half of its workforce._

_The law comes into effect immediately. Commencing tomorrow in the DMLE, each staff member will be vetted until every department can be declared ‘clean’. In addition, any new members of staff will be vetted before they are permitted to join the Ministry. Talk at the Ministry is very conflicted; some members of staff think it is an excellent idea for those that have nothing to hide as it will make the Ministry a much fairer workplace. However, others feel that it is an invasion of privacy that they do not deem necessary._

_Time will only tell if the Minster for Magic, with the support of his Wizengamot, have made the right decision.”_

****

“I’m intrigued by the fact that the article is mostly positive,” Harry said honestly, “And I can’t say that I’m surprised about the Auror department, to be honest. I knew things had to change there, Sumner had already told me as much.”

“Still, to lose half of its workforce?” Daphne said in surprise, “They were already low on staff after the war.”

Harry nodded thoughtfully, “Yeah, it’s not ideal. Especially with the amount of Death Eaters still floating about. Anyway, I better get going, or I’ll be late. See you tonight.”

“See you later,” Daphne said, waving him off as he dashed out of the house.

* * *

“What did you make of that article this morning then?” Harry asked the others while they showered that morning.

“What article?” Theo asked, “I didn’t have time to read the Prophet, Sadie was up half the night complaining of twitchy legs.”

Draco snorted, “The article about Kingsley announcing veritaserum questioning coming into law, as of today.”

“Yep, the one with the statistics about the mass walkout from the DMLE,” Neville added in amusement, “40% of the staff walked out.”

“And they reckon the Auror force lost half its workforce,” Harry added.

Theo whistled, “Holy shit, that’s a lot of dirty folk in the DMLE.”

“Not necessarily dirty,” Draco pointed out, “But people with something to hide, people who don’t want a Ministry official poking around their head.”

“Or even just people who disagree with the use of veritaserum and are walking out as a statement,” Neville agreed.

“But most of them were probably just dirty Theo, you’re right,” Harry said bluntly.

“How the heck are they going to manage then?” Theo asked curiously, “They’re going to be on minimal staffing.”

“Godric knows,” Harry shrugged.

* * *

Draco brought up the article over dinner that night, “What did you make of that article in the prophet this morning?”

Hermione looked over at him, “I’m all for it, I don’t mind letting someone question me because I know I have nothing to hide.”

“The Ministry has probed me enough already, they know about it all,” Draco said with a frown, “So I doubt they could uncover anything that isn’t already in my file. But, what did you make of the walkout?”

“I can’t say it surprised me,” Hermione said logically, “I work in the DMLE, I’ve got a fair idea of how dirty some of them are. The most corrupt people are the ones with the most power, and those people tend to have positions in the DMLE, like Aurors, lawyers, judges, you know?”

Draco nodded and chewed his pasta absentmindedly as he thought about this. His father had been a lawyer when he was young before he had become a stockbroker, and he had been corrupt as hell. In fact, so many Death Eaters had worked in the DMLE…

“You know, if they had any sense, they would pull the best recruits out of training and put them in the field,” Hermione commented thoughtfully.

Draco scoffed, “As if they would do that. You haven’t met my trainers Hermione, they are all about protocol, and that’s definitely not protocol.”

Hermione shrugged and said, “I’m just saying, as someone who thinks logically, I can see that it’s an option that makes a lot of sense.”

Draco smiled fondly at her, “That’s because you’re brilliant, and you will make a brilliant Head of Department one day, but they don’t think like that now, trust me.”

“Then someone should suggest the idea to them,” Hermione pointed out, “Because they lost so many people during the war and they did nothing to try and replenish their staff after that.”

“They did,” Draco argued, “The intake this year and last year was higher than it had ever been.”

“That’s a long-term solution though, isn’t it?” Hermione pointed out, “In three years, they would have a large influx of newly trained Aurors, but it didn’t help them immediately after the war.”

“Well they could hardly have just taken people on without putting them through the extreme vetting or training exercises, could they?” Draco asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“No, but they _could_ pull the best recruits out of training and give them extra supervision in the field, they could probably double their workforce by doing that,” Hermione said, leaning back in her chair, “Just admit that I’m right.”

“You are, but I still don’t think they would ever go for it,” Draco said honestly, “There’s just a way that things are done in the Auror workforce, and it’s the way things have always been done. I don’t see them changing that anytime soon.”

“Well, only time will tell, I suppose,” Hermione mused.

“Anyway, how are you finding your latest placement?” Draco asked, in a bid to change the subject before it could transcend into an argument.

Hermione shrugged, “It’s okay, I guess, but I’m not enjoying it as much as I enjoyed working with the Aurors or the Hit Wizards.”

“I thought you felt conflicted about the Hit Wizards?” Draco queried.

“I did, I do,” Hermione corrected herself, “Talking to MI5 was surreal but so interesting, and doing the research to work out if the perpetrator was Wizarding was really enjoyable. But essentially signing a death warrant by sending the Hit Wizards after someone? I struggled with that. I tried to tell myself it was okay because the people seemed really awful like they really deserved it, you know? But then I thought about you because on paper, in sixth year, you could have been classed as one of those people.”

Draco nodded but said nothing.

“So although I loved aspects of it, I would also be able to enjoy those things if I worked in the Auror department,” Hermione explained, “I would still co-ordinate with Muggles, but it would be Muggle police rather than MI5. And I would still get to have fun coming up with alternate identities and cover stories for Aurors when they had to go and work in the Muggle world, you know? It’s essentially the same job, but with a lower pay grade because you aren’t signing death warrants.”

“I understand that,” Draco said with a smile, “What’s so bad about Magical Law Enforcement Control?”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “It’s grunt work Draco. It’s so boring, I spend my time doing crowd control at Quidditch matches and helping old ladies who have fallen over in Diagon Alley. Every time it starts to get interesting, we have to hand it over to the Aurors.”

Draco chuckled, “How much longer do you have to do it for?”

“Only another week, thank Godric,” Hermione muttered, “But I doubt that the next one will be much better, it’s the Improper Use of Magic Office, and it’s a two-month-long placement. I think I’ll spend most of my time doing paperwork and writing letters, or you know, wrongly convicting a troubled 15-year-old boy who was being attacked by Dementors.”

“Who could you possibly be referring to?” Draco asked sarcastically.

Hermione shot him an amused grin and chucked a piece of garlic bread at his head.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	77. Under Attack

“Good afternoon, recruits!” Sumner boomed.

They all narrowed their eyes at him. It was usually Sheppard who greeted them outside the simulation room on a Friday, not Sumner. Lilly was usually here as well, but she wasn’t today.

Harry’s eyes fell on the two large duffel bags at the Senior Aurors feet.

“As you might have guessed, this isn’t your standard simulation. We’re sending you off on a weekend mission, lucky you,” He said sarcastically.

“All together?” Blanche asked.

“In two groups,” Sumner replied, “You and Wood are going to be joining forces with Harper and Wilde. Potter and Longbottom, you two are with Black and Nott.”

Theo opened his mouth to say something, but Sumner beat him to it, “Nott, if your wife goes into labour we’ve got someone ready to pull you out and apparate you to St. Mungo’s.”

Theo smiled slightly, “Thank you, sir.”

Sumner just bowed his head in response, “This is why we ask you for due dates.”

“And she’s having twins, they always come early, you know?” Blanche cut in rather unhelpfully.

“I think he’s worried enough, Blanche,” Draco said with a quiet chuckle.

Sumner clapped his hands, “Right then. Each group grab a bag. This isn’t a simulation, it’s a real-world situation so head on out to the apparition point and Sheppard will give you co-ordinates.”

“Is that all we get to know, sir?” Harry asked.

“And don’t we get a Healer?” Neville added.

“Yes, Potter. That is all you get to know, and no Longbottom, you don’t get a Healer because if you ended up stranded in the arse end of nowhere in real life, it would be very unlikely for your girlfriend to be there to save your skin.”

The others sniggered at this.

“Apparition point in five minutes, go!” Sumner barked.

* * *

“What the hell is that?”

“It’s a castle, dumbass,” Neville said, looking at Theo in disbelief.

“Yeah, I know it’s a castle, Neville,” Theo retorted, “But why did Sheppard’s co-ordinates lead us here?”

“Because our simulation involves a castle, probably,” Harry snorted, “Draco, can you whack him around the head? He’s slow on the uptake today.”

Draco sniggered, and Theo glared at him.

“Right,” Theo remarked, “What simulation could possibly involve a castle and _where the hell are we?_ ”

“Well, we’re in Scotland,” Neville said, “That’s the easy part.”

“And you know this, how?” Draco asked.

“Let me guess, you can tell by where the sun is or by the plants, or some Herbologist shit like that?” Theo asked.

“No, I can tell because of the group of angry guys in kilts behind you,” Neville remarked, “Which makes me think that our job is to protect this castle against them. It’s a defensive mission.”

Theo turned around and saw said angry guys in kilts in the distance, running towards them.

“Shit!”

“Yeah, I reckon we’ve got fifteen minutes until they get here, so let’s move,” Harry said quickly.

They dashed into the castle, which was more of a semi-ruined tower, to be honest, and climbed the stairs. Once they were standing on the ramparts, an owl swooped overhead and dropped a howler.

Harry opened it, and Sumner’s voice said, “ _You are under attack. This is not a simulation, this is the real world. Your opponents are also Auror Trainees so you cannot hurt them or kill them. You are under siege. How well can you defend yourselves? The mission ends when the opposition takes your fortress or at noon on Sunday.”_

Harry sprang into action and said, “Right, defensive wards.”

“Yeah, you’ll be good at them, won’t you?” Neville asked his best friend, “From the war.”

Harry grimaced, “Yeah, I didn’t do that part. Hermione did.”

“Anti-intruder jinx?”

“Hermione,” Harry admitted.

“I’m noticing a recurring theme here,” Draco said, shooting Harry an exasperated look.

“You even look like her when you do that!” Harry complained.

Neville snorted, “Anti-apparition wards?”

“I can do them,” Harry admitted, “And Muggle repelling charms.”

“I very much doubt the angry guys in kilts attacking us are Muggles,” Theo muttered.

“They might be, so chuck them up anyway,” Neville instructed, “Defensive wards then you two?”

“Yeah, we know a hell of a lot of them,” Draco said dryly.

Neville frowned, “How?”

“Unlike you, we didn’t spend the war in a magic room with a door that rematerialised in a different place for us every time we left,” Theo muttered irritably, “We had to do all of the hard work ourselves.”

“Right, sorry,” Neville said sheepishly.

“Theo, did Sadie ever teach you that temporal charm that stops listening charms from working?” Draco asked.

“Yeah, she taught me all of her defensive spells, just in case anything happened to her,” Theo said, a dark look passing across his face.

Draco nodded, “Work on that, then.”

“Can you ward this place, like you did with the bathroom?” Theo asked.

“I had a whole day to ward the bathroom, not 15 minutes!” Draco exclaimed.

“Well then I guess we’re about to find out how good you are at working under pressure,” Theo said, patting Draco on the back.

It took Harry five minutes to put up the only two wards that he knew. At that point, he looked at Neville and said, “Those guys are obviously better with defensive magic than we are. Do you think we should work on setting traps at every entrance to this castle? It will buy us a bit of time when they get here.”

Neville nodded, and they got straight to work.

* * *

“Thanks for staying with me last night,” Daphne said with a yawn.

Lilly sighed and rolled onto her side, “It’s fine, I wouldn’t have slept that well without Neville. It’s creepy, isn’t it? Being in a big old manor all by yourself?”

“Hmm,” Daphne said, “It can be.”

“Especially when the portraits talk to you and follow you around,” Lilly shuddered, “I’ll never get used to that. It’s like you’re never really alone.”

“Okay, now you’re just creeping me out,” Daphne said, shooting her friend an amused smile as she got up, “I feel like I should shower but if we’re not doing anything today, what’s the point?”

“Yeah,” Lilly agreed, “How is Teddy not awake yet?”

“Because he’s an angel, he tends to sleep in at the weekend,” Daphne said as she turned the bathroom light on, “Which is normally great because Harry and I can wake up in style.”

“Oh, so you do have sex in beds then?” Lilly joked as she pushed herself out of Daphne and Harry’s massive bed and peered out the window.

“We’re married now,” Daphne joked, “It’s not all about hot kitchen sex or shagging in the middle of a duelling platform.”

Lilly snorted, “It’s horrible out there by the way. I think we should have a pyjama day, I can make cookies with Teddy.”

“Good luck with that, he usually eats the cookie dough before I can bake it,” Daphne said with a grin, “Right, I’m going for a shower. I’ll meet you in the kitchen in half an hour for breakfast.”

“Half an hour,” Lilly muttered to herself as she grabbed her bag and headed into the bathroom across the hall, “Who the hell takes half an hour in the bloody shower?”

* * *

“What do you think of the name Luciana?”

Hermione set a cup of tea in front of Sadie, “It’s nice, you can shorten it to Lucy.”

“I hate it,” Sadie said with a sigh, “And Theo likes it. Just like Theo hates Tristan, and I love it. He thinks it’s a pretentious name.”

“Are there any names you agree on?” Hermione asked curiously.

Sadie shook her head, “No. I swear Hermione, these kids are going to be called ‘Baby One’ and ‘Baby Two’.”

“I’m sure when they are born, a name will come to mind,” Hermione assured her, “Do you want to come with me to the Burrow on Sunday?”

“No,” Sadie sniffled tearfully, “Do you have to go? I don’t want to be on my own.”

“Alright,” Hermione said, to prevent a full-blown meltdown, “I can stay here, it’s fine. I’m sure Molly won’t mind if I miss one week.”

Sadie leant into Hermione and sniffled some more, “Hermione, what if the babies are identical?”

“What?”

“What if they are identical twins,” Sadie said tearfully, “What if I can’t tell them apart?”

“Sadie-”

“What if I name them Almina and Aviana, then ten years down the line they get switched, and I realise that I’ve been calling Almina Aviana for her whole life?” Sadie asked. She burst into tears, and Hermione rolled her eyes as she patted her friend on the back.

“Sadie, you’re getting way ahead of yourself here.”

“I’m going to be a terrible mother, I won’t even be able to tell my own babies apart,” Sadie wailed.

“For the love of the founders,” Hermione whispered over Sadie’s loud, crying, “Look, Sadie. Please try and get a grip. I love you, but you are being so irrational and hormonal right now. You’re my best friend, but I’ve seriously thought about drugging you with a mild sleeping draught this weekend…more than once.”

“Even my best friend doesn’t love me anymore,” Sadie sobbed.

“Oh no… I didn’t… oh for fucks sake,” Hermione muttered, “I didn’t say _that_ ,” she looked at the portrait of Thaddeus Nott that sat directly opposite her and mouthed, “What the fuck?”

The man in the portrait, who looked like an older, more rugged version of Theo just shrugged and smirked in response.

* * *

“I hate being besieged,” Theo complained.

Harry and Neville shared a long-suffering look, “Do you think we’re enjoying it?”

It was midday on Saturday, and so far, the defences were holding up well. The angry Scottish wizards were bombarding the wards, but Draco kept topping them up, and Theo was pretty good at patching them up. When they did fall temporarily, the opposition was tripped up by Harry and Neville’s booby-traps. Harry had partly modelled them on traps in Egyptian tombs, but mostly on the traps in the Indiana Jones movies. They were less lethal, but they worked in repelling their opponents.

“We only need to last another day,” Draco yawned, “We lasted much longer in the war.”

“Well, you didn’t,” Theo muttered, “You buggered off to kiss Voldemort’s arse the minute Pansy told you that she was pregnant.”

“Sadie’s pregnant,” Draco said irritably, “So you know what it feels like. What would _you_ have done?”

“I don’t know, but I _do_ know I would not have hugged old nose-less himself,” Theo retorted.

“I didn’t hug him by choice!”

“Nah, you just surrendered the minute it looked like you were on the losing side,” Theo said coolly.

Harry and Neville shared a surprised look, it wasn’t like Draco and Theo to argue, and especially not so bitterly.

“Is everything okay with you two?” Harry asked.

“You can talk freely if that golden ward thing of yours is working,” Neville said, pointing above them, “It means that nobody can listen in on what we’re saying, doesn’t it?”

Draco and Theo both nodded.

“Is this because Sadie’s due date is getting closer?” Neville asked knowingly. He looked at Draco, “Are you afraid that Sadie is going to have the babies then lock the door in the basement and not have anything to do with you?”

Draco glared at him, “Of course not, shut up Neville.”

“Yeah, Fatbottom,” Theo said irritably, “That won’t happen.”

“No, it won’t,” Neville agreed, looking at Draco, “They are going to need you more than ever. Sadie’s going to be struggling, Theo’s going to be tired. If anything it’s going to make you all closer, not tear you apart so stop being insecure Draco, it doesn’t suit you.”

Harry sniggered.

Theo smiled in amusement, “Nev’s right, Draco. We’ll need you and Hermione more than ever, and you know that the door is always unlocked. That goes both ways, I’m not going to let you stop relying on me just because I’ve got kids.”

“Thanks, Theo,” Draco said, shooting a smile at his best friend.

Harry rolled his eyes, “You guys finished having your moment? Because the wards are dropping again, look.”

The wards were cracking, and golden sparks began to rain down on their heads.

“Ah, fuck!”

* * *

“Ooh, Lil!” Daphne said excitedly as she pulled her head out of the fireplace, “I just got the best gossip from Astoria!”

Lilly raised an eyebrow at her and pressed a cup of coffee into her hands.

“Tiberius McLaggen, the head of the DMLE,” Daphne said.

“What about him?”

“He has a lover,” Daphne said with an amused smirk, “Belinda Zabini. What do you think about that?”

Lilly yawned, “I don’t want to think about anything today. I like spending the weekend with you, but it’s tiring when you aren’t used to toddlers.”

Daphne snorted, “I guess, but still. Aren’t you a Ravenclaw? Isn’t thinking your thing?”

Lilly snorted, “It’s _almost_ like, even though our overall traits put us in a certain house, we’re still all complex individuals and are each different people who can’t be put in a box.”

“And there’s the Ravenclaw in you,” Daphne teased.

“Fuck you,” Lilly whispered.

“Baise toi,” Daphne countered with a grin.

“How long do you reckon we can get away with that for before Teddy learns French?” Lilly asked with a laugh.

“Oh another two years at least,” Daphne said, she sipped her coffee, “Are you okay, though? You do seem kind of down.”

“It’s stupid,” Lilly admitted.

“It’s not stupid if it’s making you sad,” Daphne said.

Lilly looked up at her and said, “You are such a mother hen.”

“I know, it’s a sin, right?” Daphne rolled her eyes, “I’ve become Molly Weasley.”

“But hot,” Lilly chuckled.

“Oh Godric, you’re not going the full Ginny Weasley on me, are you?” Daphne teased.

“Nope, definitely still into that key appendage that males have,” Lilly said, choosing her words very carefully because Teddy was nearby, “Anyway, speaking of you being the next Molly Weasley, you’re not going to have seven kids, are you?”

“Nah three more if Harry agrees,” Daphne said, leaning against the kitchen counter, “I always wanted four. Anyway, we’re going off-topic. Why are you sad?”

“Because this is the first weekend since I came home from France that Neville and I haven’t spent together,” Lilly said sheepishly, “And it’s stupid, but that makes me sad.”

Before Daphne could say anything, Padfoot came bounding into the room and made a beeline for Lilly.

The Ravenclaws eyes lit up as she picked the huge puppy up, “Hey Pads,” she said as he yapped happily.

“He senses your sadness and wants to take it all away,” Daphne said with a smile, “He’s a good dog.”

“He’s adorable,” Lilly said with a warm smile.

“It’s not stupid, you know?” Daphne said, “It’s cute.”

“Don’t call me cute,” Lilly warned her, “That’s worse than calling me sweetie.”

Daphne grinned wickedly and turned away from her friend, “Teddy! Time to get ready for the Burrow, baby!”

“Are you sure Molly will be okay with me coming along?” Lilly asked as Daphne scooped up the little boy, “Oh yeah, it’ll be fine.”

* * *

When Daphne stepped into the kitchen of the Burrow with Lilly in toe, she smiled at Molly, “Hey Molly.”

Molly smiled and kissed her on the cheek, “Hello Daphne. Hi Teddy.”

Teddy giggled in response, and Daphne said, “The boys are away on a training mission this weekend, so I brought Lilly along today. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” Molly said with a wave of her hand, “It’s lovely to meet you, dear. Neville talks about you all of the time, of course.”

“Neville comes to Sunday lunches here?” Lilly asked in surprise.

“We dragged him along sometimes when you were in France,” Daphne explained.

“Did you?”

Daphne nodded, “We basically treated him like a dog. We fed him, made sure he showered and took him out for walks.”

Molly had to bite back a smile, and Lilly sniggered.

“Is Hermione here today?” Daphne asked curiously.

“No, she wanted to come, but she has to stay and look after Sadie with the boys being away,” Molly answered, “Poor girl, I remember being pregnant with Fred and George. It’s ever so hard being pregnant with twins, and she’s so young as well.”

Molly shook her head, sympathetically. Daphne nodded, “She’s struggling, that’s true, but it’s a good thing she has Hermione there to help her.”

“Even if she’s driving Hermione insane right now with her mood swings,” Lilly chuckled.

“Oh double the babies, double the mood swings,” Molly laughed.

Daphne chuckled, “Do you need help with anything in here, Molly?” she asked, shifting Teddy on her hip.

“No, no, I’ve got it all under control. Just go through to the living room, all of the boys are there,” Molly said.

“Is Gin here today?”

“Oh, yes. Blaise is busy at work so she brought Blanche along. She’s out in the shed with Arthur again, fascinated by those muggle gadgets that girl is,” Molly said with a roll of her eyes.

Daphne laughed and said, “Come on, Lil. The living room is this way.”

They stepped out into a long corridor and halfway along it, bumped into Ginny.

“Bringing Blanche to family lunches again, I see?” Daphne said with a smirk, “What’s that, three times now?”

“Blaise works weekends,” Ginny retorted, “And she likes Dad’s shed. Anyway, you can’t talk, you’ve brought Lilly.”

“Yes, but I’m not shagging Lilly,” Daphne said in an undertone.

Ginny raised an eyebrow at her, “No, you just like snogging her, so I hear.”

“Who did you hear that from?” Daphne asked in a surprised whisper.

Ginny smirked, “Neville.”

“Neville?” Lilly scoffed, “That traitor!”

“He was asking for my advice, to be fair…”

_“Hey, Gin. Sorry to bother you at home but do you have five minutes?”_

_Ginny nodded and stepped away from the door, “Blaise is at work anyway. Blanche is here though, is that okay?”_

_“Yeah, it’s not work-related,” Neville said, following Ginny into the kitchen, “Love the new house, by the way.”_

_“This is Blaise’s idea of a small cottage,” Ginny said with a roll of her eyes, “Do you want a cup of tea or something?”_

_“Yeah, tea sounds great,” Neville replied, “Hey Blanche,” he added when he saw her at the kitchen table pouring over a book about Auror protocols._

_“Hey, Neville,” Blanche yawned, “What are you doing here?”_

_“He’s after advice,” Ginny said._

_“Are you cool with me being here then?” Blanche asked, leaning back in her chair, “You’re not going to tell Gin you’re in love with your Auror partner or something?”_

_Neville scoffed, “No, I’m not going to do that so you can stay if you want because your opinion might be useful.”_

_“Okay,” Ginny said, raising an eyebrow at him, “What’s up?”_

_“Right,” Neville said, “So here’s the thing. Do you think Daphne’s going to steal my fiancé? Like do you think she likes girls more than guys?”_

_“No, she’s 50/50,” Ginny said offhandedly, “She likes girls and guys the same.”_

_“So there’s a possibility she could leave Harry for Lilly then?”_

_“Well, she married Harry and adopted a kid with him so probably not,” Blanche snorted._

_“Why are you being insecure, Neville?” Ginny asked, “It’s not a good look on you.”_

_Neville snorted, “What look is good on me?”_

_“Well it’s always a good start when you wear a cardigan, that’s you at your authoritative best.”_

_“My authoritative best,” Neville sniggered._

_“She’s serious,” Blanche retorted, “She says the best sex she had with a guy was with you.”_

_“Seriously?”_

_“Why did you have to tell him that Blanche?” Ginny asked with a roll of her eyes._

_“So I’m better than Harry?” Neville asked with a grin._

_“Not that it’s a competition, but yeah, Harry was a bit awkward,” Ginny said with a shrug, “You just took control of the situation, you know?”_

_“Like Daphne did when she shoved you into a broom closet and made you realise how gay you are,” Blanche said cheerfully._

_“And now she’s trying to steal Neville’s fiancé, apparently,” Ginny said, biting her lip in amusement._

_“She kisses her, all the time,” Neville said, “That’s not normal behaviour, is it? Normal best friends don’t kiss each other to end arguments or because they’re drunk in Paris.”_

_“Not everyone is Daphne Greengrass though,” Ginny said._

_“Daphne **Potter** ,” Blanche corrected with a grin._

_Neville looked between them, “So you think it’s fine?”_

_“It’s fine,” Ginny said with an amused smile, “Daphne is bisexual, but I doubt Lilly is. It’s like Draco and Theo, they aren’t gay, but they’re in love with each other. You can love your best friend, have a profound bond with them or whatever, you know? Sometimes that gets intimate. Unless you walk in on them having sex, I wouldn’t worry.”_

_“Right.”_

_“You’re thinking about them having sex now, aren’t you?”_

_“No…”_

_“God, you’re such a straight guy. Get out of our house.”_

_“Blanche!” Ginny said through her laughter._

“He thinks I’m going to run off with Daphne?” Lilly snorted at the end of the anecdote.

“Yep. How often _do_ you two kiss, exactly?”

“ _We_ don’t kiss,” Lilly said, shooting Daphne an amused look, “ _She_ just thinks it’s the best way to win an argument.”

“Oh no, I’m not getting all the blame. Paris was all you,” Daphne said with a grin.

Ginny shook her head in amusement, and a cry sounded above them, “I need to go and pick up Hope. But you better keep quiet about Blanche and me in front of Mum.”

“My lips are sealed,” Daphne said in a sing-song voice as Ginny slipped past them and jogged up the stairs.

Without another word, Daphne stepped into the busy living room and shot Bill a smile, “Hey Bill, how are you doing?”

“I’m alright,” Bill said with a smile as he bounced Victoire on his knee, “You know I love my weekends with my girl.”

Daphne smiled and knelt down, “Bonjour, belle petite fille!”

Victoire giggled and clapped her hands.

Bill rolled his eyes, “Why?”

“She’s half-French, it’s her birthright,” Daphne said, smirking at her boss, “And it annoys you.”

“Desk duty tomorrow,” Bill huffed.

“Oh hush, I’ll bring you a cream cheese bagel for breakfast?”

“You can’t spend the rest of your career bribing your boss with food, you know?”

“I know,” Daphne said, “But for as long as my boss is you, it will work.”

Lilly watched Daphne in surprise. She knew that she came to the Burrow for Sunday lunch virtually every week, but she hadn’t realised quite how much she fitted in.

“Charlie,” Daphne said in a scolding tone, “Don’t have a ‘working’, flirty lunch with Belinda Zabini ever again, please. I had to endure 40 minutes of ranting from Astoria about it, and that is not how I want to spend my Sunday mornings.”

“Wait till you find out what I had to endure,” Charlie said in a suggestive tone.

“Yeah, I don’t want to know about your very active sex life with my baby sister,” Daphne said distastefully.

“See!” Ron exclaimed, “This was how I felt every time Harry, Dean, and Neville started sharing sex stories about Ginny in front of me! Like she’s my sister, you know?”

George snorted, “Yeah, but to be fair, Ron, she did shag all your friends.”

“Apart from Seamus,” Daphne cut in, “Because she has standards.”

“Still,” Ron muttered, “Doesn’t mean I wanted to listen to them all talking about how great a shag she was.”

“Are you just jealous cause nobody has ever said that about you Ronnikins?” George teased.

Ron shook his head irritably, “Lilly, I wasn’t that bad, was I?”

Lilly laughed, “Well…you were better than Michael Corner.”

“That’s not a compliment,” Ginny said as she stepped into the room with Hope.

“Is there anyone in Harry’s year you haven’t shagged?” Charlie asked in disbelief.

At that point, Ginny sent a bat-bogey hex at Charlie.

“Ow! Fuck!”

“Don’t swear in front of the children!” Daphne chastised.

“She just bat-bogeyed me!”

“You deserved it,” Lilly snorted.

“Why are you all defending her?” Charlie huffed as he managed to splutter out the counter-curse.

“Because I’ve been accused of sleeping around and it’s not nice,” Daphne said, fixing Charlie with a stern look, “And _you_ cannot judge anyone for playing the field too much. Is there anyone who worked on a dragon reserve in Romania, male or female, that _you_ haven’t shagged?”

Charlie thought about this for a moment, “Yes. I never shagged the health and safety advisor. I shagged my boss, but I thought that was a step too far. She was hot though…dark hair…red glasses…had that whole hot secretary look going on, you know?”

“Who did, Belinda Zabini?”

They all looked up as Astoria walked into the room in her casual clothes, which consisted of dark jeans and a red blouse, ironically enough.

“Are we not ever that yet?”

“We will be over that when I say we are,” Astoria said calmly, “What were you talking about anyway?”

“Just that the only person Charlie didn’t shag at the reserve in Romania was the hot health and safety advisor,” Bill snorted.

Astoria made a face, “So you slept with your boss? That awful woman with the wart on her nose?”

“She had blackmail on me, it wasn’t fun,” Charlie said distastefully.

Daphne covered Teddy’s ears, “I don’t feel like this conversation is tame for children’s ears, so I’m just going to remove myself from it,” she shot Astoria an exasperated look and sat down next to George, “How’s the shop?”

“Great,” George chirped, “Having the sister shop in Hogsmeade is great. Just when my profits start to dip, Ron starts raking it in.”

“It’s a good partnership,” Ron agreed, “We’re still trying to get Perce to join and do the admin for us, but he keeps saying no.”

“He’s a hotshot bounty hunter with a young, hot girlfriend now,” Daphne joked.

“That’s why he’s not here, he’s off somewhere doing something important,” George said with an amused chuckle.

“Where’s your better half?” Daphne asked George.

“Manning the shop,” George answered, “I don’t normally bother on a Sunday, but we’ve got a bunch of newbies in, and I don’t trust them not to blow it up.”

Ron snorted in amusement at the thought, “It was meant to be my weekend with Freddie, but Katie’s got a date, and she’s taking him along. She wanted to be open and clear from the get-go that she had a kid or something.”

“Whose she on a date with?” Lilly asked curiously.

“Oliver Wood, they know each other from school,” Ron shrugged.

“And you’re okay with that?”

“He’s fine with that since he developed a little crush on his new neighbour,” George teased, elbowing his brother in the ribs.

“Ooh, do tell,” Daphne grinned.

“I don’t have a crush on her, she’s just my friend,” Ron muttered, his ears burning red, “She’s called Felicity. She works at the Three Broomsticks across the road from the shop, so we talk sometimes. I uh…I go into the pub after work a lot, and sometimes I stick around to walk her to the apparition point.”

“Right,” Daphne smirked, “Because Hogsmeade is super dangerous at night, huh? All those school kids who could jump out and mug her?”

George cackled with laughter, “I love you, Daphne. I’m so glad Harry married you.”

Ron glared at Daphne, “Oi, Hogsmeade can be dangerous, there were Dementors there!”

“Yeah, in the war, Ron!”

“Shut up, Daphne,” Ron muttered.

“Dinner, everyone! Ginny, could you please go and retrieve your father and Blanche from the shed?” Molly shouted from the hall.

Ginny rolled her eyes, “Who wants a baby?”

“I’ll take her,” Daphne said, “Grab, Ted, Lil.”

Lilly picked Teddy up before he could run headlong into the wall and Daphne eagerly nabbed Hope for baby cuddles.

“You are so at home here,” Lilly whispered to her as they traipsed along the hall into the kitchen.

“Well, the Weasley’s are basically my in-laws,” Daphne shrugged, “So they just sort of welcomed me in, and I love it here.”

“I can see why,” Lilly said with a smile, “It's homely.”

“It is,” Daphne agreed. Lilly wrestled Teddy into a high chair, and Daphne rocked Hope until Ginny returned from the shed with Blanche and Arthur in tow.

“Come along next week, and I can show you how the washing machine works,” Arthur said eagerly, “I’ll have it running by then.”

“Ooh, that sounds great, Arthur!”

Ginny rolled her eyes at Daphne and took Hope back, “Unbelievable, right?”

“Pretty funny though,” Daphne said, flashing Ginny a grin.

They all squeezed into seats around the table, then the backdoor opened again, and two men walked in, arguing. 

“I can’t believe he was that stupid!”

“I know! We got to 11.45! 11.45, Neville! 15 more minutes and we would have passed but no, those two idiots had to screw up 15 minutes before the end!”

“We’ve never failed a simulation or a mission, Harry.”

“Well, we have now,” Harry huffed, “Blanche! Next time you and Ophelia are coming with us, those two idiots are bloody useless!”

“Hate to break it to you Harry, but I got home in the middle of the night on Friday, we didn’t even last 24 hours,” Blanche said with an amused smile.

“What did Draco and Theo do?” Daphne asked.

“And do you two want some food?”

“Oh please Molly,” Neville said longingly, “I’m so hungry. We’ve been besieged since Friday night, and Draco burnt the only food we had as rations.”

“Yeah, Molly, we’re starving,” Harry agreed, “And Daph, I’ll tell you the full, ridiculous story of what those two idiots did later.”

“Oh you poor boys,” Molly said, conjuring up two more chairs and piling two plates with food for them.

The rest of the Weasley children rolled their eyes.

“Honestly woman, you treat them better than you treat your own children!” Charlie objected.

“Shh, Charlie,” Molly chastised.

Bill snorted and shot Charlie an amused look.

“Draco and Theo won’t be getting this grand a homecoming,” Daphne whispered.

“They’ll know that. They’ve probably gone to Greengrove House because they know that Narcissa will always feed them,” Lilly whispered back with an amused smile.

* * *

**Meanwhile at Greengrove House…**

“Mum!”

Narcissa stepped out of the drawing-room and raised an eyebrow at her son, “What do you want, Draco?”

“Why do you assume that I want something?” Draco asked curiously.

“Because you called me ‘Mum’ rather than ‘Mother’ and you have just shown up here unannounced smelling like cow manure,” Narcissa said as she wrinkled her nose up.

“Sorry,” Draco said, glancing down at himself, “Scourgify.”

“We had a mission this weekend, Narcissa,” Theo said, “We were besieged in a castle, it was awful, and _he_ burnt the only food that we had so we’re starving.”

“And if we go home, our other halves will just be judgemental, and we can’t deal with that on an empty stomach,” Draco said with a roll of his eyes, “Hermione with her, _why did you have to go on another mission at the weekend, Draco? I had plans, you know? We were meant to be going to the Burrow and now I’ll have to spend the weekend looking after Sadie because she’s mentally unstable right now with hormones and babies and blah blah blah_.”

Narcissa failed to hide the look of amusement in her eyes as she watched her son.

Theo rolled his eyes too, “And Sadie will be all like _but Theo, I’m pregnant! I could give birth at any time even though my due date is weeks away! You should be exempt from weekend missions, it’s not fair, blah blah blah_.”

“Boys, when did you last sleep?”

“Thursday night, Mum,” Draco yawned.

“That explains why you have reverted to ten-year-olds,” Narcissa said, amusement lacing her voice, “Come on.”

They followed her into the dining room, and she clicked her fingers. An elf appeared, and Narcissa asked it to send up any prepared food from the kitchen.

When a feast appeared before their eyes, Draco and Theo’s eyes widened. Theo launched himself at Narcissa and burst into tears, “Thank you, Narcissa, you’re like the mother I never had.”

“Eat, you emotional idiot,” Draco said, hitting his friend around the back of the head, “This is why we lost that bloody mission!”

_“I can’t do it anymore! I’m just so fucking hungry and Sadie could have given birth, and I could be a Dad and not even know it! What if I’ve missed the birth of my beautiful babies? Oh, fuck, I’m the worst. I’m just going to jump off this godforsaken fucking tower!”_

_“Theo!” Draco grabbed him, “For fuck sake, you fucking idiot! What’s wrong with you?”_

_Theo burst into tears, and his sobs became incoherent. As Draco tried to deal with him, and Harry and Neville watched on in disbelief, the wards broke down entirely, and they were all hit with stunners._

“Sorry,” Theo said sheepishly.

“You know that Sumner’s right, don’t you?” Draco said, looking at his best friend, “You do need therapy.”

“Yeah well I’ve got to go and talk to Lamb about it, haven’t I?” Theo said with a sigh.

“Why is that, Theodore?” Narcissa asked.

“PTSD, Narcissa,” Theo shrugged, “The Carrows locked me in a tower for a month during the war. They starved me, and I nearly died. I didn’t realise how much it had affected me until we ended up trapped in that tower with no food over the weekend.”

“Oh darling,” Narcissa sighed, “That is awful. Eat as much as you want, you need to be in a fit state before you go home. Your wife needs you more than ever right now, but you must look after yourself too.”

Draco looked at his mother in amusement and said, “I swear, he’s your favourite son.”

Narcissa chuckled and said, “I do not have favourites. However, I _am_ going to floo Hermione and tell her that you two are having some food here because she has floo-ed me four times this weekend to ask if I think you are okay.”

“Four times?” Draco and Theo echoed in disbelief.

* * *

After Sadie had gone to bed, Theo snuck out and made himself comfortable on the sofa in the drawing-room of number 11. He had only read a chapter of his book when he heard footsteps on the stairs. He knew who they belonged to before she stuck her head into the drawing-room.

“She’s asleep, then?” Hermione said as she stepped into the room with a book under her arm, in leggings and an oversized Slytherin quidditch jumper that she had nabbed from Draco.

Theo nodded.

“Did she give you a hard time?” Hermione asked, sitting down next to Theo.

“Half an hour she ranted at me,” Theo said half-heartedly, “It’s like she thinks I had a fun boys weekend or something. Trust me, being stuck in a castle that was under attack was anything but fun.”

“I know, Draco told me about your breakdown,” Hermione admitted.

“You didn’t give him too much of a hard time, did you?” Theo asked her.

Hermione shook her head, “No, I passive-aggressively made him a sandwich for supper then told him I was going next door to shag his best friend.”

Theo snorted, “You didn’t actually say that?”

Hermione grinned, “I did, but he called me out on it. He said ‘Nice try, but no you aren’t because you wouldn’t stoop so low as to sleep with your cousin and you clearly just want to go and rant to him about Sadie’ which is true.”

“Was she hard work this weekend then?” Theo asked.

From behind them, a barking laugh sounded. Hermione turned around and pointed at Thaddeus’s portrait, “Don’t you even start Thaddeus! You were useless, you just sat there and smirked.”

“Affairs of the heart, my dear,” Thaddeus said, “Those are not for men.”

“Unless they are affairs of the heart with other men,” Hermione muttered, making Theo snigger.

“Honestly, Theo,” Hermione said, turning back to him, “I don’t know how you put up with that all day every day. She’s impossible, she either got angry or cried every time I said something!”

“Yeah, it’s hard work,” Theo admitted, “Which is why I’m happy to go to work for a break sometimes, but that wasn’t what this weekend was about.”

“I know, and I’m sure in her rational brain, Sadie does too,” Hermione said, grabbing Theo’s hand, “Are you okay?”

Theo shrugged, “I don’t know. I thought I was over what they did to me in the Dark Tower. It was a long time ago now, you know?”

“So was my torture at Malfoy Manor, but I don’t feel completely over it yet,” Hermione pointed out, “These things Theo, they leave mental scars which run far deeper than the physical ones.”

Theo shook his head and leant back against the sofa. As he stared up at the roof, he said, “I got so hungry, and I was just right back in that tower. The first few days are the hardest, you know? While your body adjusts and then the hunger just becomes a-”

“-dull ache,” Hermione finished, “I know.”

Theo let out a shaky sigh, “I thought I was going to die in there, you know? At first, I had complete faith in Draco, I knew he’d get me out of there but then as the days went on…I gave up. I gave up on life. The Carrows fed me enough to stop me dying, and they gave me water, but the whole point was to keep me weak so that I couldn’t escape. I wasn’t stupid though, I knew they were keeping me alive so they could kill me if the others stepped out of line.”

“Like they did to Leanne,” Hermione said quietly.

“They didn’t mean to kill Leanne,” Theo replied, “She had a heart problem, so when they tortured her, she had a heart attack. They just decided to make an example of her.”

“It’s sick, Theo,” Hemione whispered.

Theo turned his head to look at her, “That whole year was sick, princess,” he said softly, “Schoolkids forming rebellions, healing each other when teachers attacked them. Teachers imprisoning children, torturing them, putting one of them under a nightmare curse. That whole year was a living nightmare, and it nearly split all of us up. I take part of the blame for that because of what happened between Pansy and me, but then there was Blaise and Daphne and the rift that caused. Merlin knows that I shoved Sadie away with my stupid behaviour that year, I honestly don’t know why she waited for me to get my head in gear. She could have had any decent guy she wanted.”

“But she wanted you, Theo,” Hermione said, squeezing his hand, “And the heart wants what the heart wants.”

Theo smiled sadly, “Is it okay if we just don’t talk about it anymore? I’m going to have to spill my guts to a Mental Health Healer about it tomorrow and I just…I don’t want to do it right now too.”

“That’s okay,” Hermione said, letting go of his hand and lying on the sofa with her head in his lap, “We can just read quietly instead.”

Theo smiled and kissed her on the forehead, “Thanks, princess. The company helps.”

“I know,” Hermione said simply, and without another word, they both got lost in their books.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	78. Lightning Strikes Twice?

“Is it wrong to purposefully bring up a difficult case, just to make your boss feel better?”

Harry snorted and looked over at Daphne while she wrestled with Teddy to get him to eat his porridge, “You’re gonna have to explain that one.”

Daphne sighed, “We’ve not had much work lately. Most of our cases are contracted, meaning people pay the bank who then pay us a decent cut of the money to solve that case. But in the wake of Christmas, people don’t have as much money, so there’s not much work coming in for us.”

“So you’re making your own work now?” Harry asked, looking at her with an amused smile.

“No, I’m just actively looking for a case rather than waiting for one to come to us,” Daphne admitted sheepishly, “And I’ve just found a really complicated one that will keep Bill busy for a while, therefore distracting him from his misery.”

“What’s so interesting about it?” Harry asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Well, it would involve our first real foray into the muggle world, for a start,” Daphne said thoughtfully, “I saw it in the Muggle papers yesterday morning. A girl who went missing 15 years ago called her parents. There had been no contact, and she had been assumed dead this whole time, but then this phone call came out of the blue.”

“You think it might be a curse?” Harry asked.

Daphne nodded, “An ancient one too if I’m right. I mean the way I see it, either the girl _is_ dead, and this is some dark magic curse to taunt her parents, which would imply that they murdered their own daughter.”

“Or?” Harry asked. He liked to play devil’s advocate to her during these chats.

“Or, she’s alive in which case it has nothing to do with us, but it’s still an intriguing story to occupy Bill,” Daphne said with a shrug.

“Well, it can’t hurt to look into it, can it?” Harry said.

“That’s what I’m hoping Bill will say!”

* * *

Bill tapped his fingers against the desk, deep in thought, after hearing Daphne’s spiel about the Muggle ‘case’.

“It’s out of our jurisdiction,” He said.

“I know,” Daphne admitted.

“And there’s a high chance that it has nothing to do with us,” Bill added.

“I know that too,” Daphne said, sighing quietly, she had known that it was a long shot.

“But it sounds more interesting than any case I’ve worked since my time in Egypt so fuck it, let’s go,” Bill said finally.

Daphne grinned, “Really?”

“Really,” Bill said, throwing on his coat, “I’m trying to adopt Charlie’s attitude to life; throw caution to the wind, do what you want and see how it plays out.”

“Fair enough,” Daphne reasoned, “I guess that worked out for Charlie…eventually.”

Bill ignored the slight jibe as they walked out of the bank together, “So, since you are the expert here; who do you think we should talk to first?”

“Not the parents,” Daphne replied immediately, “If my suspicions are right, they could be the murderers. I read in the newspaper report that the girl was close to her Aunt so she might be a good place to start.”

“Any hint of wizarding blood anywhere in the family?” Bill asked.

“Not obviously,” Daphne replied, “But I haven’t looked into it in much detail. The general breakdown is that the girl was 5 years old when she went missing, so would be 20 now if she is alive. She has been missing for 15 years, nobody has seen her or had any contact with her in that time leading to the assumption that she was dead.”

“What were the circumstances of her disappearance?” Bill queried.

“She was playing outside one evening in the summer. Her Dad was in his workshop with the door shut, occasionally looking out the window to check on her and her Mum was in the house with the door open, doing the washing up, also keeping an eye on her. They both glanced out to check and couldn’t see her, so a huge search party searched the street and the local woods for her day and night for a week, but no trace was found.”

“And a body never showed up?”

Daphne shook her head, “No body.”

“Alright, where are we going?” Bill asked. They had reached the apparition point.

“Keighley.”

* * *

“What’s our cover?” Bill asked Daphne as they walked along a quiet, residential street.

“I have a plan, just roll with it,” Daphne shrugged.

Bill raised an eyebrow at her, “Woah, hang on a minute. You’re taking the lead on this one?”

Daphne shot her boss a smirk, “You _just_ noticed?”

“I’m still your boss, and you’re still not qualified,” Bill said, he was trying to sound stern, but the slightly proud smile on his face gave him away.

“You’re also being kind of pathetic right now, sorry,” Daphne said. She shot him an amused smile then led him up a garden path to a small, quaint cottage.

A woman came to the door a few minutes after they had knocked. She had dark blonde hair, green eyes and looked to be in her late 20’s or early 30’s.

“Hi ma’am, my name is Daphne, and this is Bill. We’re from a local newspaper, and we would like to talk to you about what happened to your niece,” Daphne said politely.

“No, you’re not,” The woman said in a whisper, a frown knitting it’s way across her face, “You’re from the bank, and if you’re here, that must mean that you think magic is involved.”

Daphne started at that, “I…uh…how on earth did you know that?”

“Because Lara and I went to school together,” Bill said from Daphne’s side, “I think you might be onto something with your whole, magic is involved here theory, Daph.”

“You think?” Daphne asked sarcastically.

Bill smiled weakly at the woman, “Hi Lara. Don’t suppose we can come in for a cuppa?”

Lara sighed and took a step back from the door.

Bill walked into the cottage, and Daphne followed his lead. They followed Lara into the kitchen where she set a kettle on to boil, with electricity.

“So, are you still living as a muggle after marrying Greg then?” Bill asked. Daphne detected a hint of awkwardness.

Lara rolled her eyes, “No, if you must know, Greg left me for some skanky girl at his work years ago. But being married to a muggle did teach me that sometimes electricity is more useful than magic. How about you? Are you married now or are you and your brother still chasing adventure and dragons all over the world?”

Daphne made a face, “Sore subject, he just got divorced.”

Lara’s eyes widened, “Oh…I’m sorry about that, Bill. I didn’t mean to bring it up like that.”

Bill shrugged, “It’s okay, it was a mutual decision. No skanky girls, or guys, involved. But I still don’t really like to talk about it.”

Lara smiled, “Still the most emotional Weasley then?”

Bill chuckled, “Nah, come on, you know that title goes to Charlie.”

“How is Charlie doing?” Lara asked with a smile.

“Oh, he’s alright, finally settling down, I reckon,” Bill replied, “With this one’s little sister, actually.”

Lara raised an eyebrow at Daphne, “Forgive me if it's rude, but you don’t look that old yourself so how young is your little sister?”

“She’s 19, but she’s the CEO of an international company, so she acts older than her years,” Daphne said with a shrug.

“And she brought Charlie back to the UK,” Bill added.

Lara scoffed, “I didn’t think I’d see the day that either of you settled back in this country.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at the two of them, “Okay, you two seem to know each other _really_ well for two people who just went to school together.”

“Yeah,” Bill said sheepishly, “That’s because Lara was in Charlie’s year, she fancied the pants off of him till she found him snogging her older sister in a broom closet. Then she ended up dating me for…a little while until I broke up with her to run away to Egypt.”

“Wow,” Daphne said, “That is a dick move, Bill.”

“It really was,” Lara agreed.

“How long is ‘a little while’ exactly?” Daphne asked curiously.

“Three years,” Bill muttered.

“Three years?” Daphne echoed in surprise, “Bill, you were only with Fleur for 3 and a half years, this is practically equal with your longest relationship!”

“Yeah,” Lara said, crossing her arms to look at Bill, “It was kind of a big deal. Your Mother really wanted us to get married.”

“Yeah, she did,” Bill agreed sheepishly.

Daphne tutted and shook her head, “And you haven’t spoken since then?”

“Nope,” Lara replied, “We haven’t seen each other in years.”

“So will we talk about why we came here? Or will I just go out and get coffee to let you two keep catching up?” Daphne asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

“No, because I really hope you are here because of Emery.”

“Emery?” Daphne frowned, “I thought your niece was called Emily?”

“To Muggles, yes,” Lara replied, “We didn’t want to draw attention to her here, so we called her Emily but my sister and I are both Muggle-borns, so she was christened Emery.”

“I see,” Daphne said, sitting down at the kitchen table, “So did you think she was magical?”

“I always thought that she would be,” Lara said with a sigh, “She was so intelligent, and she had this magical aura around her…I think magic had something to do with her death…if she even is dead.”

“So you think the phone call was real?” Bill asked curiously.

“I want it to be real, but I don’t see how it can be,” Lara admitted, “But if you’re here, you must think it’s a curse?”

“We think it might be,” Bill admitted, “But why don’t you think the phone call was real?”

Lara sighed again, heavily this time, “Because my sister confided in me a long time ago that her husband killed Emery that night when she began to manifest accidental magic. It scared him, and the angrier he got, the more volatile her magic got until he completely lost it in a fit of rage.”

Daphne frowned, “If she confided this in you years ago, why didn’t you come forward?”

“Honestly, because I was afraid,” Lara admitted, “I wasn’t a Gryffindor like Bill and Charlie. I was a Ravenclaw, and I was afraid that if I said anything, my sister would be implicated and she had been through enough by losing her daughter.”

“You don’t have to have been in Gryffindor to be brave,” Daphne said firmly, “One of the bravest and strongest people I know is a Ravenclaw so I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s a fair excuse. This man killed your niece, who by all accounts and purposes you were very close to. Surely you want him to be punished for that?”

“Daphne-” Bill warned.

“Don’t be protective just because she’s your ex,” Daphne said calmly, “I know you agree with me on this one.”

Bill looked at Lara’s teary eyes for a moment and said, “I think there’s more to it than you’re telling us, Lara.”

Lara sighed and rubbed her eyes, “Lucie and I have always had a theory that maybe Emery is an obscurial. Her Dad, Nige, he’s a muggle so we couldn’t fathom how he had killed her and left no trace, no body, nothing. We thought maybe she had lost control and that if she had, there was a chance that we could find her.”

“But if you told the authorities, they would hunt her down and kill her because obscurials are insanely dangerous,” Bill finished.

Lara nodded.

Daphne sighed, “So to sum things up. Either Emery is an obscurial in which case, we’re all going to die. Or, there’s a cursed object at play. Let’s hope it’s the second option.”

“No, let’s not hope that,” Lara snapped, “Because if it is that, it means she’s gone.”

“Either way, she’s gone,” Bill said, grabbing Lara’s shoulder and forcing her to look him in the eye, “You’re smart enough to know that when someone becomes an obscurial, it’s a one-way road Lara.”

Lara sighed, it was a heavy, world-weary sigh.

“So my question has to be, who would want to torment your sister and her husband for what they did to Emery?” Daphne asked, “This person clearly thinks that they did it together.”

“There was someone else there that night,” Lara confessed, “Emery’s older brother, Matthias.”

“Was he magical?” Daphne asked.

“He never got a Hogwarts letter, so we assumed not,” Lara said honestly, “He was 10 when Emery went missing so he would be 25 now.”

“Would be?” Bill frowned, “What do you mean by that?”

“I haven’t seen him since he ran away from home when he was 15,” Lara replied, “He stopped speaking after Emery’s disappearance then one day, he packed a bag and left in the middle of the night.”

“So although he’s not magical, he might know someone who is,” Daphne realised.

“Or he’s found a cursed object, and he’s using it,” Bill interjected, “He knows about magic, even if he’s not magical.”

Daphne nodded slowly, “Thank you, Lara. I promise that we’re going to do everything we can to find out what happened to Emery.”

Lara smiled weakly at her then looked at Bill, “Do you think I might finally get some closure?”

“Yeah,” Bill said, grabbing her hand and giving her a supportive smile, “I think you might, but I’m sorry that it’s taken this long Lara.”

Lara shook her head, “Don’t be sorry, just get to the bottom of this puzzle, Bill.”

“I always do,” Bill said, dropping her hand and getting to his feet.

He and Daphne left the house and apparated back to the bank silently, but once they were safely within the walls of Gringotts, it was a different story.

“So…Lara seems nice.”

Bill rolled his eyes, “One adopted kid later, and you already sound like my mother.”

“I’m not gonna lie, I’m trying very hard not to be offended by that,” Daphne remarked dryly.

Bill grinned at her, “Good, that was the intention.”

Daphne made a face at him, “I hate you being my best friend. How did I, the self-professed Slytherin ice queen end up becoming best friends with you, Bill Weasley, werewolf-extraordinaire.”

Bill let out a loud barking laugh at that, “I never thought we were best friends, but you’re right. We are, aren’t we?”

“Unfortunately,” Daphne answered sarcastically, “You’re my male best friend, congratulations you’ve overtaken Draco. Lilly is still my female best friend, though, you don’t come close to her.”

Bill chuckled and put his arm around her, “Will I make us matching friendship bracelets?”

“Ugh, I hate you,” Daphne muttered, “And I know what this is, by the way, a ploy to get me to stop asking you about Lara.”

Bill snorted, “Was it that obvious?”

“I’m married to Harry Potter, I’m the queen at spotting obvious ploys to distract me,” Daphne said, smirking at him, “And that feels kind of good to say you know?”

Bill just laughed, “Look you want the truth? Lara was my first love. She was brilliant, I honestly could have married her, but I didn’t, and the reason I didn’t was because I didn’t want to become like my parents. I didn’t want to get married straight out of school, have a bunch of kids and end up in a meaningless, badly paid job. I wanted to see the world, and back then, it felt like a choice.”

“Lara or the dream job,” Daphne said.

Bill nodded, “Exactly. Looking at it in hindsight, I should have just asked Lara to come with me, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.”

“It is, but we’ve all been there,” Daphne said with a smile, “But the universe is giving you a second chance.”

“The universe?” Bill scoffed.

“The universe has its own plans you know,” Daphne said matter of factly, “Divination isn’t the fools subject that everyone thinks it is. There is a lot to be said in the stars if you look closely enough. They can tell us about our past, and our future, the universe has plans, and there’s no such thing as a coincidence. You bumping into Lara today, it was meant to happen.”

Bill rolled his eyes, “That’s it, you’ve gone crazy. I’m karting you off to the loony bin.”

Daphne smirked, “You’re being offensive because you don’t want me to see how hurt you are.”

Bill echoed her earlier sentiment, “I hate you.”

Daphne just grinned, “Maybe lightning strikes twice, Bill!”

“Or maybe it doesn’t,” Bill argued grumpily.

Daphne ignored him and said cheerfully, “Right then, you hit the archives and see what kind of curse could do this. I’m going to see where Matthias went when he disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“Yes, boss!” Bill chuckled, “But before you bugger off, I need to talk to you about something.”

Daphne turned around in the doorway, “Yeah?”

“You do realise with the way that this is going, there’s a chance we’re going to have to bring Aurors in?” Bill asked.

“Well, yes, I expected so,” Daphne answered.

“And I know Harry’s trainer, I’ve worked with him before,” Bill added, “I wouldn’t put it past him to bring Harry along.”

Daphne scoffed, “First years don’t go on field missions. He wouldn’t break that rule just to get a laugh out of watching Harry have to work with his wife,” she said with a shake of her head, “See you in the morning!”

Bill smirked to himself, “Wouldn’t he?” he asked the empty room with a chuckle.

* * *

“Do you reckon its too soon to set Bill up?”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Daphne, “Just a few weeks after his divorce was finalised? Uh yeah, I think it’s a bit too soon.”

“Even if the universe wants it to happen?” Daphne added.

“Oh come on, not the ‘universe has a plan’ thing again Daph,” Hermione said, topping up her friend's wine glass, “You know my opinion of Divination.”

“Doesn’t make you right,” Daphne said in a sing-song voice as she drew her feet up underneath her and got comfortable. She had a rare night off while Harry watched Teddy, so she was spending it drinking wine with Hermione at Grimmauld Place.

“Alright then,” Hermione said, smirking at her friend, “Tell me how the universe has a plan, and I’ll dispute it.”

“We were working on a case today, and we bumped into Bill’s first girlfriend, who he confessed was his first love,” Daphne said, smiling smugly at Hermione, “Fate.”

“Coincidence,” Hermione argued.

“There is no such thing as coincidences,” Daphne said, “It’s just a word scientists came up with to explain things that they can’t because they can’t fathom that the universe has a plan.”

“This whole idea of yours makes you sound crazy, you do realise that right?” Hermione asked, leaning back in her comfortable armchair and sipping her wine.

“I have been told that,” Daphne remarked nonchalantly, “But for two people to be drawn together right now when they both need it, and they both need each other? That’s not chance Hermione. Something pulled and pushed them together, a force stronger than us.”

“Look Daphne, your one of my best friends and I love you, but you’re never going to convince me on this one so shall we just drop it before it becomes an argument?” Hermione asked reasonably.

“Probably for the best,” Daphne chuckled, “You seem to be in a better mood than you were when I first got here.”

“Two glasses of wine and a bit of time away from Sadie will do that,” Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, “Honestly Daph, I love her to bits, but I love her for her rational mind. It’s why we get on so well, you know? And right now she’s so irrational.”

“That’s pregnancy for you,” Daphne smirked.

“She’s impossible,” Hermione muttered, “I actually wait until she’s asleep then I sneak next door and hang out with Theo instead.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at her.

“Not like that, he’s my cousin, I wouldn’t sleep with him,” Hermione snorted.

Daphne just shook her head, “I could not hack a relationship as weird as your four-way. I mean, I just kiss Lilly when I’m drunk, or when she won’t shut up. It’s a pretty effective way to end an argument.”

Hermione snorted in amusement, “But I’m the one in an unconventional relationship?”

“Ah well, conventional relationships are boring. Anyway! Aren’t I here to discuss wedding themes with you?” Daphne asked excitably.

“Yes, which should technically be Sadie’s job as the maid of honour but she snaps at me every time I talk to her so she can get stuffed,” Hermione muttered irritably.

Daphne whistled, “You two really are on the rocks, aren’t you? How do you feel about ice sculptures?”

“Oh no, not this again. I told you, I was on Lilly’s side of that argument before your wedding,” Hermione said, shooting her an amused look, “Ice sculptures are pretentious.”

“And so is your future Husband, what’s the problem?”

Hermione couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing at that comment.

* * *

“How was your night out?” Harry asked, smiling over his glasses at Daphne as she traipsed into the bedroom. He shut the book about Auror protocols that he had been reading and put it down on his bedside table.

“Good,” Daphne said cheerfully. “We got lots of planning done tonight, and she had what she deemed a ‘healthy’ rant about Sadie.”

“Oh god,” Harry muttered.

“Yeah, she’s irrational and moody, Hermione can’t deal with it,” Daphne said with a grin, “Also, Hermione still hasn’t come up with a bloody venue.”

Harry chuckled, “I feel sorry for you and Sadie, having to deal with her incapability to make a decision.”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Don’t even go there.”

“You seem remarkably sober,” Harry pointed out in amusement, “You aren’t normally this sober when you get back from Grimmauld Place.”

“Well, I am a responsible mother now, and it is a school night,” Daphne said, shooting him a grin, “I only had a couple of glasses.”

“Not like the several tequila shots you have when you go to Longbottom House then?” Harry teased.

“Not like that no, Lilly is a bad influence on me,” Daphne tutted.

“I’m not convinced which one of you is the bad influence in that friendship,” Harry snorted.

Daphne laughed, “The only reason I’m this late home tonight is because I went for a walk through London before coming home.”

Harry frowned, “What’s got you going for late-night walks? You normally only do that when you’ve got stuff to think about.”

“Yeah, I was thinking about stuff,” Daphne admitted, throwing herself onto the bed, “This case I hauled up for Bill to get him out of his rut…”

“Tough one?”

“Weird one,” Daphne said, lying on her side and propping herself up on her elbow to talk to him, “What do you know about obscurials?”

Harry’s eyes darkened, “I really hope that’s a hypothetical question.”

Daphne made a face, “Kinda?”

“Daph, if there’s the slightest chance that you could be dealing with an obscurial you need to call in Hit Wizards ASAP,” Harry said sharply, “They are unbelievably rare and dangerous.”

“There is a chance we are dealing with one, but it’s a very small chance because of how rare they are,” Daphne said, “The magic has to be really strong, and I’m just not convinced that it would have been with this girl. She was the daughter of a decent muggle-born witch and a muggle.”

Harry sighed, “Yeah…I don’t want to sound prejudiced, but it doesn’t sound like it. It would take a lot of power, one of the parents would have to be majorly powerful like with Neville and Lilly. Or both of the parents would have to moderately powerful, like Hermione and Draco.”

Daphne nodded glumly, “Which means that the poor kid really is dead and someone is using a cursed object to torture her parents.”

“Why would they do that?” Harry asked with a frown.

“Because her parents killed her,” Daphne replied bluntly, “So they deserve the torture, but the kid's Aunt doesn’t. She just wants answers, and she was Bill’s childhood sweetheart.”

“Well, that’s one way of making the case interesting for him,” Harry said, raising an eyebrow at her, “Did you know that when you pushed him to take the case?”

“Maybe,” Daphne said, hiding her face behind a pillow.

Harry laughed fondly, “If this goes sour, I’m not going to help you deal with the fallout, you manipulative wench,” he grabbed her and pulled the pillow away from her face.

“Fair,” Daphne chuckled as she kissed her husband.

* * *

“Morning,” Daphne said cheerfully as she set a cup of coffee down on the desk.

“Morning,” Bill said with a smile, “Why are you so happy?”

“Had a nice little evening drinking session with Hermione last night,” Daphne said, shrugging and sitting down behind her desk, “Wedding planning and all that, you know?”

Bill snorted, “You had a nicer night than me then. This morning I reminded my brother how to use a basic wandless silencing charm because I heard your sister saying things that I never wanted to hear last night.”

Daphne grimaced, “Ew.”

“Imagine having to listen to it through paper-thin walls,” Bill pointed out.

“I’d really rather not,” Daphne said, shaking her head to erase the thought, “I do have bad news this morning too, which is going to break the happy bubble a little.”

“Let me guess, our victim really is dead?” Bill guessed.

“Yeah,” Daphne agreed sheepishly.

“I had worked out the same thing,” Bill admitted, “There’s no way the kid of a mediocre witch and a muggle could harness enough power to become an obscurial.”

Daphne sighed, “Yeah, which means someone is using a curse to torment her murderers.”

“It’s got to be the brother that Lara was telling us about,” Bill said.

Daphne nodded, “Looks like it’s going to be a pretty open and shut case, doesn’t it?”

“In a sense,” Bill agreed, “But this is going to be a first for you. We are dealing with a murder case here, and someone knows about that murder and is using that knowledge for blackmail and manipulation purposes. This is out of our jurisdiction now.”

“Does that mean that we need to give up the case to the Aurors?” Daphne asked irritably.

“No, it means you need to work with an Auror on it,” A new voice said. A tall, balding man stepped into the office and smiled, “I’m Senior Auror Sumner, and this is the Recruit who will be assisting me with the case.”

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Daphne said in disbelief while Bill positively cackled with laughter.

Harry grinned, “Hey, honey.”

Sumner crossed his arms and said, “In all seriousness, you two are going to be working together on cases like this a lot, so it pays well to be able to work professionally together when you need to.”

“This is a test sir, isn’t it?” Harry asked.

“Of course it’s a test Potter,” Sumner scoffed, “Why else did you think you were getting a field trip?”

Harry smirked, “Just thought I was your favourite sir.”

“Quit showing off in front of your missus Potter, or I’ll have you scrubbing toilets for the next week,” Sumner barked.

At this Daphne smirked triumphantly when Harry fell silent.

Bill was trying his hardest not to laugh at the hilarity of the situation. He put his serious Senior Curse Breaker head on and smiled at Sumner, “Hey Jack, been a while since we worked a case together, eh?”

“A good couple of years,” Sumner agreed, shaking Bill’s hand, “Good to work with you again Bill. Wanna give us the lowdown on what’s going on here?”

Bill nodded, “Yeah here’s the file, but the truth is that it’s likely to be the brother, who is using a cursed object to manipulate the parents.”

Sumner skimmed the file then handed it to Harry, “Likely yes. You have no idea of the brother's whereabouts though?”

“No,” Daphne replied, “His Aunt said that he knew magical people but that he wasn’t magical. That was all she could tell us, though.”

Harry frowned at this.

“Well, we can head into the Ministry and research a little further. Hopefully, we’ll find a last known location on Matthias. He will be a person of interest due to his magical heritage anyway so-”

“Borgin and Burkes.”

“What Potter?” Sumner asked irritably.

“He’s not magical, but he knows magical people,” Harry said, “He can get into Diagon Alley and therefore Knockturn Alley. Where would he go to acquire a cursed object? Borgin and Burke’s.”

Bill raised an eyebrow at Sumner, “He has a point.”

“Which is why he’ll make a damn good Auror,” Sumner agreed, a little reluctantly.

“Assuming he bought it,” Daphne said, “Sorry to trample on your idea _sweetie_ , but someone else might have bought it for him.”

Harry smirked at her, “Doubtful _darling_. This is a revenge crime, that makes it more likely that he bought it himself.”

Sumner snorted at the interaction between the newlyweds, “The only way to find out is to go into the shop undercover and find out if he has sold anything to Matthias.”

Harry nodded eagerly.

“And the best person to glean information from that sleazy old idiot would be the one that he will most definitely be attracted to,” Sumner added, looking at Daphne.

“Uh…what?” Harry asked in surprise.

Bill frowned, “Yeah, I’m with Harry on that one. Daphne isn’t an Auror, and that seems pretty dangerous.”

Sumner and Daphne scoffed in unison.

“Dangerous?” Daphne asked in disbelief, “Flirting with a sleazy shop owner?”

“A dealer of dark items,” Harry added, “He doesn’t sell bloody flowers, Daphne.”

“And I’m training to be a Curse Breaker, aren’t I?” Daphne asked calmly, “I’ve dealt with my fair share of dark items. Harry, I’ll be fine.”

“I already hate this plan,” Harry muttered irritably.

“She’ll be in there for less than five minutes, and we’ll be outside if anything goes south,” Sumner said logically.

Harry sighed and caught Daphne’s eye, “I don’t like it, but I know my wife, sir. There’s no talking her out of an idea once she’s got it planted in her head.”

Daphne smiled triumphantly, “Good! Come on then boys, I want this case closed by tonight. I have to drag my friend to an antenatal appointment that she really doesn’t want to go to and that’s at 6pm, so clocks ticking!”

“Is she always like this?” Sumner asked, looking between Bill and Harry.

“Yeah,” They both answered quietly as they followed Daphne out of the office.

“Sometimes I forget I’m her boss,” Bill muttered to Harry.

“Sometimes I forget I have an opinion,” Harry muttered back.

“I can hear you both, you know that, right?” Daphne asked, putting her hair into a bun with a flick of her wrist and shooting them both a mildly amused look.

Sumner lowered his voice and said, “I’m still going to give you hell if she makes you late, but I understand why you don’t argue with her and just take the laps.”

At this, Harry laughed and caught Bill sniggering out of the corner of his eye too.

* * *

“What are you doing?”

“Undoing a couple of buttons,” Daphne answered as she adjusted her blouse.

“ _Why?”_ Harry asked incredulously.

“Because I’m going in there to flirt the truth out of him, cleavage helps Harry,” Daphne said with a roll of her eyes.

Harry shook his head in disbelief, “You’re impossible to work with.”

“You’re impossible to work with,” She counteracted.

“I’m not being your go-to Auror when you need one,” Harry continued, “You can have Draco and Theo, they can put up with your flirty, I’m just stripping to get some information act.”

“She undid two buttons Potter, she’s not stripping,” Sumner said in a harsh whisper.

“I’m with you here, Harry, if she was my wife I’d be fuming too.”

“Well I’m not your wife Bill so respectfully, shut up,” Daphne said, crossing her arm over her recently exposed cleavage, “And if you want me to keep being your wife Harry, shut up and let me do your job for you.”

Harry glared at her but said nothing else.

Daphne pulled red lipstick out of her bag and began putting it on.

“Seriously?” Harry burst out, despite himself.

“Shh!” Daphne muttered irritably, putting the lipstick back in her bag and heading for the door, “See you in five,” she promised.

Harry huffed irritably in her absence. Bill grinned, “You knew she was going to be hard work when you married her Harry, admit it.”

“How was it you described Fleur again? Hot as hell but she could really rub you up the wrong way with just a couple of words?” Harry asked.

Bill snorted, “Yeah, that sound familiar?”

“Very,” Harry said, peering into the window as Daphne approached the counter.

“Good luck with that,” Sumner said in amusement, “My first wife was just like her.”

“Your first wife?” Harry asked tentatively, “Uh…why did you end up having a second wife?”

“Because the first one ran off with my best friend and took all of my money,” Sumner replied, giving Harry a pointed look.

“You’re safe, Harry, she doesn’t fancy Neville,” Bill joked.

“Funny,” Harry remarked dryly, but he did hide a small smile.

He glanced back in and panicked momentarily when he could no longer see Daphne at the counter.

“Where-”

Sumner cut in, “It’s fine, I saw where she went.”

“Yeah but where-”

“Be quiet Potter.”

Harry was about to open his mouth to say no when the front door opened and Daphne stepped out. She walked up the alley, and they followed her. Once they were a little closer to the point where Knockturn Alley met Diagon Alley, Daphne smirked and said, “Matthias was in there a week ago, and he made a purchase.”

“What did he buy?” Harry and Sumner asked in unison.

Daphne looked at Bill when she answered, despite the fact he was the only one who _hadn’t_ asked, “A cursed skull.”

Bill’s eyes widened, “Of course…of course! And it’s probably still at the house! A cursed skull, why didn’t I think of that?”

“I don’t know, because I didn’t either,” Daphne said, “But they are quite rare, aren’t they? Borgin said that Matthias paid a very nice price for it.”

“Where do you reckon he got that kind of money from?” Bill asked her.

“I don’t know, but that’s their problem, isn’t it?” Daphne asked, shrugging her shoulders in the direction of Sumner and Harry, “When they arrest him, they’ll have to work that out. We just need to find the skull and destroy it to break the curse.”

“We’ll come with you, just in case Matthias has returned to the scene of the crime,” Sumner said.

Bill nodded, “That’s probably wise. You will need to arrest the parents when we get to the house too. Daphne and I haven’t spoken to them yet, we went through the Aunt when we took the case on.”

“Alright, time for your first real-life arrest Potter,” Sumner said, slapping Harry on the back.

* * *

“I feel kind of bad for them.”

“I don’t,” Daphne said darkly as they searched the dimly lit cellar, “They killed their daughter.”

“ _He_ killed his daughter,” Bill added, shivering at the thought, “Which I don’t understand. I love Victoire with everything that I have, and I just don’t get it.”

“That’s because you’re normal,” Daphne said, smiling at him, “A normal, great Dad.”

“I don’t feel like a great Dad right now,” Bill sighed.

“I know, but you’ll get there,” Daphne promised him, “You and Fleur are working out a new normal right now, it’s natural that Vic will find it a little hard to adapt. Give it a few months and things will be fine again, I promise.”

Bill smiled at her, “I love your blind optimism sometimes.”

“Blame Harry, it’s his influence rubbing off on me,” Daphne said with a roll of her eyes.

“You two weren’t kidding earlier on when you said you couldn’t work together, were you?” Bill asked with an amused, but knowing smile.

“No, we weren’t,” Daphne said with a shake of her head, “I love him to bits, but I can’t work with him. He’s overbearing as hell, I wanted to smack him.”

“You should have, his Auror trainer would have pissed himself,” Bill chuckled.

Daphne laughed too, but stopped short when she saw something in the corner, “Bill!”

Bill saw it too, he saw it move a fraction even though neither of them had moved their wands.

“Don’t move,” He said, “Don’t move a muscle.”

Daphne stayed stock still, “What is it?”

“It’s Matthias,” Bill said, moving his lips as little as possible, “Borgin lied to you, he didn’t buy that skull days ago. He bought it years ago, and he hasn’t returned to the scene of the crime, he never left it.”

“What do you mean?” Daphne asked, her heart beating out of her chest.

“He’s dead, he probably died when he was 15. That’s why nobody has seen him since,” Bill replied, “He bought the skull to get his revenge, but it takes a soul to work. He thought it would take his sisters soul, but it took his. Matthias is dead, but that is his soul, and that is what is tormenting his parents, the skull is just a conduit.”

“Like a Horcrux,” Daphne breathed.

“Yes, and the minute you take your eyes off of him, he will jump into your body and possess you,” Bill reiterated.

Daphne was about to say that she wasn’t sure how much longer she would be able to stay still for when the cellar door opened.

“Soul of Matthias is in the cellar!” Bill called out, grabbing Daphne and yanking her back towards the stairs as the light distorted all of the shadows in the cellar.

Harry and Sumner darted down the stairs and pushed the Curse Breakers behind them.

“Do you know how to defeat a soul attached to a cursed item, Potter?” Sumner asked, his eyes scanning the cellar for movement.

“Much the same as a Horcrux sir,” Harry replied calmly.

“Yes, and do you know how to destroy a Horcrux?” Sumner asked, “Because last time I checked, we didn’t have any basilisk venom, or big shiny swords or your boyfriend in a bloody cardigan.”

Harry would have laughed if it wasn’t for the tension in the room, “Would fiendfyre destroy it?”

“It would, but nobody can control fiendfyre,” Sumner said, “And certainly not in the cellar of a house. The whole place would come down on us.”

“Not if there was somebody who was really good at controlling fiendfyre in that cellar,” Harry pointed out, “Sir, shadow in the right corner!”

“Keep your eyes on it, Potter, it can’t jump inside us unless we look away,” Sumner said as he scanned the cellar for the skull, “Bill, there is a skull on the back wall towards the left, is that our object?”

Bill did a diagnostic charm and nodded, “Yep, that’s it.”

“Alright,” Sumner said calmly, “Potter, are you bullshitting me here or is one of your superhero boy who lived tricks that you are an expert at controlling fiendfyre?”

“I really am that good sir,” Harry said entirely seriously.

“Okay,” Sumner said, looking right at the shadow, “I’m watching your shadow so you can look away. Destroy that skull _now,_ and civilians…out of the cellar please.”

“No chance,” Bill and Daphne replied in unison.

“You know this is dangerous, Daphne,” Harry said, turning to look at her.

“Yes, and I know how good you are. We’ll all be fine,” Daphne said confidently, “Just kill that thing, now.”

Harry nodded and turned around. He held up his wand, took a deep, steadying breath and said the incantation. A string of fire shot out of his wand and weaved its way across the cellar to the skull. It then encapsulated the skull, which caused a scream to be emitted from the other side of the cellar where the shadow of Matthias had been. Harry let the fire burn the skull until the echoes of the scream had disappeared. He then twisted his wand in the other direction and took another deep breath before lifting one finger from his wand and beckoning the fire back towards him. Slowly, it weaved back across the room into his wand, leaving a small puff of smoke once it was gone.

“Back out of the cellar,” Sumner said.

They all did, and the door was then snapped shut. They all breathed in gratefully and were happy to be standing in a sunlit corridor once more.

“Potter,” Sumner said, looking at Harry with real admiration, “I’ve never seen anyone do that. Not in training or in real life, that was pretty amazing.”

Harry smiled a little sheepishly, “Thank you, sir.”

Sumner shook his head, still in shock at what he had seen such a young Recruit do, “We’ll get the spirit division out here to secure the area and make sure that he really is gone. Until then, this area is sealed off, and we have the parents to question back at the Ministry.”

“Alright,” Harry said, he smiled at Daphne, “See you tonight after Sadie’s appointment, love.”

“See you tonight,” Daphne agreed, kissing him on the cheek, “And you were bloody brilliant today, you know?”

“So were you,” Harry said with a smile.

Bill made a face, “This is sickening. Come on Daphne, we have to go and tell Lara that we cracked the case.”

Daphne chuckled and let him drag her out of the house. It wasn’t until they were outside that she said, “Do you know what? I think I’ll just bow out a little early and let _you_ tell Lara that we cracked the case. That way, you two can catch up properly.”

“Don’t think that I don’t know what you’re doing here!” Bill called as she began to walk away from him.

“I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about!” Daphne called back, grinning at him and slipping between two houses to apparate away.

* * *

_Knock. Knock._

“Bill!”

Bill smiled sadly at her, “Hey Lara. We solved the case for you, but…it’s not exactly happy news.”

Lara’s face fell. She nodded and pulled the door back, “Come in.”

Bill stepped in and followed her to the kitchen.

“Tea?”

“Tea sounds great,” Bill said, sitting down behind her breakfast bar.

“So, Emery is dead, isn’t she?” Lara asked.

“Unfortunately, she is,” Bill replied, “We tried our best to keep it on the down-low, but we had to work with an Auror who has arrested your sister and her husband on suspicion of her murder. Your sister will likely get a minor sentence because she only knew of the act, she didn’t help.”

Lara nodded and let out a shaky breath, “I understand.”

Bill took a breath.

“Oh Merlin, there’s more?” She asked in disbelief.

Bill nodded, “I’m afraid so.”

Lara sat down across from him at the breakfast bar, “What is it?”

“Matthias is dead too,” Bill said quietly, “He died not long after he ran away from home, but his soul has been hanging around. He got a cursed skull to enact his revenge, not realising that it would take his soul not Emery’s. We had to destroy the object and therefore, Matthias’s soul, to break the curse.”

Lara let her head drop into her hands, “My family is so messed up, Bill.”

“I’m sorry,” Bill said, tentatively reaching across and placing his hand on hers.

Lara elaborated, “It was why I loved your family so much. They just took me in, I felt like I would always be at home with them and with…you…” she frowned and shook her head. She pulled her hand out from underneath his and stirred the tea, “Stupid, I know.”

“It’s not stupid,” Bill said quietly, his tone softer than it had been a moment earlier, “Because you did fit in and I was stupid to throw away what we had to run after adventure. I was an idiot, Lara, all I wanted was to break the norm. I wanted adventure and fun, not a wife and kids and a boring desk job. Back then, I couldn’t see that I could have that without losing you.”

“You were young, and rash, and stupid,” Lara said, smiling sadly at him, “We both were, but we learned our lessons, didn’t we? We’ve both been married, we’re both divorced. We’ve seen the real world.”

Bill nodded thoughtfully.

“You moved up in the world,” Lara pointed out, “I researched you after I saw you last. I learned about your hot French wife.”

“She had a fiery French temper too,” Bill said with a sad smile, “She was either hot or cold, there was no in-between, and the age gap between us became an issue. What split you and Greg up?”

Lara sipped her tea and sighed, “A difference of opinions, and cultures. I missed the wizarding world sometimes, and he didn’t get that, he thought we were all a bunch of weirdo’s. He used to get a kick out of telling his friends that he had rescued me from a cult.”

Bill scoffed, “He sounds like an idiot.”

“He was,” Lara admitted, “I don’t know why I married him, to be honest with you. I think I got to a point where I thought that he was the best that I was going to get so I might as well settle. Either way, he wanted kids, and I didn’t, so he left me for his secretary.”

Bill made a face, “What an arse. I didn’t realise that you didn’t want kids, though.”

Lara shook her head, “Not particularly. I didn’t come from a very loving family, as you know. All of this….it’s more a reason to let the line stop with me.”

Bill debated telling her about Victoire, but in the end, it just came out, “I have a kid.”

“Do you?” Lara asked in surprise.

Bill nodded, “She’s called Victoire, I wanted to call her Victoria because she was born in England, but Fleur said she should have a French name.”

“Just call her Vic,” Lara chuckled.

“I do,” Bill said with an amused smile, “She’s 9 months old, and she’s pretty much my whole world.”

“Cool,” Lara said with a fond smile, “Why did you tell me that?”

“Because you said you didn’t want kids and I was seriously thinking about asking you out so I figured that might be pivotal information,” Bill said, looking up to meet her eye.

Lara’s eyes sparkled with amusement, “I don’t want to bring any kids into my family, but I like kids Bill. I’m not so convinced about you asking me out though.”

“Why not?” Bill asked, trying not to sound too hurt.

“Because I don’t want to be your rebound,” Lara said honestly, “You just got divorced and the first woman to come into your life after that was me, a person who you have a lot of history with. I’m the obvious choice for a rebound, even if that is a subconscious choice.”

Bill sighed and looked down into his coffee, “True,” he admitted grudgingly.

Lara reached across the breakfast bar and placed her hand on top of his, “But I wouldn’t say no to being your friend again because right now, I think you need one, and I need someone to help me get back into the wizarding world.”

Bill looked up and smiled warmly at her, “I…I can do that. Friendship sounds great.”

Lara smiled back at him, just as warmly, “Good,” she said decisively.

* * *

“I am never, and I mean, _never_ working with my wife again.”

“Hey Harry, staying for tea?” Lilly asked in amusement.

“Yeah Lil, what you cooking?” Harry asked, peering into the pot.

“Pasta and my spidey senses must have been tingling because I cooked an extra portion,” Lilly said with a grin.

“Nev told you I’d be here because I had to work with Daphne today, didn’t he?”

“Would I?” Neville asked sarcastically.

“Yes, you would,” Harry said, grinning at his partner, “Traitor.”

Neville grinned, “Shut up and grab us both a beer, would you?”

“Oi! Get me one too!” Lilly exclaimed.

“Yes, boss!” Harry joked, disappearing into the pantry and returning with three bottles. He tossed one to Neville, handed one to Lilly and opened his own then he leant against the kitchen counter, "Seriously though, she’s impossible to work with.”

“Dare I ask, why?” Neville asked, clearly finding this entire thing hilarious.

“Well she thinks she can get her way by taking her bloody clothes off for a start,” Harry muttered irritably, “She used cleavage to get information from Mr Borgin.”

“Funny how the things that attracted you to her when you first met are annoying you now,” Lilly said with a sweet smile.

“Oh shut up, Lil, don’t you start,” Harry said with a roll of his eyes, “I’ve been getting this from my inner Hermione all day.”

“Your inner – sorry what?”

Neville barked out a laugh as Lilly tried to process what Harry had just said.

“It’s the little voice in his head, you know the one that keeps you alive and tells you when you’re being a prick? His talks with Hermione’s voice,” Neville grinned.

“ _Hermione_ is your subconscious?” Lilly asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, kind of,” Harry said with a wave of his hand, “But the point is, Daphne can’t just spend the rest of her life putting red lipstick on and popping a button in her blouse to get her own way!”

“Weeeeeeelll…” Lilly said.

Neville snorted at that.

“It pissed me off,” Harry muttered.

“Yeah, I did get that impression,” Lilly said, hiding her smile as she dished out the pasta, “Do you think Daphne liked working with you?”

“Obviously,” Harry scoffed, “I totally cracked the case and controlled fiendfyre. She’s never seen me in Auror mode before, I bet it turned her on.”

“Well I’m sure you’ll find out about _that_ one later,” Neville said as Lilly put three bowls down on the table, “Where’s Ted by the way?”

“Being babysat by his Grandad and Narcissa,” Harry said with a shrug, “Daphne thinks they are friends with benefits, which is gross apparently because they’re old.”

Neville chuckled, “Either way, I doubt Cygnus is doing much of the babysitting.”

“Yeah, I know,” Harry chuckled, “Daphne had to drag Sadie to that antenatal appointment that Theo can’t attend. She was nervous about going because he wasn’t allowed to, so she volunteered in his place.”

“Why can’t he go?” Neville asked curiously.

“It’s a late pregnancy appointment, they will want to do some charms and ask a few questions to make sure she’s not a victim of any sort of domestic or sexual abuse. It’s because they are both purebloods, it’s a precaution to make sure she wasn’t forced into the pregnancy or anything like that,” Lilly said, waving her fork in the air as she spoke.

“That’s horrible,” Harry said with a frown.

“It’s the procedure in the wizarding world,” Lilly shrugged, “I don’t like it much either, but it’s better that they do it than ignore the issue, don’t you think?”

“I suppose so,” Harry said, taking a bite of pasta absentmindedly, “This is really good by the way.”

“Thanks,” Lilly said dryly, raising an eyebrow at him.

“What?” Harry asked defensively.

“You didn’t have to sound so surprised,” Lilly said, only a little defensively.

Neville sniggered into his pasta, “Mate, just shut up and eat, or she’ll either knock you out or kick you out.”

“Yeah okay, sorry Lil,” Harry said sheepishly, taking another bite of his pasta gratefully.

* * *

“See? That wasn’t scary, was it?” Daphne asked with a smile as she led her friend out of the hospital.

“No, but it was offensive,” Sadie muttered irritably, “Daphne, could you slow down a little? I’m the size of a baby whale.”

Daphne snorted, “Hardly Sadie, you’re glowing,” she said, but she did slow down a little.

“I can’t believe they asked me all of those questions about Theo-”

“They were generic-”

“No, they weren’t,” Sadie said, lowering her voice as they left the hospital, “I saw a note in my file next to his surname. They asked those questions because of his family history.”

“Well, you can understand why they have to, surely?” Daphne said softly, “To someone who looks at Theo on paper but doesn’t know him, his background is a little worrying where kids are concerned. But I think she knew that there wasn’t really anything to worry about because she didn’t really question you. She accepted your answer as no to all of the questions really easily.”

“I suppose. Do you think I’m doing that thing where I get really offended over nothing because of hormones?” Sadie asked with a sigh.

“A little bit, yeah,” Daphne admitted, smiling at her best friend, “But you are growing _two babies_ so I think we can all forgive you for that.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” Sadie chuckled.

Daphne just grinned at her, “Come on, let’s get you home to your loving, supporting, sap of a husband!”

“Did you have to say it so loudly?” Sadie laughed.

“Just reaffirming that you and the rest of the world have nothing to worry about,” Daphne said, smiling supportively at her friend.

“I love you,” Sadie said tearfully.

Daphne laughed and pulled her into a hug, “I love you too Sade, but you are super hormonal and tired, so right now, I think you really need to get home.”

“Yeah,” Sadie said through her tears, “That sounds great. Oh, sweet Salazar, why am I crying so much?”

“I don’t know,” Daphne replied through her laughter, “But it’s bloody funny.”

Sadie glared at her pathetically through bloodshot eyes, and the two friends burst into laughter once more.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	79. I Think I Want to Marry You

“Happy Valentines Day!”

Daphne sighed and looked up at Lilly who had just stepped out of the fireplace into the drawing-room, “You know that I don’t do Valentines Day.”

“Oh, come on!” A voice from behind said.

Daphne turned to look at Tracey’s portrait.

“You can’t shun Valentines Day forever just because I died that day,” Tracey said.

“See?” Lilly pointed out, “Not healthy.”

“What’s not healthy is you being here at 7.30am,” Daphne said, turning back to Lilly, “What gives?”

“I just wanted to give you some chocolate,” Lilly said, putting a Honeydukes hamper down on the table, “Because I know how much you hate Valentines Day.”

Daphne smiled, “That’s cute, thanks, Lil.”

Lilly smiled back, “Don’t sweat it. Wanna hear the cheesiest chat up line I can think of since it’s Valentines Day?”

Daphne snorted, “Go for it.”

“Did it hurt? When you fell from heaven?” Lilly asked with an amused grin.

“Did you just call me Satan?” Daphne countered with a frown.

“That is the best response to that question I’ve ever heard,” Lilly chortled as she stepped back into the fire, “Gotta go, have a good day!”

* * *

Daphne was clock-watching. It was Monday, and it was almost lunchtime, she was planning on enjoying every minute of her one hour paid break because she and Bill were having the slowest, more boring day ever. Bill had said that January and February were their slowest months, but she hadn’t thought that it would be _this_ bad.

It was at precisely 1.02pm that the day began to get interesting. There was a bang as the door was pushed open, then a grinning redhead barged into their office.

“Hey! Cheer up guys, aren’t you meant to be saving the world?”

Daphne grinned up at her, “Suse! How are you doing? I haven’t seen you since Christmas!”

“I’ve been busy, travelling, you know?” Susan said, she shrugged off her bag and perched herself on Bill’s desk, “But I need to have a super important chat with my best girl.”

“Right, well I’ll take that as my cue to leave then,” Bill said, pushing himself to his feet.

“No you won’t,” Susan said, placing her hand on his chest and shoving him back into his chair, “You will stay right there for this super important chat because it’s your brother that I’m marrying on Saturday.”

“Marrying?” Daphne asked, her eyes widening, “On Saturday?”

Bill made a face, “You’re marrying Percy? _Percy_. Percy is getting married…someone is marrying Percy?”

“Shh!” Daphne exclaimed, whacking him around the head, “What do you mean you’re getting married on Saturday?”

“Don’t freak out, it’ll be fine,” Susan said cheerfully, “But we need witnesses, and you are my oldest friend.”

Daphne just stared at Susan in disbelief.

“And Perce said that you were his least judgmental brother and therefore his favourite, so he asked if you would be our second witness,” Susan added for Bill’s benefit.

Bill shrugged, “Yeah, I can do that. Marriage is over-rated, though.”

“He also said that you would say that and told me to ignore you because you’re going through a self-pitying phase due to your recent divorce from your hot French model wife,” Susan added.

At this, Bill grinned and leant back in his chair, “I really like the man that Percy has become.”

“Me too,” Susan said, winking at the eldest Weasley and turning to Daphne, “Right my love, have you picked your jaw up from the floor? Will you be a witness?”

Daphne didn’t say anything.

“Witness Daphne, it’s simple. You just need to pick up a quill and sign a piece of paper,” Susan said slowly.

At this Daphne frowned, her eyes snapped up to meet Susan’s, “Hey! Don’t be a condescending cow about it, I’m just wrapping my head around the fact that it’s Monday and you’re getting married on Saturday. I know what a witness is and I’ll be one, even if you are a crazy bitch.”

Susan grinned and hugged her friend, “I love you too. Wear what you want, it’s not a fancy thing, okay? I need you guys at Gretna Green for 4pm on Saturday for the ceremony. Everyone else is coming to the after-party at Bones Manor.”

“I thought Bones Manor was a ruin,” Daphne said.

“It is, but the house elves have maintained the grounds,” Susan said eagerly, “It’s going to be great, I’m talking fire pits and endless alcohol, it’s going to be the biggest party of the year, but it’s just our friend group and the Weasley’s, no point making a big deal of it after all is there?”

“No of course not, it’s only your bloody wedding,” Daphne muttered sarcastically.

“You’re my oldest friend Daphne, and I love you, but sometimes you are such a pureblood, aristocratic old wench,” Susan said with a fond grin, she leant forward and kissed Daphne on the cheek, “See you on Saturday, make sure you get a sitter cause no kids kay? I love Teddy and all, but there’s no place for a baby at a Bones party. Au revoir!”

Without another word, she blew out of the office.

Daphne leant back against her desk and frowned, then looked at Bill, “I…Bill I just…I can’t process this.”

“Yeah,” Bill said, looking at Daphne in amusement, “She has kind of broken you hasn’t she. Are you a robot?” he added, waving his hand in front of her face.

Daphne swiped it away irritably, “Who tells someone they are getting married with less than a weeks’ notice?”

“Susan and Perce apparently,” Bill replied nonchalantly.

“Why are you so calm about this?” Daphne asked, looking at her boss in disbelief.

“Meh, we’re Weasley’s,” Bill said with a grin, “We’re kind of prone to flights of fancy and shotgun marriages. I mean my parents had a shotgun wedding because my Mum fell pregnant with me when she was like 19 and I just had to wrap my head around Charlie dating a 19-year-old, remember? Let alone the fact she’s my best friends, little sister. I don’t think anything could surprise me anymore…”

“I’m pregnant.”

“What?!”

Daphne grinned, “Thought you said nothing could surprise you anymore?”

“I meant within my family,” Bill said, his eyes had about popped out of his head.

“I am your family, I’m married to Harry,” Daphne reminded him.

“Yeah but…well okay fair point but…you’re not actually pregnant, are you?”

“No,” Daphne laughed, “Just wanted to make a point.”

“Well don’t do it again please,” Bill said, resting his hand on his heart, “I’m not a young man anymore, and I can’t lose my best trainee Curse Breaker for the best part of a year because she wants to have a baby. You have a Teddy, that’s enough for you for now, right?”

“Yeah,” Daphne laughed, “But in all seriousness, what are we going to do about _this_ shotgun wedding?”

Bill shrugged and smiled, “Play along and hope it lasts longer than the last Weasley shotgun wedding.”

Daphne frowned, “The last Weasley shotgun wedding…oh, _your_ wedding,” she realised.

Bill rolled his eyes, “You’re a bit slow on the uptake today.”

“Still wrapping my head around the fact that one of my oldest friends is getting married in less than a week,” Daphne said with a shake of her head, “Oh sweet Salazar, how am I going to get a sitter? I’m going to have to beg Andromeda, or my Dad and Narcissa…”

“Are they together yet?” Bill asked curiously.

“No, he just lives with her and shags her,” Daphne said with a disgusted face, “It’s horrible, honestly.”

“Be a Slytherin and use your disgust to make him feel bad, then ask him to babysit on Saturday then,” Bill suggested.

Daphne’s eyes lit up, “Bill! If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m happily married, I could kiss you right now!”

Bill snorted, “I’ve had enough of young blondes thanks,” he joked as he got to his feet and accepted the lunchtime post.

Daphne chuckled at those words and began to sort through the letters he had thrown her way, hoping one of them actually had a good case for them.

* * *

“Harry! Do you have any plans on Saturday?”

“No! Why?”

“We’re going to a wedding!”

“Cool!” Harry called, giving her a thumbs up from the porch of his snake cabin. She was standing in the back doorway, having just put Teddy to bed.

He had gotten home late that night, so he had gone straight to the cabin to feed Dave.

“Cool?” Daphne questioned as she walked across the wet grass and drew her cloak around herself.

“Yeah cool,” Harry said, frowning at her, “Is that not an okay response to give?”

“Well, most people would ask whose wedding we are attending,” Daphne pointed out.

“Oh, I just figured it was someone from the bank or something,” Harry shrugged, he locked the door on the cabin, “Do we have a sitter?”

“Yeah I bribed my Dad into taking Teddy overnight,” Daphne replied offhandedly.

“You bribed – actually do you know what, I’m not going to ask,” Harry decided halfway through the question.

“Yeah, you don’t want to know,” Daphne said with a shake of her head, “And it’s not someone from the bank, it’s Percy and Susan.”

“What?” Harry asked in disbelief, stopping in the middle of the lawn.

“Yeah.”

“Percy and Susan are getting married on Saturday?”

“Yup.”

“This Saturday?”

“Uh-huh,” Daphne said, shivering a little, “Could we maybe talk about this someone other than the lawn by the way?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Harry said sheepishly, dashing towards the warmth of the house.

Once they were in the entrance hall, Daphne locked the backdoor, and they headed towards the kitchen together, this was a ‘need a cup of tea’ kind of conversation after all.

“I found out at lunchtime today because Suse asked Bill and me to be the witnesses,” Daphne said, “It will just be the four of us at Gretna then they are having a party with and I quote, fire pits and endless booze, in the gardens of Bones Manor.”

“Well,” Harry said as he considered this, “Fair play to them. They did make a joke about just grabbing the family and getting married at Gretna at Christmas time, but I didn’t put much stock in it.”

“Neither did I,” Daphne admitted, “But they were obviously serious.”

“And if nothing else, we know it’s going to be one hell of a party,” Harry said, grinning at Daphne as he handed her a cup of tea.

“You better not relapse,” Daphne warned him.

“I won’t,” Harry promised, “I’ll do what I’ve been doing for the last couple of months.”

“Stick to beer, no spirits?” Daphne guessed.

Harry nodded, “And if you think I’m having too many, you kick my arse and tell me to stop before Neville does.”

“Deal,” Daphne agreed.

“So…and I regret asking already, how did you bribe your Dad into watching Teddy?”

Daphne made a face, “You’re gonna wish you hadn’t asked.”

* * *

“Morning, chaps! Shall we have a race this morning so we can all get fit for the impromptu wedding on Saturday?”

“Oh don’t start, Hermione was banging on about it for hours last night,” Draco said with a roll of his eyes as they all left the locker room together, “We got an invite through the post, and she was all, _Draco! How can someone give us less than a week to prepare for a wedding?!_ I don’t quite understand what the problem is, we didn’t have any plans anyway!”

“That’s because, no matter how effeminate you might be, you just don’t get girls,” Neville joked.

“I am not!”

“You kinda are, you take longer on your hair than Hermione, and that’s saying something because have you _seen_ her hair?” Theo remarked.

“And I’m the effeminate one?” Draco asked in disbelief.

Harry snorted, “The truth is that this is Hermione we’re talking about, she’s a control freak. She plans everything in her life down to a tee. I mean she didn’t just plan out how to study for her own exams at school, she planned how Ron and I should study too. She just can’t handle short notice, you know what she’s like.”

“It’s mad though isn’t it?” Theo piped up, “Susan marrying Percy?”

“Nah, makes a lot of sense actually,” Neville said as they began to run, “Susan is impulsive, and although he goes along with her a lot of the time, Percy knows how to reign her in when she needs it. That’s the kind of guy she needs, someone who can be the spontaneous person that she wants him to be but stop her from going too far. If Percy is okay with the idea of marriage, then that means it’s not a totally out-there idea for them, they will have actually discussed it.”

“Wow, that was deep for a Tuesday morning bro,” Theo said.

“Well, he dated her, he would understand her mental state more than we do,” Harry pointed out.

“Exactly,” Draco piped up, “Fancy telling Hermione all of that Nev?”

“Not really,” Neville said, shooting Draco a grin, “I think you need her to give you hell every once in a while, it brings you down a peg or two.”

Harry snorted at that, “Nice one, Nev.”

“Arsehole,” Draco muttered, glaring in Neville’s general direction while Theo sniggered.

“Ladies! Pick up the pace and quit gossiping!” Sumner barked from the centre of the pitch.

“Yes, sir!”

* * *

“So, the hot topic is the shotgun wedding, am I right?” Lilly asked Hermione as she sat in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place.

“Well, obviously,” Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, “Draco told me to shut up about it. He said _it’s their wedding, their choice, it doesn’t matter if you approve or not Hermione_.”

“Well, he’s not wrong,” Lilly said, she glanced pointedly at her friend, “It doesn’t matter if you approve or not.”

“I know, but I just can’t wrap my head around it,” Hermione said with a shake of her head, “How can anyone plan a wedding in a week? I’ve had months, and I’ve only planned 20% of my wedding!”

“Not everyone is a control freak like you, no offence but you did just tell me how much of your wedding you had planned with a percentage,” Lilly said with a small smile.

Hermione made a face, “Yeah, well, I like statistics.”

“I know, you’re a nerd, that’s why we’re friends,” Lilly chortled, “But really with weddings, it’s not all about the perfect dress, the perfect venue, etc. It’s about loving the person you’re marrying.”

“I know, but-”

“There are no buts,” Lilly interjected, “They seemed like a mismatched couple at first but look at them now, there is no denying that they are good for each other. They obviously want to get married, and they are obviously in love.”

“Well yes, they must be, but it is a little bit about the perfect dress and all of that,” Hermione said honestly, “I mean love is the most important part obviously, but appearances do come into it a little.”

Lilly raised an eyebrow at her, “Hermione Granger, so _shallow_.”

Hermione made a face, “Come on, you wouldn’t get married in a red dress, would you?” Hermione pointed out, “The white dress, a nice meal for your guests, a good party, you know? Appearances.”

Lilly grinned and shook her head in amusement, “I can’t believe my ears. Hermione Granger is a closet pureblood, you are a closet Slytherin, aristocratic pureblood!”

“What?” Hermione barked, “I am not a closet pureblood!”

“Oh you kinda are though,” Lilly teased, “Appearances matter, I’m Hermione, and I want to wear a white dress and have a big, white, perfect wedding! The Nott blood in you is showing, Mione. You are a total closet Slytherin, no wonder you get on so well with Draco’s mother.”

“Wow, now that is just offensive,” Hermione said, crossing her arms over her chest but struggling not to laugh.

Lilly grinned, “Admit that I have a point.”

“A very, very vague one,” Hermione admitted grudgingly, “But it’s more of a cultural thing than a pureblood thing. My parents are pretty well off, I grew up in a big house with regular skiing holidays.”

“Lucky you,” Lilly snorted, “The closest I got to a skiing holiday was watching the Winter Olympics on the telly which is why I think Draco is an entitled eejit. That’s why you two don’t actually encounter that many cultural differences in the scheme of things you know? You have a different blood status but the same class.”

A scoff sounded from the doorway at these words, “Class? That implies Hermione has class.”

“Funny,” Hermione said, sending a glare Draco’s way.

“She has more class than you,” Lilly said, raising an eyebrow at Draco, “And more balls. Did you get around to telling her about how you were crying in my hospital wing last week?”

“I wasn’t crying,” Draco muttered irritably, “My eyes were watering in pain.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her, fiancé, “No, you didn’t tell me about that.”

“He got bitten by a plimpy on a training exercise, and he cried,” Lilly said, grinning at Hermione.

“A plimpy?” Hermione asked, hiding her grin behind her wine glass.

“I hate working with you,” Draco said, glaring at Lilly.

Lilly just raised her glass and clinked it against Hermione’s, “Touche,” she said, winking at Draco while Hermione giggled at the exchange.

Draco rolled his eyes, “I’m going to Theo’s,” he said, disappearing through the side door into Theo’s kitchen.

* * *

“Are you sure about this?” Daphne asked as she popped a hair grip into her mouth.

“Letting you loose with my hair or getting married?” Susan joked.

Luna smiled from Susan’s other side, “I think she’s concerned by how quickly you decided to marry Percy.”

“I think you’re right there Luna,” Susan said with a chuckle, “And I’m sure Daphne. I knew Hermione would be sceptical, but I didn’t expect it from you. We were in Divination together, I figured you were with me here, the universe has a plan.”

“The universe does have a plan, and I do believe in fate,” Daphne said honestly, “I’m not sceptical, I was just surprised because of how quickly it was happening.”

“Why wait when you love someone?” Luna asked in her usual dreamy way.

Susan smiled broadly, “Exactly.”

Luna cocked her head at Susan, “I think you need more glitter.”

“Then give me more glitter, I trust you,” Susan said, smiling fondly at the younger woman as she glamoured her up.

Daphne put the final flower in Susan’s hair then wrapped her arms around her friend's neck, hugging her tightly, “And I trust your heart. If this feels right to you, then I’m happy for you Susie.”

Susan grinned, “Thank you for not being a judgmental pain in the arse.”

“Never,” Daphne said, smiling brightly at her friend, “Now, if you had asked Hermione to be a witness on the other hand…”

Susan laughed, “No, no, no. I like Hermione, but I would never be stupid enough to ask her to be a witness. I know she doesn’t approve, but it’s hardly a surprise, is it? Hermione and I are big enough to admit that we are two very different people.”

“But it doesn’t stop you being friends,” Luna said, adding the finishing touches to Susan’s face, “Hermione is quite judgy, but she’s lovely too.”

“It’s no wonder she and Draco are such a good fit,” Daphne chuckled as she conjured up a mirror, “So what do you think Suse?”

Susan grinned at her own reflection. She was wearing a knee-length white off the shoulder dress with a lace-trimmed skirt and Daphne had just weaved white flowers into her hair. Luna had spent the last thirty minutes doing her make-up, and it looked incredible. She had white and silver glitter around her eyes, with real gemstones sparkling in the fresh morning sunlight.

“You look beautiful Suse,” Daphne said, glancing at the time, “But we better hurry up because we need to meet Percy and Bill in five minutes.”

Susan nodded, she kissed Luna on the cheek, “See you at the party soon, Luna. Thank you so much for the make-up.”

Luna pushed herself to her feet with a natural smile, “Anytime. Good luck!”

* * *

“Hey, Bill thanks for – why is Charlie here?”

“Because he insisted on having a chat with you before you got married,” Bill said, he rolled his eyes, “He’s trying to take the moral high ground.”

Percy sighed, “Guys if this is an intervention there is really no need-”

“You’re marrying someone you barely know-”

“We’ve been together since she was in her eighth year Charlie,” Percy cut in, “We’ve travelled together and lived together. This isn’t some spontaneous thing, it’s something that we both want. I don’t expect you to understand that-”

“Why don’t you expect me to understand that?” Charlie asked irritably.

“Well, you can’t exactly take the moral high ground here,” Bill pointed out, “You’re dating a fetus.”

“Oh and Percy is so much better?” Charlie asked in disbelief, “He’s marrying one!”

“Yeah, that really didn’t help your argument,” Bill said, biting back an amused grin, “What is it with us Weasley men and younger women? What’s wrong with women our own age?”

Percy chuckled, “Look, I didn’t start dating Susan because she was young and hot. I started dating her because the moment I met her, I felt like we had a connection. She’s smart, she’s far more mature than she acts and she has the same lust for adventure that I developed after Fred’s death. Both of us have been changed by loss, and we both believe that life is too short to be wasted. I love her, and I know that this is right.”

Bill smiled and patted Percy on the back, “Our little Percy the prick of a prefect has grown up Char.”

Charlie laughed and patted Percy on the back harder, “I’m so proud, Billy.”

Percy rolled his eyes, “Shut up.”

Charlie grinned, “I’ll see you at the after-party, alright? And I’m sorry for interfering, but I wanted to make sure that _you_ were sure of this.”

“You were being a good big brother, in your own psychotic way,” Percy said with a smile, “I get it.”

Bill chuckled and nudged Charlie out of the way, “Off you pop Charlie. Percy only wants his favourite brother to be the witness at his wedding.”

“His favourite brother?” Charlie asked, looking around the garden, “I don’t see a clone of Percy anywhere.”

The other two Weasley’s laughed as Charlie dashed out of the room and left them in peace.

“I’ve been trying not to judge, I mean, how can I? I rushed into marriage with someone way younger than me,” Bill said, putting his arm around his brother's shoulders as they headed towards the chapel, “But what you said to Char back there…it made me realise something for real Perce.”

Percy frowned at him, “What’s that then?”

“I knew that Fred’s death changed you,” Bill said, his voice rough as he spoke about something he had tried to forget about, “It changed all of us, but I knew it changed you more than the rest of us. You thought that we wished it was you instead of him, and I can tell you that not once did _any_ of us think that.”

“I know that now Bill,” Percy said quietly.

“Just let me finish,” Bill said softly, “I figured it had made you have a nervous breakdown, hence the bounty hunter thing. But I can see what it was now, it made you appreciate life and how short it can be. That’s not a bad thing Perce and…loving someone with all that you have, loving them with a passion like that, even if it’s not forever…it can only be a good thing.”

Percy smiled up at his eldest brother, “Thanks Bill,” he said genuinely.

Bill just grinned and dropped his arm from his shoulder when he saw Susan and Daphne waiting for them at the door, “Go get her tiger,” he joked.

* * *

The actual wedding was very short and formal. It was clear that Susan and Percy wanted to be married, but cared very little about the actual ceremony. They gave their vows to each other, and they exchanged rings.

Daphne was intrigued to see the colour of their union. She and Harry had been enveloped by a golden glow when they had gotten married, and Sadie and Theo’s had been silver, but she knew that both of those colours were quite rare.

When their bond was formed and their marriage linked, they kissed and were enveloped in a red glow.

“Red,” Daphne whispered, “That’s interesting.”

“What’s red, desire?” Bill whispered back.

“Desire, strength and passionate love,” Daphne answered.

“They’ll either ace marriage or crash and burn, basically?” Bill asked.

“Basically, yeah,” Daphne said, a smile slipping onto her face, “But I’ve got faith in them.”

Bill smiled too, “Me too.”

Percy drew back, grinning at Susan. She held up her bouquet of flowers and said, “Alright! Party time!”

Daphne laughed as she and Bill followed them out of the chapel. From there they apparated back to Bones Manor where the rest of the guests were gathered. Considering that it was a wedding party, there weren’t many people there, but the gardens of Bones Manor were just as grand as Susan had described.

There were several huge stone-built fire pits. There was a pop-up free bar, and the whole garden was filled with several smaller, walled secluded gardens. Ivy grew up the walls, there were hidden doorways behind vines, and the whole place had a very cool, fairy-tale vibe about it.

The moment they apparated into the garden, Susan and Percy were swamped with people which made it easy for Daphne to seek out Harry and for Bill to slip away somewhere.

“And just like that, she’s a Weasley,” Daphne joked, slipping her hand into Harry’s.

“Another one,” Harry joked.

Daphne laughed, “This place is cool, isn’t it? I haven’t been here since I was a really little kid.”

Harry nodded, his eyes falling thoughtfully on the newlyweds.

“Where are the others?” Daphne asked, drawing him out of his thoughts.

“Oh, Sadie and Theo are running late because Theo was having trouble resizing Sadie’s dress apparently,” Harry said, he grinned at his wife, “Draco and Hermione heard the argument through the wall. I believe the words, ‘I’M NOT THAT FAT YET’ were roared rather loudly.”

“Ouch,” Daphne grimaced.

Harry chuckled, “Neville and Lilly were looking at some old creepy greenhouse they discovered earlier, and Draco and Hermione just went to get drinks.”

“Speak of the devil,” Daphne said as Draco appeared with a tray of firewhiskeys and one bottle of beer, “Where the hell is Neville?”

“Still at the greenhouse,” Harry replied, grabbing the beer from the tray.

“Hey Daphne,” Hermione said brightly when she appeared behind her, fiancé, “How was the ceremony?”

“Short and sweet,” Daphne replied, “Ooh is that for me?” she added, grabbing a cocktail from the tray.

“The other one is Lilly’s, if she ever resurfaces,” Hermione said, putting the tray down on a nearby table and picking up a wine glass.

“Oh, there they are,” Harry said, gesturing over Draco’s shoulder.

They glanced behind them and saw the couple approaching, talking animatedly.

“I know! Three species!” Lilly was saying excitedly.

“And two of them cross-pollinated!” Neville was brimming with excitement.

“What has you two so excited?” Draco asked dryly.

“Venomous tentacula,” Neville and Lilly replied in unison.

“Ugh, don’t talk about them,” Another voice said as Theo walked towards them with his arm in Sadie’s, “My finger still throbs at the very thought.”

“That’s because you’re an idiot,” Lilly said matter of factly, “And you look great Sadie! You’re glowing!”

“Yeah,” Draco said, looking at Sadie, “You’re so…uh…”

“Fat?” Sadie said defensively.

“I was going to say pregnant,” Draco said.

Harry shook his head in disbelief, “And I’m the clueless one apparently,” he muttered.

Hermione cut in before Sadie could start crying, “Theo, we got you a whiskey and Sade, we got you an elderflower wine.”

“Thanks, Hermione,” Sadie said, picking the glass up.

“Oh, is the cocktail for me? Thanks, Mione,” Lilly said, picking up the last glass and handing Neville his firewhiskey.

“We’re not going to stay long since I’m pregnant and boring,” Sadie said as she suppressed a yawn, “I might, if he’s on his best behaviour, let Theo stay out a bit later.”

“Don’t be daft Sade, I’ll go home with you as soon as you want to,” Theo said, putting his hand on her lower back.

Sadie raised an eyebrow at him, “It’s because we had a fight earlier, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Theo admitted sheepishly.

The others just laughed at this then beckoned Susan and Percy over, “Ah it’s the newlyweds!”

“Welcome to married life bro,” Theo said, raising a glass at Percy.

“Just don’t do what we did,” Sadie remarked dryly.

“Don’t worry, no twins in the foreseeable future,” Susan chuckled, “But we had better be super careful because they do run in the family,” she added.

“They do,” Percy agreed, a sad smile gracing his face.

Susan glanced at him apologetically then turned back to her friends, “Anyway guys, enjoy the food and the free bar!”

“We will!” Theo promised her.

* * *

And they did. Sadie and Theo, as predicted, didn’t last long. Molly and Arthur didn’t stay for very long either, and next to go were Ginny and Blaise because they had left Blanche to babysit Hope. Not long after that, Ron left because it was his weekend with Freddie.

As the stragglers all drank together on bench seats around the biggest firepit, the subject of Lara came up between Bill and Charlie.

“Hey, did you meet up with Lara yet?”

Daphne’s ears picked up on that, and she moved closer, “Ooh so you and Lara are going on a date then?”

“No, I’m helping her move back to the wizarding world, and we’re friends,” Bill said, shooting Daphne a knowing look, “And I knew exactly what you were doing that whole time you know? You would never have given me a case to pursue unless you had thoroughly researched it first, so you _knew_ that Emery had magical heritage and you knew that Lara was my childhood sweetheart.”

Daphne grinned, “Guilty, _but_ it did get you out of your rut, didn’t it?”

“It did brother, she’s got a point,” Charlie said, nudging him in the ribs.

Bill smirked, “Maybe it did, but unlike you Charlie, I have learned a thing or two from the Slytherins that I’ve dated.”

“You’ve dated Slytherins?” Daphne asked in disbelief.

“Oh yeah, course I have,” Bill replied with a mischievous grin, “I could have been one actually. Everyone knows I’m ambitious after all, don’t they?”

“You were a hat stall,” Daphne realised, “Of course you were a hat stall, that makes sense. I always knew there was a reason why you were the only Weasley I liked,” she shot Charlie a grin.

Astoria chuckled by his side, “Polite Daph.”

“I’m not even surprised anymore,” Charlie said as he swigged his beer, “Bill is everyone’s favourite.”

“Well, he’s not _my_ favourite,” Astoria said, slipping her hand into Charlie’s.

Daphne rolled her eyes at the exchange and looked at Bill, “So you knew all along?”

“Of course I did,” Bill replied smoothly.

“Yeah, that’s why he asked Sumner to bring me along,” Harry said from Daphne’s other side.

Bill shot the younger man a warning look, but Harry being Harry didn’t notice.

“Sorry, what?” Daphne asked, turning to look at her husband.

“Yeah Bill and Sumner go way back, so he asked Sumner to bring me along,” Harry said, digging the hole even deeper for Bill, “He thought it would be a laugh, serve you right for dragging him to see his ex.”

“Harry,” Bill groaned, “What are you telling her that for?”

“Oh,” Harry’s face fell, “Shit, I wasn’t meant to tell her that was I?”

“No, you bloody idiot, you weren’t,” Bill said with a shake of his head.

Charlie guffawed, “Oh, this could be good cause I reckon Daphne could kick your arse into next week, easy.”

At this Daphne grinned, “I take it back Charlie, you’re my favourite.”

Charlie laughed loudly.

Daphne crossed her arms and looked over at Bill, “I can’t believe you got one over on me.”

Bill grinned and winked at her, “Never judge a book by its cover Daphne.”

“I’m still not happy about the fact you set me up though,” She added.

“Yeah well we can fight that out at the office on Monday,” Bill said as he got to his feet,

“Woah, you’re going already?” Charlie asked his brother.

“Yeah, it’s after midnight Char,” Bill said, throwing his coat on, “I’ve got Vic tomorrow, got to be fresh for a day of tower building and blanket fort making.”

“You’re such a good dad, it’s sickening,” Harry said with a shake of his head.

“Shut up, you’re a ridiculously good dad, it’s annoying how cute it is sometimes,” Daphne said, slapping him around the back of the head.

Bill laughed and bowed out before anyone else could try and stop him.

“He loves that kid,” Charlie said, smiling fondly at his brothers retreating form.

“She is a pretty awesome kid to be fair,” Daphne said, glancing around the fire pit at the remaining guests. They were down to herself and Harry, Charlie and Astoria, George and Angelina, Draco and Hermione, Neville and Lilly, and the newlyweds themselves.

Up until that point, they had all been sitting around the fire talking or dancing to whatever song the wizarding radio was playing. But Daphne decided that it was time to make things a little more interesting. She got to her feet and said, “Alright, time for a good old round of truth or shots!”

Hermione groaned, “I’m going to die.”

“Yes, but of embarrassment or alcohol poisoning?” Draco teased.

Susan laughed, “Yes! Truth or shots! I haven’t played that in ages!”

“I brought the pack of questions, just in case,” Daphne said with an amused chuckle as she took them out of her handbag, “I’ll spell them so that one card flies to each person around the fire in turn.”

She cast a spell on the cards, and the deck floated away from her, landing on the nearest table.

The first card floated from the top of the deck towards Susan, who reached up and caught it deftly.

“Remember, tell the truth and if you can’t, take a shot. If you tell a lie, you get hexed,” Daphne said, reminding people like Charlie who probably hadn’t played this since his school days, of the rules.

Susan laughed as she read the card, “Alright so my question is, “Have you ever been handcuffed? If so, by who and in what circumstances?”

Percy chortled knowingly at that, which made the others listen with interest to her answer, “Yes, I have been handcuffed. Percy and I may have indulged in the really obvious bounty hunter role play once…or twice.”

“Oh come on, enough of us are married to Aurors here to accept that,” Daphne said, grinning at Harry, “I mean, who hasn’t right?”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed, and Draco smirked, giving away _their_ answer to that question.

At that point, a card floated into Percy’s hand, and he snorted when he read it, “I have, ‘What personality trait do you try and hide when you want to impress someone?’ and the answer is my entire nerdy personality. Most of you know what I used to be like and the truth is that I’m still that person, minus the smarminess, underneath the whole bounty hunter act.”

“He acts tough, but once the leather is off, he’s just a nerd reading a book about plants in a bath,” Susan said, nudging her husband in the side.

“Sounds familiar,” Lilly said, shooting Neville a grin.

Neville just grinned sheepishly.

Another card flew out of the deck and this time it headed for Charlie.

Charlie grinned and said, “So my card says, ‘Who in this room do you think could actually get away with murder?’ and that is an easy one. The answer is 100%, Daphne Potter.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Me?”

“Yep,” Charlie said, leaning back to survey her, “You work with cursed objects, you could make it look like an accident, and you’re married to future Head Auror Harry Potter who could make it all go away because his love for you is stronger than his moral compass.”

Daphne scoffed, “He’d hardly cover up a murder for me, Charlie.”

Harry grimaced, “Weeeeellll…”

Daphne’s eyes widened, “You’d cover up a murder for me?”

“I’d do pretty much anything for you so…yeah,” Harry said, meeting her eye.

“That’s so romantic,” Daphne said softly.

“Since when is covering up murder for someone romantic?” George asked incredulously. He looked at Angelina and shook his head, “Thank Godric, you’re not a Slytherin.”

Harry laughed at that as a card landed in Astoria’s hand. She glanced down at it warily and turned slightly red, “Well, the card says, ‘What is something you have tried sexually and will never try again?’ and since there is no way I’m answering that, I’ll take a shot.”

“Ooh, our first forfeit!” Daphne teased her sister, “Susie, you’re the bride. Pick Astoria’s poison.”

“If she’s anything like her big sis, it’s got to be tequila,” Susan said, flicking her wrist in the direction of the bar.

Astoria groaned as a shot of tequila drifted towards her, “I hate you, Susan, because I am like my big sister, too much sometimes.”

Daphne smiled apologetically at her, “Sorry Tori, the game is the game so drink up!”

Astoria made a face as she knocked back the shot of tequila, “Ugh, disgusting.”

Charlie chuckled and patted her on the back, “It’s cute how much of a lightweight you are,” he teased, earning himself a slap around the head.

Daphne laughed at her sister's expense as a card floated into her hands. She read it then laughed, “Well my card says, ‘If you had to play matchmaker, which two friends would you set up?’ which I find pretty fitting because I basically set up Astoria and Charlie. Oh and Bill and Lara are totally going to rekindle their love, and I set that one up too.”

“You also kind of set up Draco and I,” Hermione pointed out with a smile, “You’re pretty good at it.”

“You kinda are,” Harry agreed.

“Maybe I’ll make a career out of it,” Daphne joked as a card landed in Harry’s hand.

Harry looked down at the card nervously and breathed a sigh of relief when he realised that it wasn’t sexual, “My question is, ‘Who in this group, has the worst ex?’ which is an interesting one.”

“Well, it’s not me, my ex was boring,” Percy said, smiling at Susan, “I’ve moved up in the world.”

“And I kind of didn’t date before Percy, so it’s not me,” Susan said in amusement, “I mean Neville has to be in the running though, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah Hannah kind of went a bit pyscho in the end,” Neville agreed.

“A bit?” Lilly asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Harry nodded, “Oh yeah, Neville is definitely in the running, but honestly, I reckon it’s got to be Daphne.”

Daphne frowned, “What?”

“I mean your ex is Draco,” Harry elaborated, “So yeah, it’s definitely you.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “Fuck you, Potter.”

“I’d really rather not Malfoy,” Harry said, smirking at him, “You ought to go ask Theo if that’s what you’re after.”

Hermione snorted, “It’s cute how you two revert to surnames when you bicker, you know.”

“Especially since Draco hasn’t been a Malfoy for _ages_ ,” Daphne added, sharing an amused look with Hermione.

Hermione chuckled and looked over at Neville as a card floated into his hand, “Oh good Godric, why do I always get the sexual questions?” he muttered with a shake of his head.

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, “Go on.”

“My card says, ‘If you could have a threesome with two people in this room, who would you choose?’ and I’m seriously thinking about taking a shot, so I don’t have to answer it,” Neville said as the colour rose in his cheeks.

“Oh come on Neville, don’t let the side down!” Harry exclaimed, “Only Tori has forfeited so far, and that’s to be expected from a Slytherin.”

“Hey!” Astoria objected.

“He has a point though,” Charlie said, nudging her in the ribs.

“Yeah come on Longbottom, just answer the question, I’m sure your missus won’t get too pissed off,” George piped up.

“As long as I’m one of the people,” Lilly said, looking pointedly at him.

“Well, obviously you are,” Neville said with a roll of his eyes, “It’s the other one I’m less willing to confess about.”

“Implying you know the answer already, so you’ve already thought about it,” Daphne said, raising an eyebrow at him, “It’s Harry, isn’t it?”

“What?” Harry and Neville asked with identical disbelief and disgust.

“No,” Neville said as he made a face, “No offence Harry, I love you, man, but I don’t ever want to shag you.”

“Absolutely no offence taken,” Harry said, making the same face.

“So who is it then?” Draco asked, “You’ve said enough now, you’re not getting away with a forfeit.”

Neville grimaced, “My answer is Lilly and Hermione.”

Hermione’s eyes widened, “What?”

“Well, it makes sense,” Harry said, grinning at Neville’s discomfort, “Lilly and Hermione are similar, and everyone knows that Neville had a massive crush on her in school.”

“I did not know that,” Draco said, glaring at Neville, “But I do know lots of dark curses so back off Longbottom.”

Lilly shook her head in disbelief and caught Hermione’s eye, “Hit him, please.”

Hermione obliged and hit Draco around the back of the head, “It’s a hypothetical question, idiot.”

“I love you too, honey,” Draco muttered, rubbing the spot where she had hit him.

Lilly leant across Hermione and lowered her voice, “Stop being an over-protective idiot or I’ll tell everyone about the plimpy incident.”

Hermione sniggered as Lilly grabbed the card that had floated over her way. She looked down at it and chuckled, “Oh, here we go. Right well, my question is, ‘What is the craziest thing that you have done while drunk?’ and before I answer, I need to give you all a bit of background. You have to remember that I’m a Muggle-born from a really shitty part of London, right? So this happened when I was about 16, in-between sixth and seventh year.”

“Yeah we don’t need your life story Moon,” Draco said, smirking at her, “Just your embarrassing tale so get on with it.”

Lilly stuck her tongue out at him, “Shut it, Black. Right well, that summer I was out camping with my friends, and the police showed up and drunk me thought it would be a good idea to…flash the police officer.”

A bout of laughter went around the friend group at these words.

“You flashed a muggle police officer?” Neville asked, crying with laughter.

“Guess you always had a thing for law enforcement Lil,” Susan said, winking at her friend.

“Yeah, yeah, very funny,” Lilly said, shaking her head and nudging Hermione as a card hovered in front of her face.

Hermione grabbed the card and muttered, “At least I didn’t get that question because my answer would have been shagged Harry Potter.”

Lilly giggled at this and Hermione glanced down at her card, “Oh no…”

Harry grinned wickedly, “Go on…”

Hermione grimaced, “My question is, Have you ever had a threesome?”

Susan raised an eyebrow at her, “And have you? Because if your answer was no, you wouldn’t have said ‘oh no’ when you read the card.”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed as she looked over at Draco. He shook his head, then she said, “I’m going to say no.”

Harry snorted, “What does _that_ mean? You hesitated but then said no?”

“I had to think about it,” Hermione muttered.

“You’d know if you’ve had a threesome or not,” Lilly chortled, “It’s not the kind of thing you tend to forget about.”

“Or need to think about,” Bill snorted.

“Unless…” Susan’s eyes widened, “No way!”

“What?” Hermione asked nervously.

“Unless you have had sex with other people before, but it wasn’t a threesome,” Susan said, eyeing Hermione with interest.

Harry grinned, wickedly, “Well there’s an easy way to get to the bottom of it, isn’t there? She gets hexed if she lies.”

“Harry,” Hermione groaned.

“How many other people?” Harry asked.

“Three,” Hermione muttered.

“Draco was one of them, I guess?” Harry questioned.

“Obviously,” Hermione said, glaring at her friend.

“Were the other two people Theo and Sadie by any chance?” Harry asked.

Hermione looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole, “Yes.”

Neville whistled, “Well, you really are a foursome, aren’t you?”

“She is having Theo’s twins, yeah?” Percy joked.

Draco snorted, “Yes, I’m not getting the blame for that one.”

Daphne smirked.

“You knew then?” Susan sniggered.

“Oh I’ve known for ages,” Daphne said smugly, “Didn’t take much to wheedle it out of her.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“I was sworn to secrecy, sorry babe,” Daphne said slyly.

“I just can’t quite believe it,” Susan said, smirking at Hermione, “Hermione Granger,” she tutted and shook her head.

“It’s always the good girls,” Charlie said, shooting Astoria a knowing look.

“That is enough about _that_ ,” Daphne said, making a face and thrusting a card at Draco, “Let’s move on, shall we?”

Draco looked down at his card. He could have rolled his eyes at the question he had been given. He sighed and said, “My card says, ‘What is the stupidest thing you have done in front of a crowd?’ which is a dick question because the answer is obviously hugging Lord Voldemort.”

Those who had witnessed the exchange couldn’t help but laugh at this, Neville more than most, “Oh, that was good.”

“It had to be the most awkward hug ever,” George chortled.

“Thanks, guys,” Draco said dryly, “One of the most traumatising moments in my life, but I’m glad it gives you all a good laugh.”

“Draco, they didn’t mean it like that,” Harry began to say.

However, before he could finish, Draco got to his feet and stalked off. Hermione looked apologetically at them, “Sorry, I’ll go and stroke his bruised ego. You know Draco, he gets melancholy when he gets drunk.”

Daphne nodded, “Yeah, go and give him a kiss to cheer him up, he’ll get over it soon enough,” she joked.

Hermione smiled, “I will, you guys finish your game,” she added, jogging off after Draco.

The next person to be asked was Angelina, she looked down at her card and cringed, “Well my card asks if I have ever lied to get out of having sex with my partner and the answer is yes.”

“What?” George asked in mock disbelief, placing his hand upon his heart.

“When you had me trial those love bite chocolates, I said they had a side effect of a really bad headache,” Angelina said, cringing once more, “Because I just really wasn’t in the mood.”

“What?” George asked again, “Angie! I didn’t put those into production because of that!”

“Sorry!” Angelina said apologetically while the others laughed.

George was still shaking his head as his card floated into his hand, “Ooh, my card asks what my guilty pleasure is, and I’ve got to be honest with you guys, I love a hot bubble bath with scented candles.”

This revelation got a huge laugh, and the game carried on in that vein. As they got through the cards, the questions got far more revealing, so more and more people chose shots over having to tell the truth. As such, by the time Draco and Hermione returned a good half an hour later, everyone had given up on the game, and very few people could be considered as sober anymore.

It was at this point that Harry questioned Draco on the ‘foursome’.

“So,” Harry said, he thought it was subtle, Draco really didn’t.

“Don’t.”

“Come on!” Harry said, “You’ve got to explain how that foursome works.”

“It’s not a foursome, it’s not a recurring thing,” Draco muttered, he sipped his firewhiskey, “It was a one-time thing after graduation.”

“In my house!”

“I’m sure it’s seen worse,” Draco snorted.

“Seriously though, how did it work?”

Draco raised an eyebrow at him, “You’re really curious, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Harry admitted sheepishly.

“Fine,” Draco chuckled, “You really want to know, that’s fine. But don’t complain once I’ve told you.”

“Deal,” Harry said quickly.

“I shagged Hermione, Theo shagged Sadie,” Draco said with a shrug, “The only difference was that we were all naked and Hermione and Sadie were snogging.”

“Okay. I’m officially jealous,” Harry said, glancing inadvertently at Daphne.

Draco snorted, “The ice queen would never go for it, she doesn’t share.”

“Lilly wouldn’t go for it anyway,” Harry mused.

Draco chuckled, “Wouldn’t be so sure about that. Charlie was right earlier, it is the quiet ones you need to watch out for.”

Harry cursed himself for asking Draco about it because now he was curious. And that was what he ended up discussing with Neville as they sat around the firepit, sometime around 2am in the morning.

“Nev.”

“Harry,” Neville whispered.

Harry asked, “Do you think our other halves would ever go for the foursome thing?”

Neville snorted, “I wondered how long it would take you to ask about that.”

“Do you though?” Harry asked him curiously.

“Nah,” Neville said with a shake of his head, “Lil is too shy, and Daphne is too sophisticated.”

“Yeah, but Sadie and Hermione did it,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “I can’t quite get my head around that one.”

“Or stop thinking about it?” Neville guessed, shooting Harry an amused look, “Me either, Hermione’s hot.”

“So is Sadie.”

“You would think so, you like blonde’s,” Neville chuckled.

“And you like brunettes,” Harry countered with an amused smile, “If they were up for it, would you do it?”

“Yeah, I’d do it. Would you?” Neville countered.

“Uh, obviously,” Harry replied.

* * *

Daphne sat down on a wall on the other side of the firepit next to Lilly, “Drink?”

“Ooh, thank you,” Lilly said as she took the glass from Daphne, “What do you think those two are talking about?”

“I know what those two are talking about,” Daphne said, she shot her friend an amused look, “A foursome.”

Lilly frowned, “Really?”

“Yes, I think Harry is jealous,” Daphne said, she shook her head in amusement.

Lilly snorted, “As if they think we would go for that. I, for one, do not have the confidence.”

“Why not?” Daphne asked curiously.

“Why not?” Lilly scoffed, “Are you for real? I’m short, plain and nerdy, and you’re you.”

“What’s that’s supposed to mean?” Daphne laughed.

Lilly raised an eyebrow at her friend, “Look at yourself. You were voted the most attractive girl in our year for a reason, Daph.”

“So now you’re hitting on me?” Daphne asked with an amused grin, “I thought I was the flirty one in this friendship.”

Lilly laughed out loud, “I didn’t think that’s what I was doing, but if that’s the way you wanna interpret it, feel free.”

Daphne chuckled, “Don’t be so down on yourself, Lil,” she said.

The shorter girl was looking into her drink and refusing to meet Daphne’s eye. Daphne put her finger under her chin and forced her to look up, “You are short, but you’re not plain or nerdy, you’re cute.”

Lilly met her eye, “Whose hitting on who now?” She joked.

* * *

“Neville!”

“What?”

“Look,” Harry muttered, “But don’t make it obvious you’re looking.”

Neville tried to subtly look over at his fiancé, who was currently looking into the eyes of Harry’s wife.

“Are they just going to do this every time they get drunk?” Neville asked, but he didn’t sound irritated about that fact.

At that point, Daphne kissed Lilly and Harry, and Neville gaped like a couple of stupid fish.

“Yeah, I think they probably are,” Harry answered.

He got to his feet, then grabbed Neville’s shoulder to steady himself, “Right we’re both tipsy, and those two are drunk, so I’m jumping on the chance while we’re all stupid enough to do it,” Harry said cheerfully, “Come along, Nev.”

“I’m not a fucking dog,” Neville muttered, but he followed Harry anyway.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	80. Somewhere Only We Know

Nobody felt good the morning after Susan and Percy’s wedding. Nobody woke up earlier than midday and nobody woke up feeling healthy. Draco and Hermione had crashed at Potter Manor because, for some reason, they always ended up back at the same house after significant events.

As such, they would awake to sober up potions on their bedside tables because Harry and Daphne had the best house-elves. When Daphne woke up that morning, she felt sick to her stomach. She blinked away the blurriness then became aware of the fact that Harry was not the only person in her bed.

“Oh sweet Salazar,” She muttered as she shimmied out of bed, slipped on a green, silken dressing gown and knocked back the hangover potion. Her eyes widened as memories of the night that were fuzzy, became clear.

“Holy Helga…” she muttered as she slipped into the ensuite bathroom, washed her face and brushed her hair, “ _That_ happened.”

She gave herself a shake, drank a glass of water then walked back into the bedroom to awake the _three_ sleeping figures in her bed. On the bedside table, there were three hangover potions, and she had a feeling all of them were going to be gratefully accepted.

“Guys!” Daphne said loudly, “Guys!”

They began to stir, but the first to become fully aware of her surroundings was Lilly. She looked over at Neville then felt another body behind her and jumped in alarm when she realised that it was Harry. She sat up, and her head spun, “I’m going to be sick.”

“Drink that quickly,” Daphne said, thrusting the potion at her.

Lilly knocked it back, and Daphne began to say, “But it will make your memories of last night clear so you might want to hide your-”

“Oh my…” Lilly said in horror as the memories came back, “Oh…oh my god!”

“- face,” Daphne finished as Lilly put a pillow in front of her face.

This exchange had woken Harry and Neville up. They both looked bleary-eyed and confused as they looked between Lilly, who was dying of embarrassment and Daphne, who was leaning in the bathroom doorway, looking vaguely amused.

“Drink these,” Daphne said, handing each of them a vial, “You’ll feel better, and you’ll remember. Harry Potter, do not think you are getting away with this by the way. You had far too much to drink last night.”

Both men knocked back the hangover potions (Harry with an apologetic glance at his wife), and they began to remember the night in more vivid detail.

“Oh good Godric,” Neville muttered.

“Lilly!” Harry exclaimed in surprise.

“I know,” Lilly muttered from underneath her pillow.

Neville looked over at Harry, “Um…wow…this is awkward…”

“Yeah…” Harry agreed, “Are we all okay with the things that happened last night?”

“No,” Lilly groaned.

Daphne grinned and removed the pillow from her face, “Too late, Lil, you already did them.”

“I hate you,” Lilly said as Daphne handed her a pink, silken gown.

“None of it could be considered cheating, right?” Harry asked, looking specifically at his wife.

“Considering we were all a part of it, I’m inclined to say no,” Daphne replied, she shot him an amused smile, “Am I the only one who doesn’t want to die of embarrassment right now?”

“Yes,” Lilly muttered as she slipped the gown on and ran away into the bathroom.

“I don’t know how I’m going to look at your wife the same way again,” Neville said to Harry with a shake of his head.

“I don’t know how I’m going to look Lil in the eye at work,” Harry admitted.

Daphne just grinned, “Well I had a lot of fun, but I don’t think it’s an experience to repeat.”

“No,” Harry agreed, “No, not when I need to work with Lilly and Neville. Oh my god, Neville, we’re gonna be Auror partners, and we just did that. Nobody can ever find out, okay?”

“Agreed,” Neville said.

“Good luck with that since Hermione and Draco stayed here last night and will, therefore, be in our kitchen this morning,” Daphne said. She stepped into the walk-in wardrobe.

“If Draco finds out he’ll tell everyone,” Harry whined.

“Especially if he finds out the details.”

“Nobody will ever find out the details,” Harry said.

Daphne emerged from the wardrobe, “You got that babe? I don’t care how close you and Draco are, you never tell him the details.”

“Or what?”

“Don’t start that again,” Neville muttered as he rubbed his eyes, “Challenging him last night is what started this whole thing.”

“No, her and Lilly snogging last night started this whole thing,” Harry argued.

“Basically, it’s all your fault, Daphne,” Neville finished.

“Well, you weren’t complaining last night,” Daphne said in a sing-song voice as she walked into the bathroom.

“Draco’s going to find out, isn’t he?” Harry asked.

“Yep,” Neville replied.

“And he’s going to tell Theo.”

“Yup.”

“And everyone at training is going to know by Monday night.”

“Sounds about right,” Neville said as he looked up at the top of the four-poster bed, “Is this the actual size of your bed, by the way?”

“Yeah,” Harry admitted sheepishly.

“Bet it didn’t ever cross your mind that it might have four people in it one day,” Neville joked.

“Nope, it didn’t…”

* * *

In the ensuite bathroom, Daphne leant against the shower cubicle and said, “Are you drowning yourself in there?”

“No, but the thought is tempting.”

Daphne chuckled, “It was a bit of fun, don’t worry about it. Okay?”

Lilly opened the cubicle by a fraction and peered out, “Don’t worry about it? I’ve got to face your husband at work after that.”

“It will be awkward for a few days, and then it will fade,” Daphne said with an amused smile, “He’s more concerned about Draco and Theo finding out.”

“They’ll tell everyone at work,” Lilly groaned.

“No, they won’t,” Daphne said with a shrug, “Because they won’t want everyone to know about their foursome, will they?”

“Oh for the love of the founders,” Lilly said, resting her head against the glass, “We’re a foursome.”

“Oh come on, we always were. We just didn’t explicitly discuss it like the other did,” Daphne snorted as she began to run the bath.

“And we didn’t think our other halves were gay for each other,” Lilly added with an amused grin, “Can I borrow your shampoo?”

“Of course,” Daphne replied, handing it in to her, “You’re right, Harry and Neville are nowhere near as homoerotic as Draco and Theo, but then again, neither of them are proper purebloods.”

At this, Lilly laughed, “So what you’re saying is that the other four are proper purebloods, and we’re what bargain-basement purebloods?”

“Exactly,” Daphne said with a grin.

“What does that make Suse?” Lilly chuckled.

“Oh, Merlin knows,” Daphne laughed in response.

* * *

Thankfully, the ‘foursome’ ended up in the kitchen before Draco and Hermione that morning.

“What time did we come home last night?”

“You mean, this morning?” Harry asked.

“I dunno but I think the sun was coming out,” Neville replied.

“Yeah I think so too,” Daphne said, “Harry, did you and Draco slow dance?”

Harry made a face, “Yeah…who dared us to do that?”

“Neville,” Lilly snorted.

“It was a pretty good night though, right?” Harry asked.

“Oh yeah, it was one hell of a night,” Daphne replied, “But do you know what I would kill for right now?”

“A fry up?” Harry guessed.

“Yes,” Daphne sighed.

“Oh Daph, you are a woman after my own heart,” Neville joked.

“Watch it,” Harry said in amusement.

“Yeah, after last night, anything is possible,” Lilly agreed with an amused chuckle.

* * *

A couple of floors up, Hermione woke up with the strong suspicion that she was going to throw up.

“Sober up potion on the bedside table,” Draco mumbled from her side.

Hermione blinked a couple of times and saw the potion. She knocked it back in one then lay down on her back on the bed, “I feel sick.”

“I’m not surprised, you were doing shots until 3am, or maybe it was 4am,” Draco said, stretching out and turning to look at her, “Amongst other things.”

Colour rose in Hermione’s cheeks, “Oh my god, that happened.”

“Oh _that_ happened alright,” Draco said, grinning smugly at her.

Hermione shook her head, “I…I can’t believe we did that. Why did you let us do that? We had sex in Susan’s garden! Anyone could have seen us! Do you think they did?”

“Pretty sure we would have heard about it now if they had,” Draco snorted.

Hermione glared at him, “It’s not funny.”

“It is funny because I knew you would freak out the minute you sobered up,” Draco said with a grin, “You’re so uptight when you’re sober.”

“Uptight?” Hermione fumed, “You…you’re an arsehole.”

Draco snorted, amused that she couldn’t come up with much more than arsehole.

Hermione lay back down and shut her eyes, fuzzy memories coming into focus, “Did you slow dance with Harry last night?”

“Yeah, he stood on my toes _a lot_.”

“Are you embarrassed about anything you did?” Hermione asked, opening one eye to look at him.

“Oh I’m moderately embarrassed about hugging Neville, that was a moment of weakness.”

“But slow dancing with Harry and shagging me 10 metres away from the party wasn’t?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

Draco grinned at her, “Nah. Do you remember what we happened when we got back?”

Hermione frowned, “No…”

“Harry, Daphne, Neville and Lilly all disappeared,” Draco reminded her, “We got back, and there was a red tie on the door of Harry and Daphne’s bedroom.”

“So?”

“So Harry was wearing a blue tie last night,” Draco said, shooting her a grin, “ _Neville_ was wearing a red tie.”

Hermione’s eyes widened, “Holy crap!”

“Yep,” Draco said in amusement, “Do you smell bacon?”

“You’re unbelievable,” Hermione muttered.

“ _You_ were unbelievable last night,” Draco said, winking at her.

* * *

“Good morning,” Draco said with a grin.

“Good morning,” Harry said cautiously.

“Good night?” Draco asked as he and Hermione stepped into the kitchen.

“Yeah…” Harry said slowly, “You?”

Daphne just shot her friend an amused look and asked, “How’s your back this morning, Mione?”

Hermione frowned, “What do you mean? Did I hurt my back last night?”

“I don’t know, did you? Those walled gardens are pretty haphazard, anything could have poked you anywhere,” Daphne teased, waggling her eyebrows at her friend.

Hermione flushed with colour, “Oh my god. Draco, you said no one knew!”

“No, I said I figured we would have heard about it by now if they knew,” Draco corrected her.

“Had to save the slagging for the morning, sorry,” Harry said, grinning at them in amusement.

“Oh you and me both,” Draco grinned, “Seems Theo and I aren’t as unique as we thought.”

“Oh fuck, he knows,” Neville muttered.

“Of course I know, you idiot,” Draco retorted, “Why else would _your_ tie have been on the door to Harry and Daphne’s bedroom?”

Harry looked at Daphne in disbelief.

The blonde woman grimaced, “I thought you were the one wearing the red tie,” she said to Harry.

“Daphne!” Harry groaned.

“Please don’t tell Theo,” Lilly begged.

“Of course he’ll tell Theo,” Neville said, “They are joined at the hip.”

“Oh no,” Draco said with a shake of his head, “No more gay jokes about me and Theo. You two are on a par now.”

Lilly let her head drop onto the table.

Daphne set cups of tea and coffee in front of everyone, “Let’s just make one thing clear. If this goes beyond our friend group, to say our places of work? I will make sure that everyone in the Auror department knows about you and Theo declaring your love for each other on the Astronomy Tower back in eighth year. I’ll play the memory to the whole ministry.”

“Is she serious?” Draco asked, glancing at Hermione.

“Oh, she’s serious,” Hermione said, “Never test Daphne when it concerns her career or Harry’s.”

“Okay,” Draco said, frowning at his friend, “You scare me. I’ll tell Theo, and I’ll relay that threat, you know he’s scared enough of you to keep his mouth shut.”

“Good,” Daphne said cheerfully. She sipped her coffee and asked, “Now, where did Susan and Percy go last night? They were more drunk than any of us.”

“I’m pretty sure they crashed in a tent in the garden,” Lilly replied.

“Classy,” Draco said, looking pointedly at Harry.

Harry rolled his eyes and looked at the clock, “Funny Draco. Daph babe, we need to pick Teddy up from your dad in like…3 minutes. Do you want me to go?”

“Yeah, love, that would be great,” Daphne replied, “I’ll have breakfast sorted before you come back.”

“Perfect, I love you,” Harry said, kissing her lightly then disappearing into the fireplace.

“When did we all get old, boring and domestic?” Neville asked in amusement.

“Last night was not boring or domestic,” Lilly murmured, she still had her head in her hands.

Hermione bit her lip in amusement, “Are you okay, Lil?”

“She’s still a bit embarrassed,” Neville said, patting his girlfriend on the head.

“Sadie was like that after our…thing,” Draco said with a grin, “Couldn’t look you in the eye for a week, could she love?”

“Can we _not_ compare experiences?” Hermione asked with a grimace.

Draco grinned over at his friends, “I’m going to be able to use this one for weeks.”

“That’s not fair, Draco. They wouldn’t have held it against us if they had known,” Hermione argued.

“Oh, they would have,” Draco said, meeting Harry’s eye, “You two little shits would have.”

“We would not have!” Harry objected.

Neville snorted, “Nah Harry, let’s be honest, we totally would have.”

“So let the weeks of blackmail begin!” Draco said, clapping his hands together gleefully.

“I don’t know why you put up with him, honey,” Daphne said to Hermione. She shot Draco a long-suffering look.

“Neither do I sometimes,” Hermione muttered, glaring half-heartedly at Draco.

“She loves him really,” Neville said, without looking up from his book about plants.

“All the good girls love a bad boy,” Lilly agreed. She crossed her feet underneath her and opened up the book that she had been resting her head on, “Oh wow, who wants to see this picture of a guy with his head caved in?”

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Hermione said, dashing from the room.

Daphne made a face, “Way to put me off my breakfast, Lil.”

“Lightweight,” Lilly said, grinning wickedly at her friend.

Daphne shook her head in amusement and started to pull breakfast ingredients out of the pantry. She glanced over at her friends as she did and couldn’t help herself as a smile came to her lips. They were crazy, but they were her family, and she loved them all so much.

* * *

“Lilly! You have to come and see this!”

Lilly looked up from her book in surprise. Neville had just run into the house, slightly sweaty and muddy after his morning walk. It was February now, and the crisp air began to disappear earlier in the mornings, so Neville had begun exploring the gardens in the wake of spring when he and Lilly planned to spruce them up.

“Jeez Nev, what have you found, buried treasure?” Lilly joked as she pulled her coat on.

“Not quite, but that’s what it feels like to me,” Neville said breathlessly, “Come on!”

He grabbed her hand and drag her out into the garden. He took her beyond the nicely maintained section of the garden, into the vast woods at the back which were also part of their property. He took her through the woods, along an overgrown path until they emerged in a clearing.

The minute they came to a stop, Lilly realised what Neville had been so excited about. Overgrown and hidden amongst the trees was a beautiful greenhouse. It looked Victorian, constructed of glass and beautifully sculpted steel. It was ornate and stunning, not to mention huge.

“A secret garden with a greenhouse Lilly,” Neville said, positively brimming with excitement, “Do you want to look inside?”

Lilly looked up in surprise, “You’ve been inside? But Neville, you don’t even know if it’s structurally safe!”

“Lilly,” Neville said, grinning at her, “I’m training to be an Auror, I’m not stupid. I did a spell to check the structural integrity, it told me that the back right roof was caving so I put shield charms around that area, so it’s perfectly fine to go inside, trust me.”

Lilly did, with her life in fact, and she really wanted to see inside the greenhouse, “Is anything in there still alive?” she asked, looking at the sections of broken glass and the section of roof that Neville had mentioned was caving in.

“Oh loads,” Neville replied eagerly as he dashed up the stone steps towards the entrance and pushed aside a curtain of ivy, “A lot of it is growing out of the greenhouse though. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s a project. The building needs work, not to mention what has been left to grow inside but look.”

Lilly stepped in and looked around in amazement. There were plants everywhere, both of the wizarding and muggle variety. Squirrels dashed around in the roof space, birds flew around freely, “This place is amazing.”

Neville nodded, a broad grin gracing his features, “This was where my dad used to take my mum when she came here to visit him in the summer. I found their initials carved into that bench over there,” he said, smiling with a fond sort of sadness.

Lilly reached down and grabbed his hand.

Neville looked at her, tears in his eyes and said, “So I thought maybe it could become our place. Our secret garden with its own greenhouse, somewhere that the others don’t know about. Somewhere that’s just for us.”

“It’s perfect,” Lilly said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply.

* * *

“Nev, wake up,” Harry said, poking his best friend in the face with the end of his quill.

Neville blinked down at his parchment, “Sorry, what did I miss?”

“Just a summary of the pros and cons of having an Animagus form, but I’m pretty sure you’re good on that one for the test,” Harry whispered.

Neville chuckled, “Yeah, I reckon so.”

“You okay? It’s not like you to fall asleep in class,” Harry said in an undertone.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Neville yawned, “I was just up late last night.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at him, “Were you?”

“Not doing _that_ ,” Neville snorted, “I was…gardening.”

Harry chuckled, “You don’t need me to tell you how sad that sounds.”

“I know, but I’ve got this new project, and I got a bit obsessed,” Neville said, yawning again.

“Well you better get a coffee into you at lunch,” Harry whispered, “It’s duelling this afternoon, and if you’re not on the ball, Draco and Theo are going to overtake us in the league.”

“That is not happening,” Neville said, suddenly seeming more awake as his competitive side came out.

Harry grinned and patted him on the back, “There’s my plucky sidekick back.”

“Call me your plucky sidekick again and I’ll Expelliarmus your arse into next week.”

Harry snorted in amusement at the comment.

“Potter! Longbottom! Less talking, more listening, or you will both be listening from the door while you scrub the corridor! Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

* * *

“Lilly! Can I get a little help here?”

“Yeah, what do you-” Lilly looked up from the panel of glass she had been repairing and crossed her arms in disbelief, “What did I tell you about going on the roof without using a proper harnessing charm?”

“Not to do it?” Neville said sheepishly as he hung from the roof of the greenhouse.

“Yes, and do you see why now?” Lilly asked irritably.

“Yes, you were right, and I was wrong. Now can you please get me down _before_ this vine breaks please?” Neville asked.

Lilly cocked her head at him, “Oh I dunno, I reckon I should take a picture first, for blackmail purposes, you know? Because this does kind of remind me of that time a bunch of pixies hung you from a chandelier.”

Neville snorted, “Thanks for that. Are you done laughing at me?”

“Nearly,” Lilly said, she grinned and pulled a wizarding camera from her bag then snapped a picture.

“Lilly!” Neville groaned.

“Now I’m done,” Lilly said with a smirk. She cast a cushioning charm on the ground then cut the vine that Neville had gotten himself tangled in. He screeched as he tumbled down to the floor where he landed ungracefully.

“Lesson learned. I will use a proper harnessing charm from now on,” Neville said, rubbing his hip as he got to his feet, “But the good news is that the unstable section of the roof is now stable.”

“And,” Lilly said, waving her wand in the direction of the pane of glass that she had been working on, “All the glass is now repaired.”

“Which means it’s just the inside of this place that we need to handle,” Neville said, looking around the overgrown greenhouse.”

“Just?” Lilly scoffed, “It will take weeks.”

“Yeah, but it will be fun,” Neville said, shooting her a grin, “Come on, I reckon it’s time for a coffee break, and maybe a warm bath.”

“Should have used a harnessing charm,” Lilly said in a sing-song voice as they slipped out of the greenhouse together.

* * *

Valentines Day had got Daphne thinking about Tracey once again, despite Tracey’s portrait telling her not to be so stupid. All the same, after the Bones-Weasley wedding, Daphne still felt it weighing on her mind, so she went to Sadie’s for a much-needed catch-up. Daphne cooked her up a nice, but bland meal. They talked about everything, work, the babies, how Sadie and Theo could not agree on names no matter how hard they tried, and they just reconnected in a way that they hadn’t done for months.

Once they had eaten, they ended up getting comfortable in the drawing-room, which was when they started to talk about Tracey and about how much they missed her.

“What do you reckon she would be doing now?” Sadie asked thoughtfully.

“Oh, only Salazar knows,” Daphne chuckled, “She’d have been married already. Her and Dean would have gotten married right out of school I bet.”

“Maybe our babies would have grown up together,” Sadie said, sadness entering her tone of voice.

“Maybe,” Daphne said, thinking of Teddy and Sadie’s two unborn babies. It would have been right for a mini Tracey to have run around with them. The idea was so miserable that Daphne decided that she had to brighten the mood a little, “Do you remember what Draco said about us all after I broke up with him?”

Sadie frowned and looked down at her, “No, what did he say again?”

Daphne smiled and said, “He told me to bugger off and cry to my friends about how he was a terrible person who had broken my heart.”

“Oh yeah I do remember this,” Sadie said, she chuckled, “He was ranting to Theo about us, wasn’t he? He called us the unholy trinity, and he said something about how there are always three of them.”

Daphne nodded, grinning up at Sadie, “There are always three of them he said. The wild one, the cute innocent one and the one with the “I don’t give a fuck attitude”-”

“Why did I fall in love with _that_ one?” Sadie joined in as they did a bad impression of Draco.

They both laughed, and Sadie said, “You know, I always thought you were going to marry Draco one day. I thought maybe it would have been the two of us, the ladies who lunch. Mrs Nott and Mrs Malfoy.”

“Instead it’s Mrs Nott and Mrs Potter,” Daphne said, grinning at her best friend.

“Yeah, _that_ I never saw coming,” Sadie admitted.

“You and me both,” Daphne confessed, “I thought it would be Draco and me too, for a long time. I really believed I could make him better, that I could make him turn away from the darkness in himself and see the light. But I could never have done that, even Pansy couldn’t do that, if anything she made him darker. It was like she liked him that way…I don’t know.”

Sadie didn’t disagree with her. Daphne looked up thoughtfully, “In the end, it took a saint.”

“Hermione’s hardly a saint,” Sadie said, smiling at Daphne, “She’s just what Draco needed. _You_ were what Harry needed, you were the breath of fresh air that gave his life meaning again. The universe has a plan Daphne, you were meant for Harry and Hermione was meant for Draco. It just took a couple of false starts for you to realise that.”

“When did you grow up and become the wise one?” Daphne asked, reaching up and grabbing Sadie’s hand.

“Sometime when I became the size of a whale I guess,” Sadie joked.

“You’re not that big,” Daphne said, looking at Sadie’s baby bump, “Especially considering that you have two babies in there! You look amazing, you are going to be one hot mummy.”

“Don’t,” Sadie laughed, “You sound like Theo.”

“Oh, sweet Salazar, no!” Daphne said with mock horror.

Sadie laughed again then made a face, “Don’t make me laugh too much, I’ll pee myself!” she exclaimed.

“Wow, isn’t pregnancy glamourous?” Daphne joked.

Sadie snorted, “Tell me about it. By the way, did you all really think that I was the cute innocent one back then?”

“Oh yeah, course you were!” Daphne said with a chuckle, “Tracey was obviously the wild one, and you always were the most naïve. You didn’t have as much Slytherin-ness in you, you know? You were sweet and kind, and way too trusting.”

“Until the war,” Sadie said thoughtfully.

Daphne nodded, “Then the sneakiness came out, and your true colours shone. But you know, you were always self-conscious about that weren’t you? You didn’t feel like you found yourself until the heat was turned up, but you weren’t the only one. Look at Neville, he really came into his own that year too. Sometimes, it just takes a bit of pressure to make a person into the person that they were always meant to be.”

“I suppose,” Sadie mused, “Do you really think that the universe has a plan for us all Daph?”

“I don’t know,” Daphne said, looking out of the window absentmindedly, “I think we all have a path in the stars that we are destined to follow, but not all of it is set in stone, you know? You fell pregnant, and you had a choice. At that point, your life could have gone one way, or the other and you had to make a choice.”

“But stuff like Harry being the boy-who-lived, nothing could alter that,” Sadie realised.

Daphne nodded, “Harry had to be the boy who lived. Neville’s parents had to be tortured. Susan’s Aunt had to die. Some moments…they define us as people, and I think that they were always mapped out up there, destined to happen, which would explain why seers can only see big events in people’s lives.”

“That would make sense,” Sadie said, realisation dawning in her eyes, “You are really good at this whole theoretical astrophysics stuff. You’d make a good teacher, you know?”

“Yeah,” Daphne mused, “I might branch out into that one day if I ever get bored of curse breaking.”

“Do you think some people are destined for each other too?” Sadie asked, looking at a wedding photograph of her and Theo. They danced around the floor together, pivoting and laughing.

“Definitely,” Daphne replied, smiling at the photo, “The universe knows what it’s doing Sade. Susan was right about that. When you know, you _know_.”

“Yeah,” Sadie said softly, her hand resting on her bump, “You do.”

* * *

“Lecture hall?” Harry whispered to the others as they traipsed in that direction from the showers one breezy morning towards the end of February.

“Yeah, something is obviously up,” Draco replied in an undertone.

“We normally only get called there when the shit is hitting the fan,” Neville agreed.

“Reckon it’s about the mass walkout from the DMLE?” Theo asked.

“Could be,” Harry replied, but they didn’t discuss it further.

Once they reached the lecture hall and sat themselves down, Auror Weir stepped out and stood at the lectern which surprised them all, because Sumner or Sheppard usually led these briefings.

“Good morning all,” She said with a warm smile, “I know you are probably all wondering why you were called here, but do not worry, I can assure you that this is not bad news.”

Harry almost breathed a sigh of relief, he was so used to bad news these days.

“You are here because this year, due to the unique circumstances, we have decided to trial something that has been discussed several times among the staffing panel here,” Weir explained, “For one week, you will all receive a placement within the Auror Department. You will be working alone, not within your Auror pairs, because we want to see how you cope without your partner by your side.”

Harry’s interest was piqued by this, so he leant forward in his chair.

“This will give you all a chance to put the skills you have been learning over the past six months into practice, but it will also provide us with some extra time to get your final exam for the year prepared. Are there any questions?”

Theo raised his hand.

“Yes, Recruit Nott?”

“Do we get to pick our placements?” Theo asked.

“Unfortunately not,” Weir replied with a smile, “We have already chosen placements for you, and I shall be assigning them to you today. You will start your placement immediately, and you will be required to report back here for duty one week from today. Is that clear?”

They all nodded, and no further questions were asked. Hence, Auror Weir took a step back and projected a list onto the wall behind her, “As I hope that you are all aware, there are several different squads within the Auror Department that you can choose to specialise in once you are fully qualified. We will be placing you in one of these squads, so this is a basic rundown of what each squad does, which means it’s time for a pop quiz.”

There was a general groan around the room.

“An easy one, if you have all read your basic textbooks,” Weir added, raising an eyebrow at them.

“Oh shit,” Theo muttered, making Draco snort in amusement.

“Behind me, the names of the squads are going to appear, and you are going to tell me the role of that squad,” Weir continued, flicking her wrist to make the first squad name appear.

“Homicide. Recruit Nott?”

“Murder and attempted murder,” Theo replied instantly.

“Correct,” Weir flicked her wrist again, “Vice. Recruit Potter?”

“Gambling, narcotics, prostitution and,” Harry frowned, “Uh, something else.”

Weir raised an eyebrow, “Anyone?”

Draco raised his hand.

“Yes, Recruit Black?”

“The illegal sale of alcohol and potions Auror Weir,” Draco filled in.

“Correct. Brush up on your reading Potter,” Weir said, a warning tone to her voice.

“Sorry, ma’am.”

Weir flicked her wrist again, and the third squad name appeared, “Domestics. Recruit Wood?”

“Sexual abuse or assault, and domestic abuse,” Ophelia answered.

“Correct. Robbery/Burglary, Recruit Harper?”

Max answered, “Self-explanatory ma’am.”

“Less cheek Harper,” Weir said, irritation cutting into her voice, “Be more specific.”

“Uh…well…”

Weir rolled her eyes, “Anyone?”

Harry raised his hand, trying to redeem himself.

“Yes, Recruit Potter?”

“With regard to buildings, breaking and entering. However, they also cover general theft such as pick-pocketing,” Harry said.

“Spot on Potter. Next, we have Organised Crimes. Recruit Longbottom?”

“Group crimes ma’am,” Neville replied, “Dealing with terrorist groups or cults, like the Death Eaters.”

“Precisely. Missing Persons, that one really is self-explanatory Recruit Harper,” Weir said, giving him a pointed look. This made the others snigger.

Weir continued, “Juvenile Crime. Recruit Wilde?”

Emily replied, “Dealing with crimes committed by those under the age of 17.”

“Yes,” Weir said with a nod, “Fraud. Recruit Black?”

“They investigate fraud cases and all other economic crimes,” Draco answered.

“Indeed, they do. Finally, Arson. Recruit Potter?”

“Wizarding fire brigade in essence ma’am,” Harry said, “They put out dangerous magical fires that cannot be contained by the public. However, they also investigate the cause of the fires.”

Weir nodded and clicked her fingers. The words on the wall behind her then disappeared. She stepped away from the lectern and walked towards them with a pile of envelopes. She handed one to each of them and said, “Open your letter, and you will discover your assigned placement. Your letter will also tell you which Auror you will be shadowing. You will report to the Auror Department within the ministry to meet them. Understood?”

They all nodded once more.

Weir smiled, “In that case, good luck, recruits.”

There was an echo of “Thank you Auror Weir” around the room. The moment that she left, they all ripped into their envelopes excitedly.

“Oh yes, I got Vice!” Theo said excitedly.

Draco looked down at his with a frown.

“I got Domestics,” Harry said with a sigh.

“Oh man, somebody doesn’t like you,” Theo laughed.

“Yeah Domestics sounds boring,” Draco said, folding up his letter.

“What did you get?” Harry asked curiously.

“Organised Crime,” Draco replied quietly.

“Wicked!” Theo said excitedly, but Draco didn’t look so keen.

Draco nodded and looked at Neville, “What about you, Neville?”

“Homicide,” Neville said, slipping the letter into his pocket.

“What? You got Homicide!” Theo whined, “That’s the coolest squad there!”

“It’s murder Theo,” Neville said darkly, “It’s gory and brutal, it’s telling a mother that her son is never coming back, it’s hardly glamourous.”

“That outlook is probably why they gave it to you,” Draco mused quietly.

“What did you guys get?” Harry asked, drawing his concerned gaze away from Draco to talk to Blanche and Ophelia.

“Fee got Arson, and I got Missing Persons,” Blanche replied, “I should be decent there, I’ve had enough Step-Fathers go missing.”

Harry chuckled, “Arson sounds cool Fee.”

Ophelia nodded eagerly, “Yeah, it does sound fun. What did you get Harry?”

“Domestics,” Harry admitted.

“Domestics?” Blanche made a face, “Dull.”

Harry had to agree. Everyone knew that Domestics was considered as one of the weaker squads in the department, he felt a little offended to have been tossed in there.

“We better get a move on if we need to report to the Ministry,” Neville said, nudging Harry in the ribs.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed, getting to his feet and heading for the door with the others.

“Hey Ems, where are you and Max headed?” Blanche asked Emily and Maxwell.

“I got Juvenile Crime,” Emily complained, “Which is probably as awful as it sounds.”

“And I got Robbery/Burglary,” Maxwell replied, “Boring, right?”

“Not as boring as Domestics,” Theo joked.

Harry didn’t respond to his jibe, he just jogged ahead a little to fall in line with Draco, “Your face fell when you read the letter, what’s up?”

“What’s up?” Draco whispered in disbelief, “I’m on placement in Organised Crime without _any_ of you to have my back. These people arrested my father more than once, these are the people whose families he tortured then blackmailed to stay out of Azkaban. They are all going to hate me, Harry and I need to work with them.”

“You know why they put you there then,” Harry said quietly, “You’re going to have to work with these people every day once we’re out of training. There are going to be times when Theo is out chasing a lead, and you’ll have to work with them. This is a test Draco, you need to show them that you’re different, that you aren’t your father, and gain their respect.”

“Easier said than done,” Draco said quietly.

Harry nodded, “I know, but you’ve come this far. You’re not going to throw the towel in now, are you?”

Determination shone in Draco’s eyes, he shook his head, “No, I’m not,” he said stubbornly.

* * *

When the group of trainee Aurors entered the Auror Department to meet the Auror that they would be working with, they all split off.

Harry searched the bullpen for a sign saying ‘Domestics’. Every other squad had a big sign emblazoned above their bullpen area. Homicide, Vice and Organised Crime had the shiniest ones. Harry felt a tug of embarrassment, he knew that he, Neville, Draco and Theo were the best in their year group. Those three had all gotten the top squads so why had Harry been singled out?

He sighed, there was no sign for Domestics, so he walked through the bullpen. Eventually, when he was just about to turn back, he found it. Wedged between a supply cupboard and a fire exit was one desk with a ratty hand-written sign above it saying, ‘DOMESTICS’.

Sitting at that desk was a man who looked to be in his mid-30’s. He had short, brown hair and sceptical hazel eyes. His Auror robes looked a little more well-worn than the shiny robes of the Homicide, Vice and Organised Crime Aurors.

Harry stepped forward, “Uh, excuse me. Are you Auror Wolfe?”

The man looked up, “Yep that’s me, call me Rob though. Nobody around here calls me Auror these days.”

Harry frowned, but didn’t ask why, “Right, I’m Harry.”

“Yep you’re Harry Potter,” Rob said, surveying Harry with interest, “You saved the world, everyone knows who you are.”

“Yeah,” Harry said awkwardly.

“So who the fuck did you piss off?” Rob asked, crossing his arms.

“Uh, what do you mean?” Harry asked.

“You only get thrown in here if you piss someone off,” Rob said, sitting on his messy desk, his eyes still surveying Harry, “Case and point, me.”

“I don’t know who I pissed off,” Harry said honestly, “Who did you piss off?”

Rob laughed, “A better question would be who didn’t I piss off? I rub a lot of people up the wrong way, kid. Guess that happens when you’re a muggle-born who speaks his mind.”

“Being a muggle-born has nothing to do with whether or not you can speak your mind,” Harry remarked, “You’re a wizard, just like the rest of us.”

“Ah, an activist are you? Makes sense I guess,” Rob said with a cynical smile, “Well, your gonna learn quick kiddo, around here it doesn’t work like that.”

Harry scoffed, “We’ll see about that.”

“What, you’re gonna change that when you’re in charge?” Rob guessed, “Well _recruit_ , you’re not in charge and you ain’t gonna be for quite some time. Until then you’ve got to go with the flow, or you won’t get to have a career, you’ll spend the rest of your days here with me and Joey and Juliette.”

“Who are Joey and Juliette?” Harry asked, glancing around but not seeing anybody else.

“The house-elves who clean the place,” Rob said, gesturing to the supply cupboard.

“Right,” Harry said, he shifted on his feet, awkwardly, “So…what’s so bad about Domestics?”

“What’s so bad about Domestics?” Rob laughed, “Well we have no resources for one because everyone basically thinks we’re a joke. You know that one guy who is the butt of every joke?”

Harry nodded.

“Yeah well here, that guy is us,” Rob said, “We respond to calls about domestic abuse and sexual abuse. Most of the sexual abuse calls get nicked by Vice, bunch of fucking entitled pricks. Most of them are doing illegal shit on the side, and half of them are addicts themselves.”

“Sounds legit,” Harry commented.

Rob smirked and continued, “And the domestic abuse cases are just fucking soul-destroying. Most of the time there’s nothing we can do. Basically, you do this job for a year, and you realise that there is no good in the world and life isn’t worth living.”

“Right,” Harry said dryly, “And how long have you been doing it for?”

“Coming up on five years,” Rob replied, opening a filing cabinet absentmindedly.

“Well, you haven’t killed yourself yet so it can’t be that soul-destroying,” Harry pointed out.

“No, it really is. I just have a damn good kid who keeps me alive,” Rob said, tossing Harry a rusty old badge.

Harry glanced down, it said, ‘TRAINEE’ on it in large writing.

“Put that on or you ain’t allowed in the field,” Rob said.

Harry pinned the badge onto his robes, “Seriously, though, what did you do to end up here?”

“Ah well, it’s a long story,” Rob said with a shrug, “I got sidelined for years because of my blood status. The big guns, Homicide and all that, they are all flashy pureblood bastards. It’s like being in school Potter. Homicide are the popular Gryffindors. Vice are the cool, sexy Slytherins. Organised Crimes are the super-smart, hot Ravenclaws. Everyone else is a Hufflepuff and we…well we are basically the house-elves. Actually, we might be lower than the house elves, we might be the squibs.”

“You’re a ray of sunshine,” Harry said sarcastically, “But you still haven’t told me how you ended up here.”

“And I have no intention of doing so,” Rob said cheerfully, “So since you’re the trainee here, shut up and do as you’re told and, unlike me, you’ll be out of here soon. Comprende?”

“Yeah, I get it,” Harry said with a sigh, he had the feeling that it was going to be a long week.

* * *

Draco walked into the Organised Crime squads section of the bullpen nervously. There were four Aurors there, all talking loudly and laughing. They were all aged between 25 and 45 Draco would have guessed, all with their hair in its perfect place and their robes perfectly straight.

He cleared his throat and said, “Excuse me, I’m looking for Auror Graves.”

An Auror with black hair and defined facial features turned around and frowned, “Whose asking?”

“Trainee Auror Black sir,” Draco replied, “I’m on placement here.”

“Black?” Another of the Aurors laughed, “You’re not a Black, you’re a fucking Malfoy.”

Draco swallowed, “No sir, I’m a Black. My mother-”

“It doesn’t matter if she divorced the murdering bastard or not _Malfoy_ , you’re still his piece of shit son,” Graves said coldly.

Draco bit his tongue.

“Cat got your tongue, _Malfoy_?” Another of the Aurors asked with a laugh.

“My name is Black,” Draco ground out.

“You’re a Malfoy, and you always will be,” That same Auror said, “We don’t want your type around here so you might as well just run off and quit. You are hated in this place, your father is the reason that my last partner died.”

Grave’s eyes flashed dangerously, “And the reason why my wife was tortured for information. You might as well hand in your resignation boy, nobody wants you here.”

“I don’t care,” Draco said, dropping his bag and looking up at Graves, “I don’t care if you want me here or not, because I want to be here and I deserve to be here. You spent years trying to catch my father, but you never responded to any of the domestic calls did you? You know _exactly_ what he was capable of and I was _raised_ by that man! I don’t know what you all think, do you think it was all happy families? Because it wasn’t.”

He took a breath and shook his head, “And I’m not giving you a sob story to make you feel sorry for me, but you need to understand that I am _not_ my father. Because of him, I knew what the cruciatus curse was before I was five years old, I learned how controlling fear was _because_ of him, and I am the reason that he went to Azkaban. I am the reason that he’s in a prison that he will never escape from because one of my best friends and I put him there!”

Draco couldn’t stop now that he had started, even though he knew this rant could get him beaten up or thrown out of the training programme, “And I know you all think I’m only here because Harry Potter is my friend, but I worked hard for this, and I won’t give it up just because you don’t like who my father was.”

The three Aurors standing behind Graves were silent, their eyes on the man who was obviously their leader. Graves crossed his arms over his chest and surveyed Draco, “Alright kid, you might be a Malfoy, but you have balls.”

“I am _not_ a Malfoy,” Draco said, his voice quiet but the intention clear, “And I never want to be associated with that name again. All that I am, every bit of good in me was instilled by my mother, so I am a Black in name and in heart. Okay?”

“Alright kid,” Graves said with a nod, “You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that. Don’t ever expect us to be bosom buddies but you’ve got a chance so don’t fuck it up.”

“I won’t,” Draco promised.

Graves bowed his head, “Black, this is my partner Brady and these guys are Snow and Nolan. We’re the A shift, there are another four Aurors that cover the B shift when we get our downtime. It’s us you’re going to be working with all week.”

Draco nodded.

“You’ve not got a desk, but we’re not in here much anyway,” Graves continued, “So don’t get comfy, it’s a rare day that you get to finish a coffee around here.”

*** ~ TBC ~ *  
**


	81. When the World Comes Crashing Down

“Come on Potter, first call of the day,” Rob said, grabbing Harry by the arm and yanking him to his feet.

Harry glanced over at the clock, “But it’s 4.30pm.”

“And?” Rob asked.

“Well, we finish at 5pm,” Harry said.

Rob looked at him, “So?”

“So doesn’t this mean we’ll finish late?” Harry asked with a frown.

“Kid, nobody works in Domestics but me, there is no early or late,” Rob said, “We just work when we’re required. We’re meant to be off tonight and tomorrow morning to do a backshift tomorrow, but I can tell you, we’ll get calls tonight.”

Harry frowned, “But I have a kid to get home to, that’s not at all flexible.”

Rob scoffed, “I’ve got a kid too Potter. Some days he sees his aunt and uncle more than me, that’s life as an Auror, so you had better get used to it, crime doesn’t sleep.”

Harry sighed but said no more on the subject. He just followed Rob to the apparition point and led him side-apparate him to Diagon Alley.

“What are we doing here?” Harry asked curiously.

“Responding to a noise complaint,” Rob replied, leading Harry through the busy alley until they reached a small gap between two shops, “Neighbour called it in, said she heard her upstairs neighbour screaming her lungs out. Got to investigate it and fill out an incident form, it’s the law.”

Harry nodded as he and Rob squeezed through the gap. It was too narrow to be called an alleyway, one relatively thin person could stand in the gap between the buildings, but someone like Charlie would never have fitted.

Harry hadn’t even known that this was here, and as he looked ahead of him, he was shocked to see several doors. Rob obviously noticed the shock on his face, he stepped into an empty stairwell and dragged Harry in after him, “This is one of the worst areas of Diagon Alley, probably worse than Knockturn to be honest with you. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t get a call to one of these flats.”

“How many of them are there?” Harry asked quietly.

“Two blocks between each shop,” Rob replied, “Each block has five or six flats, depending on whether the landlord has illegally added a floor to maximise his profits.”

“Each shop in the alley?” Harry asked in surprise.

Rob nodded, “Yeah, probably over a hundred across the alley. The living conditions aren’t great by the way, not quite as bad as in Knockturn but pretty close so just…don’t look too disgusted when we go inside, or you’ll offend someone alright?”

Harry nodded and followed Rob up the staircase. They passed several doors until they eventually came to a stop on the top floor, which Harry reckoned was the fifth.

Rob knocked on the door loudly. Inside the flat, there was incoherent shouting and banging as someone approached the door. It was yanked open, and a young witch who was still in her pyjamas answered the door.

She rolled her eyes, “What the fuck do you scum want this time?”

“Noise complaint Hetty,” Rob replied simply, “Came in from one of your neighbours, got no choice but to investigate it,” he held up his badge.

“Fucking bitch downstairs,” The woman, Hetty, muttered, stepping back from the door.

Rob walked into the flat and Harry followed him. The living conditions were pretty bad: black mould grew on the walls, there was no electricity or heating, and the flat felt freezing. Harry glanced at Hetty again, she didn’t look much older than him.

Rob looked around, as if he knew what he was looking for, then his eyes fell on two little boys who were obviously twins. They were sitting on a moth-eaten sofa with old toys, both with pieces broken off of them. Harry couldn’t quite bear the poverty, but when he saw those boys, he felt a lump rise in his throat. He stayed close to the door, just in case he had to make a quick escape because he was well aware of how much he was struggling to contain his emotions.

One of the boys had a black eye, and the other had something wrong with his arm.

Rob knelt down in front of them, “Hey boys. What happened to your eye, Joe?”

The little boy shrugged, “Fell off my bed Auror Wolfe.”

“Yeah?” Rob asked, turning to the other boy, “And what about your arm Jack? Looks like a sore one.”

“It’s nothing really Auror Wolfe.”

Harry swallowed, it wasn’t nothing. The boy's arm was hexed, and the wound was bleeding. The other boy’s black eye didn’t look like it had been caused by a fall either.

“Doesn’t look like nothing,” Rob said gently.

“We were just playing with a Weasley’s Wizard Wheeze Auror Wolfe,” Jack said.

“You sure about that?” Rob asked, his eyes falling on the boys more.

Joe nodded, “Yeah, really Auror Wolfe.”

Hetty glared at him, “See? I don’t abuse my kids. Can you get the fuck out of my flat now?”

Rob nodded. He got to his feet and pointed his wand at the broken toys on the floor, “ _Reparo.”_

The toys mended themselves, and Rob pointed his wand at the walls, “ _Scourgify Maxima.”_

The mould disappeared. Finally, Rob pointed his wand at the empty grate in the fireplace and said, “ _Incendio_.”

A roaring fire sprung up out of nowhere. Rob holstered his wand and turned to the young witch, “I know a hexed wound when I see one, but I know you ain’t got a wand. I confiscated the broken pieces myself, so that makes me wonder just what kinda people you’re letting in this place these days.”

Hetty’s eyes darkened, “Got to feed my kids somehow, haven’t I?”

Rob gave her a stern look, “That’s three noise complaints this month Hetty, your landlord is gonna kick you out soon. Keep the noise down, alright?”

“You hear that?” Hetty asked the boys, a dangerous look flashing in her eyes, “You keep the bloody noise down like Wolfe says.”

The boys both nodded, “Yeah, Mum.”

“Alright,” Rob said, putting his hand on Harry’s arm, “Come on Potter.”

Harry let Rob lead him out of the flat, and he said nothing as he followed the Auror down the stairwell. His mind raced as it caught up with what he had just witnessed. That kid with the black eye had been him, quivering when his uncle raised a hand to him.

The kid with the hexed skin, Harry had pictured a young Draco, terrified of his father when he saw that kid. How was that okay? Why were they just walking away from that?

“Why didn’t you do something?”

“Not here,” Rob hissed under his breath, they had just emerged into the tiny alley.

Harry looked up and caught Rob’s eye, “Come on,” the Auror muttered.

He wanted answers, so Harry followed him. Once they were in the main alley, Rob led him into the Leaky Cauldron. He showed Tom his badge and Tom smiled and nodded, gesturing at a room behind the bar.

Rob opened the door and led Harry into a smaller, private room which was currently empty.

“What’s this?”

“Private drinking place for Aurors,” Rob replied, “Now, why did we just leave? Well, because I didn’t have much of a choice. The kids said they were fine, I couldn’t arrest the mother on a hunch even if I do end up in that house every other week.”

“Why?” Harry asked angrily, “Why can’t you arrest her on a hunch?”

“Because it’s against the law and she would get out the moment a lawyer realised I had no evidence,” Rob said simply, “Welcome to the real world Potter. People are fucking arseholes, and there is _nothing_ you can do it, that’s life!”

“Well, it’s not right!” Harry fumed, “She abuses those kids! That black eye was from a fist and the hexed skin…it’s not a bloody Weasley item.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Rob scoffed, “Hetty’s a fucking prostitute. Neither of those kids has any clue who their dad is, and they’ll probably never find out. He’ll just be some wanker who didn’t use the protection charm because he likes it a bit risky or who paid her extra not to use it.”

Harry felt sick.

Rob shook his head, “And yeah, the guys she lets in will hex those kids if they get in the way and she’ll take her frustration out on her kids by hitting them. She’s a witch who was expelled from school, she’s got no wand, and she lives in squalor, just scraping by.”

“You feel sorry for her,” Harry said in disbelief.

“I feel sorry for her kids,” Rob corrected, “The problem is, there is nothing we can do about it. We don’t have child protective services like the muggles do Potter. Here, we have me, and the minute I catch Hetty doing anything I’m going to throw her arse in jail but when I do, fuck knows where those boys will end up.”

“Anywhere is better than there!” Harry spat.

“Is it?” Rob fumed, “Because they will probably go to an orphanage, probably a muggle one too and they will be bullied for being different. That makes you grow up hard, makes you grow up hating muggles. Then you get sorted into Slytherin where people share the belief, and you know what that creates? It creates monsters like the Death Eaters.”

“Not always,” Harry argued, “I know Slytherins, damn good Slytherins who had a shitty life and didn’t let it turn them dark! It’s better to be bullied than abused! Those kids are…” he took a breath then stopped himself.

“The same age you were?” Rob guessed.

Harry looked up, “What?” he asked sharply.

“I’ve been doing this job for a while, Potter,” Rob said, his tone a bit softer, “I can spot an abused kid when I see one.”

“I…” Harry frowned, “No, I wasn’t…”

Rob raised an eyebrow at him, “Right, let me tell you a little something. I got shoved in Domestics because I had the balls to call my colleagues cowards when a smart little kid said that Voldemort was back a few years ago. They all shoved their heads in the sand, and I said, no, we start preparing now because if he comes back and we’re unprepared, there is gonna be another war.”

Harry looked up at Rob in surprise.

Rob just continued, “But no, they chucked me in Domestics, and I hate it, I fucking hate this place. But I hate it because I can’t make much of a difference, no matter how hard I try. The reason I stay, even now when I know I could ask for a transfer and have it granted, is because I grew up in an orphanage. It was a muggle orphanage, and it was run by nuns, sadistic nuns. You probably noticed the Irish accent, right?”

Harry nodded, he had noticed an accent but he being him hadn’t been able to work out if Rob was Irish or Welsh.

“I try to make a difference to their lives cause nobody gave a fuck about mine,” Rob said, with a note of finality, “So you don’t have to pretend with me, alright kid?”

Harry nodded, sitting down at one of the tables in the room. He sighed and said, “My muggle uncle was abusive. He spent the first ten years of my life trying to beat the magic out of me. My bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs. I cooked for them, did their gardening, I was a bloody servant, and my cousin learned to beat the shit out of me before he learned to walk. There, that’s my tragic backstory.”

“Alright,” Rob said with a nod, “See, we’re getting to know each other now. That’s good, means we’re going to be a good team.”

Harry smiled sadly, “A good team doing what? Seeing abused kids and doing nothing to help them?”

“It’s a long game kid,” Rob said, patting him on the back, “We do what we can do and hope we can get them away from the abusers before…well, you know what before.”

Before the abuser kills them, Harry thought to himself. He didn’t say that he just nodded.

“You draw comfort in the thing that gets you through,” Rob said, “For me, it’s this little gem. His Mum killed herself when he was two, so it's just him and me, and he’s my lifeline.”

Harry smiled at the photograph. It was of a little boy who looked around three years old, “What’s his name?” 

“Nicholas,” Rob replied, “I call him Nick though. What about your kid? He must be pretty young.”

“He is,” Harry said, showing Rob a picture that he loved. It was of Daphne and Teddy lying in bed together, Teddy grinning and trying to grab her ponytail while she kissed his nose.

Rob smiled, “Cute, your missus got pregnant young then?”

“No,” Harry said, looking down at the photograph thoughtfully, “Teddy is my godson. My good friend Remus, he and his wife died in the final battle, so we adopted Teddy. His full name is Edward, after his grandad.”

“Takes a lot of guts, to adopt a kid at your age,” Rob said, looking at Harry with interest.

Harry shrugged and put the photograph away, “He’s a special kid, kind of our whole world actually.”

“You must have one hell of a wife,” Rob remarked.

“Yeah,” Harry said, a proud smile lighting up his face, “I do.”

“Hold onto that,” Rob said, “Hold onto her and that kid of yours this week because the things you’re going to see…well if you found that hard, it’s gonna get worse and the only way you’re going to get through is by holding onto the good stuff.”

Harry nodded, “Thanks, Rob. Sorry for being a bit of a dick to you.”

Rob shook his head, “Don’t sweat it kid. Everyone is a dick to me. You were only a dick because you cared, that makes you pretty unique.”

Harry wanted to say that he wished he could change that, instead he just nodded.

“You get on home to that missus of yours,” Rob said, heading for the door, “And I’ll see you tomorrow for the backshift. I’ll take any calls tonight myself.”

Before Harry could volunteer to help him, he had left.

* * *

“Babe?”

Harry looked up from his food to see Daphne looking at him with concern, “Are you going to eat any of that?”

“Sorry,” Harry sighed, “I’m just…I’m not really hungry.”

Daphne frowned at him, “Are you going to tell me what happened today? Did a training exercise go wrong or something?”

“No, I’m on a placement,” Harry said, his eyes falling on Teddy as he threw his chips around the kitchen.

“A placement?” Daphne asked with interest, “In the real world?”

“Yeah, it’s something they are trying out,” Harry said, “They put us all with squads in the Auror department. It’s just for this week…I don’t know if it’s a test or something…I don’t know.”

“Well, what happened?” Daphne asked as she got to her feet and walked towards him, “Because you seem really shaken up.”

“I’ll talk to you once Teddy’s asleep,” Harry promised her, “But do you mind if I bath him and put him down tonight?”

Daphne’s frown deepened, “Of course not.”

Harry smiled at her then picked the little boy up from his high chair, “Come on, little guy! You are filthy, let’s get you all cleaned up and ready for bed!”

He knew that Daphne was worried about him, mostly because of all the hovering that she was doing. Harry was aware of her hovering near the bathroom while he bathed Teddy and then outside the bedroom door while he read the little boy his bedtime story.

Once Teddy was all tucked up with his favourite blanket and night light, Harry slipped out of the room and sought Daphne out in the library.

“Alright, I’m well and truly worried,” Daphne conceded, “What’s going on?”

“I told you, a placement,” Harry said, sinking into a comfortable armchair by the fire, “I got put in Domestics.”

“Domestics,” Daphne repeated, “Is that like husbands beating wives up?”

“Kind of like that,” Harry replied, “But I don’t know if I can hack it, Daphne. It’s so wrong…it’s just so fucking wrong.”

“What’s so wrong about it?” Daphne asked softly.

“The big squads like Homicide, Vice and Organised Crime have at least two pairs of Aurors on each shift,” Harry explained, “But Domestics is one guy at a desk shoved at the back of the bullpen. He has no resources and basically no power. Today we got a noise complaint, and we went to these flats in Diagon Alley that were disgusting.”

“The Closes,” Daphne said.

Harry looked up, “You know about them?”

“Everyone knows about them Harry,” Daphne said, her eyes meeting his, “The Closes coming off of Diagon Alley. There are flats crammed in there, and the conditions are appalling. It’s where the poorest of the poor live, the highest rate of squibs are born to families living there too, which is why they think it’s got something to do with poverty.”

“So if _everyone_ knows about it, why does nobody do anything to help those people?” Harry asked, pushing himself to his feet in disbelief, “Why does nobody care about a mother who clearly abuses her fucking children? Who shags men who hurt her kids to ‘pay the bills’? How is it that Rob has been in that flat every other week for months but can’t do _anything_ to take those children away from that sick woman!? It’s fucking wrong Daphne!”

Daphne stepped forward and placed her hands on his hips, instantly calming him to a stop.

“It’s not right,” Daphne agreed softly, “But you have to accept that there is a huge class divide in our world. You have always known about it, but you don’t realise how bad it is until you see it firsthand. That, unfortunately, is the problem. Everyone ignores it because they don’t have to see it firsthand.”

Harry rested his head on her shoulder, “Robs right, I can’t fix this.”

“Not on your own,” Daphne agreed, “But if you can _make_ them see it firsthand then maybe, with a bit of help, you can.”

“You think?” Harry asked, drawing back to look at her.

Daphne nodded, bringing her hand up and resting it on his cheek, “You’re Harry Potter, and that’s not me saying you can do whatever you want because you’re the boy who lived. The name Harry Potter instils hope in so many people, and that’s why I believe you can do anything, _especially_ when it concerns changing the world.”

Harry smiled warmly at her.

Daphne smiled too, she placed a chaste kiss on his lips, “But you’ve got to get through this week first.”

Harry rested his forehead against hers, “Yeah,” he said, thinking of her and Teddy and how right Rob had been, “But I reckon I know how to do that.”

* * *

Hermione knew that something was wrong the moment Draco dragged himself in the door that night. He usually came in with a smile, he would greet her with a kiss or a hug. But that night, he came in and smiled half-heartedly at her.

“Hey love,” Draco said, dropping down onto the bench seat in the basement kitchen, “How was your day?”

“Boring,” Hermione replied as she put a plate of food in front of him, “I’m in the Improper Use of Magic Office right now, it’s 90% paperwork.”

“I thought you loved paperwork,” Draco said, picking up his fork and looking down at his food.

“Not that much,” Hermione said, sitting down opposite him, “Does it really look that bad?”

“No, it looks great,” Draco said honestly, he put a small amount on his fork and ate it, but Hermione could tell that he really didn’t want to.

Hermione leant back and raised an eyebrow, “Okay, let’s drop the pretences shall we. I know you had a placement today, it has been the talk of the office so what happened?”

Draco dropped his fork and sighed, “I got Organised Crime.”

Hermione frowned, “Right.”

“Right?” Draco asked in disbelief, “ _Organised Crime_ Hermione. Just to make things clear, that is what is left of the Aurors who hunted down the Death Eaters.”

Hermione’s eyes widened, “Oh…oh! Oh my god! Did they beat you up? Are you hiding broken bones? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, physically,” Draco snapped, letting his head rest on his hands, “But I spent the whole day defending myself against any Auror who wanted to have a go at me. I can’t count how many times I was called Malfoy, one of them even spat on me. That’s the opinion they have of me, Hermione, the people who are going to be my colleagues.”

“That’s disgusting!” Hermione said, throwing her fork down on the table and standing up, “What happened to equal opportunities? You have just as much right to be there as anyone else! Just like house-elves have the right to ask to be paid for their employment and just like Muggle-borns should be treated the same as every other Witch or Wizard! I’ll storm in there myself tomorrow and set them right, was it Graves? I bet it was fucking Graves, wasn’t it!”

“Hermione!” Draco snapped, getting to his feet and grabbing her by the shoulders, “You won’t go anywhere near that bullpen because this is my battle and I need to fight it on my own. Do you really think it’s going to help my case if my war heroine fiancé goes in there to fight my battles for me?”

Hermione blew out a breath, “No, but I want to.”

“Of course you do,” Draco said, smiling softly at her, “You just want to protect everyone, and you also have a tendency to fire up and lose your temper. Why do you think we all called you the Gryffindor Princess?”

Hermione smiled slightly, “I just don’t think you deserve it, Draco.”

“Whether I deserve it or not, I need to get through it,” Draco said with a sad smile, “It’s just for a week. With any luck, I can gain their respect, but if I don’t, once I graduate, I’ll always have Theo, Harry or Neville hanging around to have my back.”

Hermione nodded, “Okay, I won’t go and fight any battles for you.”

“I appreciate the thought,” Draco promised, leaning in and kissing her passionately.

* * *

As Harry spent the week with Rob, he realised quite how hard it was. The noise complaints didn’t get better, and he already dreaded going to the Closes. The moment they got a call there, Harry knew that it wouldn’t be pretty and there was never anything that they could do about it.

Rob would say something, and Harry’s stomach would turn. Like when he had told Harry that he was nipping off to Azkaban to pick up a baby. Harry was alarmed when Rob told him that the mother was serving a life sentence but had just given birth, so the baby needed to be picked up and placed in an orphanage.

“Women give birth in Azkaban? We don’t have a safer, more hygienic prison for them?” Harry had asked in horror and Rob had shaken his head and advised Harry to stay in the ministry if that was his opinion because he might actually throw up if he went with Rob and saw the conditions.

Harry ignored this advice and went with him, and Rob hadn’t been wrong. As the week wore on, he understood why Rob had described the job as soul-destroying.

The more time he spent in the Closes and at orphanages, the more Harry thought about the lack of care there was for children in the wizarding world. It was like nobody gave a shit about them until they went to Hogwarts, but by the age of 11, some of them were fucked up beyond belief.

When he thought about it, it was a wonder that he hadn’t turned out just like Voldemort. He had grown up with people who hated him, with no concept of love. Often he thought that the sacrifice his mother had made to save him must have kept him sane, kept him good, somehow at a cellular level. But Voldemort had turned out the way he did because the system failed him.

There was an old myth of course that those conceived under the influence of a love potion were incapable of love, but even if that were true, they could still be capable of empathy. His mind ran wild with what if’s. What if Voldemort had been raised by someone who loved him? Someone who taught him right from wrong? Someone who taught him that fear wasn’t the key to harmony?

“Potter.”

Harry looked up.

“Call,” Rob said.

Harry swallowed and got to his feet, hoping that Rob wasn’t about to tell him that it had come from the Closes, “Where?”

“In the lobby,” Rob replied, “Come on, you’ll see. It’s a new one for you.”

Harry very much doubted that was a good thing. He followed Rob, thinking that he meant the foyer outside the DMLE but he didn’t. Rob led him to an area of the DMLE that he hadn’t known existed. It was a room off of the bullpen, a tiny waiting room with no more than three chairs crammed into it, and nothing else apart from a tiny table with old magazines and a machine that distributed free water.

Two seats were empty, but one wasn’t. A little girl sat there, she couldn’t have been older than five, she looked about the right age to start primary school. She had blonde hair which was currently pulled back into pigtails. She wore a ratty summer dress and knitted tights with several rips in them. She was holding onto an old copy of the Quibbler, and Harry’s stomach turned when he saw that her hands were stained with dried blood. He looked at that kid, and he just saw Luna. He saw Luna after her mother had died in a potions accident and his heart broke.

He was supposed to be shadowing Rob, but Harry couldn’t help himself. He stepped into the room and knelt down in front of that little girl, “Hey sweetie,” he said softly.

She looked up from the magazine, and Harry smiled at her, “My names Harry and I’m here to help you, okay?”

The little girl nodded.

“Can I use a spell to clean up your hands?” Harry asked her.

She nodded.

“It will tickle a little,” Harry said, then he cast the charm which scrubbed the blood from her hands. He was aware of Rob’s eyes on him, but he just carried on.

“Thank you, mister Auror,” The little girl said.

Harry smiled sadly at her, “Call me, Harry.”

“Okay, Harry.”

“What’s your name?” Harry asked her.

“My names Nina.”

“That is a beautiful name Nina,” Harry said, smiling warmly at her.

She smiled back brightly, “Thanks! Are you gonna find me a new home?”

“Yeah honey, we are,” Rob’s voice said from behind Harry.

Harry stood up and let Rob take over. He smiled at the little girl, “You stay here and read your magazine, and we’ll be back real soon, okay?”

Nina nodded and looked down at the Quibbler once more.

Rob opened the only other door in the room and led Harry inside. Harry shut the door behind him and looked around, the room was filled with scrolls.

“Accio the family tree of Nina Frost.”

“She’s an orphan, isn’t she?” Harry asked, his voice thick with emotion.

“Yes, she is,” Rob replied, smoothing out a family tree.

“What happened to her parents?”

“Potions accident,” Rob replied quietly, “She found their bodies.”

Harry drew in a sharp breath, “That poor kid.”

Once more, he thought of Luna, and he just wanted to find out what continent she was on and give her the biggest hug.

“There’s a lot of poor kids like her that pass through these doors,” Rob said, looking down at the family tree, “Most of their parents don’t have a will.”

“Does it make a difference?” Harry asked.

“Course it does,” Rob replied, “A will states who will raise the children in the event of the death of both parents.”

“Why the hell was I raised by Muggles then?” Harry asked bitterly.

“Because Albus Dumbledore decided that he knew better,” Rob said darkly, “He had a habit of doing that. Your parents will stated that you would be raised by Sirius Black and Remus Lupin in the event of their death. When your godfather was sent to prison, Remus Lupin should have taken you in, but Dumbledore argued against it because of his blood status.”

“Because he was a werewolf,” Harry muttered irritably.

“Yeah,” Rob replied with a sigh, “So you went to the muggles because Dumbledore thought it was best.”

“Doesn’t that just prove how fucked up our system is?” Harry fumed, “Or lack of it more to the point? I mean why the hell was the Headmaster of a school the person who got to make the call about who raised me, Rob? Why did a man who wasn’t part of my life for another ten years get to make the biggest decision of my life? I admired him for so long, but I don’t know why because he was the reason I ended up there, thinking that I was going to get beaten every time I said something wrong, getting locked in that fucking cupboard for weeks on end, being half-starved by the time I got free of them.”

Rob reached out and grasped his shoulder, “Working this job, it makes you reflect on your own fate, but you can’t dwell too much. You got strong, and you got out. That’s all that matters Harry. You’ve got your sanity and your pride, and you’ve changed the world for a hell of a lot of people.”

“Not for everyone, though.”

“You can’t save everyone,” Rob said simply, “I know you want to, but you just can’t.”

“I know,” Harry said, thinking of all the people who he hadn’t been able to save up to this point. From Cedric through to Remus, Tonks and Fred, to Dean and Tracey.

“Right now, we’ve got to focus on Nina,” Rob said, drawing Harry out of his thoughts, “We’ve got to get that kid somewhere other than an orphanage because anything is better than that.”

“Not quite anything,” Harry said, looking down at the family tree, “What are you doing?”

“Tracing her relatives,” Rob replied, “Ideally in the wizarding world since she has shown signs of her magic manifesting. Placing her with muggle relatives is a last resort.”

“But her mother was a muggle-born, and her father was an only child,” Harry pointed out as he looked at the family tree in front of them.

“Yep, but if we go back to here…” Rob traced lines with his fingers, “Then go down this line here, there are living relatives.”

“Rob,” Harry said in disbelief, “You’re going back five generations just to make a connection. You’re talking about telling Howard Abbott there’s this kid that he’s distantly related to through what? His great grandfather’s sister? And you just expect him to take her in?”

“That’s pretty much how it works, yeah,” Rob replied.

“Well, it’s fucked up,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “You can’t just farm that kid off to some distant relative.”

“What’s the alternative Harry?” Rob asked, looking up at Harry irritably, “Have you got one? Cause I’ve been doing this a long time and I don’t.”

Harry sighed and looked towards the door, “I could take her in for a few days until we work something out.”

“No, you’re a trainee Auror, you’re not just taking some random kid home,” Rob said with a shake of his head, “We have 48 hours to place her or she goes to an orphanage, so I suggest you get off of your high horse and write a letter to this Howard Abbott.”

Harry looked down at the family tree.

“No.”

Rob growled, “Potter-”

“No, I’m not going to write a letter to him,” Harry said calmly, “I’m going to go and visit him, and I’m going to spend half an hour drinking tea with him and explaining Nina’s situation before we dump her on his fucking doorstep Rob because that’s what a decent human does.”

“Nah Potter,” Rob said, throwing down his quill, “That’s how a Marquess talks to an Earl, not how an Auror does it.”

Without another word, he left Harry alone in the room.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	82. Pride, Politics & Prejudice

Howard Abbott might have been an Earl rather than a Marquess, but he certainly had a nicer house than Harry. Abbott Castle was small but beautiful. It was situated in the heart of Shropshire and was very grand. Harry hadn’t realised quite how well off Hannah’s family were until now.

He placed his hand on the door of the gatehouse and, as expected, was asked for his name and intention. It wasn’t often that Harry used his full name or title, but he felt like it was called for in this case.

“Marquess Harry James Potter. I am here to speak to the master of the house, Earl Howard Abbott.”

There was a pause, and the door to the gatehouse swung open. Harry stepped through it and paused to marvel at the castle before him. Straight ahead was the main door into the castle but to his left, there was an entrance into the south tower, and to his right, there was an entrance into the north tower.

The main door opened and Howard stepped out. He smiled at Harry, “Quite something, isn’t it?”

“Indeed,” Harry agreed with a smile, “It is a beautiful home.”

“Are you here in an official capacity?” Howard asked, gesturing at Harry’s robes.

“Somewhat,” Harry answered, “I do need to discuss something with you, but I thought it was a conversation best had gentleman to gentleman rather than in my capacity as an Auror.”

Howard bowed his head, “I see. Would you like a tour?” he could sense Harry’s interest.

“Yes,” Harry answered, “I would love one, actually. I developed an interest in architecture when I inherited my family home, and this must be far older than Potter Manor.”

“Yes,” Howard agreed, “The tower is the oldest part, that was built in the 13th century. The main castle houses the drawing-room, the kitchen and the dining room. It is our entertaining space, so to speak. The south tower is our living space. It has three floors, the first floor houses my library and study. The other two floors have bedrooms.”

He gestured at the north tower, “The north tower is smaller, but it is where guests stay when we have them.”

“It is preserved wonderfully,” Harry said.

“Oh yes, it takes a lot of upkeep,” Howard said with a chuckle, “Would you care for a cup of tea in the drawing-room?”

“Absolutely.”

Harry followed Howard into the drawing-room, which was more like a miniature great hall. He sat down in an armchair by the fire and Howard snapped his fingers then bossily told a house-elf to bring him tea.

Harry noted that behaviour because a long time ago, he learned that it was entirely possible to judge a person based on how they spoke to their house-elves. All the same, he busied himself with studying the family crest that was proudly carved into the stone wall above the fireplace. Underneath in golden writing were words, woven together in Latin.

_Aliss Vivere._ Harry thanked his stars that he had asked Lilly to teach him Latin because he had a feeling that knowing what the Abbott family motto was, was going to come in handy.

The tea arrived, and Harry made himself a cup, aware that he was under Howard’s watchful eye. From the moment he had arrived here, Howard had been testing his knowledge of pureblood etiquette, but Harry was married to Daphne Greengrass, he knew how to make a cup of tea like a pureblood even if he wasn’t one.

He drew back with his cup of tea and saucer in hand and smiled at Howard, “Thank you.”

Howard was visibly surprised, but he covered it up quickly, “So what official business brings you here?”

“It is rather sensitive information,” Harry confessed, “Which was why I wished to discuss it in person. There was an incident earlier today, and a young girl called Nina Frost became an orphan.”

There was a flicker of recognition in Howard’s eyes at the name.

“A child?” Howard asked.

Harry bowed his head, “She is five years old, and she is distantly related to you. I have a family tree if that would be useful?”

Howard shook his head and put his cup of tea down. He took his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at the wall behind them. A painted tree on the wall sprung to life, showing beautifully painted faces with golden writing beneath them.

Harry put his cup of tea down and got to his feet. He watched curiously as Howard touched the face of a beautiful blonde woman with cropped hair, “Angela.”

“Your wife,” Harry realised.

Howard nodded, “She was a kind soul. A muggle-born, but so gifted and with so much love in her heart. She was a Hufflepuff, just like Hannah. My daughter, she is so much like her mother.”

Harry looked at the portrait, “I am so sorry that you lost her.”

“You understand loss,” Howard said, his voice unreadable, “You know of the hole that is left in your heart when someone is ripped from your life.”

Harry nodded, “How did she die?”

“Saving lives,” Howard said, a sad smile gracing his face, “Which is how she would always have wanted to go out. There was an attack on a muggle school, the Death Eaters were looking for the illegitimate child of one of their own, so I hear.”

Harry frowned at those words.

“She was hit by a killing curse while she healed children,” Howard said, his voice broke a little, but he cleared his throat to cover it up, “She was a wonderful woman, truly wonderful.”

“She sounds it,” Harry said honestly.

Howard let his eyes hover on the portrait for a few moments longer then he sighed and ran his hand up the branches of the tree, “I know the name Frost, and I know where it comes into my heritage.”

He stopped at a man named Ambrose Abbott whose wife was called Clementine Cornfoot.

“My grandmother,” Howard said, pointing to Clementine, “She was a Cornfoot and somewhere along the line, a Cornfoot married a Frenchman called Deveraux Frost.”

Howard continued up then moved along as the line branched out, “There. This girl must not have any direct relatives if you are going back to 1904 to make a connection.”

“She doesn’t,” Harry sighed.

“There are other options,” Howard pointed out, “My grandmother, Clementine, she had a brother.”

Howard stopped on a man by the name of Stephan Cornfoot.

“He had two children,” Howard explained, “A son who carried on the family name. Stefan is still alive, and he has recently lost his only son. He perished in the Battle of Hogwarts.”

Harry nodded, “I know that he’s an option, but Stefan is doing the best he can during hard times. His livelihood was torn down in the attacks on Diagon Alley during the war, and he is just beginning to get back on his feet with the rebuilding of his shop and after the death of his son.”

“I agree,” Howard said, his eyes scanning the tree, “The Cornfoots did indeed fall on hard times when “Cornfoot’s Cauldrons” was burned down. However, the daughter of Stephan Cornfoot, Aphrodite married into the Crouch family.”

Harry had seen this coming, but he had an answer prepared.

“They had three children, Lareina, Almina and Julian.”

“Julian is by no means a suitable guardian for a young child,” Harry said, and Howard nodded his agreement instantly.

“Almina’s line starts and ends with Theodore and as I am sure you are aware, his wife is pregnant with twins,” Harry said calmly, “They cannot care for a five-year-old child and two newborn babies.”

Howard met Harry’s eye, “But you are very closely associated with Lareina’s line, are you not?”

“Of course I am, Lareina is my mother-in-law,” Harry said, fixing Howard with a knowing look, “Which you know, of course. However, Astoria is 19 years old and the CEO of a globally recognised company, she cannot take in a child.”

Howard nodded once more.

“And Daphne and I have just adopted Teddy,” Harry said, “I would take Nina in if I could, Howard. I would take her in a heartbeat. I look at that little girl, and I see myself, stuck in limbo between two paths—either capable of being raised by a wizarding family who understood me or muggles who didn’t. I didn’t get to make that choice and the people who made it for me, chose wrong. I do not want to choose wrong for Nina.”

Howard looked at the family tree once more. He traced his way down the Frosts to the name “Nina Frost”. There was no painting attached, just the golden letters hovering in front of them.

“I can’t in good faith take in another child. It would be entirely unfair to my son,” Harry said simply. He looked at Howard, “But you could. You could give Nina a good life, you have the space, the resources and the time for her now that Hannah is grown up.”

Howard looked into the fire as he considered Harry’s words.

“I am not asking you to adopt her, or raise her as your own child,” Harry said honestly, “I am just asking you to take her in as your ward.”

Howard remained silent.

“Teach her right from wrong. Teach her how to be kind. Teach her that she will be stronger for all that she has lost,” Harry said softly, “And she will grow into a fine young woman that society can be proud of. She will not grow cold and hard in an orphanage where nobody understands her like Voldemort did.”

Howard looked at Harry once more, “You are asking a lot of me, Harry.”

“I know I am,” Harry said, “But the Abbott family motto is _Live for Others_ , is it not?”

Howard’s eyes hovered on the golden words above the fireplace. He bowed his head in a nod, “I shall take her in as my ward, but I must make you aware that while I will teach her all that I can, she will be raised primarily by house-elves. I will take her along where my charity work is concerned, as I did Hannah, but I still work very closely with the DMLE and the Wizengamot as you well know.”

“I understand that,” Harry said sincerely, “But you will still be giving that little girl a far better life than you would if she was raised in an orphanage.”

Howard bowed his head, “When will you bring her?”

“Tonight, I expect,” Harry answered.

“I shall make sure that Hannah is here to greet her,” Howard said, “A friendly face will be appreciated, I am sure.”

“Indeed,” Harry agreed, “Thank you, Howard. I know that we do not always see eye to eye where the Wizengamot is concerned, but I appreciate your kindness.”

“It is the decent thing to do, Harry,” Howard said, “And I cannot in good faith, allow her to go to an orphanage when it is within my capacity to do the decent thing.”

Harry nodded, “I want to make you aware that my experiences this week have given me cause to put forward new legislation to Kingsley. I want there to be more protection for these children, and I want there to be somewhere for them to go when no family can be found. If you had not accepted Nina, there would be nowhere for her to go in the wizarding world.”

“You are talking about an exclusively wizarding orphanage?” Howard asked.

“Yes,” Harry said, “I have a building in mind and the resources to get it off of the ground, but public backing will also be required of course.”

“I will completely back you,” Howard assured him, “Such an ambitious undertaking at your age is bold of you and admirable. I do not believe that many people will openly oppose you on the Wizengamot where such a venture is concerned.”

Harry smiled and bowed his head, “Thank you, Howard. I shall return with Nina this evening and make sure that she settles in comfortably. The required paperwork will be sent via owl in the coming days.”

“Of course,” Howard said with a nod, “And Harry?”

Harry paused and turned around in the doorway.

Howard smiled at him and said, “Your father was never one for pureblood etiquette. He surrounded himself with blood traitors and muggle-borns as if to make a mockery of the rest of us. He openly opposed us for having too much power, but you are a credit to the Potter family name. you have immense power, more than any other person on the Wizengamot but you only use it for good, as the Potters always have done.”

Harry smiled at that, “Thank you, Howard. Such high praise from a respectable man such as yourself humbles me.”

Howard chuckled, “Your wife has taught you everything that you know, hasn’t she?”

“Indeed, she has,” Harry said with a proud smile.

“It is wonderful to see a union between a Potter and a Greengrass once more,” Howard said, “Your families have always worked in tandem, and when they do, they make one hell of a team.”

Harry smiled broadly, “Yes, we do,” he agreed, “Thank you for your time, Howard.”

Harry said with a note of finality as he left Abbott Castle.

* * *

When Harry got back to the department, he found Rob at his desk.

“How did your afternoon tea go?” Rob asked sarcastically.

Harry raised an eyebrow at the Auror, “Is that a note of bitterness I hear, Rob?”

“Don’t try that pureblood shit with me, Potter,” Rob scoffed.

“Potter, is it now?” Harry asked with a snort.

“Sorry would you prefer Marquess Potter?”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Howard Abbott has agreed to take Nina on as his ward. I offered to drop her off tonight, and he is expecting the paperwork via owl within the coming days.”

“Just like that?” Rob scoffed, “No resistance?”

“Of course there was resistance,” Harry said honestly, “But I know how to speak to men like him. I know what to say to convince them.”

“Because you’re one of them,” Rob said with a roll of his eyes.

“On the Wizengamot, that is who I am,” Harry agreed, “But here, I’m just Harry. I was born into that world Rob, but it’s all new to me. I hate pulling the title out, but with men like Howard Abbott, it’s the only way to get things done. He’s a traditionalist which isn’t a bad thing if you know how to talk to them.”

“And you know this how?”

“Because my wife is from a traditionalist family,” Harry said simply, “Are you going to come with me to drop Nina off?”

“I’ll have to, you’re not qualified yet,” Rob snorted, “Does this mean I’m going to see your world, Marquess?”

“Don’t call me that,” Harry muttered irritably.

“Sorry, do you prefer Your Highness?”

“Fuck off.”

“Your holiness? Your oh – chosen one -greatness?”

Harry turned around and found Rob grinning.

The Irish Auror leant against the door into the waiting room where they had left Nina, “We’re going to make a great team. Between us, we can talk to plebs and kings.”

“He’s an Earl,” Harry said, shooting Rob a grin as he opened the door, “Not a King.”

Rob snorted and muttered, “Not much difference is there? They both live in a bloody castle.”

Harry ignored Rob and knelt in front of Nina, “Hey Nina. I think I found you a new home.”

“Is it a nice one?” Nina asked eagerly.

“It’s a lovely one,” Harry said, “It’s a place called Abbott Castle. The man who is going to take you in is called Howard, and he is a nice man when you get to know him.”

Nina watched Harry with interest.

“He has a daughter called Hannah who is very kind,” Harry continued, “She’s a grown-up, like me. Do you think that sounds okay?”

Nina nodded, “A castle like Hogwarts?”

“A smaller castle than that,” Harry said with a smile, “But yes. I can take you there tonight if you would like that?”

Nina nodded once more, “Thank you for finding me a new home mister Auror Harry. I didn’t want to go to one of the bad places.”

Harry smiled sadly and got to his feet, “Don’t worry sweetie. I intend to make sure that nobody has to go to one of those bad places ever again.”

Nina grabbed his hand and jumped to her feet, and Harry looked up at Rob. The Auror smiled at him and said, “You’re doing good, kid.”

Harry felt a surge of pride at those words as he, Rob and Nina left the ministry to take Nina to her new home.

* * *

When Harry stepped out of the fireplace that evening, he looked exhausted.

“Sorry I’m late, babe,” Harry yawned, “Hell of a day. Is Teddy in bed?”

“Yeah, I had to put him down early tonight, sorry baby,” Daphne said, wrapping her arms around him, “He had a bit of temperature, Andi said he seemed a bit bunged up. It’s nothing a mild pepper up potion won’t sort in the morning though.”

“You’re amazing,” Harry said, kissing her lightly and resting his forehead against hers.

“What made today so bad?” Daphne asked.

“Well, we nearly acquired another kid,” Harry said, sitting down heavily in a chair by the fire.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “How?”

“Her parents died this morning,” Harry replied, “It was a potions accident. Rob went into this room and got a family tree. Her mother was a muggle-born, but she had manifested signs of magic, so he wanted to place her with a wizarding family. He had to go back five generations to make a connection, I mean five generations…that’s not even third cousins is it?”

Daphne shook her head, “No, it’s further back than that.”

“Her surname is Frost, but way back in the 1800s a Frost who came over from France married a Cornfoot, so that meant that the only living relatives were those who were descended from the Cornfoots. Stefan Cornfoot wasn’t an option, he’s not in a position to take a child under his wing right now.”

“Which left my branch of the Crouch’s?” Daphne guessed, “Because my grandmother was a Cornfoot.”

Harry nodded, “But Astoria is too young, and we’ve just adopted a baby. The only other option was to go through your Great Grandfather’s sister, Clementine.”

“To the Abbotts?” Daphne asked in surprise.

Harry nodded, “So I spent my afternoon drinking tea at Abbott Castle and convincing Howard to take Nina in as his ward.”

“And he agreed?” Daphne asked.

“I can be convincing when I need to be,” Harry said with a smile, “Even if he did spend my entire visit trying to trip me up with tests of how well I could hold my own against him. I think he forgot that I married a Greengrass.”

Daphne grinned slyly, “Harry James Potter, playing the perfect pureblood? I _am_ proud.”

Harry chuckled, “I’m just happy that I found that little girl a home where she can be safe and accepted. Otherwise, she would have been thrown in a muggle orphanage and left to her own devices for six years until she got her Hogwarts letter.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “I sense an ‘I need to change the world again’ coming on.”

“I do,” Harry agreed, “And I have a plan.”

“Of course you do,” Daphne said with a smile.

Harry closed his eyes and conjured up his Patronus. He then recorded a message, “We have a situation, and I need your help. Potter Manor tonight at 8pm.”

He then duplicated the Patronus and sent it off, stags dashing in all directions.

“How many people did you send that to?” Daphne asked curiously.

“A few,” Harry replied.

“What few?”

“The few that can help,” Harry said, his eyes on that poor little girl, “Hermione who will bring Draco, Neville who will bring Lilly, Ginny and Molly.”

“Molly?” Daphne asked in surprise.

Harry nodded, “You’ll understand tonight,” he promised, disappearing out of the backdoor after the children.

* * *

That evening, shortly after 8pm, it all became clear.

Harry had gathered everyone in the drawing-room. He then stood to make an announcement, “I have been working on placement this week, and throughout that placement, I have realised that the wizarding world needs to change and it needs to change soon. There is no form of child protective service in our world, which is so unbelievably wrong. I have seen black and blue, hexed kids this week. I spent my afternoon charming Howard Abbott into taking in this beautiful little kid called Nina because the only way to avoid putting her in a muggle orphanage was to go back _five generations_ on her family tree to find a relative who would take her in. It needs to change.”

Molly smiled proudly while the others nodded their agreement.

“I’m not going to allow there to be any more Harry Potters or Tom Riddles,” Harry said firmly, “Which is why I plan on putting a new law forward to Kingsley tomorrow. We need a new department. Domestics is useless so what we need instead is Child Protective Services. We need somewhere that kids can go and be cared for after they witness a tragedy like the death of a parent. We need somewhere that kids can go when they are scared of the person that they live with.”

He took a breath, “And we need a law that allows Aurors to take children out of the custody of parents they believe to be abusive. We need them to authorise legilimency and veritaserum testing on those suspected of child abuse. All of this is going to be put forward to Kingsley tomorrow and then hopefully to the Wizengamot in the form of a set of reforms, but that’s not what I need you guys for.”

Ginny smiled as she sensed where Harry was going with this.

“I need you guys for the last part. This part is, I think, the most important,” Harry said honestly, “We need somewhere safe for kids to go, kids who don’t have anywhere else. Kids who need to be adopted or who just need a safe, nurturing environment to grow up in while they wait to go to Hogwarts and I want to create that, with your help.”

“You want to create a wizarding orphanage,” Ginny said softly.

“Yeah, I do,” Harry agreed.

“Oh, Harry,” Hermione said, bringing her hand up to her mouth, “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

Harry looked over at her, but more to the point at Draco who was sitting by her side.

“I want the Ministry to make proper use of Malfoy Manor, Draco,” Harry said, looking his friend directly in the eye, “I want them to make it into a safe, happy place for kids because that will be proof that happiness can really be found in the darkest of places. I have it on good authority that Kingsley is going to go for it, by which I mean I’ve already asked him as a friend,” Harry admitted, “And we know that the only way this will work is with the right people behind the wheel.”

“And you think those people are us?” Neville asked in surprise.

“Of course those people are us,” Harry said, “We’ve changed the world before, and we can do it again. We _will_ do it again because we have to. Neville, you and I can make sure that the kids go through the right people, that they don’t get lost in a screwed up system. Lilly, I was hoping you would take on a little bit of extra work to train a matron for the orphanage.”

Lilly nodded, “Of course.”

“Hermione, I need you for the legal side of it all,” Harry said.

Hermione smiled tearfully, “Of course you do.”

“Draco, I need you to help me turn the home you hated into a safe haven.”

Draco swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded, “I think I can do that.”

“Gin,” Harry said, his eyes falling on his ex-girlfriend, “I was hoping you would be the Matron. I can see you doing a damn good job of looking after those kids, and I know that you want to be a Healer.”

Ginny smiled broadly, “I’d be honoured.”

“And Molly,” Harry said finally, his eyes falling on the woman he thought of as a mother, “There is nobody I trust more than you to run my orphanage. You took me in when I needed someone, and you raised me to be the man that I am today. No muggles who looked after me before then did that, you did that, you and Arthur.”

Molly’s eyes welled up, and she rushed across the room to draw him into a hug. Harry hugged her back and heard the word “-honoured-” through her tears.

Daphne smiled tearfully at Harry from the doorway of the room. She nodded and gave him a thumbs-up, and he managed a tearful smile back.

Time to change the world again.

* * *

“Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth Weir smiled at her husband, “John. Did you call this meeting?”

John Sheppard shook his head, “No, I thought you did.”

Weir shook her head, “Jack?”

Jack Sumner shook his head, “Nope, I thought it was one of you.”

“So who asked all of us here then?” Sheppard frowned, looking around the room. They had all been called into the main Auror department and given that it was almost the end of their trainee’s placement week, they thought that one of them had gotten into a spot of trouble.

“I did.”

They all looked up in surprise.

“Rob!” Weir exclaimed.

Rob smiled and waved at her, “Lizzie.”

“Back off,” Sheppard said, giving him a warning glare, “This isn’t Auror training Rob. We’re not kids anymore, Elizabeth and I are married now.”

“I am perfectly aware of that, don’t worry Sheppard,” Rob said, shutting the door behind him, “I didn’t call you here to split up your marriage.”

“Why did you call us here then Wolfe?” Sumner asked, looking down at the younger man. He was aware of the fact that Rob had gone through Auror training with Weir and Sheppard.

“To talk to you about a young recruit of yours,” Rob said, “The one you bundled in with me, Harry Potter.”

“What has he done?” Sheppard asked instantly.

“Nothing but good,” Rob said, crossing his arms and staring them down, “Which is why I’m here to knock some sense into you all. We are severely understaffed here, and I know you’re under pressure to release some of those trainees into the department.”

“Don’t spread rumours,” Weir said coolly.

“Everyone knows it,” Rob said smoothly, “That kid is wasted in Auror training, and you all know it. He has done more good here in a week than I’ve done in five years working Domestics. He cares, and he has heart, not to mention political pull and the hearts of the nation on his side.”

“He’s the saviour of the wizarding world, of course, he does,” Sumner remarked irritably.

“He is brilliant,” Rob said, “And I know what’s in the works. Come May, June at a push, this entire department is going to go through the wringer. We can all sense a change coming so here’s my proposal, release Potter now.”

“What?” Sumner barked.

“Release Potter, let him work with me. He’s doing great things,” Rob said, “He managed to get emergency legislation through to the Minister for Magic. At the end of this week, they are going to sit to discuss what they are calling the ‘Child Protection Reforms’. What happens in that courtroom is going to be huge, and he should be a part of it. He made it happen, he should be here with me to build it.”

“You want us to release him as a Junior Auror?” Sheppard asked in disbelief, “Without putting him through any of the exams?”

“Put him through the exams,” Rob said simply, “I don’t think he’ll pass all of them, he’ll probably stumble on the theoretical ones because that’s not what he’s best at. Where that kid shines is out here in the field, making a difference.”

“You’re insane, no wonder they chucked you in Domestics,” Sheppard said with a shake of his head, “He’s six months into first year, he won’t pass them all.”

“I guarantee you, he’ll pass every practical exam you throw at him,” Rob said confidently, “And do you know what? I reckon he’ll even beat some of the records set by Sirius and Moody.”

They all looked at him for a long moment.

“You know his talents are wasted sitting in a classroom when he’s so badly needed _here_ ,” Rob said with a note of finality.

Weir sighed and looked at the other two men, “I hate to admit it, but Rob has a point. Harry is special, we always knew it, but we didn’t want him to get big-headed, so we treat him like any other Recruit but maybe…maybe he would be better off out here, where he can make a difference.”

Sumner looked at Weir for a long moment then sighed too, “Yes, Wolfe, you do make a valid point,” he conceded.

“But at the end of this week, the choice has to be Harry’s,” Sheppard re-iterated, “We can put the idea forward to him, but if he doesn’t want to do it then you have to respect that choice.”

“Of course I will,” Rob said sincerely.

Sumner got to his feet, “And since you are so sure of yourself, let’s make this a little more interesting. If Harry agrees to take the exams and he does pass them all, he’s your partner, a fully-fledged Junior Auror. But if he flunks any of the practical exams, he stays in Auror training, and you hand your badge over.”

“Deal,” Rob said with a smirk, “I’ve had faith in this kid since he said Voldemort was back five years ago. That’s what got me stuck in Domestics so what's one more gamble, huh?”

“You are a loose cannon,” Sheppard said, glaring at the other man as Rob opened the door for them.

Rob smirked once more, “You just don’t like me because Lizzie dated me first.”

“Elizabeth had the sense to break up with you,” Sheppard pointed out.

“And Elizabeth can fight her own battles,” Weir added, glaring at both men, “Stop acting like children.”

Rob smiled sweetly as he held the door for them, “Of course. Nice to see you again, Lizzie.”

Weir’s cheeks flushed, and Sheppard glared at Rob again, “You’re pushing it, mate.”

Rob smiled sweetly at him, it was totally false, and Sheppard knew it, but to save a fight, he simply placed his hand on Weir’s back and led her out of the room.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	83. New Horizons

Friday night brought the most important Wizengamot meeting yet, as far as Harry was concerned.

“Time to vote!” Kingsley’s voice boomed, “All rise!”

Every member of the Wizengamot rose to their feet.

“Are we in favour of the launch of Child Protective Services? A division of the DMLE that has the welfare of children, wizarding, squib or otherwise, at heart?” Kingsley asked the group as a whole, “If the vote is positive, we will launch this under the Child Protective Reforms. Within these reforms will be guidelines on what happens to the child in the event of the death of a parent. There will be legislation to prevent that child from being placed in a dangerous situation. There will be measures put in place to ensure that the child is being raised safely, and happily.”

There was an overall murmur of agreement.

Howard Abbott was the first to speak, as the vote went in alphabetical order. “I shall begin the voting, Kingsley. Aye!”

Draco nodded, “Aye.”

“Aye,” Susan agreed.

Harry smiled proudly as they went around the room. Kevin Brown and Sorenson Cauldwell voted for the act. Surprisingly enough, so did Julian Crouch.

“Aye!” Michael Corner Senior said.

“Aye,” Stefan Cornfoot agreed from his side.

Stuart Fawley, who often voted against them out of spite even said, “Aye.”

Cygnus smiled at Harry and nodded in his direction, “Aye.”

“Aye,” Matthias Jones said.

“Aye,” Neville said proudly from Harry’s side.

Hamish MacDougall and Ernie MacMillan both actioned the vote. The first to openly oppose it was Graham Montague, “Nay. It will be too much of a strain on the DMLE’s already weak resources.”

A general scoff of outrage and disbelief went around the room.

Theo shook his head at the idiot down below and said, “Well, it is one that I will happily fund. Aye.”

Oberon Parkinson bowed his head, “Aye. I concur with Viscount Nott, I would be honoured to fund such a venture.”

Gareth Perks nodded his agreement, “Aye, I sanction this law.”

Harry smiled proudly, “Aye. As do I.”

Clara shot Harry and his friends a knowing look, “Aye.”

“Aye,” Slughorn said, beaming proudly at his former student which made Harry feel oddly humbled.

“I support this law,” Kingsley said as it came to him, “Aye.”

Ezekiel Smith, unsurprisingly, shook his head, “Nay. We have always looked after our own, I see no reason to change this approach.”

There was another round of irritated murmuring as Percy threw his hat into the ring, “We have always looked out for our own if they were pureblood or perhaps even half-blood. We have never looked out for our own if they were squibs,” He said sternly, “And that must change so aye! I sanction this vote.”

“Aye,” Oliver said with a nod.

Finally, the vote ended with Belinda Zabini, who held her head high and said, “Aye.”

Kingsley smacked his hammer against the lectern and said, “Law sanctioned!”

Harry grinned triumphantly.

Kingsley smiled and said, “Also on the agenda to discuss today, is the launch of a new service. It will be run by the ministry, but it has been privately funded by two of our own. I would like to give my personal thanks to Marquess Potter and Earl Abbott for funding the launch of Lupin House. An exclusively wizarding orphanage which will take in the children of magical parents, regardless of whether they have manifested magic yet or not. If they are from a magical background and have knowledge of our world, they should be given a safe place to live until they reach school age, whether they attend in the wizarding or in the muggle world.”

There was a round of applause at this and Harry met Howard’s eye. The older man bowed his head and smiled proudly at Harry.

* * *

Harry was supposed to go home after he left the courtroom where the Wizengamot sat. He was already going to be unbelievably late home, and he expected Daphne to be at least a little bit pissed off with him, even if she knew it was for a good cause.

He glanced at the clock and said goodbye to his friends. As much as he wanted to try and race home in time to help put Teddy to bed, there was somewhere else that he really needed to be right now, so he headed to the lifts and rode up.

When he reached the Auror bullpen, the A shift was switching over with the B shift. Harry scanned the bullpen and saw Rob, sitting behind his desk, looking exhausted. He headed over to him and dropped into a seat across from his desk with a grin.

“Thought you were going home to your kid after your big hot-shot lordy meeting?” Rob asked dryly.

“I’m meant to be,” Harry admitted, “But there’s something I want to tell you. I’m not meant to tell you yet, but I’m going to tell you anyway.”

Rob grinned at him, “It’s only a week, and I’ve already taught you how to bend the rules.”

“I really didn’t need you to teach me how to do that,” Harry chuckled, “You wanna hear the news?”

“Yeah, go on what’s happening?”

“As of Monday you won’t be one guy at a desk on his own anymore,” Harry said, leaning forward and lowering his voice, “You’ll have your own department, Child Protective Services.”

Rob’s eyes widened, “Yeah?”

“Yeah, it was a landslide with the Wizengamot Rob,” Harry said excitedly, “And it’s not just a fancy title either. It’s an _office_ with co-workers, and more legal powers too. I’m talking veritaserum and legilimency testing on parents or guardians who you suspect of abuse.”

Rob leant back in his chair and grinned, “Damn kid, you’re good.”

Harry grinned broadly, “I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet.”

Rob raised an eyebrow at him.

“When Kingsley makes the announcement about the Child Protection Reforms that I just told you about on Monday, he’s going to be announcing something else,” Harry said proudly, “The opening of Lupin House, Britain’s first exclusively wizarding orphanage.”

Rob’s grin widened, “Alright if we’re playing this game, I’m going to tell you something that I shouldn’t.”

Harry looked at the older Auror in surprise, “Something good?”

“That depends on your perspective,” Rob shrugged, “But I had a little chat with your trainers the other night because I reckon you are wasted in a classroom.”

“Necessary evil, though,” Harry said simply.

“Not for someone like you,” Rob said, catching Harry’s eye, “On Monday they are going to bring you in for a meeting, and they are going to ask you if you want to come and work for me.”

Harry’s eyes widened, “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Rob promised, “You’re bringing this change about Harry, you should be here to see it through. It’s a choice though, if you don’t want to, I won’t be offended. But if you _do_ want to, you’re going to have to pass your exams.”

Harry sighed, “Right,”

“Not all of them mind, just the physical ones,” Rob added, “But I doubt they will tell you that. They’ll want to keep you on edge.”

At this, Harry relaxed a little, “Just the practical ones? I might…well I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I think I might be able to do that.”

“I’m sure you can,” Rob said with a smile, “But just make sure it’s what you want before you make a decision, alright?”

“I don’t have to think about it,” Harry said honestly, thinking of how much he had hated but equally enjoyed the past week. He also had incredible respect for Rob, “I want to do it.”

“If all goes well then, I’ll see you on Monday,” Rob said, patting him on the back and grinning, “But right now, you better get your arse home to your missus before she sends out a search party.”

“Alright,” Harry said, grinning back at Rob, “See you Monday, hopefully.”

Rob gave him the thumbs up, and Harry left, his mind spinning at a million miles per hour.

* * *

Harry had spent Friday evening talking things over, not to mention discussing things with Daphne. She had been entirely on board and also incredibly proud at the fact Harry was even being offered this opportunity.

As such, the remainder of his weekend had been spent studying. He felt confident in his physical abilities, but the theoretical side of it was where he would be let down so he crammed as much knowledge into his brain as he could.

By the time Monday morning came around, he felt a little nervous, but he tried not to let on to his friends as they did their usual morning warm-up together. They hit the showers and dressed, ready for their first class of the day.

However, the moment they left the locker room, Sumner called, “Potter! Meeting in my office, stat!”

“Yes sir,” Harry said, his heart beating fast as he followed Sumner to his office. He had expected this, but he was surprised by the fact that Sheppard and Weir were also there.

Sumner sat down behind his desk and surveyed Harry, “I expect you know what this is about?”

“No, sir,” Harry lied.

Sheppard laughed, “You need to get better at that Potter, even the weakest criminal wouldn’t believe you.”

“Not to mention, we know Auror Wolfe,” Weir replied, smiling at Harry, “He has struggled to keep his mouth shut for the past 15 years, I do not expect he would start now.”

Harry smiled sheepishly, “He did give me an inkling of what was to come,” he admitted.

Sumner nodded, “And do you know what you want to do?”

Harry nodded too, “I want to take the exams, sir, and if I pass, I would like to join Auror Wolfe in Domestics.”

“Alright,” Sumner said, a hint of pride in his voice, “But, you need to take them today.”

“Alright,” Harry said simply.

“Now,” Sumner added.

Harry nodded, “Okay.”

Sumner looked over at Sheppard. The younger Auror smiled and said, “I reckon Wolfe might have been right about you, Potter. Come on, I’ll walk you to the exam centre, and I’ll fill you in on what’s coming along the way.”

Harry followed him to the door, and once he got there, both Sumner and Weir wished him luck. He thanked them both and left with Sheppard. All the Recruits were now in their first class of the day, so the corridors were almost entirely empty.

“You will be sitting six exams,” Sheppard told him, “You will sit the theoretical exams first and then you will sit the practical exams. There are three of each.”

Harry nodded as he listened intently.

“The theoretical exams are ‘Potions & Herbology’, ‘Stealth, Tracking & Disguise’ and ‘Law and Ethics’. Feel okay about that?”

“Apart from Law and Ethics, yeah,” Harry replied honestly.

Sheppard grinned, “A lot of people feel that way about Auror Weir’s classes.”

Harry laughed at that comment.

“As far as the practical exams go, you will sit them in a particular order. The order is designed to make it accurate for a real-life situation. All practical exams will take place in the simulation room one after the other, and I will not be telling you the names of the three sections, understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Harry said.

They reached the simulation room corridor which had changed from the last time he had been here. This time there were only two doors, one labelled as ‘THEORETICAL’ and the other as ‘PRACTICAL’.

“Once you head into that room, you have two hours to complete all of the theory tests,” Sheppard told him, “When you come out, get yourself a glass of water, take at least ten minutes to get yourself into gear. Then head into the physical. It will be over when you have completed all three tasks. If you die, it’s an automatic fail. Any questions?”

Harry shook his head.

Sheppard smiled and said, “Good. Do you know what Sirius asked at that point when we were asked for questions?”

Harry chuckled, “Something cheeky probably?”

“Oh yeah,” Sheppard said, his smile was one of amusement, “He said, _Does it also count as a fail if we accidentally amputate a major body part or do we just get an Alastor Moody award_?”

Harry laughed out loud at that comment, “Well…it’s kind of a fair question.”

“The head trainer at the time really didn’t think so,” Sheppard said, clapping Harry on the back, “Good luck Potter.”

“Thank you, sir,” Harry said, taking a deep breath and opening the door into the theoretical exam room.

The two hours passed quickly, but the exams weren’t actually as hard as Harry was expecting. The Potions & Herbology one had mostly been about critical ingredients for brewing potions such as Polyjuice Potion. There had also been a section on common poisons and how to deal with them that he found easy. The Stealth, Tracking and Disguise exam had also been a breeze. The section about the pros and cons of Animagi, and on the process of becoming one was a dream for Harry. The only exam that he really struggled with was the Law and Ethics one, which was to be expected because he spent most of that class napping through Weir’s monotone speeches.

When he left the room, he took Sheppard’s advice. He had a glass of water, went to the toilet and took ten minutes to compose himself then he took a deep, steadying breath and entered the simulation room.

From that moment, it was fast and furious. He was faced with a war zone at first, clearly designed to put his field healing to the test, and he thought that he did pretty well all things considered. The next section of the test involved dealing with a hostage situation which he also found relatively easy. The duel at the end of that section was a breeze compared to some of the duels he had fought as a teenager against the likes of Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange.

The final section was the one he had expected but dreaded. It was a resistance test, he was subjected to the imperius curse which he managed to fight, and then he was worn down with the Cruciatus Curse, but he kept his resolve. Just when he thought it was all over, his mind was invaded through the use of Legilimency. That was the hardest part of the entire exam if he was honest, but the relatively basic grasp that he had on Occlumency had been enough to force the assailant out of his head.

Once he had done that, the scenario around him faded away until all that was left was a desk. Sitting behind that desk were three people; Aurors Sumner, Sheppard and Weir.

Harry pushed himself to his feet and wiped his brow, “How did I do?” he asked a little breathlessly.

“Well,” Weir said, looking down at his results, “Let’s start with the theory tests. You passed ‘Potions & Herbology’ and ‘Stealth, Tracking and Disguise’ adequately.”

Harry’s face fell, “I failed ‘Law & Ethics, didn’t I?”

“No,” Sheppard said, glancing down at Harry’s result, “You scraped a pass but when we say scraped, we _mean_ scraped because you actually got exactly what you needed to pass and no more.”

“And I think some of that was by chance in the multiple-choice section,” Weir admitted.

“Yeah,” Harry said sheepishly, “It probably was. Sorry, Auror Weir.”

Sumner looked like he was struggling to contain a look of amusement. He also glanced down at Harry’s result then he looked back up at the young man, “However you did exceedingly well in your Practical exams. You passed all three with flying colours, you even beat a few records.”

“Did I?” Harry asked in surprise.

Sumner nodded, “Yep, you beat the hostage situation faster than anyone else has. The record holder for that was your godfather. Sirius always was able to talk his way out of anything.”

Harry grinned at that news.

“You also set a new record for the resistance section,” Sheppard told Harry, “That record was held by Moody so you should be proud about that one because he was a tough old bastard.”

“I beat that section faster than Moody?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“You sure did son,” Sumner said, he smiled at Harry, “And you set a record overall time for the practical exam too. You know who you beat on that one?”

Harry shook his head.

“Only your old dad,” Sumner said proudly.

Harry swallowed a lump in his throat, that packed a bigger punch than the others.

“He was a brilliant all-rounder your dad,” Sumner elaborated, “He was a damn good Auror, it’s no surprise his son aced his end of training exams ¾ of the way into his first year.”

“So…” Harry looked at them in disbelief, “Does that mean I’m qualified?”

Sumner got up from the desk and handed him a badge, “Proof is in the pudding Potter.”

Harry looked down at the shiny golden badge which said in bold writing above the Ministry crest, _JUNIOR AUROR,_ and underneath it was his surname emblazoned in bold, **_POTTER_**.

Sheppard walked over and smiled at him, “Congratulations Potter. Wolfe was obviously onto something, he was right to bet his badge on you.”

Harry looked up in surprise, “He bet his _badge_ on me?”

“Oh yeah,” Sumner said, smirking at Harry, “He was so sure that you were going to pass _and_ beat records that he agreed to quit if you didn’t.”

Harry was stunned by that news, “Would you actually have let him?”

“Yeah, I fucking hate that guy,” Sumner replied.

Sheppard nodded his agreement, “He’s arrogant, thinks that he knows best. That’s why he got stuck in Domestics when we all got promotions to the training centre.”

Weir stood up and walked around the table, “Wolfe didn’t end up in Domestics because he was a bad Auror. He ended up there because he was a good one because he stood up when nobody else would and told the world the news that nobody wanted to hear. I think you and he will make a good partnership Potter.”

Sheppard rolled his eyes.

Harry noticed this and said, “You really don’t like Rob, do you?”

“Nope,” Sheppard replied, “But you can obviously work with him and since you are the first in about 5 years, congratulations.”

Harry smiled, “So what happens now?”

Sumner glanced at a clock which had just appeared on the wall, “You go to lunch with your friends and tell them the good news then you head on over to the Ministry, get yourself some red robes and tell Wolfe that he was right about you because I sure as hell am not going to do it.”

Harry chuckled, “Thanks Auror Sumner for giving me this chance, and thanks for everything Aurors Sheppard and Weir.”

Sumner smiled, “It’s Jack, John and Elizabeth to you now, Harry. We aren’t your trainers anymore, we’re your colleagues.”

Harry grinned with pride at those words.

* * *

Harry practically skipped into the lunch hall. He saw his friends and made a beeline for them, they all looked up the minute that he sat down.

“Where the hell have you been all morning?” Draco asked in disbelief.

“Is everything okay?” Neville added.

“Everything is fine Nev,” Harry said, beaming, “More than fine actually. I have news, bloody brilliant news!”

“Oh no, don’t say Daphne’s pregnant,” Theo said with a grimace, “No more babies!”

“No more babies,” Harry promised, “You know how I worked with Rob all week and kind of hit it off with him?”

“Yeah,” Draco said, frowning at Harry.

“What, you’re marrying him and forming a triad?” Theo joked.

Harry rolled his eyes and punched Theo in the arm, “No, he spoke to the trainers here and told them I was wasted in a classroom, so Sumner, Sheppard and Weir let me sit my final exams today.”

“Your final, end of _third-_ year exams?” Draco asked in an outraged whisper, “It’s not even the end of first year!”

“Shh,” Neville hushed him irritably. “How did you do?”

“I passed them all, aced the practical ones,” Harry said with a smug grin, “I start working with Rob today.”

“What?” The three of them echoed.

Harry pulled his badge out of his pocket and put it on the table.

“Holy fucking Helga.”

“Don’t take the Founders names in vein Theo,” Neville joked half-heartedly as he looked down at the badge then up at Harry, “That’s huge, Harry, congratulations.”

Harry grinned, but then his face fell, “Oh…but Nev…what’s going to happen to you?”

“I’ll be fine without a partner,” Neville said, smiling at his friend, “Don’t worry about me, this is great news for you, and you bloody deserve it! What you did for that department, for kids like us, it’s brilliant Harry.”

Harry put his arm around Neville’s shoulder and said, “You know, this is going to sound sappy, but Auror partner or not, you’re still my plucky sidekick.”

Neville punched him in the arm at that.

“Ow!”

“Stop calling me your plucky sidekick!” Neville exclaimed, “Sidekick, I will accept, but I’m not plucky!”

Harry rubbed his arm but chuckled, “Alright, alright, I’ll stop,” he promised.

Neville shook his head in amusement, “You better think about heading off to your fancy new job, you’ll want to tell Rob the news.”

Harry nodded and got to his feet, “I will, but you guys will come over for drinks soon, right? So we can celebrate?”

“Yeah, course we will,” Neville promised.

With one last grin, Harry left the lunch hall. Draco and Theo looked at Neville expectantly as he dropped the happy façade.

“Are you going to cry?” Theo asked, pushing his slice of cake across the table to Neville.

Neville frowned, “Why do I feel like I just got broken up with?”

“Probably cause you did,” Draco said with a shrug.

“Yeah, your boyfriend just got a new job and ran away to pursue it,” Theo added.

“You guys aren’t gonna leave me too, are you?” Neville asked them.

“Never,” Theo said, grinning at him, “We’ve got your back Fatbottom.”

Neville rolled his eyes, “Arsehole,” he said affectionately.

“Dickhead,” Theo shot back in the same tone.

* * *

When Harry walked into the Auror department, he decided to seek out Rob before he ‘robed up’ in the iconic red Auror robes. He headed to the back of the department where Rob appeared to be dozing on his desk and knocked on it hard a couple of times.

Rob jerked awake and looked up at Harry, “Woah Potter, not a cool way to wake a guy up.”

“Don’t sleep on the job then,” Harry said with an amused smile.

Rob blinked away the blurriness in his eyes.

“I just popped in to say thanks,” Harry said with a smile, “For having faith in me.”

“You’re not staying?” Rob asked.

Harry shook his head, “Nah, it’s Auror training for another couple of years for me, but Sumner is here. He wants to talk to you about something.”

Rob’s eyes widened, “He wants to talk to me? Oh, …oh, _fuck_.”

At this point, Harry sniggered, making Rob look up sharply, “Oh, you little shit!”

“Serves you right for putting your badge on the line, partner,” Harry said, grinning and putting his own badge down on the desk.

Rob grinned, “I knew that you could do it! Yes, well done, kid!”

Harry chuckled and sat down on the edge of Rob’s desk, “I passed all of the tests, even beat some records.”

“I told them you would,” Rob said proudly, “I bloody told them!”

“So they said,” Harry snorted, “They don’t like you very much do they? Well, Sumner and Sheppard that is.”

“Sumner doesn’t like me because I was a first-year when he was a third-year in training, and I beat him all of the time,” Rob said with a grin, “Sheppard doesn’t like me because I dated his wife all the way through training.”

“You dated Weir?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“Oh yeah, she acts all strict and ethical but,” Rob whistled, “It’s the good girls Harry, they are _so_ bad.”

Harry made a face, “That’s gross.”

Rob just grinned.

“Right then,” Harry said, crossing his arms to look at the older man, “This is the point where I tell you that _every time_ someone comes into my life and believes in me, or has faith in me, it turns out they are a long-lost Father figure who knew my parents so…”

Rob nodded thoughtfully through Harry’s spiel. When he was done, he said, “Yeah, you’re right. That does happen in your life a lot, doesn’t it? You’ve got this whole epic hero persona too so I guess it’s fitting that now is the time for me to tell you the truth.”

Harry frowned, “What truth?”

Rob took a deep breath and said, “Harry…I am your father.”

“Rob, you’re a fucking idiot,” Harry said, instantly sensing his sarcasm, “That’s a line from Star Wars.”

“Good kid, you like Star Wars!” Rob clapped him on the back and laughed, “Nah in all seriousness, I knew of your parents, but I wasn’t friends with them or anything. I was a couple of years behind them in school, but I was a background Gryffindor, so they didn’t know my name.”

“A background Gryffindor?” Harry asked with a frown.

“Yeah, there are always background Gryffindors,” Rob said with a wave of his hand, “You and your friends were the heroes, but I bet there were other Gryffindors in the years below you who you would know to look at but couldn’t even hazard a guess at their names right?”

“Uh…yeah,” Harry admitted sheepishly.

“That was me, I was a background Gryffindor to the Marauders,” Rob said with a shrug, “Which was to be expected, they had big personalities. I knocked your dad off his broom once in Quidditch practise, I was a beater in his final year as captain, and I had a crush on your mum, but I hate to break it to you, Harry, everyone had a crush on your mum.”

Harry made a face.

“Not a creepy, obsessive crush like Severus Snape mind you,” Rob added, “Just a normal, I’d definitely do her’ crush.”

Harry could have gagged, “Rob, that’s my mum you’re talking about!”

“Well yeah but, Lily Evans,” Rob said with a content sigh, “The amount of wet dreams-”

“Rob!” Harry exclaimed, “Can we get down to business here. How are we going to do this?”

“Well, since you decided that you were going to restructure my department for me, you tell me what we’re doing,” Rob shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

“That’s your way of saying you’ve got no fucking clue, isn’t it?” Harry guessed.

“Yep kid, it really is.”

Harry snorted, “I don’t think anything is going to change until the big bosses tell us that it has to. The orphanage is well on it’s way to being set up, but that’s not being handled by us, I put my adopted mum in charge of that.”

“Your what?”

“Molly Weasley kind of raised me,” Harry said with a shrug, “Ron Weasley was my best friend through school, and his kid is my godson. Ginny Weasley’s kid is my goddaughter which is a bit weird because she’s my ex, but yeah, those guys are my family.”

“You dated your adopted sister?” Rob asked distastefully.

Harry rolled his eyes, “No, they didn’t actually adopt me, they just – oh do you know what, forget it. I was trying to make an analogy.”

“Don’t, analogies are my thing, find your own thing,” Rob joked, “Do you have a thing?”

“Em…I like Expelliarmus?”

“You’re a weird kid,” Rob said, shaking his head.

At that moment, a memo appeared on his desk, and he grinned.

“What is it?” Harry asked with a frown.

“It’s a call,” Rob said, “So you better robe up.”

“Why are you so happy about a call?” Harry asked curiously.

“Because it’s from the Closes,” Rob replied, turning around so that he could look at Harry while he walked backwards out of the bullpen, “It’s Hetty’s house, and your new laws came into force this morning.”

“Oh…” Harry realised, his face lighting up.

“I CAN FINALLY ARREST THE BITCH!” Rob cheered triumphantly, “EVERYONE THIS IS MY NEW PARTNER HARRY POTTER, AND I THINK I LOVE HIM!”

Harry just followed him out of the bullpen with an amused shake of his head.

* * *

Daphne was singing in the kitchen as she prepared dinner. Teddy was playing away happily upstairs, and she was enjoying a rare moment of peace and quiet.

It didn’t last long, because the front door opened, and three loud men trudged into the entrance hall. She rolled her eyes as they sought her out in the kitchen.

“Something smells great.”

Daphne turned around and raised an eyebrow at the three of them, “Boys.”

Theo grinned at her, “Hey, Daph.”

“Yes, you can stay for dinner,” She said with a roll of her eyes, “What have you done with my husband?”

“We haven’t done anything with your husband, he left us,” Draco replied.

“For some hot, rugged Irish Auror,” Neville complained.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Hot?”

“Well, he is all rugged and Irish,” Theo said with a shrug.

“Wow, way to spoil the surprise that Harry passed all of his exams, Theo,” Daphne said dryly.

“Oh come on, you knew he was going to,” Draco snorted, “He’s Harry Potter.”

“I did suspect he would pass them all,” Daphne admitted with a smile, “But why are you lot so miserable? You should be happy for him.”

“We are happy for him,” Neville said unconvincingly.

“No, we’re not, I’m fuming,” Theo objected, “How come he passed the third year exams in his first year? It’s not fair.”

“It is fair,” Daphne said, crossing her arms and staring them all down, “Yes, he’s Harry Potter, but that’s not why he passed all of the exams in first year. It’s not because they fudged them, or because they let him do whatever he wanted. It’s because he’s fucking brilliant.”

Theo snorted.

“Have any of you defeated a Dark Lord?” Daphne asked, directing the question at Theo first, “Have you?”

“No,” Theo muttered irritably.

She then turned to Draco, “No,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

Daphne then looked at Neville.

“Well, I beheaded-”

“Goddamn it Neville, beheading a snake doesn’t count,” Daphne said, glaring at him, “He is unique, and he deserves this, so all three of you need to stop wallowing in your own self-pity and start being good friends!”

Neville frowned down at his hands for a moment then nodded, “Yeah, you’re right, we do. We are being shit friends right now.”

Draco sighed, “Yeah, we kind of are.”

“What would good friends do?” Daphne asked the three of them, feeling more like a mother than ever.

“Have a party!” Theo exclaimed, “Yes, surprise party! I’m on it. Neville, you can get everyone here by floo. Draco, you sort the food out. I’ll go and sort the booze out and Daphne,” he faltered, “You can make dinner and put the kid to bed?”

“I am more than a bloody housewife and mother Theodore Nott!” Daphne exclaimed, hexing him in the direction of the front door, much to the amusement of the other two men.

* * *

Harry was on cloud number nine when he got home that night, it was later than Daphne had expected him, but he had sent her a Patronus to let her know that he wouldn’t be home until closer to 7pm.

He walked through the door and noticed that the lights were dimmed upstairs, so he made sure to stay quiet until he reached the kitchen, “Daphne, I have had the best day-” he began to say, but he stopped short when he saw Draco, Neville and Theo sitting at the table.

“What are you guys doing here?” Harry asked with a frown.

“Being good friends,” Neville said with a smile.

“And congratulating you,” Draco added.

Theo grinned and said, “SURPRISE,” with jazz hands.

At that point, several people jumped out from various hiding spots throughout the kitchen. In the commotion of it all, Harry almost missed Hermione knocking herself out on the breakfast bar as she tried to jump out from underneath it.

“Oh for the love of Rowena,” Lilly said with a roll of her eyes, “Thank the founders that one of us is a Healer.”

“I just passed field training,” Harry joked.

“Go on then, wake her up,” Lilly said with a smirk.

“Enervate,” Harry said.

Hermione woke up then cried out in pain.

Lilly said another incantation and shot Harry an amused look, “You forgot the numbing charm.”

“Oops,” Harry said, grinning around at his friends, “You didn’t have to do this, but I appreciate it, thank you,” he said, tears burning at the back of his eyes.

Daphne wrapped her arms around him and smiled, “Congratulations baby,” she said, and the pride in her voice made it all the more sweet.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	84. Today is the Day, the World Begins Again

None of the first-year recruits were surprised to be called to the lecture hall the following morning. News travelled fast, so everybody knew that Harry had left. Not everybody knew where he had gone or why he had left, but they hadn’t missed his absence for the entirety of the previous day.

When Sumner stepped out, he looked pensieve, which made Neville a little anxious.

“Alright,” He said, clapping his hands together, “You all had a placement last week. That went better for some of you than others, I assume you have all noticed Recruit Potters absence.”

Blanche’s eyes widened, “Oh my god, did Potter quit?”

Sumner rolled his eyes, “No, Potter did not quit. Potter is now a qualified Junior Auror thanks to a meddling pain in the arse that we all know as Auror Wolfe. If you ever meet him, feel free to punch him.”

He didn’t give them long to revel in this shocking news. He simply cleared his throat and continued, “However, the feedback we received about Recruits Wilde and Harper was less than satisfactory,” his eyes fell on the two recruits, “I think you both know that you have been struggling for a couple of months so unfortunately, this is where we say goodbye to you two.”

Emily burst into tears as she fled the room, making Neville roll his eyes irritably. Maxwell had a bit of temper tantrum and stormed out like a child.

Sumner sighed and crossed his arms, “We have another problem in the form of you Longbottom. You need a partner, but we have an odd number.”

Neville looked up at Sumner, “Okay?”

“So what are we going to do with you?” Sumner asked him.

Neville felt a little irritated at the thought that he could be let go from the programme because of numbers when he knew that he was one of the most promising recruits. He frowned and looked Sumner dead in the eye, “Let me do the exams too.”

“What?” Sumner scoffed.

“You let Harry do them,” Neville pointed out.

“Yes Longbottom, but-”

“But what?” Neville cut in, “But he’s the chosen one? I thought you said that didn’t win him any preferential treatment. This looks like preferential treatment to me, and I wonder what the Prophet would think about that if I presented it to them. The DMLE which has recently been exposed as corrupt, fast-tracking one trainee above all others just because he’s the chosen one.”

Sumner’s eyes darkened.

“Conniving Nev,” Theo whispered, “I’m so proud of you.”

Neville ignored this comment as he looked at Sumner, trying to gauge his response.

“Fine,” Sumner said in a low voice, “You can do the exams but, as a result of your blatant cheek and ignorance, if you fail then you are out on your ear. Do you understand?”

“Completely, sir,” Neville replied smoothly.

Draco shook his head in disbelief, “What, an idiot,” he muttered.

“Stop stealing your girlfriend’s lines,” Theo joked, nudging Draco in the side.

Draco looked at Neville, “Enjoy being a Herbology Professor mate.”

Neville raised an eyebrow at him, “What makes you so sure that I’ll fail?”

“Call it a hunch,” Draco shrugged.

“Well we’ll see about that,” Neville said, determination glinting in his eyes.

* * *

“Rob…Rob…you’re meant to be working.”

“I am working.”

“On what?” Harry asked, cocking his head to look at his partner.

“Working on how to get this desk to fucking sit straight.”

Harry rolled his eyes, pointed his wand at the desk and said, “Reparo!”

The desk wobbled but then stabilised. Harry leant on it and said, “Would you look at that, good as new.”

“I do not like you,” Rob said, pointing at Harry and poking him in the chest, “You think that you can just come in here and change laws and fix desks? Well…well you can, but I’m not happy about it.”

Harry snorted and glanced at the clock, “No calls from the Closes today. That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Hetty’s arrest will keep them quiet for a few days,” Rob shrugged, “It’s good to instil a little fear into a community like that every once in a while.”

“Hmm,” Harry hummed thoughtfully, “I wonder how Lupin House is coming along.”

“Why’d you call it that?” Rob asked curiously.

“Lupin House?” Harry mused, “It’s a metaphor I guess. Remus Lupin was basically my godfather since I’m pretty sure he was sleeping with my actual godfather-”

“Yeah, he was,” Rob said, stifling a yawn, “I walked in on them in a Potions supply cupboard once and-”

“And I’m good with that sentence ending there,” Harry said, putting his hand over Rob’s mouth, “But the point is that Remus never felt like he belonged anywhere or that he was safe anywhere so calling the orphanage Lupin House…it’s to symbolise that it’s a place where _everyone_ is accepted and where _everyone_ is safe regardless of blood status or sexuality or, well, or anything.”

“Shit speech,” Rob said with a snort, “Good sentiment though, you’re awfully sentimental, aren’t you?”

“Oh yeah, you’ve not even seen the half of it.”

Harry spun around and grinned, “Nev! What are you doing here? Do you have another placement?”

“Not exactly,” Neville said, grinning right back at Harry, “I’m your new partner.”

“Woah, paws off, _I’m_ his partner,” Rob chimed in.

“Actually, I was his partner first,” Neville said.

“Right, I am my own person,” Harry said, standing in between them, “I don’t belong to either of you, the only person who has a claim to me is Daphne. Now, what the hell do you mean Neville?”

“Well long story short, we got dragged into the lecture hall this morning,” Neville began, “And got told that perfect Potter with his scar and his broomstick and his mesmerising green eyes was getting preferential treatment.”

“Did Sumner actually say that?” Harry asked, raising an amused eyebrow at Neville.

“Nah, just practising my Draco impression,” Neville joked, “Anyway, Maxwell and Emily got kicked out because they are shit.”

“About time,” Harry said.

Neville nodded and continued, “Then Sumner started on me, saying that he didn’t know what to do with me because I didn’t have a partner and we had an odd number, so I told him to let me take the exam too. He shot me down, I threatened to go to the Prophet-”

“Did you say this to him in private or were you still in the lecture hall?” Harry cut in.

“I was still in the lecture hall,” Neville answered.

Rob grinned and clapped his hands together, “I like him, I like you kid. You’re my new favourite now.”

“Oi!” Harry objected.

“Carry on with this story, I’m enthralled,” Rob said, ignoring Harry.

Neville snorted in amusement, “I took my exams, passed them all, set a bunch of records-”

“What-”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t beat any of yours,” Neville said, guessing where Harry was about to go with that, “Just beat my dad’s score on two of the theory tests and my mum’s on the other one.”

Harry grinned, “Course you did.”

“And then Sumner gave me a badge,” Neville finished.

“And chucked you in Domestics for your cheek?” Rob guessed.

“Nah, I picked it,” Neville replied.

“What is it with you kids and this department?” Rob began, then he frowned, “Woah, or did you just pick it so you could be with your buddy?”

“No, I picked it because I like what you two are doing here,” Neville replied, “I voted for the reforms too you know? I backed Lupin House publically. I wasn’t an orphan technically, but my parents weren’t in my life, I was raised by my grandmother, and she didn’t abuse me, but she did neglect me. I agree with everything that Harry said about this department, about how it should ensure that there aren’t anymore Harry Potters or Tom Riddles. Still, I don’t want there to be anymore Neville Longbottoms either.”

“What is it with you guys and speeches?” Rob scoffed, “Why does everything have to be a heroic speech? This isn’t a movie, there’s no one filming your monologues. I mean who is this dude Harry, is he like the Han to your Luke?”

Harry snorted in amusement, “He’s more Princess Leia.”

“Right, I know enough about Star Wars to be offended by that,” Neville said, looking between the two of them in amusement.

“You’re definitely going to fit in here then,” Rob said with a grin, “So if you two are partners then what am I? The third wheel? Or is this a three-way? Because let me tell you, three ways can get very complicated. It’s all fun and games until someone doesn’t want to share anymore.”

“Now _that_ was a long time ago,” A new voice said.

Harry looked from Rob to Elizabeth Weir and said, “ _That’s_ why Sheppard hates you.”

Rob grinned, “Guilty. To what do I owe this rare pleasure, Elizabeth?”

“I’m just the messenger,” Elizabeth said, leaning against the wall, “Sumner doesn’t like you, so he sent me.”

“Touché,” Rob said with a smirk.

“There is going to be a big shakeup in the department,” Elizabeth informed him, “Not just your new department, but within the whole Auror department. It’s going to happen over the next week or two, but big changes are afoot, you were right about that when we spoke last week.”

“Are you going to tell me anything more than that or is this a cryptic kind of chat?” Rob asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“I can’t tell you much more, just that the squads will become more like teams,” Elizabeth answered, “Each squad will have a minimum of six members of staff, so you guys are going to be getting some new colleagues soon. For the moment though, these guys are partners, and you’re in charge of them Rob. Around the ministry, they can do what they want, but you can’t let them out in the field on their own yet, they are still Juniors.”

“Got it, I’m their babysitter,” Rob said, mock saluting her.

“If that’s the way you want to take it, then that’s fine,” Elizabeth said, smiling slightly.

“Such a diplomat these days,” Rob said with a shake of his head.

“Kids will do that to you,” Elizabeth chuckled.

“Oh yeah,” Rob agreed with a smile, “So, any hints on who our new colleagues will be?”

“Even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you,” Elizabeth said, smirking and turning on her heel.

Rob cocked his head at her as she walked away. He shook his head and said, “Do you know what, 15 years on and I would still go there every day and twice on Sunday.”

“I can see why Sheppard hates you,” Neville said matter of factly.

“Yeah, the feelings mutual,” Rob said calmly, “So…there are three of us, and we still have one desk. This is going to get real cosy, do you think we should set a little magical fire and toast marshmallows? We can talk about our first kisses and tell each other our deepest darkest secrets.”

“Or we could just do this,” Neville said, clicking his fingers, twisting his wrist and expanding the desk so that there was more than enough room for three of them.

Rob rolled his eyes, “Harry, make him go away. He’s ruining our fun already.”

Harry just grinned, “Welcome to Domestics, my plucky little sidekick.”

“OW!”

* * *

“Stop sulking.”

Draco huffed, “I’m not sulking.”

“Yes, you are,” Hermione said, pulling on her coat and handing him his, “You’re not going to be less of an Auror than Harry or Neville just because they passed their exams first.”

“Passed their exams first?” Draco scoffed, “Hermione, they passed them two years early!”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Draco, there is more to this than meets the eye. Do you really think it’s a coincidence that Harry and Neville happen to get this chance just weeks after the mass walkout from the DMLE?”

Draco frowned, “Wait a minute…do you _know_ something?”

“Of course I don’t, the Aurors are a secretive bunch,” Hermione said, shooting him an irritated look, “And if I did know anything, obviously I would have told you. I’m just being logical and what makes sense is for them to pull any able recruits out of training to get numbers in the department up.”

“So what’s your point?” Draco asked as they reached the alley and prepared to apparate.

“That you and Theo might follow in their footsteps sooner than you think,” Hermione said, smiling at him, “So stop whining and put on your big boy pants, you’re going to need them before you walk into Malfoy Manor again.”

Draco nodded and took a deep breath, “Let’s go.”

They apparated to the Manor together, and the first sign that significant changes were afoot was right in front of them. Where grand, iron-wrought gates had once said, “MALFOY MANOR”, they now said, “LUPIN HOUSE.”

“My father would be turning in his grave,” Draco said, looking up at the house, “If he was dead.”

Hermione took his hand, “What does your mother think?”

“That nothing but good can come of this,” Draco said, smiling at his fiancé, “You know how soft she is underneath the whole pureblood trophy wife façade.”

Hermione chuckled as they began to walk up the path towards the Manor. The gardens had been kept immaculate, probably due to the house-elves that had come with the house when the ministry acquired it.

“Just stop for a minute,” Draco said, halfway up the path.

Hermione frowned and looked around, thinking he had sensed some sort of trap with his Auror senses, “What is it?”

“I just…” Draco stared at the house, a look in his eyes that Hermione had not seen for a long time. It was a haunted look like he was lost in a moment from his past.

“I’m going to find it hard to walk in there with you,” Draco said quietly, “Because of what they did to you the last time we were in this place together.”

Hermione’s eyes softened. She tightened her grip on his hand and said, “This is a fresh start for everyone, Draco; us included.”

He took a breath and nodded, letting Hermione lead him up the garden path to the front door. He almost reached up to place his hand on the door. This was him acting on autopilot, but then he stopped himself. The door was unlocked now, all they had to do was turn the handle and push it open.

The moment they stepped into the entrance hall, they could sense the changes that were afoot in the house. All of the green had been replaced with a neutral off-white which looked great with the dark wood stairs and beams. All of the family portraits had been taken away too, which made Draco feel oddly sad for the first time. He had spent so long being ashamed of all of the ‘Malfoy’ in him that he hadn’t realised how proud he had been of some of his ancestors.

“Come on,” Hermione said softly, dragging him towards the drawing-room, “Molly needs our help.”

Draco nodded and let her lead him through a house that had once been his. When they stepped out into the drawing-room, it was clear that this was the room that was being redecorated at the moment because it was half complete.

“Hermione, Draco!” Molly said, pulling them both in for hugs when she saw them.

Hermione smiled and drew back from the hug, “Hi Molly, how are you getting on?”

“Oh we’re getting on great Hermione,” Molly said cheerfully, “We have all of the bedrooms converted, and the dining room has been turned into a dining hall. The house-elves have asked for some changes to the kitchen, and the drawing-room needs to be turned into a community hall, but we’re almost there.”

“That’s great news,” Draco said, smiling a little sadly.

Molly noticed, “Oh Draco dear, I’m so sorry. I should never have asked you to come along. This must be difficult for you, seeing your family home change completely.”

“It’s a bit of a shock, but it’s for a good cause,” Draco said honestly, “And you said you needed my help with something?”

“Yes,” Molly replied, “Our scanning spells all show a compartment underneath the drawing-room floor, but there’s not a trapdoor or any other obvious way to open it. We need to make sure we open it and fill it. I worry that if we don’t, one of the kids might work out how to open it and then trap another one there for a prank. It’s just the sort of thing that George and-” pain flashed through her eyes, “- Fred might have done so I know how badly it could go wrong.”

Draco nodded, his eyes falling on the section of the floor where he knew that compartment was. He swallowed a lump in his throat and walked over to one of the gas lights on the wall. All it took was for him to pull the middle section of the light down, and the floorboards covering the secret compartment slid away.

Molly thanked him, but Draco didn’t hear her. He was too busy staring into the secret compartment. He didn’t hear Hermione tell Molly that of course, she would help stock up the hospital wing at the weekend before the official opening of the orphanage. He didn’t hear Hermione tell Molly that they had better head home because Draco had had a long day.

She took his arm and dragged him out of the house, and he followed her, in a daze. It wasn’t until they got outside, and the fresh air hit him that he pulled himself out of his rut.

“It was so small,” Draco said.

Hermione was reasonably sure that she knew what had been bothering him, so she nodded, “Was that the first time in a while that you’ve seen it?”

“Yeah,” Draco said quietly, “And I just…I couldn’t help but think that it was so small, and suddenly the fear I felt when he put me in there as a kid was vindicated. I remember feeling like I couldn’t breathe, wondering how much more air was in there.”

Hermione wrapped her arms around him, the memories had made him physically shake.

Draco sighed and shook his head, as if he was trying to shake the bad memories away, “You know something, Hermione? If you’re right about them pulling us out of training early…if we get a say in where we’re going, I think I’d like to work in Child Protective Services, and that’s not because I want to stick with Harry and Neville.”

“I would never expect you to make a choice based on sentiment over your own career path,” Hermione said, smiling proudly at him, “Because I know you’re better than that.”

Draco smiled weakly back at her, “It’s a good department, one I wished had existed when I was a kid because…no kid should have to grow up in fear of their own father. No kid should have to endure what I did, or Theo did, or Daphne and Astoria did. All my family members who made it in the ministry are known for things that I’m not proud of, but I want to start a trend. I want to be known as Draco Black, the man who pushed through reforms that changed the world or the man who worked for the first-ever department that cared about the welfare of wizarding kids.”

“Or the man who allowed his family home to be turned into a safe haven for scared, unwanted children,” Hermione said, reaching up and kissing him lightly, “Don’t put so much weight on your shoulders, you’re already doing a great job.”

Draco smiled warmly at that and kissed her back.

* * *

“Harry, dear!”

Harry hugged Molly as tightly as she hugged him in the kitchens of Lupin House.

“I didn’t know you were dropping by,” Molly said cheerfully.

“I just need to do a couple of things,” Harry said with a smile, “Put a playground in and make the gardens more kid-friendly, you know? I’m thinking of chopping some wood down from the trees at the back of the garden and then transfiguring it into a climbing area. What do you think?”

“As long as you make it safe,” Molly said.

“I’ve got a toddler now, I’m an expert at kid-proofing,” Harry said with a smile, “How are we feeling about the grand opening next week?”

“Ready,” Molly answered honestly, “It’s just finishing touches now.”

“Rob, Nev and I have been working hard too,” Harry informed her, “We’ve sourced quite a few kids that we’re going to pull out of muggle orphanages. Some of them suspect that they have magical heritage and others have no idea so we’ll talk to them first and explain what’s happening then we’ll bring them here if that’s what they want.”

Molly smiled proudly.

“There are a couple of kids in temporary homes that will come here too,” Harry added, “Like Jack and Joe, these kids that Rob and I managed to get out of the Closes earlier in the week. We expect there to be about ten kids coming in the early part of next week and from there on, we’ll send any kids here that need a safe place.”

“It’s wonderful, Harry,” Molly said, smiling tearfully at Harry, “You ought to be very proud.”

“You ought to be proud,” Harry said, smiling warmly at the woman, “I just had the idea. You put it all into practice.”

“Thank you,” Molly said, hugging Harry once more.

* * *

“Hey Gin, how are you doing?”

Ginny looked up and smiled, “Great, Lilly, this place is great.”

“Yeah, Harry really is quite something, isn’t he?” Lilly asked, looking around the hospital wing, “Converting the long gallery into a hospital wing…he’s a clever guy.”

“He’s brilliant,” Ginny said as she looked around her new domain. The long gallery had large, ornate windows lining one whole side of the room. As the name suggested, it was a long thin room which was currently lined with 10 hospital beds. At the far end of the room was a small area filled with children’s toys, books and magazines and next to it a large, glass-panelled door led into a little office space where Ginny could brew potions, “It’s no wonder we all had a crush on him at some point really.”

Lilly laughed, “I never did. Now Neville, on the other hand…I always loved him, but Harry didn’t do it for me.”

Ginny smiled, “I used to think I loved him, but really I think it all got distorted. He was my brothers best friend, and my mum had practically adopted him. There is such a thing as too complicated.”

“There is,” Lilly agreed, sitting down on one of the hospital beds and looking over at Hope as she slept soundly in a bassinet, “Are you sure you’re up to this so soon after having Hope?”

Ginny nodded, she smiled at her sleeping daughter, “The time feels right. Hope is getting less dependent on me the older she gets. I know she’s only five months old, but this is a live-in role, and my mum is here too so we can make it work between us.”

“What does Blaise think of the whole thing?” Lilly asked.

Ginny smiled, “He’s supportive if not completely understanding about the fact I want to work rather than be a full-time mother, but Blanche gets it.”

Lilly smiled at that, “Well that’s what matters, isn’t it? She’s the one you love.”

Ginny didn’t deny the statement, she just ignored it, “Zara will help with Hope too, of course.”

“Of course,” Lilly echoed.

“I just don’t want to put my life on hold just because I had a baby when I was young. I want Hope to grow up seeing me work and care for her, I want her to know that she didn’t hold me back and that, not once, did I ever regret her because-” Ginny cut herself off for a moment and took a breath before finishing, “Because I often felt like getting pregnant young held my mum back and I felt guilty. I don’t ever want Hope to feel guilty for being born.”

Lilly smiled and pulled Ginny in for a hug, “You’re an inspiration, and you are going to do great here. I know Harry wanted me to set you up as the Healer here but Gin, you didn’t need any help. You know it all, and you have a mothering instinct which is very important, that’s something I could never bring to this place.”

“Not yet anyway,” Ginny said.

Lilly smiled sadly, “Maybe not ever. But _you_ can bring that to this place, and you are going to be great here. You are going to be great, and I think Hope is going to be very proud of her mum.”

Ginny smiled broadly at that, “Thanks, Lil. I’m really glad you know? That after spending his life feeling like he wasn’t worth anyone’s love, that Neville found you.”

“Thanks, Ginny,” Lilly said, smiling genuinely at the redhead, “I know how close you and Neville are so coming from you, that means a lot.”

* * *

Sadie’s baby shower was a quiet, low-key affair. It was just her, Hermione, Daphne, Lilly and Susan. They had showered Sadie with gifts, and now they were all drinking mocktails in the drawing-room of number 11. Sadie was fed up, it was clear that she just wanted the babies out now. She was curled up with Hermione, half-asleep and oblivious to the conversations going on around her.

For the time of year that it was, the weather was awful, but Lilly was sitting by the window all the same, watching the rain lash against it.

“What’s up with you?” Daphne asked, leaning over the back of her chair.

“I like the rain,” Lilly shrugged, shutting her eyes, “It’s peaceful.”

Daphne hummed, “It also helps clean up a murder.”

Lilly opened one eye and looked up at her, “You wouldn’t need the rain to clean up after you if you used an icicle as the murder weapon.”

Susan snorted from her armchair, “What is wrong with the both of you?”

Daphne grinned down at her best friend, “You’re such a Ravenclaw, I love it.”

Lilly laughed and looked over at Susan, “Has she always been like this?”

“Yeah, she hasn’t changed,” Susan answered, shooting Daphne a grin.

“And I never will,” Daphne said cheerfully, “Right everyone, get your betting heads on! I’m taking bets on whether its gonna be boy, boy, girl, girl, or boy, girl babies!”

“I don’t really care what they are, I just want them out!” Sadie objected.

“You won’t be saying that when you go into labour,” Lilly said.

“Lilly,” Hermione groaned, “Why’d you have to say that. You’ll end up setting her…”

Sadie burst into tears, “…off.”

“Sorry,” Lilly said sheepishly.

“Idiot,” Daphne murmured in her ear affectionately.

* * *

“Harry!”

Harry locked up the snake cabin and looked over to the back door, “Yeah?”

“Come inside, Theo’s here,” Daphne called, “He wants to talk to you.”

Harry frowned at that. He and Theo were friends, but they were by no means as close as Harry was with some of his other friends. All the same, he stepped into the kitchen and smiled at the Slytherin, “Hey Theo, how are things at the centre?”

“Dull without you guys there to keep us on edge,” Theo answered honestly.

Harry chuckled, “Sorry, I won’t make it worse by telling you what I’ve been up to this week then,” he said with an apologetic smile.

Theo smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, “That’s not why I’m here. I need to talk to somebody about…something… and I know we’re not that close, but you’re my only friend with a kid so…”

“Ask whatever you want, I promise I’ll try to give you a decent answer,” Harry said as he put the kettle on to boil.

Theo looked down at his hands and sighed, “Sadie’s due date is getting closer and closer, and it’s not that I’m freaking out. I’m actually excited, but we keep saying that we don’t mind if we have two boys or two girls, or a combination and that’s…that’s not the truth.”

Harry smiled knowingly, “You want a boy? There’s no shame in that, every guy wants a boy, but not everyone admits it.”

“It’s more than that,” Theo admitted, “There is this part of me, a huge part that would love a boy and the reason is so that there’s someone to carry on the family name. It’s such an old-fashioned pureblood outlook, so I feel guilty for feeling like that, but…it’s not for the same reason that my father wanted a boy.”

Harry cocked his head, “Go on.”

“I want a boy so that he can carry on the Nott name,” Theo said with a sigh, “I want it to mean something different, Harry. I don’t want the name to be associated with Voldemort or Death Eaters. I want there to be Notts in a few generations time who are Aurors and Healers, and I want that to be because of me.”

Harry laughed and set a cup of coffee down in front of him, “Your father wanted the family name to carry on so that he could have an heir who would spread fear throughout history.”

Theo frowned at his cup of coffee.

“But you, Theo, you’re just vain,” Harry said, smiling fondly at his friend.

At this, Theo chuckled, “Rings true…”

“Just a bit,” Harry grinned, “And there’s no shame in it either. Why do you think I gave Teddy my surname? I didn’t have to do that, sometimes I still feel like it was a selfish decision. There was a part of me that wanted Teddy to have the same name as Daphne and I so that he knows while he’s growing up that he truly is part of our family, but there’s more to it than that too.”

Theo looked up in surprise, “Is there?”

Harry nodded, “Worst case scenario, Teddy is my heir. He’s not my blood, but I love him as if he were and I know he would do the family name proud.”

“You don’t think you and Daphne will have kids?” Theo asked him.

“I hope we will,” Harry said, he smiled at Theo, “But she has her career, and she loves it. By the time she decides she’s ready, maybe that chance will have passed for us. But we’ll always have Teddy, and I have a feeling he’s not the first kid we’ll adopt. I can’t help myself, I feel bad for strays.”

Theo laughed at that, “Thanks, Harry.”

“Anytime,” Harry promised with a smile.

* * *

“Hermione knows something.”

Theo snorted, “Have you met your fiancé? She’s the Gryffindor princess, she knows everything.”

Draco wrapped a towel around himself as he and Theo stepped out of the showers. It still felt odd to go through the motions at training while the other two were working as real-life Aurors now.

“No, I mean she knows something about what’s going on in the Auror department,” Draco elaborated, “She made a cryptic comment, and you know her, even if she says she doesn’t like gossip she can’t help but hear things.”

“She’s a liar, she loves gossip,” Theo said, shooting his best friend a grin, “What did she say?”

“Something about how she didn’t think you and I would be stuck here on our own for much longer,” Draco said quietly, “She thinks it’s connected to the mass walkout. She told me she didn’t know anything, but she’s a bad liar.”

Theo’s eyes lit up, “You reckon we might get to do our exams too?”

“I don’t know,” Draco answered honestly, “And if we do, how do we even know that we’ll pass? We’re not soldiers like Harry and Neville.”

Theo shrugged, “Arguably we are, we were just on the wrong side.”

Draco let that thought sink in for a moment as he got dressed. Once he was done, he looked up at Theo and sighed, “Look, Theo, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. Assuming Hermione is onto something here and we do get out of training sooner than we expect…I know you want to go to Vice because you have this idea in your head of us taking on drug cartels together and in your daydream about it there are explosions, and we’re always wearing sunglasses, but I don’t think that’s what I want.”

Theo chuckled, “Yeah, it’s not what I want right now either. I mean don’t get me wrong, Vice is the dream job, but you don’t want to start at the top, do you?”

Draco was surprised by his friend's outlook.

“Plus, I’m going to be a Dad soon,” Theo continued as they left the locker room, “Really, kind of scarily soon actually, and that gets you thinking about a lot like it gets you thinking about your own childhood and what you’re going to do differently from your parents, you know? I know it sounds like I just want to hang out with my friends, but I kind of want to work in Child Protective Services.”

At this, Draco smiled.

“Not because I miss Harry or Neville,” Theo added, “But because I think I could make a real difference there.”

“Yeah,” Draco said, still smiling at his best friend, “Me too.”

* * *

One week after Neville had joined Rob and Harry in Domestics, the trio entered the DMLE and reached a rather significant roadblock, or rather, human block.

“What the fuck?” Rob muttered. The foyer leading into the DMLE was full of Aurors.

“Some sort of announcement,” Another Auror said.

“It’s big,” Auror Graves added.

“How do you know?” Harry asked.

“Because it’s not Head Auror Robards who is giving the announcement,” Graves replied, “It’s coming from the Minister for Magic.”

“It’s got to be related to the huge shakeup that Elizabeth told us about,” Harry said in an undertone.

“Well done Sherlock,” Rob remarked sarcastically, “Bet you feel like a really smart Auror right now eh?”

Neville sniggered as Harry rolled his eyes and told Rob where to shove it.

“Attention please!”

Everyone stood to attention and fell silent as Kingsley Shacklebolt swept into the foyer.

“I am sure you all want to know why you are not allowed to enter the department,” Kingsley said in his booming voice, “So I will endeavour to make this explanation a quick one. The Auror department has been redesigned overnight. When you enter, you will discover that there is no longer a loud, open bullpen. Instead, you will be faced with a corridor, lined with doors. Each door leads to a bullpen, and there are seven of them, one for each department.”

Whispers went around the group of Aurors at this news because as it stood, there were actually nine departments.

“Do not be alarmed, nobody is going to lose their job over this change,” Kingsley promised, “This is to signify the start of a new era for this department. As we discovered upon the introduction of Veritaserum testing, the DMLE is the most corrupt department in the ministry. We need to change that and to do so, we need fresh blood and trust. That is why we have decided to shake up the department by creating teams instead of squads.”

Harry frowned, unsure what the difference was if he was honest.

“There will be a lot of new people joining the department, due to a fast-tracking programme within the training centre,” Kingsley continued, “And due to some Aurors returning to fieldwork. As a result of this, not all of you will be working in the same speciality that you are now. We will now be operating with seven teams. The Juvenile Crime squad has been disbanded, but two Aurors from that squad will be going to work in the Improper Use of Magic Office. It has come to our attention that sending owls threatening children with court when they are scared and accidentally use magic, is not the best idea. This is why every incident of underage magic will now be investigated by an Auror.”

Harry smiled, he approved of that idea, but it hadn’t been one that he had put to Kingsley.

“The other squad that will cease to exist in its current form is the Burglary and Robbery squad,” Kingsley continued, “We will transfer the responsibility of these crimes to the Wizarding Law Enforcement squad and re-distribute the Aurors who currently work for the squad.”

Another murmur went around the group of Aurors upon hearing this.

“Finally, in the wake of this change, the Domestics team will be renamed Child Protective Services,” Kingsley added, “And Auror Wolfe will pioneer this first for wizarding Britain, along with Junior Aurors Potter and Longbottom. Are there any questions?”

Rob raised his hand.

“Yes, Auror Wolfe?” Kingsley said.

“If you’ve rejigged the bullpen, can I not be next to the cleaning cupboard anymore?” Rob asked.

“You are no longer next to the cleaning cupboard Auror Wolfe,” Kingsley replied with a smile, “In fact, you are very close to the front.”

Rob did a fist pump.

“Any further questions?” Kingsley asked.

Rob raised his hand again, “Yes, Auror Wolfe?”

“Can Homicide be at the back with the cleaning cupboard?” Rob asked, making Harry and Neville snigger.

“No. Are there any other _relevant_ questions?” Kingsley asked.

Rob threw his hand up again.

Kingsley rolled his eyes, “No Auror Wolfe, Vice is not going to be next to the cleaning cupboard either.”

Rob just smirked as Kingsley continued, “Before I let you all explore the new department, congratulations are in order. As I expect most of you know, Junior Aurors Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom passed through into the department last week. Having seen how successful this was, Head Trainer Sumner decided to allow anyone willing to attempt their final exams, a chance. All of those who passed are now joining us in this department with immediate effect because you have all made me aware that the department is severely understaffed.”

Harry and Neville caught each other’s eyes, desperately hoping that Draco and Theo had gone for it and had passed because neither of the Slytherins had mentioned anything to them.

“Without further ado let me congratulate our new Junior Aurors,” Kingsley said, and he read through a list of about 6 people who Harry knew were in second or third year. Then he said, “Blanche Zabini, Ophelia Wood, Draco Black and Theodore Nott.”

Harry grinned, and high-fived Neville as all of the Junior Aurors that Kingsley had mentioned entered the room from a side door.

“In addition to this, several trainers form the centre have decided to come back into the field,” Kingsley continued, “So I would like to welcome back Auror Cameron Mitchell who will be heading up the Vice team.”

Mitchell stepped out from the same side room that the recruits had done, and someone else followed him.

“And Auror Elizabeth Weir, who will be sharing leadership of the new Child Protective Services team,” Kingsley said.

At this, Rob grinned as Elizabeth approached them.

“Lizzie.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “Rob.”

“How on Earth did you persuade your husband to let you work on the same team as me?” Rob asked cheerfully.

Elizabeth smiled sweetly, “I told him that I wanted to work in this team, he doesn’t rule my life, you know.”

“Doesn’t he?” Rob asked, far too suggestively.

At this, Harry and Neville shared a semi-disgusted look.

“Lastly,” Kingsley said over the noise, “In light of all of these changes, Head Auror Robards has decided to step down to allow the department a true fresh start. In his place is a new Head Auror who has elected to bring in an Assistant Head to deal with any issues that arise from this drastic change in the way that the department works.”

Rob narrowed his eyes as he awaited the punch-line.

“So please welcome back an esteemed Auror, well known for the astounding work he did during the ten years he spent in Homicide-”

“Oh no,” Rob muttered.

“Oh yes,” Elizabeth smirked.

“Auror John Sheppard!”

There was a round of applause as John stepped out of the side room.

“Oh goddamn it!” Rob complained.

From across the room, John grinned and waved at Rob, then winked to Elizabeth who stood by his side.

Rob glared at the man who was now very much his boss.

“And,” Kingsley said, his voice booming over the crowd, “Our new Head Auror, a man whom you have all worked with and whom you all respect. After spending the last decade training up new recruits, I am honoured to welcome back Auror Jack Sumner.”

“No!” Rob exclaimed, “Oh for fucks sake, I quit.”

“I’ll happily take that resignation Auror Wolfe!” Sumner called across the foyer.

“I’ll never give you the satisfaction!” Rob called back.

At this point, Kingsley interjected, “Without further ado, please enter your new department. You will find a full list of team members on the door to each bullpen. Thank you for your time, I have faith in every Auror in this room, regardless of rank. Together we can make the DMLE great again.”

With that, he left, and Harry and Neville really wanted to go straight to Draco and Theo, but Rob had other ideas.

“Come on then dumb and dumber, let’s find out who else is joining our little harem.”

“Rob, this is not a harem,” Neville said as he followed his boss into the new department.

It was strange to see a corridor where a huge room had previously been, but it was much cleaner and quieter. Large signs above each door stated what team it belonged to.

Rob positively squealed, “Third door along! _Third_! Guys! We’re next door to Homicide and across the corridor from Vice!”

“You’re easily pleased,” Harry said in amusement as he looked on the door.

The list read,

**_Senior Auror Rob Wolfe_ **

**_Senior Auror Elizabeth Weir_ **

**_Junior Auror Harry Potter_ **

**_Junior Auror Neville Longbottom_ **

**_Junior Auror Draco Black_ **

**_Junior Auror Theodore Nott_ **

****

Harry grinned, “Yes! We have Draco and Theo!”

Neville grinned too.

“Yep, the gang is back together again,” Theo said, grinning at them as he and Draco stepped into the corridor.

Rob opened the door and rolled his eyes at Elizabeth, “Four _Junior_ Aurors,” he scoffed as they stepped inside, “Why did we get all the kids?”

“Who cares? We got the best kids,” Elizabeth said with a slight smile.

“We would have had the best kids,” Rob teased.

“My husband is the Assistant Head Auror Rob,” Elizabeth said with another of those ‘too sweet’ smiles.

“Which is the only reason why he was okay with you working for me,” Rob said, rolling his eyes, “I hate him, have I mentioned that?”

“One or two hundred times,” Elizabeth replied smoothly, “And I work with you, not for you. We are both Senior Aurors, therefore equals.”

“And also partners,” Rob pointed out.

“Only in the field,” Elizabeth said, giving him a pointed look.

“Still partners,” Rob said, glancing over at the four ‘kids’ who were happily chatting to each other, “So as much as he plays the part, Sheppard can’t hate me that much, or he would never have let you join this team. You know as well as I do that in the field, our lives are in each other’s hands.”

Elizabeth smiled, “You are more perceptive than you look.”

“I’m a pretty good Auror,” Rob joked.

Elizabeth nodded, her eyes also falling on the ‘kids’, “You’re right, John doesn’t like you, but he does know that you still care about me and he knows that you are a good Auror so yes, he trusts you with my life. _But_ , if you try anything on with me, he _will_ kill you-”

Rob opened his mouth, already equipped with a witty retort. However, Elizabeth beat him to it, “ _After_ I’ve finished with you.”

Rob shut his mouth and nodded, “Okay, got it.”

Elizabeth smirked as Rob got to his feet and clapped his hands, “Right kiddos, less gossiping, more changing the world, please! Let’s open an orphanage and prevent any future Dark Lords rising!”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	85. Forever Changed

“Harry, where are you going?”

Harry leant down to kiss Daphne, he suspected that she was half asleep anyway, “I’m on call baby, Rob just sent me a Patronus.”

“What time is it?” Daphne mumbled.

“3am,” Harry said, kissing her on the forehead, “Go back to sleep, I’ll see you later.”

“Be safe.”

“I always am,” Harry promised, slipping out of the bedroom and transfiguring himself into his Auror robes.

He yawned as he darted through the house as quietly as possible to avoid waking Teddy up. Harry had been working for Child Protective Services, or CPS as they tended to nickname it, for a few weeks now and he was finally settling into the new routine. They all had to be on call at night, it was part of the job, a part that Harry had expected. On any given night, two Aurors were on call, and tonight it was himself and Rob.

The Patronus from Rob hadn’t said much, but they never did. Part of that was because of the fact that patronuses could be intercepted, but it was mostly because Rob hated night time calls. When Harry met him in the atrium of the ministry, he was scowling.

“What’s the call?” Harry asked, stifling a yawn, “Was it from the Closes?”

“No,” Rob replied, yawning.

This surprised Harry as it was generally from the Closes at this time of night, “No?”

“Yes, Potter, I said no, keep up,” Rob complained dryly, “It’s from the muggle world.”

“Isn’t that out of our jurisdiction?”

“The child is a wizard so no,” Rob said, glaring at him.

“You’re in a spectacularly bad mood tonight, worse than usual,” Harry commented.

“Well my kid was being an arsehole, and now I’m here so I’m kind of tired,” Rob said irritably, “Why are you so happy in the middle of the night?”

Harry shrugged as they walked out of the ministry together, “I’m kind of used to it, I guess. I used to spend my nights wandering around Hogwarts talking to ghosts, spying on people and trying to catch people who I thought were scheming against me.”

Rob snorted, “I’m gonna go ahead and nickname you Junior Mad-Eye right now.”

Harry chuckled, “Well he’s probably the most famous Auror ever so I’m alright with that. Where is this case?”

“Muggle London,” Rob replied, “It’s the kid of a muggle politician. The nanny is a witch, she called it in because she thinks the kid is being abused.”

“Why do we have to go in the middle of the night?” Harry asked with a frown.

“Because the call came in after we had finished for the day and the nanny reckons that it’s happening at night,” Rob replied.

Harry’s eyes darkened, “Does that mean…”

“No, I don’t think it’s that kind of abuse,” Rob said with a shake of his head, “Either way we’re doing this like a stakeout.”

“A stakeout?” Harry asked excitedly.

“Oh yeah, this is your first one, isn’t it?” Rob asked. He yawned again, “I hope you don’t think it’s gonna be all doughnuts and sharing secrets because I plan on sleeping while you do all the work.”

“Sounds about right,” Harry snorted.

Rob smirked and told Harry the co-ordinates. They apparated to the large London townhouse together and camped out in the back garden under disillusionment and perception charms. Rob taught Harry how to set up appropriate wards then he cast a spell that made all human heat signatures within the house show up through the walls so that they could monitor the inhabitants of the houses movements.

“So what’s the story here?” Harry asked in a whisper as they watched a boy, who looked around 7 years old, pacing his bedroom floor.

“Muggle-born kid, pretty much raised by the nanny who is a witch and has told him stories about magic and Hogwarts,” Rob said with a wave of his hand, “He thinks of it like a fairy-tale land where all of his dreams are going to come true.”

Harry frowned, that was exactly what Hogwarts had been for him.

“His dad is a Muggle, a powerful but stupid one,” Rob continued, “He doesn’t understand magic, he just thinks something is wrong with his son, and that makes him angry, so he lashes out.”

Harry sighed, “Sounds familiar.”

“Yeah,” Rob said, sighing too, “That’s everyone’s story, isn’t it? Abused by muggles who are scared of what they don’t understand.”

Harry nodded.

“I don’t know how you grew up to be a muggle lover cause I sure as hell ain’t,” Rob admitted, “I mean don’t get me wrong, I never wanted to join Voldemort and kill them all, but I don’t like them either.”

“Neither do I,” Harry admitted, “I’m not a muggle lover. Like you said, I don’t hate them all, but I do find the majority of them to be ignorant and small-minded. I think about how my aunt, uncle and cousin treated me and I think about what happened to you, and to Tom Riddle.”

Rob didn’t say anything.

“This whole situation gets me thinking,” Harry said, looking up at the big house, “About how you can never tell what a person has been through just by looking at them. I mean Draco and I are the perfect example of that. Would you say that we’re friends?”

“You seem pretty friendly,” Rob replied, “Not as close as you and Neville mind but friendly enough.”

“Yeah well, we used to hate each other,” Harry said with an amused smile, “And I don’t mean we were petty to each other. We hated each other, we fought, we duelled, we tried to kill each other on at least two occasions, but now we’re close friends, and he’s marrying my best friend.”

“I know enough about your life to say that sounds legit,” Rob joked.

Harry chuckled, “The point was when Draco met me he thought I had been raised with a silver spoon in my mouth, getting everything handed to me on a golden platter because I was the boy-who-lived. He had no idea that I had been raised by muggles who were incapable of loving me and who beat me,” he pointed out, “And I thought Draco had the perfect pureblood life with the perfect house and the perfect family. I had no idea that his father had controlled his mother and abused both of them in a far worse way than my uncle had abused me.”

Rob looked up in surprise, “Did I say you were happy tonight? Cause I’m taking that back, you’re depressing the fuck out of me. But that does come as a surprise to me that Draco was abused as a kid.”

“Yeah, he hides it better than I do,” Harry said with a sigh, “He and Theo both do.”

“Theo too?” Rob asked. He shook his head, “Well that makes sense now…”

“What does?”

“Why they both picked CPS,” Rob replied, “Elizabeth told me that they hadn’t been told they were going to join us, they chose to. I figured they had done it just because they wanted their little friend group to stick together.”

“No,” Harry said firmly, “They both had difficult childhoods. Theo’s father killed his mother, then he locked Theo up in that same basement every time he misbehaved. All of our simulation tests, the ones designed to break us in Auror training, were based around our childhood trauma.”

“What is it with you attracting abused kids?” Rob asked with a frown, “Are you like a magnet or something?”

“I must be,” Harry said with a weak laugh, “The point is that they are all there because they have a reason to be.”

“That makes me feel better about getting all the kids,” Rob joked.

They fell silent for a while, but then Rob spoke up again, “I’m sorry if I’ve been a bit of a dick to the other guys this last week by the way. I was kind of pissed off because I thought they picked CPS for the wrong reasons but…I’m struggling to adapt too. I went from being one guy working with abused kids to sharing responsibility for four Juniors with my ex-girlfriend. Sometimes I feel like the outsider with you guys all being so close.”

Harry snorted, “I thought we weren’t sharing secrets? Do you think I should set a campfire and get some marshmallows?”

“Fuck off Potter.”

Harry grinned and looked over at the older man, “That’s more like the Rob I know. But in all seriousness, we are close, but we’re also professional while we’re at work. We would do great if you chucked us into a fight, but we don’t know it all yet, and that’s why we need you. I reckon that’s why you got Elizabeth too, she’s a feminine touch which I think is something our team needs. But she’s also a bit of a paper pusher, between the two of you we’ll learn how to file properly.”

Rob sighed, “It’s still shit, though, having to work with your ex when her husband is your boss.”

Harry wanted to make a joke, but he didn’t think it was what Rob needed right now, “You didn’t really have a three-way with her and Sheppard did you?”

“Nah,” Rob replied, “It was just Lizzie and me, to begin with. We got together at the start of training, whirlwind romance but I thought it would last forever like a sentimental idiot. John was my friend back then, a close friend actually…”

Harry’s eyes widened, “Was he your Auror partner while you were in training?”

“Yup,” Rob replied bitterly, “Elizabeth hated him at first, thought he was this flyboy idiot which he was. Then we went into second year, and something changed, something happened in a simulation exercise, and John realised how much of a dick he was so he started being a bit nicer which led to Elizabeth falling in love with him and breaking up with me.”

Harry made a face, “Ouch.”

“She was always graceful and apologetic about it,” Rob said with a shrug, “So it was hard to be angry at her, but John was never gracious in victory. We got split up as Auror partners after a particularly violent duel and we never really talked after that.”

“That does suck,” Harry agreed, “But you must have fallen in love again since you had Nick?”

“Yeah, I did,” Rob said, he shrugged, “That didn’t last either. I never thought it would, to be honest, I met Gaia in the Closes. One of my first cases…it was a domestic call from a neighbour. She answered the door, heavily pregnant and black and blue. She tried to make up an excuse about how she’d had a fall. I ended up duelling her husband and arresting him for assault. I looked after her, took her in and protected her, fell in love with her and promised I’d raise her kid as my own. She had issues, addiction mostly,” Rob shrugged, “She killed herself, but I promised her I’d raise Nick differently from the way she had been raised so I’m doing that.”

Harry hadn’t realised that Nicholas wasn’t biologically Rob’s son.

“She was a squib,” Rob added, “That’s why she lived in the Closes. Her family cast her out when she was 14, she ended up working in Knockturn Alley for a bunch of idiots who got her addicted to all sorts of illegal potions. It’s why I can’t stand entitled pricks like your Earl Abbott.”

“What family was she from?” Harry asked curiously.

“She was a Cornfoot,” Rob said with a shrug, “They had their heir in their son, so they kicked their daughter to the curb without a second thought.”

“It’s disgusting,” Harry said with a shake of his head.

“Yeah,” Rob agreed.

“You’re a good man Rob,” Harry said quietly, “And I have a lot of respect for you, as a colleague and a friend. I reckon you’ll be happy one day.”

Rob laughed humorlessly, “You would Harry, you’re so optimistic that it’s annoying sometimes.”

Before Harry could respond to the jibe, there was a flurry of movement in the house, so they sprang into action.

* * *

Upon Sumners orders, the Aurors who worked in Child Protective Services were forced to take a weekend off to go camping. It was part of his plan to mould them into effective teams who knew each other inside out.

But they weren’t doing much bonding, they were just being slightly drunken idiots.

“Do you think I could fit 15 marshmallows in my mouth?”

Harry snorted and looked at Rob, “Really?”

Neville shook his head in amusement, “You’re a hazard to society.”

“And a coward. Do 20,” Theo challenged him with a grin.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “I am surrounded by idiots.”

“This is how I feel most days,” Draco said calmly.

They watched with mild interest as Rob shoved marshmallows into his mouth while being egged on by Harry, Neville and Theo.

When Rob started to gag on all of the marshmallows, Elizabeth flicked her wand in his general direction and muttered, “ _Anapeno_.”

The spell cleared his airways, rather unpleasantly.

“Thanks, Lizzie.”

“You’re an idiot,” Elizabeth said matter of factly.

“It’s uncanny,” Harry whispered to Theo.

“I know,” Theo whispered back.

“What is?” Elizabeth asked, narrowing her eyes at them.

“How similar you are to our friend, Hermione,” Harry said with a slight smile.

Draco rolled his eyes and shot them both a warning look. Thankfully they ended that topic of conversation there.

Rob picked up a hipflask and took a deep drink, “Ah, the good stuff comes from the good lord as the satanic nuns used to say.”

“I have no idea why I thought we were compatible,” Elizabeth said matter of factly.

“I don’t know why you thought we were compatible either, but the sex was good, eh?” Rob asked with a grin.

“Not really, Rob,” Elizabeth said, raising an eyebrow at him, “I was faking it most of the time.”

The younger men laughed at Rob’s expense, but the older Auror just pretended to look offended and said, “Firewhiskey kiddos?”

“No,” Neville said, glaring at Harry.

Rob watched this exchange with interest, “What’s that about?”

“I have a bit of a problem when I drink firewhiskey,” Harry said.

“Yeah, he doesn’t stop till he’s downed the bottle and tried to alienate everyone who loves him,” Neville said sarcastically.

“You’re an alcoholic?” Rob asked in surprise.

“Recovering alcoholic,” Harry answered, “Yeah, I don’t drink spirits, for the reason Neville just said.”

“Shit, man,” Rob said with a sigh, “Sorry that I didn’t know that about you.”

Harry shook his head, “It’s fine.”

“I love a good drink,” Rob said, rubbing the beard that he had begun to grow that weekend.

Neville frowned and stared at him for a moment, “Rob…did we ever meet before I joined the Aurors? You just look…familiar.”

“It’ll be the beard, won’t it?” Rob asked with a grin.

Neville’s frown deepened, “Yeah…how did we meet?”

“Well,” Rob said with a smirk, “That Ginny Weasley is a right screamer, isn’t she?”

Neville’s eyes widened, and Harry spat out his beer.

“The Irishman,” Neville said.

“Yep,” Rob smirked.

“You were the Irishman who was helping Abe in the bar,” Neville realised. His face fell, “Oh fuck…so, you heard _that_ then?”

“Oh yeah,” Rob smirked, “I think the whole of fucking Hogsmead heard that, Longbottom.”

“Rob!” Elizabeth chastised.

Neville cringed, and Theo snorted, “She’s loud, to be fair. Isn’t she? We heard her and Blaise at it in eighth year.”

Rob sniggered, “Either you’re a damn good shag, or she’s easily pleased, that’s all I’ll say.”

“Well I’m better than the chosen one, apparently,” Neville said with a grin.

Harry choked on his marshmallow, “Did she tell you that?”

“Yep, she said you were kind of awkward,” Neville said far too cheerfully.

Draco and Theo burst out laughing, and Elizabeth made a face, “Gentlemen, this is not a lads weekend. It is a work trip-”

“Shh, Lizzie. We’re finally getting the dirt on perfect Potter,” Rob said, getting glared at by Elizabeth for shooshing her.

“To be fair, it doesn’t matter how good a shag either of you were,” Theo pointed out, “Daphne just kissed her, and she turned her gay.”

Neville sniggered, “Yeah, are you surprised by that? I mean come on, _look_ at Daphne.”

“You’ve seen far more of her than I have,” Theo said, waggling his eyebrows at Neville.

“Boys!” Elizabeth scolded.

“Woah,” Rob interjected, “You’ve shagged his missus?”

“I’ve had enough,” Elizabeth muttered, “I’m going to bed.”

She disappeared into the tent, and Rob looked at Neville, “You’ve shagged his hot wife?”

“Not quite,” Neville answered sheepishly.

“They had a foursome,” Draco joked.

“So did you!” Harry objected.

“Oh no, you can’t make comparisons,” Theo said with a shake of his head, “We had a relatively innocent ‘just graduated from high school and want to experiment’ foursome with our other halves. You two went way way further, you might as well just call it a gangbang.”

Harry thought Rob might choke to death on his own laughter as he and Neville flushed at that description.

“Theo!” Draco scolded, despite the fact he was holding back laughter himself.

“Shut up,” Harry said with a shake of his head, “You guys _are_ a foursome. You basically all live in one house!”

“It’s two houses, there’s just a connecting door,” Draco argued.

“And how is that different from you two with your connected vanishing cabinets?” Theo interjected.

“Oh good lord,” Rob snorted.

“Those are for protection!” Neville objected.

“Did his wife also suck your cock for protection?”

At this, Rob choked, “That’s what you meant by not quite?”

“I’m going to fucking kill you, Theo,” Neville barked, and he launched himself at the Slytherin.

Rob grinned in amusement, “So you two share everything, huh? Even your other halves?”

“One time,” Harry muttered, his cheeks were scarlet, “And I couldn’t look Lilly in the eye for two weeks at work.”

Draco smirked, “Payback.”

“You want payback?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at Draco as Neville and Theo continued to scuffle in the background, “Rob. Draco and Theo are in love with each other, but they’re not gay-”

“Potter,” Draco hissed, “Shut up!”

“They call it a profound bond and they don’t shag, they just snog when their other halves tell them to-”

Draco had gotten to his feet and was advancing on Harry, “Shut up right now, or I’ll make you shut up.”

Harry grinned and clambered to his feet, reaching for his wand, “They had a big fight then confessed their love for each other on the Astronomy Tower in eighth year.”

“I’m going to fucking kill you!”

“You’ll have to beat me in a duel first,” Harry smirked.

Rob grinned and took a swig from his hipflask, “I very much doubt that this is what Sumner meant when he sent us on a ‘bonding’ weekend but hell, it’s entertaining. Yeah, come on, Harry! Go for the feet! Neville, bite him somewhere soft, it’ll hurt more!”

He put his feet up and warmed his hands by the fire as the chaos ensued around him, “Ah, this is the life.”

* * *

“Right so let me get this straight,” Daphne said, shaking her soaking wet hair out and casting a drying charm, “You’re like 35, and you can’t swim?”

Bill raised an eyebrow at her, “Right first off, I’m only 29,” he then grinned, “And of course I can swim. I just didn’t fancy throwing myself into a freezing cold lake in March to get that cursed sword.”

Daphne glared at him and pulled her jumper on, “I hate you.”

Bill laughed and handed her a cup of coffee, “Nah you don’t. I’m one of your best friends, you said it yourself.”

“Best friend or not, right now I really don’t like you,” Daphne said, throwing herself into the comfortable chair behind her desk.

The moment she had sat down, the floo roared to life. At first, she thought it was a client, but then she saw Sadie’s face in the flames. She smiled, “Sadie, hey!”

Sadie smiled too, she looked exhausted, “Hey Daph.”

“What’s up?” Daphne asked, kneeling in front of the fire.

“I just wanted some advice,” Sadie admitted, “I’m kind of having some early labour signs, but it’s way too sign right?”

Daphne frowned, “Yeah, you are a good few weeks away from your due date. What kind of symptoms do you have?”

“Nothing too bad,” Sadie replied, “A little bit of back pain and nausea, but I’ve had nausea from the beginning. It’s probably just Braxton Hicks right?”

“Yeah, it probably is,” Daphne agreed, “But twins can come early so why don’t you give Lil a call? You know she’ll be there to check on you in no time.”

“No, Daphne, she’ll be busy at the training centre,” Sadie said with a shake of her head, “And I really don’t feel that bad.”

“Sadie,” Daphne said, her tone a little harsher, “You are pregnant with twins, it’s far better to be safe than sorry. Floo Lilly and have her check in on you and the babies.”

“Okay,” Sadie said, “I’ll floo her, I promise.”

“If anything changes let me know,” Daphne said.

“I will.”

“Love you, stay safe,” Daphne said, blowing a kiss through the fireplace as the floo disconnected.

She got to her feet and turned to look at Bill, “How early do twins tend to come?”

Bill frowned as he thought about that, “Well let’s see… Fred and George came in April, and they were due in May, so that’s about a month. Why?”

“Sadie has some early pregnancy symptoms,” Daphne replied, “She’s right, it does sound like Braxton Hicks, but she’s having twins, so I told her to floo Lilly and get a check-up, just in case.”

“When is she due?” Bill asked with interest.

“Not till the end of March,” Daphne replied, glancing up at the calendar on the wall, “So if she is in labour the twins would be 3 weeks early.”

“You’re right, it probably is just Braxton Hicks,” Bill said with a comforting smile, “Try not to worry too much.”

Daphne nodded absentmindedly, knowing that she would still worry about her friend.

* * *

Sadie floo-ed the hospital wing of the Auror training centre, hoping that Lilly would be the one to answer. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her friends face in the flames.

“Sadie!” Lilly said in surprise, “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Sadie said, smiling sheepishly at Lilly, “Daphne made me call you. I floo-ed her because I’m pretty sure I have Braxton Hicks, but she told me to floo you, just in case.”

“You are getting pretty close to the big day,” Lilly said, looking over at a calendar, “3 weeks till your due yeah?”

Sadie nodded, “Yeah. That was why Daphne was worried, she said twins can come early.”

“They do tend to,” Lilly admitted, “I’m meant to finish in ten minutes, so I’ll just head off early. I’ll come by the house and check you over, it’s better to be safe than sorry with you carrying twins. Are you in a lot of pain or discomfort?”

“No, I’m fine,” Sadie said honestly, “I have a little bit of back pain, nausea and the cramping just started.”

“Alright, I’ll be there in ten minutes or less,” Lilly promised, smiling at her friend, “Go and lie down, if it is Braxton Hicks, the best thing for it is rest.”

“I will,” Sadie promised, “Thanks, Lil.”

“Anytime,” Lilly said with a warm smile.

* * *

Lilly let herself into Number 11 Grimmauld Place and headed up to the drawing-room where she found Sadie lying on a sofa. She had her eyes closed, and she was breathing slowly and deeply, but she wasn’t asleep.

“Hey Sade,” Lilly said cheerfully, “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay,” Sadie replied, opening her eyes and turning her head to look at her friend, “The back pain is worse, but if it was labour I would be in a lot more pain, right?”

“You would probably be crying by now,” Lilly said with a chuckle, “Let me just do a couple of checks, though.”

Sadie nodded and let Lilly check her blood pressure, the babies positions and heartbeats. She frowned as she pressed her hands down on Sadie’s stomach.

“What’s wrong?” Sadie asked, beginning to panic.

“Nothing,” Lilly promised, “It’s just…the position that one of the babies is in, it definitely seems to be ready for delivery.”

She moved her hands a little lower and then looked up at Sadie in surprise, “Did you feel that?”

“The crampy sensation?” Sadie asked.

“Doesn’t it hurt?” Lilly asked.

Sadie shook her head, “It’s just a little uncomfortable.”

Lilly maintained her calm persona, but she was beginning to worry too, “Can I do one last check? It’s pretty intrusive so-”

“If you need to examine me, just do it,” Sadie cut in, she smiled sheepishly, “You kind of lose your dignity when you’re pregnant.

“I’ll be as gentle as I can be,” Lilly said.

Sadie had obviously been examined before, and she wasn’t too uncomfortable about the idea which made Lilly feel a little better. She did the examination, took a breath and then stood up.

“Okay Sadie,” Lilly said calmly, “I don’t want you to panic, but I’m going to floo Clara.”

“Why what’s wrong?”

“Don’t panic,” Lilly said, placing her hand on top of her friends, “But those cramping sensations are contractions, and you are pretty dilated, so I think these babies are going to have to be born here. I can probably do it, but they are premature so I’d rather Clara was here.”

“Now?” Sadie asked, her eyes widening, “But it’s so early!”

“It’s common with twins,” Lilly assured her, “They are pre-term but not dangerously so. It’s going to be fine, alright? Just take some deep breaths for me.”

“But Lilly,” Sadie said, her eyes filling with tears, “I’m scared, I’m so scared.”

Lilly knelt by her side and grabbed her hand, “It’s okay to be scared, Sadie. Being scared means that you’re about to do something really, really brave.”

Sadie blinked, and the tears rolled down her cheeks.

Lilly smiled at her, “You’re going to be great. I just need Clara here because I don’t trust myself enough to do this without her. Okay?”

“Okay,” Sadie said shakily.

“Deep breaths,” Lilly said, squeezing her hand and getting to her feet and flooing Clara from the drawing-room fireplace.

From that point onwards, things happened very quickly. Clara came through the floo the moment that Lilly had contacted her. She examined Sadie and confirmed that she was 8cm dilated, so the babies were well on their way.

“How is she not screaming in pain?” Lilly asked Clara in a whisper.

“High pain threshold obviously,” Clara whispered back, “Alright Sadie because you went into labour early your waters haven’t broken by themselves. I’m going to break them for you and things are going to happen very quickly from that point.”

“Can you get Theo then?” Sadie asked, sighing as Lilly dabbed a cool cloth to her head.

Clara shook her head, “Honey when I say fast, I mean fast. These babies are early, and that means they are little. They are going to be born quickly, and we’re going to have to get you all to St. Mungos for a decent check-up. The minute we transport the three of you there we will floo Theo.”

“I’ll drag him out of the ministry myself,” Lilly promised.

Sadie nodded and took another deep breath.

Clara broke Sadie’s waters, and as predicted, things happened very quickly from that point onwards. The first baby was born, and it was tiny.

“Is it okay?” Sadie asked, breathing heavily. The first signs she had shown of true pain had been when the baby’s head was crowning.

“She’s fine Sadie,” Clara said, handing the baby to Lilly.

“She?” Sadie asked, peering around her bump.

Lilly wrapped the baby in a towel and cleaned her up; then she showed her to Sadie, “You have a little girl.”

Sadie smiled tearfully then cried out as another intense contraction came.

“I’ll clean her up and look after her,” Lilly promised, “You just focus on getting the next baby out okay?”

Sadie nodded and blew out a breath, “I’m just so tired.”

“You can do this Sadie,” Clara said, reaching up to grab Sadie’s hand, “You are young and strong. I can already see the baby’s head, so it’s not going to be long, alright? Just a few big pushes with the next few contractions.”

Lilly did all the necessary checks on the little girl, but she appeared to be perfectly healthy. She had cried the moment she was born, and her lungs were fully developed, which was one of the big worries with premature babies. The baby was tiny, Lilly weighed her as part of the new baby checks that Healers conducted, and she only weighed 4 pounds, 8 ounces.

“That’s it Sadie, one more big push and the head will be out,” Clara assured Sadie.

Sadie cried out in pain, and Clara smiled encouragingly, “That’s it, we have a head. Just little pushes now, it’s almost over.”

Tears shone on Sadie’s cheeks as she panted and pushed.

“That’s it,” Clara said, wrapping the second baby in a towel, “You have a little boy Sadie.”

“A boy?” Sadie asked tearfully.

“A boy,” Lilly said, kissing her friend on the forehead, “You got one of each, just like you and Theo wanted.”

Sadie managed to glance over and look at her little boys face for a brief moment before she passed out.

“Is she okay?” Lilly asked, panicking as the colour drained from Sadie’s cheeks.

Clara shook her head, “Postpartum haemorrhage, she’s losing a lot of blood. I need to get her to St. Mungo’s right now. Can you-”

“I’ll bring the babies,” Lilly said, and they both sprang into trauma healer mode as the adrenaline well and truly kicked in.

* * *

“Nope, it’s not my turn.”

“It’s your turn, Theo.”

“Nah Drakey, it’s definitely your turn.”

Rob walked into the office, “What are you pair of jessies arguing about?”

“Whose turn it is to do the end of day paperwork,” Harry said, shooting his friends an amused look.

“Theo, it’s your turn,” Rob said with a roll of his eyes, “Draco did it yesterday. Pull your finger out and get it done.”

“That’s a different way to motivate your students,” Elizabeth remarked, trying to hide an amused smirk.

“Hey, it works, doesn’t it?” Rob asked with a grin as Theo began to fill out the end of day paperwork.

Elizabeth shook her head in amusement, “Do you want to head home early Rob? It’s you and I on call tonight, and with it being a Saturday, I’m expecting at least one call from the Closes.”

“Oh no doubt,” Rob said, he yawned, “I’ll apologise in advance if I’m grumpy. Nick is going through a nightmare phase.”

“Do you mean he’s being a nightmare or he's having nightmares?” Harry asked, shooting Rob an amused look.

“Both,” Rob complained.

“Noted, I’ll go past a garage and get coffee if we do get a call,” Elizabeth chuckled.

“Oh Lizzie, you’re a woman after my own heart. You’re wasted on flyboy Shep.”

Elizabeth gave him a long-suffering look.

At that point, the door of the office opened, and they all looked around. They expected to see another Auror there, or perhaps Sheppard or Sumner. But they didn’t expect to see Lilly.

“Lil!” Neville said in surprise, “Everything okay?”

Lilly shook her head, “Theo, we need you at St. Mungo’s now.”

Theo’s face paled, “Is it Sadie? Is she okay?”

“She’s had the babies, it was very fast,” Lilly replied, “She didn’t know she was in labour, but when I went in to check on her, she was practically fully dilated.”

Rob’s eyes widened, “Jeez, she must have some pain threshold.”

Elizabeth nodded her agreement.

“The babies are absolutely fine,” Lilly continued, “They are in the nursery at St. Mungo’s but Sadie had a postpartum haemorrhage. We got her straight to the hospital, and she’s having an emergency transfusion, but it’s…well, I just think you should get there as soon as you can okay?”

Theo nodded numbly.

“You heard Lil, get your arse to that hospital,” Harry told Theo.

But Theo didn’t move.

“She’ll be fine, Theo,” Draco said, stepping forward, “Sadie’s survived a hell of a lot. She survived the Dark Tower, remember?”

Neville nodded and pushed Theo towards Lilly, “And you know our Lil will have looked after her. Go on. Go see your wife and your babies.”

Lilly smiled at the three of them and grabbed Theo’s arm, “Visiting hours are from 6pm. You might not be allowed to see Sadie, but you can visit the babies.”

Without another word, she dragged Theo out of the office.

“Do you reckon Sadie really will be okay?” Harry asked once the door had shut behind them.

Elizabeth waded into the conversation, “She will be fine. She’s in the best place, and it sounds like they got her to the hospital quickly. Postpartum haemorrhages used to kill witches before it became more common to give birth in a hospital.”

They breathed a collective sigh of relief. The thought of Theo without Sadie was terrifying, and the thought of Theo having to raise his kids without their mother was heartbreaking.

“I can’t believe she’s had the babies,” Draco said, “Theo is a dad.”

“You’re a godfather,” Harry said with a smile, “Welcome to the club.”

“Oh shut up, you’ve got about ten god-kids,” Neville snorted.

“Three actually,” Harry said in amusement, “And I adopted one of them, so he doesn’t count anymore.”

Rob smiled and clapped Draco on the shoulder, “Congrats Godfather. I’m gonna call you that from now on, actually no I’m not because that’s a cool nickname and you’re a loser.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “That was profound, thank you, Rob.”

Harry laughed, “I wonder what they had.”

“Humans I hope,” Rob chimed in.

Elizabeth punched him in the arm, and Rob winced, “Ouch.”

“Stop making bad jokes,” Elizabeth remarked.

“Theo always said he wanted a boy and a girl, in an ideal world,” Draco said, his eyes glancing up to the clock. It was nearly 5pm, and they would be able to visit at 6pm.

Before any of them could say anything more, a memo appeared on the desk. Elizabeth picked it up and scanned it, “It’s a call, from the Closes.”

Rob pushed himself to his feet and grabbed his red Auror robes, “Robe up Lizzie, these idiots are way too happy to be productive right now.”

Elizabeth laughed and grabbed her own robes from the back of a chair. She put them on and smiled at the three men, “Rob’s right, you three are not in the right frame of mind to work so just head on home a bit early. Tell your other halves the good news and have a shower before you go to visit the babies.”

Harry, Neville and Draco all thanked Elizabeth. Then Rob grabbed her arm, “Come on, work to do Lizzie,” he said, then he pulled her out into the corridor and added, “Soft touch.”

As they walked up the corridor together, both in their official robes, Rob said, “This is our first field call as partners, Lizzie,” he placed his hand on her back.

Elizabeth shot him a look, but before she could say anything, a door at the end of the corridor opened. John stuck his head out and pointed at Rob, “Hands where I can see them Wolfe.”

Rob rolled his eyes and dropped his hand, “I hate you,” he said calmly as they passed the door of John’s office.

“I know,” John said, smirking at the other man and going back into his office.

“I hate him,” He added for Elizabeth’s benefit.

“Yeah Rob, I know,” Elizabeth said with an amused shake of her head.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	86. Bless the Broken Road That Led Me to You

“Sadie’s given birth!” Harry announced the moment he stepped into the house.

“Has she?” Daphne asked, dashing out of the kitchen, “I thought she might have been in labour when she called, but wow, that must have been quick. Did she call Lilly? Are they all okay?”

“I think she must have called Lilly because Lilly and her supervisor Clara delivered the babies,” Harry said, smiling at his wife, “And the babies are fine, but Sadie had a postpartum haemorrhage, she’s getting an emergency transfusion.”

Daphne paled, so Harry cut in, “But Elizabeth thinks she’ll be fine, and she’s had two kids, so I’m sure she knows her stuff.”

At this, Daphne sighed in relief.

“We can visit at 6pm,” Harry said, glancing at the clock, “We might only be able to see the babies, though.”

Daphne looked up at the clock as well, “You had better grab a shower then, you smell like the Closes.”

Harry knew what she meant. When he had been working in the Closes all day, he had a particular aroma about him, and it wasn’t a pleasant one.

“Will do,” Harry said, leaning in to kiss her, “Get Teddy ready, and we’ll head as soon as I’m done.”

Without another word, he dashed up the stairs.

* * *

“Hey love,” Draco said, walking into the kitchen with a skip in his step.

Hermione looked over, “You’re in a good mood. Did you save a kid today?”

“No,” Draco said, smiling broadly at her, “We became godparents, though.”

“We became…” Hermione trailed off as the realisation hit her, “Oh my god, Sadie gave birth? Is she okay? Why didn’t she floo me? I told her to floo me!”

“Love, calm down,” Draco said, drawing her into a hug, “I want to get to the hospital as soon as we can because it sounds like it’s a bit touch and go.”

The colour drained from Hermione’s face at those words.

“Theo missed the birth and had to rush off to the hospital, Sadie had a postpartum….something,” Draco said, his concern for Sadie apparent in his eyes.

“Hemorrhage?” Hermione asked with wide eyes, “Did she give birth in the hospital?”

“No, but Lilly and Clara got her there really quickly,” Draco answered, “And Elizabeth thinks she’ll be okay. I think she is probably qualified to give advice since she’s had two children.”

Hermione nodded, “Thank Merlin for that,” she sighed and ran her hands through her hair, “She has to be alright, she will be. Won’t she?”

“Of course she will be,” Draco said. Although it sounded like he was trying to convince himself, “She survived the Dark Tower and the Battle of Hogwarts.”

“She’s tougher than she looks,” Hermione agreed, gripping Draco’s hand tightly, “Go for a shower, then we’ll head to the hospital.”

“I will,” Draco said. He drew back and started to walk up the stairs, then Hermione frowned and called, “Wait, did you say _Lilly_ and Clara?”

“Yeah, Lilly delivered them!” Draco called back, disappearing up the basement stairs.

“Lilly delivered them?” Hermione repeated with a shake of her head, “Jesus Christ Lil, is there anything you can’t do?” she muttered to herself.

* * *

Theo let Lilly drag him through the hospital when they arrived. He was in a bit of a daze and feeling more things than he could comprehend. He was worried about Sadie, shocked by how early the twins had been born and also bubbling underneath all that, excited but nervous to meet his babies.

When they reached Sadie’s hospital room, Lilly pushed Theo into a seat in the corridor then slipped inside. Theo heard her talking with someone else in hushed tones, then she emerged from the room and smiled at him. It wasn’t a wholly happy smile, it was a relieved smile, but there was a sadness there too.

“Is she okay?” Theo asked, feeling the tears that he had been holding back pricking at the corners of his eyes.

“She’s okay,” Lilly replied, “The transfusion worked, and they managed to stop the bleeding. She’s going to be alright.”

Theo got to his feet, “Can I see her?”

Lilly nodded, “She’s unconscious, but you can go in.”

Theo frowned, Lilly hadn’t moved away from the door yet.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Theo asked quietly.

“She had a severe postpartum haemorrhage Theo,” Lilly replied, her eyes meeting his, “She lost a lot of blood. She went into shock, and it was really touch and go for a few minutes. They gave her a blood transfusion, but she was losing so much blood that it wasn’t working fast enough so they,” she paused for a moment and took a breath, “They had to act quickly since they couldn’t obviously slow or stop the bleeding. They…they removed her uterus, Theo.”

Theo stared at Lilly for what felt like a very long moment, in actuality, it was less than 30 seconds.

“She can’t have any more children,” Lilly finished, her voice breaking, “I’m so sorry.”

Theo shook his head, “It’s not your fault, don’t be sorry. Can I…can I just see her Lilly, please?”

Lilly nodded and stepped aside, allowing Theo to walk into the hospital room. She sighed and looked at the clock, it wasn’t long until visiting hours, so she decided to wait for Neville in the foyer.

* * *

Theo’s breath caught in his throat when he walked into the hospital room and saw Sadie. He had seen her pale and ill-looking in the past. When she had been in the Dark Tower for one. But this was different, he knew that Lilly hadn’t been exaggerating, it had clearly been touch and go for a while.

He sat down by her side and placed his hand in hers, she had so many tubes attached to her. One giving her fluids, another clearly still transfusing blood into her and Merlin knew what the rest were for. Her hand was as cold as ice, but he could tell that she was breathing, her chest moved up and down slowly underneath the crisp, white hospital sheets.

The Healer who Lilly had been speaking to gave Theo a sympathetic smile, “Would you like me to have the children brought in from the nursery Mr Nott?”

Theo nodded and swallowed a lump in his throat, “Yes, I want to meet them.”

“Of course,” He said, bowing his head and leaving the room. The nursery was obviously close to Sadie’s room because less than five minutes later, he returned with two babies bundled together in one cot.

Theo looked down at the cot, at the two bundles, one in a pink blanket and the other in a blue. The tears he had been struggling to hold back finally spilt then, but they were happy tears.

“A boy and a girl,” Theo breathed, touching their cheeks gently. Both of the babies were soundly asleep and looked positively angelic.

“Congratulations Mr Nott,” The Healer said with a smile, “I will leave the children here. I expect your wife will wake up soon and the children will be hungry. They were bottle-fed in the nursery, due to the conditions.”

Theo nodded and said that he understood. The Healer left after that, so Theo sank down into a seat next to Sadie’s bed and stared at his children as they breathed slowly and snorted every so often in their sleep. He wasn’t quite sure how much time had elapsed when a rustling sound next to him drew him out of his trance.

He looked up sharply as Sadie began to stir. He placed his hand on hers and said softly, “Don’t move too much love, there are a lot of tubes attached to you right now.”

Sadie opened her eyes and blinked a few times. She turned her head to the side to look at Theo, “Are they okay?”

“They are perfect,” Theo said, tears pricking at his eyes again, “And they are right here.”

Sadie looked down and saw the babies in the cot.

“I feel so weak,” Sadie whispered, not taking her eyes off of them.

“You nearly died,” Theo said, tightening his grip on her hand a little, “You had a severe postpartum haemorrhage, and they couldn’t slow or stop the bleeding. You were losing blood so fast even the transfusion wasn’t working so they had to…” he frowned, “They had to remove your uterus.”

Sadie’s eyes widened, “You mean…”

“No more kids,” Theo said with a nod, “Which is fine, isn’t it? We got two this time around, so we’re pretty damn lucky.”

“But Theo, you always wanted a big family-” Sadie began to say.

“And I always wanted you,” Theo cut in, “I have that, and I have two perfectly healthy, beautiful, but tiny kids. I don’t need anything else, okay?”

Sadie searched his eyes for a moment, then she nodded, “Okay.”

“You’re going to be in the hospital for a little while,” Theo said, touching her cheek gently, “The babies are small, and you need to be monitored for a while. They will let you go once they are satisfied that you can manage on your own, but that might be a couple of weeks.”

“I understand,” Sadie said quietly.

“I’ll be here the whole time,” Theo said, smiling at her, “I get two weeks off work, and if you need me to take a little bit of holiday at the end, Sumner is okay with that.”

“That makes me feel better,” Sadie admitted.

“The Midwifery Healers will help you out lots while you’re here too,” Theo added, “You’re not alone in this Sade.”

Sadie smiled and tore her eyes away from his to look down at their children, “A boy and a girl, just like you wanted.”

“Yeah,” Theo said, beaming proudly.

“We really need to agree on some names now though,” Sadie joked.

Theo laughed, “Yeah. I have one in mind for the girl, but I don’t know if you’ll like the idea or not.”

“Almina?” Sadie guessed.

Theo looked at her, “Yeah.”

She smiled, “Almina Tracey Nott.”

Theo’s smile turned a little tearful, “Yeah?”

“Of course Theo,” Sadie said, smiling weakly at her husband, “Why would I not want to name her after your mother? And Almina is a lovely name, we can shorten it to Mina which is nice and normal. That was what we wanted, pureblood names that can be normal.”

Theo nodded and smiled at his daughter, “Almina,” he said, testing the name out on his lips. He wiped away a few stray tears and chuckled, “No idea what you’re going to be called though mate,” he said to the sleeping little boy.

“I have an idea,” Sadie admitted, “But you’re going to have to ask someone for permission first…”

* * *

Neville wasn’t expecting to see Lilly at the house that evening, so he went home, showered, grabbed a sandwich and then headed for St Mungos. He figured Lilly would have hung around, expecting to meet him there and his hunch was right because he found her in the large waiting room at reception.

“Hey,” Lilly said with a tired smile.

“Hey you,” Neville said, grinning at her, “You delivered Sadie’s twins today.”

“With help,” Lilly added, “I couldn’t have done it without Clara.”

“I bet you could have,” Neville said.

Lilly shook her head, “Not with what happened after.”

“How is Sadie?” Neville asked anxiously.

“She’s going to be fine,” Lilly replied, “There are some consequences, but that’s not for me to tell you. Theo is with her now, when she wakes up, they are going to bring the babies through to see her. With any luck, she’ll be awake for visiting hours.”

Neville nodded, “Good, Hermione and Draco will need to see her. They’ll be as worried as Theo, no doubt. How are you?”

“Me?” Lilly laughed, “I’m fine, Nev, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you’re shaking for one,” Neville said, picking up her hand and holding her wrist. Surely enough, her hand shook a little.

“It’s just the come down from the adrenaline rush,” Lilly yawned, “You’d know about that.”

Neville nodded, he remembered wrapping himself up in a blanket in the boy's dorm and sleeping for a whole day after the Battle of Hogwarts. He put his arms around Lilly and held her tightly, “Once we’ve visited, I think we should go home, stick a movie on and cuddle up under a blanket together.”

“It’s a greenhouse night though,” Lilly objected.

“The greenhouse can wait for one night,” Neville said, kissing her on the top of the head. Usually, she hated it when he did that, she felt like he was making fun of her shortness, but on this occasion, it was just comforting.

“It was awesome you know,” Lilly said as she leaned into Neville’s embrace, “Delivering the babies, it was awesome but terrifying.”

Neville chuckled, “Sounds like an accurate description of childbirth.”

Lilly laughed weakly, “I think I could do that for a career one day. Once I’m old and fed up of being a Trauma Healer.”

“I think you’ll be great, whatever type of Healer you choose to be,” Neville said supportively as he pulled her in closer.

* * *

Due to Sadie’s condition, only two visitors at a time were allowed into her hospital room. That, combined with the fact that they only got an hour, meant that they would all have to be relatively quick.

Just after 6pm, Theo stepped out of the hospital room. Draco got to his feet and crossed the room, gripping Theo tightly.

Theo hugged him back and murmured, “She’s alright, mate.”

“Yeah?” Draco asked, drawing back just as Hermione reached them.

Theo nodded, “Yeah. It’s not all good news, but she’s fine, and the babies are fine, and after all we’ve been through, that’s enough.”

Draco nodded too, “Thank Merlin, she’s okay.”

Hermione looked at Theo, warily, “Why is it not all good news, Theo?”

“It’s a long story,” Theo said, meeting her eye, “I’ll fill you in later, in private. Okay?”

Hermione accepted this answer with a nod.

“Don’t get offended you two,” Theo said, raising his voice a little, “But I need to talk to Harry for a second.”

Harry was intrigued, “Me?”

“Yeah,” Theo said, stepping away from the door to talk to Harry a few metres away.

“It’s about a name,” Theo said in a whisper, “We have a name in mind that we like but we sort of need your permission to use it.”

“Oh God, you’re not calling him Harry, are you?” Harry joked.

Theo made a face, “Definitely not, far too common. Wouldn’t want him to think some loser in glasses was cool.”

Harry grinned, “Good. What’s the name then?”

“It’s Charlus,” Theo replied quietly, “It’s a pureblood name, but it can be shortened to Charlie which is nice and normal. But it’s a traditional Potter family name, not to mention that it’s your great grandfather's name-”

“Theo,” Harry cut in with a chuckle, “It’s fine. If you want to use the name, go for it. I know that it’s a Potter name and I do like to have deep chats about shared war trauma with Charlus, but it’s not a name I would use for my kids so don’t worry about it.”

Theo grinned, “Thanks, Harry. I’m so glad you said that because we were really drawing a blank on boys names, we had tons for a girl!”

Harry laughed and stepped away from him, “Go on then, make your announcement.”

Theo beamed proudly, “Sorry about the brief interlude there folks. I would like to announce the birth of Almina Tracey Nott and her younger brother, Charlus Draco Nott.”

Draco immediately welled up, “You…his middle name is Draco?”

“Oh sweet lord,” Lilly muttered, looking between the two men.

Theo nodded, “There’s no one else I would name him after,” he said, meeting his best friends eye.

“Theo,” Draco said as genuine tears pricked at his eyes, “That means so much to me. I just…I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

“I know Draco,” Theo said as he pulled Draco into another hug.

Hermione burst into tears, “I can’t deal with this. I mean I swear, I’m emotional at the best of times, but you two are just…”

Theo laughed tearfully and said, “Come on princess.”

The others chuckled as Draco lifted his arms and pulled Hermione into the hug.

“We can’t even judge them,” Lilly whispered, “That’s going to be us.”

“With less crying,” Daphne said, “We don’t cry.”

“Those two saps do though,” Lilly said, gesturing at Harry and Neville.

Harry and Neville were a little emotional just watching the other three.

“See?” Lilly asked with a smile.

Daphne hastily wiped her eyes and said, “I’m not crying, I just had something in my eye.”

“Uh-huh,” Lilly said in a sing-song voice.

“That’s going to be us one day,” Neville said, nudging Harry in the ribs.

“Nah, I’d never put ‘Neville’ in my kid's name,” Harry said with a grin as he wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his jumper, “I don’t wanna torture it.”

“And why would I want to name my kid after the oblivious eejit who saved the world?” Neville snorted, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his cardigan.

“Shut up if you want to see my insanely cute kids you two,” Theo said, pulling back from the hug.

Harry chuckled, “Alright, fair play.”

“Come on, guys,” Theo said, smiling over at Hermione, “The kids should meet their godparents first.”

The couple followed Theo into the hospital room where Sadie was sitting up in bed, looking exhausted but with a baby girl in her arms.

“Oh my gosh,” Hermione breathed, “They are so small.”

“It’s because they were premature,” Theo explained, “They are both under five pounds, but they are healthy.”

“And so cute!” Hermione squealed as she looked down at the babies. Both had pure blonde hair and blue eyes, but she suspected that those with change as all babies were born with blue eyes.

She sat down on the edge of Sadie’s bed carefully and kissed her on the forehead, “You look exhausted.”

“From everything Theo told me, I nearly died,” Sadie admitted.

Hermione grabbed her hand, “Then I’m glad you’re such a fighter.”

Sadie managed a weak smile, “Is this your way of telling me you were concerned?”

“Of course I was concerned,” Hermione said, looking down at the baby girl in her arms, “I was terrified of losing you, we all were. Draco and I haven’t had any dinner, we just felt sick.”

Sadie caught her eye, “I’m fine, but they did have to take my uterus out so we can’t have any more kids.”

“Oh, Sadie,” Hermione breathed, “I’m so sorry.”

Sadie’s eyes welled up, “Thank you.”

Hermione squeezed her hand.

“Thank you for not just saying, well at least you got two this time around, like everyone else has,” Sadie said tearfully.

Hermione leant across the tubes and hugged her friend gently, “I’d never belittle it like that. It’s a big thing to get your head around, but we’re all right here, and we always will be. I promise.”

Sadie nodded and let out a shaky breath, “Thanks, Hermione.”

The little girl in Sadie’s arms began to grumble, and Hermione ran her hand down her cheek, “Shh, your mother has had a hard time bringing you into the world little one. She needs some rest.”

Sadie smiled, “Do you want to hold her?”

“Can I?” Hermione asked eagerly.

“Of course,” Sadie said, handing Almina to Hermione.

Hermione smiled down at the little baby and looked up just in time to see Theo handing Charlus to Draco.

“It’s the same principle as with any other baby even though he’s small,” Theo was saying “Just support his head here like…this.”

Draco stared down at the tiny baby in his arms, “I feel like I’m holding a china doll,” he breathed.

Hermione smiled at Theo, “You picked lovely names.”

“Harry had no issues with Charlus,” Theo told his wife.

“I told you he wouldn’t,” Sadie said with a knowing smile, “I’m sure he’ll name his kids James, Sirius, Remus and Lily.”

“Oh, given half a chance I expect he would,” Hermione chuckled, “But Daphne says he isn’t allowed to name all of his kids after dead people because it isn’t healthy.”

“She does have a point,” Draco said, unable to take his eyes off of the baby.

“Hello Charlus,” Hermione said, waving down at the baby who blinked blearily.

“Aren’t they just perfect?” Theo asked his best friend proudly.

“Yeah,” Draco said, smiling up at him, “You make a perfect family, the four of you.”

Something flashed in Theo’s eyes, and Sadie’s swallowed a lump in her throat. Draco opened his mouth, but Hermione said, “I’ll fill you in later, love. It’s nothing that Sadie and Theo want to talk about just now. We only get a little bit of time together, and I think we want to spend it staring at these adorable little babies. Don’t you?”

Draco smiled and shut his mouth, “Yes, I think so.”

* * *

Harry and Daphne went into the hospital room next. At this point, Sadie was feeding Charlus.

“Oh, Sadie!” Daphne said, grinning from ear to ear, “You made such beautiful babies. How is that possible? Did you sleep with a hot French man?”

“Daphne,” Sadie laughed weakly, “Don’t make me laugh right now, it hurts.”

“And that comment hurt my pride,” Theo joked, but he was too happy to even pretend to sulk.

“You did make cute kids,” Harry agreed, looking down at Almina who was in Theo’s arms, “But they are _so_ tiny! Teddy was huge when he was born, I’m sure he was double the size of these two.”

“He probably was since he was born at term,” Daphne pointed out, “These babies were three weeks early Harry.”

“Sorry,” Harry said sheepishly, “We adopted our kid, I don’t know the ins and outs of pregnancy and childbirth.”

“Read it up when I tell you I’m pregnant,” Daphne joked.

Harry chuckled, “Noted. I love the name you chose for her by the way, Theo. It’s lovely, honouring your mum like that.”

“It felt right,” Theo said, smiling at Sadie, “For both of us.”

“That’s all that matters,” Daphne said honestly, “And the names will be lovely together when you shorten them too. Will you use Mina and Charlie?”

Theo nodded, “That’s the plan, isn’t it, Sade?”

“Yeah, it is,” Sadie said, she yawned.

“Go on Daph, have a cuddle,” Theo said, holding Almina out to Daphne.

Daphne took the baby girl with ease and instantly had her comfy in a cradle position. Almina yawned then shuffled a little and promptly fell asleep.

“Baby Whisperer,” Harry said in amusement.

Daphne smiled over at Sadie, “I know it’s not quite the same but Harry and I have been through a lot of this with Teddy. He was older, and we didn’t have him full-time but if you need to ask me about anything, anytime, you can Sadie.”

“I know,” Sadie said, grabbing her friends hand.

“I mean it. If it’s 4am, and you can’t stop them crying just call me. I get woken up in the middle of the night by Robs angry patronuses anyway,” Daphne said with a chuckle.

Theo snorted in amusement, “Yeah, he doesn’t like working nights, does he?”

“No,” Harry laughed, “No, he really doesn’t. What Daph says goes for me too though Sadie, if she’s working and you’re struggling, I’ll do whatever I can to help too.”

“We’re all here for you Sadie,” Daphne promised, squeezing her best friends hand.

* * *

After Harry and Daphne had visited, they collected a hyperactive Teddy whose Uncle Neville had let him run around the hospital play area. Then they headed home for the night. Visiting hours were nearing their end when Neville and Lilly stepped into the room.

“Thank you so much, Lilly,” Sadie said, the moment she saw her friend.

Lilly smiled, “You don’t have to thank me, Sadie. You did all of the hard work.”

“And I don’t know if I would have survived it without you and Clara so thank you,” Sadie said, both of the babies were fast asleep in their cot again.

“I can’t believe you were almost fully dilated and you only had a little bit of back pain, nausea and cramping,” Lilly said with a shake of her head, “Your pain threshold must be through the roof.”

“I always knew it was pretty good,” Sadie admitted, “But that one took even me by surprise.”

Neville chuckled, “You did great Sadie. Bet you're glad it’s over now though.”

“Yeah,” Sadie said, smiling a little sadly, “I just wish we could go home with our babies now, but I understand why they have to keep us in here.”

“It’s for your safety,” Lilly said, “And I spoke to the Healer in charge of the ward. They normally make the husbands go away at night time, but I’ve convinced them to let Theo set up a camp bed in here for the first few nights.”

“Did you?” Sadie asked, relief flooding her face, “Oh Lilly, thank you so much.”

Lilly smiled warmly, “Anything for a friend, especially a friend with adorable, really tiny babies.”

“They are so cute,” Neville agreed, “And so tiny.”

“They remind me of the dolls I played with as a kid,” Lilly said, immediately regretting saying that one out loud.

“You had dolls?” Theo asked, grinning at her, “Punk rocker Moon had dolls?”

Neville chuckled, so as not to wake up the babies, “Oh yeah, she’s a liar. She’s a big softy underneath it all, played with dolls, loves the colour pink and romantic comedies.”

“He’s a liar,” Lilly said matter of factly.

Sadie chuckled, “I’ve known you for years, we both know he’s not lying.”

“They are all liars Almina,” Lilly said to the little girl who had just stirred in her sleep, “Your Aunt Lilly is a punk rocker all the way.”

“Their Aunt Lilly is the reason they and their mother survived childbirth,” Theo said, reaching out and grabbing her hand, “That’s all they need to know about her as they grow up.”

Lilly looked at Theo in surprise, “Wow…okay uh…I genuinely don’t know what to do with this uncommon sincerity and sentimentality from you, Theo. It’s making me uncomfortable, really uncomfortable. Make a joke or be a dick or something, please.”

Theo laughed and dropped her hand, “Get used to it, I’m a dad now. I’m only going to get more sappy and sincere.”

“Miracles do happen,” Neville said, grinning at Sadie.

Sadie chuckled then yawned.

Lilly grabbed Neville’s hand and got to her feet, “Anyway, we’ll leave you guys in peace. Sadie needs rest, and I think you should get some too Theo before these two little angels wake up again.”

Theo yawned as well and nodded, “You’ll visit again, won’t you?”

“Of course we will,” Lilly promised, “See you in a few days. If you need _anything_ , anything at all just floo or send a Patronus okay?”

They both said okay, so Neville and Lilly left them to enjoy their babies in peace for a while.

* * *

“Morning,” Rob yawned when Harry and Neville traipsed into the office.

“Good morning,” Harry said with a smirk.

“For you maybe, not for me,” Rob remarked, “Where’s Black?”

“Not with us,” Neville replied, sitting down on one of the desks in the room.

“Yeah, he normally comes in with Theo,” Harry said with a shrug.

“Why do they always arrive together?” Elizabeth asked as she stepped into the office.

“Because they live next door to each other,” Harry and Neville replied in unison.

Rob looked at them in disbelief, “Really? I thought you were kidding about them living in one house.”

“Nope,” Harry said, “Two houses, with a door that connects them.”

“A warded door?” Elizabeth asked.

“No, just an ordinary door,” Neville answered.

Rob just shook his head, but before he could say anything else, Draco stepped into the room and smiled, “Morning.”

Before Rob could start slagging him off, Elizabeth smiled and asked, “So how are Theo’s wife and babies?”

“Sadie is fine now,” Draco replied, “Although she will have to stay in the hospital for a while. The babies are fine too, but they are tiny because they were so early. They called them Almina and Charlus.”

“Oh go on,” Harry said, smirking at his friend, “Tell Rob and Elizabeth Charlus’s full name.”

“I’m not that vain.”

“Yes, you are,” Neville said with a chuckle, “Tell them, you know you want to.”

Draco conceded, “They called him Charlus Draco Nott.”

“Oh fuck me,” Rob said with a shake of his head, “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Harry grinned, “Draco cried.”

“Like a girl,” Neville added with a wicked laugh.

“There were tears and hugs, it was like a scene from one of those shitty romantic comedies that Daphne keeps leaving lying around the house,” Harry said with a grin.

“The ones you read on the toilet and pretend you hate?” Draco quipped, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

“Shut up, I told Hermione to keep that to herself,” Harry interjected.

Rob snorted and shook his head, “I’m starting to get suspicious about you and Theo, Draco.”

“We’ve been suspicious about them since eighth year of school,” Harry joked.

“Ah well, you know these ancient pureblood families,” Rob smirked.

Draco rolled his eyes, “It’s not like that.”

Harry snorted, “Apart from when you’re isolated from the world for two weeks.”

“Shut up, Potter,” Draco warned him.

“No, no, no,” Rob said, grinning and leaning forward, “Are you talking about Auror training isolation?”

“Uh-huh,” Harry grinned.

“What happened during your isolation?” Rob asked eagerly.

Draco glared at Harry, “Don’t you dare tell that story.”

“Alright then, I’ll tell it,” Neville said, smirking in Draco’s general direction. He then turned back to Rob (and Elizabeth, who was pretending that she wasn’t listening).

“Fatbottom-”

“Shut up,” Neville said smoothly, “So Draco and Theo ended up camping in the Scottish highlands together. They met a couple of muggle fellow campers, and Theo said that they were together. That couple then spent the next two weeks with them, so Draco and Theo had to keep up the act for two whole weeks.”

Rob stared at Draco with a blank expression.

“And,” Harry cut in, “To make matters worse, it turned out that the muggle couple were actually Carter and Mitchell, who had been observing them.”

That was it, Rob burst out laughing.

Draco glared at Harry and covered his face with his hand, “I hate you, Potter.”

“Nah you don’t,” Harry said, far too cheerfully.

Rob was crying with laughter, to the point that he didn’t notice a memo appearing on the desk. Harry reached past him to grab it and saw Elizabeth smirking.

“Now Rob, it’s hardly fair that you get to laugh at Draco’s isolation story when our new colleagues haven’t heard yours,” Elizabeth said.

Rob stopped laughing and looked up at her, “Oh no you don’t-”

Elizabeth just placed her hand over his mouth and smiled at the younger Aurors, “Rob’s Auror partner back then was John Sheppard.”

Harry had already known this, but that news took both Neville and Draco by surprise.

“They ended up in Canada, back then it wasn’t confined to Britain,” Elizabeth explained, “And a few days in, they were desperate for food, so Rob killed a bear. He then had a mental breakdown over the fact he had killed a poor, innocent bear and spent a good few hours crying to John about how he missed me and how he was going to be a useless Auror who would never be as good as John.”

Harry snorted, “You’ve still not got over those issues mate. But if I ever see you welling up near a bear, at least I’ll know why.”

“I regret sticking up for your scrawny little arse when you said Voldemort was back,” Rob retorted, glaring at Harry.

“Yeah to be fair, I didn’t know who you were then Rob,” Harry pointed out in amusement, “I was just a 15-year-old kid who you had an unnatural obsession with.”

“There have been a lot of men like that in your life,” Neville said with a frown.

“Yeah, it’s pretty weird,” Harry said with a nod.

“Yep,” Draco agreed, thinking back to Snape, “I feel your pain there actually.”

“You two are not getting into the whole, we’re two sides of the same coin, one light, one dark, destined to be friends thing right now,” Neville said, pointing his finger between them, “It’s not even 7am yet, and the last time you had that chat, there was a lot of crying.”

“We were quite drunk to be fair,” Harry said in his defence.

“I don’t even remember that,” Draco admitted.

“You wouldn’t, it was at Susan and Percy’s wedding,” Harry filled him in, “About ten minutes before you dragged Hermione off into the bushes.”

Neville snorted and nearly spat out his coffee.

Harry chuckled and handed the memo to Rob.

Rob was still chortling as he scanned it, “Call in the Closes. Harry, Neville, finish filing the reports for those calls you attended yesterday. Elizabeth…do whatever it is you do while we’re out on-call all day. Loverboy, you’re with me.”

Draco glared at Harry and Neville, “I’m going to be saddled with that for the rest of my career, thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” They said in unison.

Rob patted Draco on the back as they left the office together, “It’s alright Draco, you don’t want to work in Vice like your boyfriend. He’s going to have the fun of retelling that entire story to his work colleagues when he gets the promotion, I’ll make sure of it.”

Draco raised an eyebrow at Rob, “I want to work in Homicide, so that’s not much better, is it?”

Rob grinned, “Oh you’ll be fine in Homicide Draco. That’s all the old pureblood Aurors, they are all shagging their best friends, hell half of them even live with them so you’ll fit in just fine.”

“I’m not shagging Theo!” Draco objected as Harry and Neville laughed out loud.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	87. Do You Still Believe in Love, I Wonder?

“Hey, midget.”

Sadie smiled up at her brother, “Hey Sorenson.”

“You look like crap,” Sorenson said, setting down a gift basket on her bedside table.

“She gave birth to twins yesterday, you idiot,” Clara said, glaring at her other half.

Sadie chuckled, “And they tried their best to kill me.”

“But she’s fine now,” Theo said, yawning and stretching out his legs.

Sorenson raised an eyebrow at him, “You gone all domestic already?”

“Being a dad changes you,” Theo said, he would have shrugged, but Almina was sleeping in his arms.

“It does,” Sorenson agreed, his eyes falling on his sister as she rocked Charlus to sleep.

“They are beautiful Sadie,” Clara said with a warm smile, “Now that they are all cleaned up, and I’m not trying to rush you to hospital.”

“Thank you, Clara,” Sadie said sincerely, “I dread to think what would have happened if it hadn’t been for you and Lilly.”

“Lilly did all of the hard work, I just helped,” Clara said honestly, “You’re very lucky to have a friend like her.”

“I know,” Sadie said, “We would have named Almina after her, but it was important to Theo to name her after his Mother and Sorenson knows why her middle name had to be Tracey.”

Sorenson smiled sadly, “Yeah, I get it, Sade.”

“Lilly doesn’t mind,” Clara assured her, “She did it because she cares and because she loves you, not because she wants a kid named after her. She’s a Hufflepuff in disguise that girl.”

“Oh definitely,” Sadie agreed.

Sorenson leant down and kissed his sister on the forehead, “I’m glad you’re okay, Sadie, congrats.”

“Thanks, Sorenson,” Sadie said, stifling a yawn.

“Congrats Theo,” Sorenson added, shaking Theo’s hand.

“Thanks, bro,” Theo said with a grin.

“Don’t call me bro, ever again,” Sorenson added, raising an eyebrow at him, “Especially now that we work together. I don’t ever want anyone to know that we’re related.”

“Wow, Sorenson, harsh,” Clara cut in, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Well everyone thinks he’s shagging Draco,” Sorenson said in his defence, “So I don’t really want the fact he’s my brother-in-law to become common knowledge!”

Sadie snorted then tried to cover it up.

“What?” Theo asked sharply, “People think I’m shagging Draco?”

“Yeah, Wolfe has a big mouth. I don’t know how you can work with that arse,” Sorenson said with a roll of his eyes, “He was going on about how you named your kid after Draco and Draco cried.”

Theo looked over at Sadie in outrage then he frowned, “Why are you _laughing_?”

Sadie couldn’t contain herself, she giggled, “Well because it’s you and Draco. You have always had a bit of a…funny relationship, haven’t you? I thought you were gay for ages in school!”

“You…you thought I was gay?”

Clara chuckled and hid her mouth behind her hand.

“Well yes,” Sadie admitted, biting her lip, “You were unnaturally close to Draco. Then we grew up, he fell in love with Hermione, and you two still couldn’t let go. You put an adjoining door between your houses, you became Auror partners. You can see why it looks like that to the Aurors, can’t you?”

“No, I can’t,” Theo huffed.

“Either way, at work we’re not related,” Sorenson said, clapping Theo on the shoulder rather hard, “I’m a hotshot Auror killing it in Organised Crime, and you are a Junior working for CPS.”

Clara rolled her eyes and shook her head, “Ignore him, Theo, he’s an idiot.”

“Thanks,” Sorenson said sarcastically.

“She’s right,” Sadie said, smiling at her brother in amusement.

“We’re going to go,” Clara said, smiling at Sadie, “But look after yourself and give me a shout if you need anything, alright?”

Sadie nodded, “Thanks for visiting Clara. See you later, Sorenson.”

Sorenson waved at her with a smile, then he pointed at Theo and said, “We. Don’t. Know. Each. Other,” as Clara dragged him out of the hospital room.

Theo shook his head and muttered, “I can’t believe you thought I was gay.”

* * *

The Auror department was pretty empty after 7pm most nights. They all finished between 5 and 6pm, but sometimes people would hang around for an hour to do paperwork. However, nobody stayed later than that unless they had to and since two Aurors from each team were on call at night, there was no need to hang around the ministry.

On this particular Saturday night, Rob had stayed later than that. He didn’t really need to catch up on paperwork, but that was what he had told everyone because the truth was a bit more depressing than that. Nick was staying with Rob’s brother for the night, and when Rob didn’t have Nick to go home to, he had nothing, so he preferred to stay in the ministry.

He was pretty sure that he was alone in the department, because why would anyone else be here at 10pm on a Saturday night? The rest of them had lives beyond their kid.

Rob sighed and reached for his coffee, it had gone cold because he had gotten lost in thought again. He looked up at the clock, he knew that he would have to go home sometime soon.

“Any Aurors on duty?”

The shout from the corridor made him frown. Rob got to his feet and opened the door of the office. At the end of the hall stood a young man in basic Ministry robes.

“Who's asking?” Rob called.

“My names Brian sir,” The young man replied, “I’m just a Security Wizard, but a call just came in via one of the old Auror boxes in storage.”

“An Auror box?” Rob asked in disbelief. They were like police boxes, but they had a fireplace in them and a direct link to the Auror department, “I didn’t think anyone used them anymore.”

“Neither did I, sir,” Brian said with a shrug, “But the caller said that she was in danger. She said she had killed her husband years ago, but he was coming back to kill her tonight at midnight.”

Rob glanced into his office and looked at the clock, “I’ll pursue it, I’ve nothing better to do,” he said, grabbing his Auror robes from the chair behind his desk.

The young security wizard nodded and told him the co-ordinates then left the department. Rob began to make his way up the corridor when a door opened.

“What are you still doing here?”

Rob gritted his teeth and turned to look at John, “I was doing paperwork, now I’m responding to a call from a batshit insane woman who thinks her dead husband is coming back to kill her.”

“On your own?” John asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah on my own,” Rob said irritably, “I’m not going to bother Longbottom when this is both, out of our division and probably a lot of horseshit.”

“How do you know it’s a lot of horseshit?” John argued

“Because the floo call came in via an Auror box in storage,” Rob replied, looking pointedly at John, “It’s got to be an old woman, nobody else would even know how to use one.”

“True,” John said with a frown, “But it’s against regs to go out without a partner, so I’m going with you.”

Rob’s face fell, “No.”

“Yes,” John said, grabbing his robes from the back of his office door. He slung them on and stalked out into the corridor, “If you die while you’re out in the field on your own then your kid doesn’t get the insurance payout, and you don’t get your badge of valour.”

“Okay firstly, I don’t give a fuck about the badge of valour because I’ll be dead so what use is a bit of metal?” Rob remarked with a raised eyebrow, “And secondly, since when did you give a shit about my kid?”

“I don’t hate you, Rob,” John said, walking to the end of the corridor, “And I definitely don’t want your kid to go without because you were too proud to accept help. You coming?”

Rob rolled his eyes but followed John out of the corridor, into the apparition zone. They exchanged co-ordinates, and both spun on their heel.

* * *

“Theo, do you think she’s okay?” Sadie asked tearfully.

“She’s fine Sadie, I think she just has trapped wind,” Theo replied as he paced the room with Almina, tapping her on the back gently while bouncing her.

“She just won’t stop crying though,” Sadie said, tears spilling down her on cheeks.

“She’s a baby Sade, it’s what they do,” Theo said, yawning and tapping Almina a little harder.

She let out a loud burp and immediately began to settle down. Theo smiled over at his wife, “See?”

This just made Sadie cry more.

Theo lay Almina down in her cot and crossed the room, “Why are you crying, Sadie?”

“I’m just so bad at this,” Sadie sobbed, “And you’re such a natural. I wasn’t made to be a mother Theo, I’m no good at this.”

“It’s early days Sadie,” Theo soothed her, “You’re still learning, you’re not a terrible mother.”

“Why are you so good at it then?” Sadie cried.

“I just pick things up very fast, I always have done but even more so now that I’m an Auror,” Theo said, holding her hand and smiling at her, “You had a traumatic birth, and you’re exhausted. Don’t be so hard on yourself, okay?”

Sadie nodded tearfully.

“Try to get some sleep,” Theo said, kissing her on the forehead gently.

* * *

“See? Batshit insane old lady,” Rob said, gesturing in the general direction of the thatched cottage with lace curtains.

“Stop jumping to conclusions,” John warned him, “Don’t you remember what they taught us in Auror training? Always expect the-”

“- unexpected, yeah Sheppard I know,” Rob said irritably, “You don’t need to keep up the perfect Auror act with me.”

“What, do you think it’s all just an act that I put on to piss you off?” John asked in disbelief.

Rob cocked his head, “Sounds like something you’d do.”

John scoffed, “Get off your high horse Rob. You hate me, but I don’t hate you. We were friends a long time ago, _good_ friends till you decided you were going to question every Senior Auror in the department and throw your career into the fucking bin.”

“No that’s not why we stopped being friends John,” Rob said coldly, “And you know it. We stopped being friends when you decided to steal my girlfriend right out from under my feet. Stealing my title as best dueler in the year wasn’t good enough for you, beating me in every single test wasn’t enough. You had to have Elizabeth too.”

“Wow,” John snorted, “You’re still bitter about that? It’s been bloody years Rob! We’re married, we have a family together-”

“Oh yeah I know,” Rob said bitterly, “I know all about the life you two have together and yeah, I’m still bitter about it because that’s the life I wanted. She wasn’t just a girl I was seeing while I was going through training, she wasn’t just my first serious girlfriend who I forgot all about a couple of years later. She was the love of my life, John, and you knew that. You were my best friend, so you _knew_ that!”

John’s eyes widened, and he took a step back.

“What? Shocked by the truth?” Rob scoffed, “I was going to propose to her, you knew that I had the ring.”

John shook his head and raised his wand, “Inferi.”

“What?”

“There’s a bloody Inferi behind you Rob!”

Rob spun around and saw it, “Oh fuck.”

“Not such an insane old lady,” John said, grabbing Rob and pulling him back a few paces, “Any ideas?”

“Kill it with fire?” Rob suggested.

“I don’t know about you, but I can’t conjure fiendfyre.”

“Some big hot shot Auror you are Shep,” Rob snorted, “Can’t even conjure fiendfyre. My little 19-year-old lad can do it.”

“Your little 19-year-old lad killed Lord Voldemort,” John said as they edged further back, “He doesn’t count!”

“Well, he’d be more useful to me than you right now!”

“Well I’m all you’ve got so suck it up and come up with an idea or we both die here,” John said irritably.

“Fire repels them, any kind of fire,” Rob said quickly, “We can’t kill it, but we can trap it inside a fire dome which will give us time to think of something more permanent.”

“Great plan,” John said. He raised his hand and moved it in a circular motion, saying the spell's incantation. A storm of fire began to form overhead, and he sent it towards the Inferi. As the storm swirled around the Inferi, the creature found itself caught in the eye of the storm, unable to leave without passing through the flames.

Rob pointed his wand at the firestorm and cast a spell which made the flames stop flickering.

“What did you do?”

“Froze the flames in place so we can both have our wands at hand,” Rob replied, “He’s an Inferi, so whose controlling him?”

“Not the old lady,” John said, “You said that she killed him, didn’t you?”

“Yep,” Rob answered, “So who enchanted that Inferi? Because if we find them, we can make them cancel the spell.”

A laugh sounded from behind them, “You will have to kill me first.”

John and Rob spun around and came face to face with a man in his 40’s.

“The son,” John said quietly.

Rob gave a minuscule nod.

“Sons,” Another voice said.

“Shit,” Rob muttered.

“Back to back,” John whispered.

Rob turned a little so that his back was against John’s and the second son's face came into view. Both of the men were pointing their wands at the Aurors.

“Backs up against the wall, just me and you, it’s like old times,” John joked, grinning as he pulled his wand on the man that he was facing.

“You don’t have to sound so happy about it,” Rob added, pulling his wand on the other man.

They launched into a duel, and Rob was amazed that he did so well because he had spent the last five years working in a department that was much slower paced than he was used to. Although they hadn’t duelled together in years, they slipped back into it with ease. Spells flew back and forth. On at least two occasions Rob had saved John’s arse by making sure his shield charm covered both of them. In return, John had sent a couple of particularly nasty curses back over his shoulder at Rob’s opponent.

By the time they had knocked out both of the brothers, both John and Rob were sweating and breathing raggedly.

“Fuck me, I’m getting old,” Rob said, pointing his wand at the man he had been duelling and draining his magical core, thus removing the source of the Inferis life.

John did the same then wiped his brow, “Yeah, I’m definitely not as young as I used to be,” he agreed.

Rob threw himself down on a bench in the old lady’s garden and blew out a breath. The front door opened and he waved at her, “Hey missus! Just took out your two sons because they re-animated your dead husband's corpse to make him kill you. A cup of tea would be just grand!”

John snorted as the woman disappeared back into the house and a light switched on in the kitchen.

“I missed that you know,” He said, turning his head to look at Rob.

Rob laughed humorlessly.

“I’m serious Rob,” John said sincerely, “You and me, fighting together like that…it took me right back to when we were training together, and you and I were gonna be the best Auror pair the Ministry had seen in forever.”

“Just stop,” Rob said irritably, “We’re not having a homoerotic moment alright? I’ve spent all week ribbing Draco about his unnatural bond with his Auror partner.”

“Yeah, those two are a bit suspect,” John admitted, “But Potter and Longbottom. What do you see when you look at those two?”

“The hero and his plucky little sidekick,” Rob said, turning to look at John, “Sorry Shep, but being the sidekick got old. The hero always gets the girl after all, doesn’t he?”

John sighed and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the front door opened. The little old lady stumbled out and placed a tray of tea down in front of them, thanking them profusely and telling them to try her homemade ginger biscuits.

“We should probably arrest her,” John said once she had gone back into the house, “She killed her husband.”

Rob bit into one of the biscuits, “What’s the point? She’s old, she’ll die soon anyway, and…she makes fucking amazing biscuits. Go on, try one.”

John chuckled and picked up a mug of tea and a biscuit. They fell silent as he ate it, but then he spoke again, “I’m sorry for what happened back then. I did know you were in love with Elizabeth, I knew you were going to propose to her, but I knew Elizabeth’s side of the story too.”

Rob frowned, “What do you mean?”

John sighed and leant back against the bench, “She was going to break up with you. While you were talking about proposals, she was whispering to Sam at the back of a classroom about how she really liked you as a friend, but the spark just wasn’t quite there for her.”

Rob’s eyes darkened.

“I’m not being a dick, Rob,” John said quickly, “That afternoon was simulation, you and I got paired up with her and Sam remember?”

“How can I forget?” Rob retorted.

“You obviously don’t remember it the same way that I do,” John said, looking at a spot in the distance, “It was the very end of first year. The war was raging all around us, they were talking about letting us go straight into the department if we passed all our exams. There were a lot of parallels to what's happening now actually.”

“I know John, I was there,” Rob reminded him.

“That was our last simulation before final exams, remember?” John asked.

Rob just nodded.

“We got given an authentic situation-”

“Death Eater attack on Diagon Alley,” Rob said quietly, “Like I said, I remember it.”

“Not all of it,” John said sharply, “Because my cockiness got you killed in that simulation Rob. Then my arrogance got everyone else killed, Elizabeth included. You were dead by that point, you didn’t see her bleeding out in my arms from a cutting curse that I hadn’t been able to save her from. When the illusion faded away, she remembered that and I remembered it but you didn’t. She broke up with you because I told her to, I told her not to break your heart by stringing you on anymore.”

Rob stared at John in disbelief.

“Then we got together at the end of that summer,” John finished, “So yes, I can see how it looks like I stole her away from you, but I didn’t.”

“I can’t fucking believe you,” Rob said, getting to his feet and staring at John.

“What?” John asked cluelessly.

“21 years John,” Rob said in disbelief, “This happened 21 years ago! Why are you just telling me this now?”

“Shit happened Rob,” John said, getting to his own feet, “We got fast-tracked after that, separated as partners after that little duel in the canteen and then we were in a scary world. We were kids, thrown in at the deep end during the last year of a war that was killing off Aurors far more experienced than us.”

Rob sighed, he couldn’t argue with that.

“When the dust settled, Elizabeth and I were engaged, and you were pretty happy working in Vice with Mitch, so I didn’t see the point in reopening old wounds,” John said honestly.

“Yeah,” Rob said with a sigh, “You’re right, there wouldn’t have been any point.”

“It’s different now though,” John added as he left the garden.

Rob jumped the wall and followed him, “Because you’re my boss.”

“Yeah,” John replied, “You work with Elizabeth, and I’m your boss. Don’t you reckon it’s time that we turn over a new leaf?”

As much as he didn’t want to admit that John was right, Rob nodded and said, “Yeah, I reckon two decades is enough time to stew on it.”

John laughed and patted him on the back, “You’re growing up Rob, I’m so proud of you.”

Rob snorted.

“I’ll do you a deal. Get rid of the corpse and book those two idiots into the holding cells and I’ll get pizza?” John suggested.

At this, Rob grinned, “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

* * *

When Elizabeth came into work on Sunday morning, she expected to be the first one in their office. She knew that John had worked through the night because he hadn’t come home but had sent a Patronus saying he had things that he needed to get done.

She didn’t expect anyone from CPS to appear earlier than 8am though, so she was confused when she heard talking and laughing coming from within the CPS office. When she approached the office, she peered through the door, which was slightly ajar and she was astounded by what she saw.

John and Rob were sitting around the briefing table, an empty box of pizza open between them and two abandoned cups of coffee on the desk behind them.

“Yes!” John laughed, “I do remember that one! Mitch fell off the tower into the lake, screaming his head off because he believed Sam’s story about the Kelpie.”

“It was fucking brilliant,” Rob chortled, “He was all sputtering and flailing in the water, and Sam was just pissing herself.”

“That was the moment I knew those two were a match made in Heaven,” John joked.

“Took them bloody ages to get together mind,” Rob said with an amused shake of his head.

“Tell me about it, I had to listen to far too many of Sam’s conversations with Liz,” John snorted, “Those two are shit at silencing charms for a couple of Aurors.”

Elizabeth stepped into the office, and both men looked up at her.

“Morning love,” John said with a tired smile.

Rob waved, “Looking fresh Lizzie.”

Elizabeth looked between the two of them and frowned, “Have I just walked into a parallel universe or am I still asleep?”

“Asleep?” Rob grinned, he looked over at John, “So she’s dreamed about this huh, Shep?”

“Probably, she talks in her sleep,” John replied with an amused smile.

Elizabeth’s eyes widened, “Are you both okay? Nobody is imperiused?”

“Nobody is imperiused,” John said, pushing himself to his feet, “Rob and I just reconnected last night.”

Elizabeth’s eyebrows shot up.

“Oh your mind jumped to dirty way too fast,” Rob said, smirking at her, “You _have_ had this dream before haven’t you?”

“Shut up Rob,” Elizabeth retorted, trying to stop the colour as it rose in her cheeks.

John chuckled and looked at his wife, “We defeated an Inferi together and duelled back to back, it was just like old times. We’re getting old now, Liz, it made us get sentimental, and we decided to turn over a new leaf.”

“There were a lot of ‘ _we’s_ ’ in that sentence Shep,” Rob said, “You talked, you got sentimental, you wanted to turn over a new leaf. I just agreed for the sake of an easy life.”

Elizabeth smiled, “You seem rather happy for a man who just agreed for the sake of an easy life, Rob. I know you two must have been missing each other, you were so close back then, and I was a big part of the reason that friendship broke up-”

“Don’t go apologising, we’ve sorted it all out,” Rob said, stopping her before she could continue the sentence.

“And we’ve not been missing each other that much,” John added.

Elizabeth gave him a knowing look, “Oh, please, you two were almost as bad as Draco and Theo back then. Is that what brought this on?”

“Uh no,” Rob said, “Because we’re two completely straight males.”

Elizabeth laughed, “Okay, but now that you’re friends again I expect it to be about,” she glanced at the calendar and scrunched her nose up in thought, “Two weeks before you start hanging around together every weekend and expressing latent homosexual feelings for each other.”

“Nah,” Rob said with a shake of his head, “Give it at least a month.”

“Six weeks tops,” John added with a grin.

“Oh for the love of the founders,” Elizabeth muttered, torn between exasperation and happiness that the two of them had managed to rekindle their friendship.

* * *

“Hey, Sadie!”

Sadie smiled weakly when her friend blew into the hospital room, “Hey, Suse.”

“Look at these two,” Susan said with a grin, “They are beautiful, they must get their looks from you.”

“Oi!” Theo objected with a grin as Percy followed his wife into the room, “Hey Perce.”

Percy smiled, “Hey, Theo. How is fatherhood?”

“Tiring,” Theo replied.

“Oh, I bet it will be so worth it though,” Susan said as she reached into the cot and smiled at Charlus who was awake, Almina was fast asleep by his side.

“Sorry it took us so long to visit,” Percy said apologetically, “We got the floo call from Harry last week, but we had a few loose ends to tie up in Europe before we could head home.”

“We should be back for a while now though,” Susan said, holding Charlus’s tiny hand, “Perce is looking around the job market, and I really need to settle on something too.”

“Had your fun gap year then?” Theo asked with a chuckle.

“Something like that,” Susan said with a smile, “Oh, these two are so adorable Sadie. Poor little Charlus though, having to be saddled with Draco as a middle name.”

Percy chuckled at that comment, “Guess that was your idea?” he asked Theo.

“Yeah,” Theo said, his smile gone, “As much as we get ribbed for it, Draco is my best friend, and there's nobody I would rather name him after.”

“I get it,” Percy said honestly, sitting down next to the younger man, “Bill and Charlie are like that, but nobody would think twice about it because they are brothers. If that’s how you and Draco feel about each other, it doesn’t matter if it's by blood or not.”

Theo nodded, glad that somebody finally understood.

“How much longer do you reckon you’ll be in the hospital for?” Percy asked conversationally.

“Another week but they’re kicking me out tonight,” Theo replied, “The Healers are happy enough with the twins now that they are over 5 pounds, but it’s Sadie’s recovery that they are worried about.”

“Harry said it was a hard birth,” Percy said quietly.

“Yeah,” Theo sighed, unsure why he was spilling his heart to Percy. He got on well with the older man, but they weren’t that close in comparison to his relationship with Draco, Harry and Neville.

“She can’t have any more kids,” Theo said, he was talking in an undertone, but Sadie and Susan were talking loudly enough that they didn’t have to worry about being overheard anyway.

“Good thing you got two the first time around then,” Percy said with a comforting smile.

“I know,” Theo said, casting his gaze downwards, “But it’s doing something to her. I don’t know if its that knowledge or just the difficult birth but something is up with her Perce. She’s…she’s so sad.”

“Give it a bit of time, Theo,” Percy said gently, “It could just be the baby blues. It happens to everyone, a baby is a big adjustment and Sadie has just given birth to two. I know that my Mum struggled when she had Fred and George, and that was when she had the experience of looking after babies already.”

Theo nodded, his eyes still on Sadie.

“I can tell you’re worried about her, but unless it continues or gets worse when you leave the hospital, try not to be,” Percy said, clapping Theo on the back, “You have a beautiful family Theo, you’re a very lucky man.”

Theo nodded and forced a smile onto his face. He wanted to believe that, but he had never seen Sadie like this before, and regardless of what anyone said, he wasn’t so convinced that it was harmless.

* * *

When the Healers kicked Theo out, he didn’t want to go home without his wife and babies, so he went to number 12 instead. It didn’t come as a surprise to Draco and Hermione, they just put a bowl of food down to him, and Draco talked to him about work to get his mind off of the fact he wasn’t with Sadie.

Hermione went to bed earlier than the two men that first night and when she woke up in the morning, Draco wasn’t in bed with her. She realised why when she found the two of them under a blanket on one of the sofas in the drawing-room.

She shook them both awake, told Theo to get back into the hospital wing and Draco to hurry up if he didn’t want to be late for work then she left for the ministry herself.

On the second night, she had to force them both to go to bed at midnight, but sometime around 3am, the door opened by a fraction and Draco disappeared. Unsurprisingly, she had to wake them both up on the sofa that morning too.

Which was why, on the third night, Hermione got to her feet and closed her book at 11.30pm. The other two looked tired as well, but they didn’t budge, “Come on, it’s bedtime.”

“I’ll stay with Theo, love,” Draco said.

Hermione put her book down on the side table and crossed her arms, “No, it’s bedtime for all three of us, come on.”

Theo looked at Draco in confusion.

Draco looked at Hermione in confusion.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at them both, “I spoke to Sadie via the two-way mirror last night. She agrees that it’s ridiculous that you two are sleeping on sofas. She’s fed up of you falling asleep in chairs in the hospital because you haven’t slept at night and Draco, you’re on night shift tomorrow, you _need_ a good nights sleep tonight.”

The realisation had begun to dawn on the two men.

“So Sadie and I agreed that it’s best if Theo just sleeps in our bed until she gets to come home,” Hermione concluded.

Draco yawned and got to his feet, “Fine, but he snuggles, just so you know.”

“I do not snuggle!”

“You do, you also snore,” Draco said with a raised eyebrow at his fiancé, “You know how you described sharing a bed with Harry during the war?”

“What, like sharing a bed with a limpet who won’t let go of you?” Hermione asked with a snort.

“That’s Theo,” Draco said with an amused smile.

“Only when I’m cold,” Theo muttered in his defence.

Hermione shook her head in amusement and stifled a yawn, “Come on, I’m tired, and I’ve got a big case tomorrow morning.”

* * *

It had been a few days since their visit to the Notts when the floo in the Weasley-Bones household went off in the middle of the night.

“Is that the floo?” Susan murmured, looking up and seeing a green light flashing in the living room.

“Yeah,” Percy said, pushing himself out of bed, “It’s probably just Charlie or Bill, it’s a Saturday night, and one of them is probably out cold.”

“It’s the middle of the night though Perce.”

“I know, go back to sleep Suse,” Percy said, kissing her on the forehead, “I’ll get it.”

Susan lay back down on the pillow and mumbled something incoherent. Percy grabbed a dressing gown from the back of the door, flung it on and headed for the living room, being sure to shut the door quietly behind him.

“Who is it?” He asked.

“Unknown floo signature.”

Percy swallowed then said, “Allow access.”

There was a roar as the flames came to life. A masked face appeared in the flames and a voice, disguised with magic, said, “We need you again.”

Before Percy could argue or even respond, the connection was cut, and the fireplace went black.

Percy sat down on the sofa, letting his head drop into his hands. He swore under his breath at himself, then transfigured his clothes and left the apartment he shared with Susan.

* * *

“I hate Sumner more than I did before he was Head Auror,” Rob remarked irritably one afternoon as he and Elizabeth sat in John’s office.

John snorted, “Is that just because he makes you do a monthly self-evaluation?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Rob replied as he rested his head in his hands, “I mean Shep, some of these questions are fucking stupid. Like, _‘Did you exhibit self-control during the course of your duties this month? If so, describe the occasion.’_ I mean how do I politely say, I took a kid off a thug and although I really wanted to smash him in the head with a brick repeatedly, I did not.”

Without lifting his quill, John replied, “One wished to acquaint the heinous beings facial structure with a rigidly edged object fundamentally used in the construction of walls repeatedly, but one showed extraordinary restraint by simply incapacitating him through humane means entirely within the realms of the law.”

Rob dropped his quill, “That was poetry.”

“That was a cry for therapy from both of you,” Elizabeth remarked, dipping her quill into an inkpot.

“That was beautiful, Shep,” Rob said, “It brought a tear to my eye.”

John looked up as Rob began to scribble, “You’re not really going to write that, are you?”

“Course I am. Maybe it will make Sumner self-evaluate the stupid-ass questions that he puts in his self-evaluations,” Rob said with a grin.

Elizabeth looked at her husband in exasperation, “You see what you’ve done?”

“He has a point, they are stupid-ass questions-”

“John Sheppard, if you continue that sentence I am going to silence you,” Elizabeth warned him.

John shut his mouth, and Rob whistled, “Whipped, Shep.”

“I’m not even going to deny it,” John muttered.

Elizabeth just smirked and looked back down at her almost-finished, perfectly neat, self-evaluation, “See? It’s really not that hard.”

Rob rolled his eyes, “You’re such a Ravenclaw. Bet you got excited when they gave you homework, eh?”

John snorted in amusement and tried to hide his grin behind his hand, but Elizabeth must have noticed anyway because she smacked him around the back of the head for good measure.

* * *

“Rob.”

Rob looked up and saw Cameron Mitchell hovering in the doorway, “Yeah Mitch?”

“Can I borrow you for a job? There’s a vulnerable kid involved,” Cameron informed him.

“Yeah, you want me to bring a partner?” Rob asked, getting to his feet and grabbing his robes.

“Nah, just you on this one Rob. It’s an undercover job, not a good one to bring a Junior along on,” Cameron said, he looked at said Juniors and apologised, “Sorry guys.”

They weren’t particularly bothered by this. Harry, however, asked, “Does this mean I’m in charge?”

“Uh no chance hotshot,” Rob said, smirking at him, “Elizabeth is in charge. Do whatever she says, or I’ll hex you into the DRCMC when I get back.”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at him, “You realise that I trained these three Rob? I know how to make them do what I say.”

Cameron laughed and grabbed Rob’s arm, “Come on, Wolfie, I’m in a hurry.”

Rob rolled his eyes, “Don’t call me Wolfie,” he complained as they left the office together.

“You call me Mitch, I call you Wolfie, that was the deal,” Cameron said with an amused grin.

The two of them began to walk up the corridor together. Rob sighed, “Fair play. What’s the case?”

“Complicated,” Cameron replied, “It’s an undercover joint I’ve been working for the last week. There’s this prick marketing potions as the real deal when they are all counterfeit. The Fraud team handed it over to us at Vice when they realised that there was a black market involved and illegal importing of potions ingredients.”

“Right, sounds very Vice,” Rob said sarcastically, “Where do I come in and do I need a pair of cool black sunglasses to fit in with you guys?”

Cameron shot him an amused look, “No, you don’t because you’re not one of us. Those glasses are ceremonial, you know.”

“I genuinely can’t tell if you’re serious or not right now,” Rob admitted with an amused chuckle.

Cameron was about to tell Rob about the role that he would play when a door in front of them opened, “Oh Mitch, you heading out on that case?”

“Yeah, I grabbed Rob like you said,” Cameron replied, “I reckon you’re right about him coming in handy on this one.”

“He’s useful occasionally,” John said, grinning at Rob.

Rob snorted, “More useful than you, Shep.”

John chuckled and held out his fist. Rob fist pumped him then they did something weird with their fingers.

Cameron looked at them in disbelief, “The secret handshake is back? When did _that_ happen? I thought you two hated each other?”

“Nah that was so last week Mitch,” Rob joked.

“We turned over a new leaf,” John elaborated.

“After 20 years?” Cameron asked, shaking his head at his friends.

“Ah well, no time like the present, eh?” Rob shrugged, “Anyway, are you gonna tell me why you need me?”

“The guy who's running the whole op has a three-year-old kid,” John replied, “And since Mitch is going to go in there all ablaze, cursing the fuck out of everyone and blowing shit up because he’s back in Vice now and that’s what they do, I figured someone needs to remember to grab the kid.”

“We do not just wear sunglasses and blow shit up,” Cameron said defensively.

John raised an eyebrow at him, “You have sunglasses on your head right now.”

“It’s sunny outside.”

“It’s March in the UK,” Rob deadpanned.

“So why are you really wearing sunglasses?” John asked.

“To protect my eyes when I blow shit up in the raid,” Cameron admitted sheepishly.

“Exactly,” John said, looking at Rob in amusement, “Grab the kid, don’t die then let them do their thing.”

“Alright,” Rob chuckled.

Cameron made a face, “I liked it better when you two didn’t speak.”

John and Rob just grinned in response.

* * *

Harry was about to head out to grab some lunch when he was ambushed in the corridor outside the CPS office.

“Harry, thank Merlin!”

Harry looked up in surprise, “Susan!”

“I need your help,” Susan said, genuine worry flashing in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Harry asked, pulling the door of the office shut. Thankfully, the corridor was quiet because most of the Aurors were on their lunch break.

“Percy is missing,” Susan whispered, “Two nights ago, we got a floo call in the middle of the night. He said he’d get it and when I woke up the next morning, he was gone. I thought maybe it had been a work emergency, so I didn’t think too much of it. But he was gone all day and night yesterday too. I’ve sent him a Patronus which he didn’t respond to, and my owl just came straight back.”

“That’s really odd,” Harry said with a frown.

Susan nodded, “Do you think you could maybe look into it? He wouldn’t have just left like that Harry, not by choice.”

“I know he wouldn’t have,” Harry assured her, “I’ll look into it, okay?”

“Thanks,” Susan breathed, kissing him on the cheek, “Floo me if you find out anything okay?”

“Of course I will Suse,” Harry said.

She smiled gratefully and left the corridor. Harry sighed and decided to forgo his lunch to do a bit of investigating. He headed down the corridor towards the supply closet and reached the office that he was after, ‘Missing Persons’.

He knocked on the door then opened it.

“Woah, what’s the chosen one doing visiting us plebs?” An Auror asked.

Blanche rolled her eyes, “Shut up, Stone, Harry’s cool.”

Ophelia nodded, “Yeah, we were at training with him,” she smiled at Harry, “Ignore Stones, he’s a grumpy old man.”

“A grumpy old man who is your boss,” Stones (who looked to be in his 50’s, was slightly overweight and balding) pointed out.

Harry smiled, “I just came here looking for a bit of advice. My friend’s husband seems to have disappeared off of the face of the earth after getting a mysterious floo call two nights ago. Do you have any tips on where to start?”

“Try tracing the floo call first,” Stones advised him, “9 times out of 10 it works unless you’re dealing with a really clever criminal who knows how to encrypt it beyond our abilities. That’s when we need to bring in a curse breaker cause they can read code way better than we can.”

“I may know a curse breaker,” Harry said with a smile, “If I encrypt the call, it will only give me the co-ordinates that the caller used though, won’t it?”

“Yeah, you won’t get a name or anything, but it’s a start,” Blanche said.

“It certainly is,” Harry said, “Thanks for you help, and it was nice meeting you Auror Stones.”

“You too Potter,” Stones said, raising a hand to wave goodbye.

Harry did the same then slipped out of the office.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	88. I've Got Friends That Will Run Through Walls

Once he finished work that night, Harry went to Susan’s apartment with Daphne and Teddy. The girls had a cup of coffee and played with Teddy while Harry tried to break the encryption on the call. He managed, but rather than getting a simple line of code that translated into co-ordinates, he was met with a second layer of encryption. At that point, he handed the job over to Daphne.

By the time she managed to get through it, Teddy had fallen asleep on Susan’s lap. Susan looked tired too, she had obviously not slept well since Percy’s disappearance.

“Got it.”

Harry got up off the sofa quietly so as not to wake Teddy. He knelt down next to Daphne and looked at the co-ordinates. He pulled a map out of his pocket and pinpointed them, “It’s an abandoned warehouse in London.”

“Dead end basically,” Daphne said irritably.

“Yeah,” Harry said, shaking his head angrily, “After all of that.”

They both turned to look at Susan. Disappointment shone in her eyes, “I’m sorry Suse,” Daphne said.

Susan shook her head, “Don’t be sorry, Daph. Thanks for trying.”

“I just wish I could have done something more,” Daphne said sadly.

“Don’t worry about it,” Susan said again, “You better get this little guy home though. He’s exhausted.”

“Yeah I will,” Daphne said, lifting Teddy up and popping his head on her shoulder. He began to cry, “Shh, it’s alright baby. Let’s get you home to your bed.”

Teddy settled back down on her shoulder. Harry smiled at her, “You get him home, babe. I’ll stay and ask Suse a couple of questions then I’ll follow you home okay?”

“Okay, just don’t do anything stupid, alright?” Daphne asked, her eyes meeting his, “If you want to go out and do any investigating, make sure you have Nev with you.”

“I will,” Harry promised her.

Daphne left the apartment, and Harry sat down next to Susan. He opened his mouth to ask her if she had any idea who might have floo-ed Percy, but before he could, the floo roared to life.

Susan jumped up expectantly, but Harry, who had learned to always expect the worst, grabbed his wand and pointed it at the fireplace.

There was no pause to imply that Susan had to grant whoever it was permission. The flames roared green, and Percy stumbled out.

“Percy!” Susan exclaimed in relief.

Harry didn’t drop his wand. He cast a spell on Percy which checked for any mind-altering charms, it came up negative.

Percy drew himself up, he looked perfectly fine, but there was something about the way that he held himself, which made Harry think that he was injured.

“Finite incantatem,” Harry said quietly.

The spell washed away all enchantments, including glamour charms.

Susan gasped and let go of Percy as the true extent of his injuries were revealed, “What happened to you?”

“I’m fine,” Percy gasped, holding his side.

“No, you aren’t,” Harry said, stepping forward.

“Harry, I’m-”

Before he could say ‘fine’, he passed out.

“Harry!” Susan panicked.

“Help me lie him down on the sofa,” Harry said, and Susan did.

Harry then used magic to remove Percy’s clothing, leaving him in his boxers. Susan drew back in horror when she saw how battered and bruised he was.

“What the hell was he doing?” Harry asked in disbelief as he scanned Percy with his wand.

“I have no idea,” Susan replied tearfully.

Harry’s wand buzzed, and he frowned, “Most of the injuries are superficial, but he does have internal bleeding. That was why he grabbed his side and passed out.”

“Can you fix that?” Susan asked, “Cause I can call Lil-”

“It’s okay I can fix that,” Harry said, casting a spell on the bruised area that Percy had grabbed before passing out. His breathing began to even out straight away, which made Susan sigh in relief.

She sat down by his side and began to heal the many bruises and cuts on his body and face.

“Do you mind if I hang around until he wakes up?” Harry asked, resting his hand on Susan’s shoulder, “I need to know where he went, as an Auror and a friend.”

“Yeah, I know,” Susan said a little stiffly, “Grab a coffee and wait in the kitchen. I’ll come and get you when he wakes up.”

* * *

When Percy woke up, the first thing he saw was Susan’s eyes, and they were full of concern.

“Suse,” He said, smiling weakly at her and pushing himself up on the sofa.

Susan raised an eyebrow at him, “Don’t you dare ‘Suse’ me. You disappeared off the face of the Earth for two days then came back half dead!”

“I was working,” Percy lied.

“You always tell me when you’re working,” Susan said, crossing her arms over her chest, “Who floo-ed you?”

“Suse, it’s really not that important-”

“Really?” Susan asked curtly, “Because Harry is sitting in the kitchen, and he thinks it’s important.”

“Why is Harry here?”

“He was helping me track you down because, for all I knew, you were dead in a ditch somewhere Percy!” Susan snapped.

Percy met her eyes and sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“So you should be,” Susan said irritably, “But if you want me to speak to you for the rest of the year, you had better tell me what was so important that it made you run off like that.”

Percy frowned and took his eyes off of hers, “Blackmail.”

“What?”

“There is someone out there who has been blackmailing me,” Percy replied, “It’s why I’ve been trying to stay out of Britain for long periods. The reason I take on jobs all over the place is to stay away from them so that they can’t drag me back in.”

“What could anyone possibly have on you?” Susan asked ludicrously, “You’re a good man Percy.”

“Am I?” Percy asked, still unable to look at her, “Because I really don’t feel like it right now.”

Susan sighed too. She got to her feet and called, “Harry, I can practically _hear_ you eavesdropping so you might as well get your nosy arse in here!”

Harry stepped out of the kitchen, sheepishly, “Sorry,” he said.

Susan pointed to the armchair, “Sit down.”

Despite the fact he felt like a dog, Harry did so.

“What do they have on you, Percy?” Harry asked, looking over at the man who he thought of as family.

“I did things for the ministry during the war,” Percy replied, “Things that I’m not proud of.”

“During the time when you didn’t speak to the rest of us?” Harry guessed.

Percy nodded, “I was forced to act as a spy, that much I think you know.”

Harry nodded.

“But I’ve never told anyone about the rest of it,” Percy admitted, his eyes meeting Susan’s again, “Not even you, Susan.”

“What did they make you do?” Susan asked, grabbing his hand.

“In addition to being a spy, they turned me into a Hit Wizard,” Percy said, he shook his head, “You know how I was back then, convinced that my superiors in the ministry were always right so I did what they said, blindly. I killed people during the war, bad people but their blood was still on my hands and I…” he frowned, “I avoided the rest of my family because I couldn’t stand for them to know what I was. It was because…for a long time, I couldn’t look them in the eye after all that I had done.”

“And because you weren’t employed officially as a Hit Wizard, they used that as leverage to bring you back in,” Harry realised.

Percy nodded.

“What did they have you do?” Harry asked curiously.

“Kill a Muggle politician who had funded the Death Eaters,” Percy replied, swallowing a lump in his throat and looking down at his hands.

Susan brought her hand up to her mouth but didn’t audibly gasp.

Harry wasn’t as phased by this as she was, but then again, he also wasn’t married to Percy.

“Percy,” Susan said, looking at him in disbelief, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I thought it was over and I didn’t want to tell you about that side of me. I figured a good girl like you would leave the moment you found out the truth,” Percy replied honestly.

“Then you’re an idiot,” Susan said irritably, “I wouldn’t leave, but I am angry. I’m angry that you never told me and I’m angry that you let them blackmail you when your adopted brother and all his friends are bloody Aurors!”

“She has a point,” Harry said with a slightly amused look, “I did notice that you said ‘he’ instead of ‘they’ when you were talking about the things that happened in the past Percy. Have you met this guy?”

Percy nodded, “Yeah.”

“So you could identify him from a series of photographs?” Harry added.

Again Percy nodded, “I could yes.”

“Alright,” Harry said with a nod, “This stops here. Nobody is forcing you to kill anyone again, and I’m taking this to a higher authority. I have a hunch that the person who turned you into a temporary hitman was a rogue Auror. In which case, you were acting on the authority of an official ministry figure.”

“Do you know who it is?” Susan asked in surprise.

“Not quite, but I have a couple of ideas,” Harry said honestly, “Leave it with me and lay low until I have answers, Percy.”

Percy nodded, “Thank you, Harry.”

* * *

“Why are we in the supply closet?” Rob asked, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

“Because I need to talk to you without being spied on or overheard,” Harry whispered, “And that’s impossible in this department.”

“And here was me thinking that you just wanted to see the elves,” Rob joked.

“I’m serious Rob,” Harry said in a hushed tone, “My friend is being blackmailed, and I’m sure an Auror is behind it.”

This caught Rob’s attention, “Go on.”

“My friend was duped into becoming a temporary hitman during the war,” Harry whispered, “Once the war ended, he got out of that life, but a few nights ago he got a floo call.”

“Let me guess, whoever it was blackmailed him into coming back?” Rob guessed.

“Yeah,” Harry replied quietly, “And he was forced to kill a muggle politician who had funded the Death Eaters, the same politician who we investigated for child abuse a few weeks ago.”

“That’s weird,” Rob said with a frown, “But if he was blackmailed during the war, it would have had to be by one of the old Aurors, the ones who didn’t think blackmail counted as going rogue.”

“I know, and my gut instinct tells me that Organised Crime was involved,” Harry added in a whisper.

“Half of the Organised Crime Aurors walked out when veritaserum testing was announced,” Rob whispered, “It could be any of them.”

Harry shook his head, “I don’t think it was, I think it’s someone who is still here so I want to steal their files and take them to my friend so that he can identify the Auror who is blackmailing him.”

“That’s risky and stupid,” Rob pointed out.

“I know it is, why do you think I’m asking _you_ in a _supply closet,_ Rob?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at his boss.

At that point, the door opened, and Rob and Harry stared at each other in horror. John reached his hand in to grab something then stopped and frowned, “What the hell are you two doing in a supply closet?”

“Not what you think,” Harry replied quickly.

“He’s way too young for me,” Rob agreed, “And male,” he added as an afterthought.

John narrowed his eyes at them, “Are you doing something illegal?”

“Not yet,” Rob replied, grabbing Johns wrist and pulling him into the closet. He shut the door and added, “But we’re about to. Do you want in on the act?”

“I’m Assistant Head of the department, I’m not going to just shut my eyes and let you do something illegal!” John hissed, “What’s going on?”

“A rogue Auror is blackmailing a guy he forced to be a hitman during the war,” Rob replied quickly, “So we need to steal some staff files to show to the guy so he can identify him.”

“Okay, if you do that, you’re going to lose your job,” John said matter of factly, “However, if I sign over some staff files for you and say that you’re the Auror on HR duty this month, nobody is going to blink an eye.”

Rob grinned, “Do you know what? I love being friends with you again.”

John snorted, “Can we move this conversation somewhere a little less cramped? I’m getting PTSD about that time you pissed Liz off, and she locked us in a vanishing cabinet for three days.”

Harry sniggered, “You two were locked in a vanishing cabinet together for three days? Vanishing cabinets are _tiny_.”

“I know,” John said, glaring at Rob, “It’s even worse when you have his big arse shoved in your face.”

“My arse is not that big!” Rob objected.

Harry snorted, “You two remind me of Draco and Theo,” he remarked.

“Woah, I take great offence at that!” Rob exclaimed in an outraged whisper.

Harry sniggered, “I’m going to leave first to avoid suspicion. Is it best if I bring our guy into your office tonight to look at the files?”

“Yeah, don’t come in until after 5.30pm,” John advised, “The department will have emptied a good bit by then.”

“Okay, see you later then,” Harry said, slipping out of the closet and heading back to the CPS office. As he entered, he met Elizabeth by the door.

“Did you get the parchment, Harry?” She asked with a smile.

“Oh damn, got sidetracked along the way by Fee,” Harry said, hitting himself on the forehead.

“Don’t let your wife hear you say that,” Elizabeth chuckled, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll grab a few extra rolls.”

“Thanks, Elizabeth,” Harry said, turning around to hide his grin.

* * *

“How does that kid keeping dragging me into illegal shit?” Rob asked in an irritated whisper, “I got myself kicked into Domestics because I believed in him, and he just keeps making me do it.”

“It’s kind of uncanny actually,” John agreed, “And I did just find you in a supply closet with him. Not to mention it’s been ages since you had a proper girlfriend-”

Rob opened his mouth to defend himself, but John cut in, “Gaia doesn’t count, she leant on you, and you promised to look after her kid. It wasn’t really romantic, was it? Was it even sexual?”

Rob made a face, “It was…no, not really, to be honest.”

“And now you’re dragging Junior Aurors into supply cupboards.”

“He dragged me into a supply cupboard,” Rob corrected his friend, “And I’m not gay if that’s what you’re implying.”

“I’m not implying anything, I’m just saying that you haven’t had a serious relationship with a woman since Liz,” John whispered, “And the traumatic ending of that would have been enough to turn any decent guy gay.”

“For fuck sake John, I’m not gay,” Rob muttered irritably.

At that point, the door opened, and both men turned to see Elizabeth peering into the cupboard. She dropped her arms to her side and shook her head in disbelief, “You lasted less than two weeks guys.”

“We’re just talking-”

“About Rob being gay, in a supply cupboard,” Elizabeth finished, raising an eyebrow at them.

“I’m not gay!” Rob exclaimed.

Elizabeth cocked her head at him, “Do you really believe that, though?”

“That’s it, I’m done,” Rob said, shaking his head and walking past her into the corridor, “I’m out of here!”

Elizabeth reached past her husband to grab a roll of parchment then she looked at him in a long-suffering way and shut the door on him.

* * *

When Harry snuck Percy into Johns office at 6pm that night, under his invisibility cloak, he wasn’t surprised to discover that Rob was already in the office with their Assistant Head Auror.

“Where’s your guy?” John asked, frowning when he saw that Harry was alone.

Percy shrugged off the invisibility cloak and breathed in deeply, “It smells awful under there Harry.”

“Sorry, it doesn’t wash too well,” Harry said sheepishly, folding the cloak up under his arm.

“Is that an invisibility cloak?”

“Yeah, it was my dads,” Harry said with a shrug, “This is Percy by the way. He’s my adopted but not adopted brother.”

“Molly Weasley practically raised Harry,” Rob added for Johns benefit.

“Ah,” John realised, he smiled, “Nice to meet you, Percy. I’m friends with your older brother Bill. He’s a brilliant curse breaker, we’ve worked with him on a few occasions.”

Percy smiled, “He is a brilliant curse breaker,” he said simply. Harry figured it must be annoying, getting compared to your older siblings all of the time.

“We’ve narrowed it down to our most likely suspects,” Harry said when Percy sat down in front of Johns desk, “So hopefully it’s one of them.”

Percy nodded and began to flick through the files. There was a tense silence between the three Aurors as he did so. He was nearing the end and hadn’t said anything which made Harry nervous, but then he noticed a little tell, Percy tensed up.

He leant forward to look at the file in front of Percy, and his eyes widened.

“That’s him,” Percy said, laying the file down on the desk.

John’s eyes widened, “Graves?”

“Makes sense,” Rob said as he got to his feet, “He’s an old-style Auror, he’s a pureblood, descended from the Lestrange’s…”

“He’s always been a loyal Auror though,” John said with a frown, “He was tested with veritaserum recently. He didn’t work with Voldemort or the Death Eaters.”

“There are more ways to go rogue,” Harry pointed out.

“Like taking the law into your own hands,” Rob said darkly.

John nodded and looked down at the file once more, “Percy, I can assure you that this will be dealt with come first light tomorrow but I’m going to need a little more from you first.”

“I understand,” Percy said with a nod, “I’ll give you any memories that you might need. I don’t even want to keep a copy, you can just have them.”

Harry shook his head, “You can’t just erase your mistakes Perce. You need to keep them, so you remember to learn from them and to prevent yourself from repeating them.”

“Listen to the kid philosopher,” Rob said, patting Percy on the shoulder.

“Can you come with me to the memory room?” John asked Percy as he got to his feet.

Percy nodded and got to his own feet. He glanced back at Harry and smiled, “Thanks, Harry.”

“Anytime,” Harry promised with a smile.

Rob crossed his arms and leant against the wall, watching Harry with interest as John left with Percy.

“Graves is going to get fired,” Harry said, turning to look at Rob, “Isn’t he?”

“Graves is going to go to Azkaban,” Rob said, “Shep will get the memories from Percy then he’ll go straight to Jack. I reckon Graves will get arrested as soon as he steps foot in this office tomorrow morning.”

“Good,” Harry said firmly, “He deserves it.”

“Oh yeah he does,” Rob agreed, stepping out of the office and looking at Harry, “You coming to the Leaky for a celebratory drink?”

“I thought no Juniors were allowed,” Harry said with a frown.

“Not till they prove their mettle and you just did Harry,” Rob said with a proud smile, “You’ve only been in the doors a few weeks, and you just busted a rogue Auror.”

Harry chuckled and fell into step with Rob, “Yeah, and after the last couple of days, a drink sounds good,” he admitted.

Rob nodded as they left the department together, “Hey, do you think I’m gay?”

Harry frowned over at his boss, “Uh…well, I didn’t until you mentioned it, but you do kind of flirt with everyone.”

Rob considered this for a second, “Do I?”

“Well you flirt with Elizabeth _and_ John,” Harry said, frowning again, “And kind of Sumner too to be honest.”

“What? I do not flirt with Jack!”

Harry snorted, “Are you gay?”

“No, I’m not bloody gay!” Rob groaned, kicking the door open a little too violently as they left the DMLE for the night.

* * *

“Harry!” Draco exclaimed the following morning.

“Draco,” Harry said calmly.

“You’ll never guess what happened this morning,” Draco said in an excited whisper.

“What happened?” Harry asked, looking over at him and Neville.

“Graves was arrested,” Neville replied, meeting Harry’s eye, “He’s a rogue Auror.”

“Is he?” Harry asked in a terrible show of surprise, “I would never have guessed.”

A snort from the doorway made him turn his head. Harry turned and saw Elizabeth standing there, “So I find Rob and John in a supply closet that you had just come out of, and then John doesn’t get home until close to midnight last night,” she said, stepping into the room, “And then Graves is arrested this morning. Does that seem a bit suspicious to you?”

“You got us, Lizzie,” Rob said, stepping into the office and dropping his bag at the door, “I wasn’t stealing your husband, I was plotting to take down a rogue Auror with him.”

“At what point did I accuse you of stealing my husband?” Elizabeth teased, “I believe I accused you of expressing latent homosexual feelings towards each other.”

Rob rolled his eyes at that and said, “Right, for the record. It has been a while since I dated a female, but I am not gay, which Harry will verify.”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at Harry.

Harry chuckled and said, “We went to the Leaky last night, and Rob took the barmaid home. He did it to prove a point, but it definitely looked like he was into her so yeah, he’s not gay.”

“Or are you just his cover?” Neville joked.

This comment made the office descend into chaos as they all burst out laughing.

* * *

“You excited to be home Sade?”

Sadie smiled, but just like in the hospital, it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Yeah,” She said softly, “It feels good to be home.”

“Do you want to go and lie down?” Theo asked, placing his hand on her forehead, “You’re still a little hot. I think the apparition might have taken it out of you. I can get the twins settled down in their cots.”

Sadie frowned down at the babies, she was holding Almina and Theo was holding Charlus.

“Is everything okay love?” Theo asked her.

“Fine,” Sadie replied, faking another smile, “I’m just tired.”

“Go and have a lie down then,” Theo said, watching her walk up the stairs with a real sense of worry and dread in his gut.

By the time Theo had fed and changed the twins, Sadie was asleep. He settled them down in their cots at the end of the bed that he and Sadie shared. Then set up a charm on the room so he would hear any noises.

After that, he tiptoed out of the room and headed downstairs. When he opened the door to number 12, Draco was in the basement, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Draco returned with a smile.

“Can you come through?” Theo asked.

Draco caught his friends eye and saw the concern there. He nodded, “Of course I can,” he said, stepping into the Nott family home and shutting the door behind him.

Theo set the kettle on to boil and leant against the kitchen counter, “Draco, I’m so worried about Sadie.”

Draco had sensed this coming because he and Hermione had both noticed how distant Sadie seemed to be. He nodded and said, “Yeah, me too, Theo.”

Theo looked up sharply, “You see it too? I’m not going crazy?”

“You’re not going crazy, she’s definitely struggling to adjust,” Draco said quietly.

“She’s so sad all of the time, and even looking at the twins…it’s like she doesn’t fully connect with them,” Theo said, spilling it all out now that he had his best friend back and could talk to him privately.

“Did you mention it to the Healers?”

Theo nodded, “They said it was probably just the baby blues but to keep an eye on it. But it seems like a bit more than the baby blues, doesn’t it?”

“She might have postpartum depression,” Draco said, waving his wand to make the tea make itself as the kettle screeched loudly.

“She thinks she’s a terrible mother,” Theo whispered.

“She would think that way if she’s depressed,” Draco said, reaching out and grabbing Theo’s hand, “I know it’s not the same, but I can relate Theo. Sixth year was the worst time of my life, I went through a really deep depression that year. I considered killing myself to get out of the dire situation that my father had gotten me into. When you feel like that…you blame yourself for your own depression, you think that maybe if you had just been able to think a bit more positively, or do things a little better, that you wouldn’t feel that way.”

Theo looked Draco in the eye, “I’m scared for her Draco, I’m…” he swallowed, and his voice broke, “I’m terrified that she hurts one of the kids.”

“I don’t think she will Theo,” Draco said, pulling his friend in for a hug. He wasn’t often the person to initiate a hug, but he could see how hard Theo was finding this, “She loves the babies, even if she is having trouble showing it. But you have to remember that she had a difficult birth which is probably where this stems from. She struggled to connect at the start, and now she just feels lost.”

“But what can I do?” Theo asked, his body shook, and Draco could tell that he was crying, “What can I do to help her?”

“Support her as much as you can, and if you’re this worried, get help from a Healer,” Draco said, hugging his friend tightly, “I think it will get better once Sadie starts to get her strength back and adjusts to life as a mother.”

Theo took a shaky breath and drew back. He wiped his eyes hastily and nodded, “Yeah, you’re right Draco. Sorry, I’ve just…I’ve been keeping this in for a while.”

“I can tell,” Draco said, pushing a cup of tea in Theo’s direction, “Have a cup of tea, take a deep breath then try to get some sleep. Everything will look a bit brighter in the morning.”

Theo nodded and took another steadying breath, “Stay for a bit?”

“Of course, I will.”

* * *

“Hey Percy,” Rob said with a smile.

Percy handed the Auror a cup of coffee in a cardboard mug, “A meagre thank you for your help, but it’s the best I can do.”

Rob laughed, “It’s great. Coffee is always a good thank you when Aurors are involved.”

Percy smiled, “You asked to meet me?”

“Yeah, I have an offer for you,” Rob said as he and Percy fell into step together at the Muggle park where they had met up.

“An offer?” Percy asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah,” Rob said, drawing his cloak closer as a cold wind blew, “You were acquitted of all crimes because a little probe of Graves memories showed that he coerced and blackmailed you which means you have a clean criminal record.”

“Okay,” Percy said with a frown.

“So I wondered how you felt about becoming an Auror?” Rob asked.

Percy’s eyes widened, “An Auror?”

“Yep,” Rob said, looking at Percy to gauge his reaction, “You were a bounty hunter so we can fast track you straight into the department without putting you through training. You wouldn’t even be classed as a Junior, you’d go straight in as an Auror.”

“And you’re seriously headhunting me for the job?” Percy asked in surprise.

“Yeah, course we are,” Rob said with a laugh, “All it takes is a glance at what you did as a bounty hunter to see that you’re a good catch. You’re smart, you’ve got plenty of magical power, and you’re resourceful. Not to mention that strong moral compass that every friend of Harry’s seems to possess.”

Percy laughed at that, “Well, I’m honoured and stunned by your offer. I really will consider it very carefully, but I need to discuss it with my wife before I make a decision.”

“Of course,” Rob said with a nod, “If you were to accept, we’d like to place you on the Missing Persons team. One thing you definitely proved in your work as a bounty hunter is that you’re good at finding people.”

Percy nodded thoughtfully, “I am,” he agreed.

“Get an answer to me by Friday,” Rob said, clapping him on the back, “See you later, Percy.”

“Goodbye, Rob.”

* * *

“The prodigal son returns!”

Theo grinned as he walked into the office, “Did you miss me?”

“Nah, it’s been lovely and quiet for the last three weeks,” Neville joked.

“All the paperwork has gotten done on time too,” Harry added.

“And without errors,” Elizabeth teased.

“Draco’s been a right whingy bastard though,” Rob smirked, “Sulking and walking around the place like a mopey zoo lion.”

Theo laughed out loud at the image that popped into his head upon hearing Rob’s words.

“In all seriousness, welcome back kid,” Rob said, patting the younger man on the back.

“How was Sade this morning?” Draco asked.

“Terrified of being left on her own with the kids for the first time,” Theo admitted, “I took that extra week off work as a holiday to help her out, and I’m so glad I did.”

“I’m sure she’ll surprise herself by how well she copes,” Neville said supportively.

Harry nodded, “And Daph is on call in case she starts to struggle.”

“I’m glad someone is,” Theo said, smiling weakly at his friends, “So what did I miss?”

“Oh tons,” Harry said with a grin, “Rob and Sheppard are friends again.”

“They hang out in supply closets together now,” Neville added in amusement.

“But Rob’s not gay,” Harry teased.

Rob rolled his eyes, “Rob is right here, thanks.”

Theo laughed, “Any big cases?”

“A few, you can read the weekly briefs to catch up,” Elizabeth said, dumping three files in his hands.

Rob grinned at him, “Welcome back.”

Theo could have groaned, he had walked straight into that.

“Memo,” Neville said, picking it up and scanning it.

“Case?” Rob asked.

“Nope, acceptance of a job offer,” Neville replied, handing Rob the memo, “Percy Weasley said yes.”

“Percy Weasley?” Theo asked in surprise, “Susan’s Percy?”

“How many other Percy Weasley’s do you know?” Harry snorted.

Theo rolled his eyes, “Shut up, Harry, I’ve been out of the game, changing nappies and getting spewed on for three weeks.”

Draco chuckled, “Percy was offered a job in the department, working with the Missing Persons team.”

“And he just said yes,” Rob said cheerfully, “I better tell Shep the good news. Theo, welcome back, get your arse in a chair and make sure it’s a comfy one because Lizzie has got a return to work form to fill in with you and a fuck load of risk assessments that you need to be aware of now you’re a Daddy.”

Theo groaned and sank down into a comfortable armchair while the others laughed at his expense.

* * *

“Goal!”

“It wasn’t a goal, you cheated!” Bill exclaimed.

“How did I cheat?”

“You levitated the ball into the basket,” Bill said with a shake of his head, “Which is cheating. Also, it’s basketball, so you don’t say goal, you say you scored.”

“Yeah, but that’s called the goal,” Daphne objected, “So it’s a goal.”

“It’s not!” Bill exclaimed.

“Also, you didn’t state that I wasn’t allowed to use magic,” Daphne cut in.

Bill groaned and let his head drop onto the desk, “You’re driving me fucking crazy Daph. I need a case.”

“ _I’m_ driving _you_ crazy?” Daphne snorted.

Before an argument could begin, the floo roared to life, and they both looked over hopefully.

“Please be a client,” Bill whispered, “Please be a client.”

Daphne rolled her eyes then smiled when she saw Sadie’s face in the fire. The smile on her face flickered when she saw tear tracks on her friends face, “Come on through Sade, we’re so bored, and I need tiny baby hugs!”

Sadie’s face lit up, and she stepped through the fireplace with a baby in each arm.

“Sorry Daphne,” Sadie said tearfully, “But Theo went back to work today, and it’s just so hard when he’s not here to hold one of them while I feed the other or change a nappy. I feel like one of them has been crying all day and I just-”

“Shh,” Daphne soothed, “You’re here now, you can get a little break,” she said as she took Charlus from her arms and turned to Bill, “Here Bill, hold Charlie.”

“Oh its been a _long_ time since someone told me to do that,” Bill said with an amused grin, happily taking the baby from Daphne.

Daphne shot him a long-suffering look and took Almina from Sadie’s arms, “Hello Mina,” she said in a ridiculous baby voice, “Let’s go for a little walk to make your Mummy a cup of tea. Would you like to see some scary goblins? They don’t like babies, can you throw up in their faces for Auntie Daphne? Because that would make me very happy.”

Bill shook his head in amusement as Daphne left the room with Almina in her arms. He looked up at Sadie and smiled, “Sit down in Daphne’s chair, it’s really comfy.”

Sadie sat down and looked at Bill guiltily, “Sorry to interrupt your day.”

“You’re not interrupting anything,” Bill promised her, “We were so bored that we had resorted to arguing and playing office basketball.”

Sadie chuckled weakly at that and Bill smiled sympathetically as he shuffled Charlus in his arms, “I’m a dad, you know? So I know it’s not the same, but I do know how hard it is to go from being your own woman to being a mother. You feel like you lose yourself in Motherhood and the thing Fleur found that helped her was having one night a week where she could go out and be Fleur, not Victoire’s mum.”

“I think I need something like that,” Sadie admitted with a sigh, “I feel like my entire life has been turned upside down, and I just can’t cope.”

“You’ll learn to cope really quick,” Bill promised, “Parenting is the sort of job where you learn on your feet.”

Sadie smiled, “Thanks Bill,” she said.

“No problem,” Bill said, glancing over at the filing cabinet as Daphne came back with a cup of tea.

“Did she throw up on any goblins?” Bill asked with an amused smile.

“Unfortunately not,” Daphne sighed, “Do you want to stick around for the rest of the afternoon, Sade?”

“No, I don’t want to get in the way,” Sadie said with a shake of her head, “Thank you for the cup of tea though Daph, I’ll head off after I’ve had it.”

“You don’t have to,” Bill said, looking over at the tired young woman, “We have a ton of letters in the filing cabinet to get through. It’s boring work mind you…sorting out the junk from the cases that don’t involve magic, to the ones that do involve magic but weren’t interesting enough for us to take on.”

Sadie shook her head, “No, it sounds great, and it would be nice to be useful again.”

“Hey,” Daphne said softly, “You’re raising two awesome little babies. You are being useful every minute of the day.”

“You know what I mean,” Sadie said, smiling at Daphne.

“We do,” Bill said, unlocking the top drawer of the filing cabinet, “Knock yourself out. Charlie and me are gonna have a nap right here.”

Daphne laughed and smiled down at Almina, “I’ll just enjoy tiny baby cuddles for as long as you let me,” she said honestly, “Why do babies just smell so good?”

“Hormones,” Bill said, opening one eye to focus on her, “Don’t even think about it.”

“Too soon after adopting Ted, don’t worry. Harry and I won’t have any of these adorable little things for a while yet,” Daphne promised him, “So I’m going to enjoy this one for as long as I’m allowed to.”

“You really love babies,” Bill chortled.

“Shh, don’t tell anyone,” Daphne said with a grin, “You’ll ruin my reputation.”

Sadie laughed at that, and it was the first genuine laugh that had escaped her lips since she had left the hospital.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	89. I'll Be There for You

Rob looked up suspiciously at Draco as he hovered by the filing cabinet.

“Draco you coming?” Theo asked his best friend.

“Nah, I’m going to stay back a bit,” Draco replied, smiling at Theo, “See you tomorrow.”

“See you,” Theo agreed, leaving the office.

“Why are you hovering Black?” Rob asked, raising an eyebrow at the Junior Auror.

“Because I need to talk to you about Theo,” Draco replied, shutting the office door, “It’s not just me who has noticed that he’s struggling, is it?”

Rob sighed and shook his head, “He’s making a lot of mistakes at the moment.”

“It’s because he’s tired,” Draco said, leaning against his desk, “Sadie is struggling, really struggling so Theo is taking on as much as he can. He’s barely sleeping then he’s dragging himself through work 5 days a week, 6 when he’s on a weekend shift.”

“That’s parenting though,” Rob said with a shrug, “It’s hard. When Nick was born, I was pulling double shifts and graveyard shifts because I was running Domestics on my own. I was constantly knackered, but you just need to learn to push past it.”

“It’s more than just physical exhaustion though Rob,” Draco said, debating whether to tell his boss the truth or not, “Sadie…she’s…”

“She has postpartum depression?” Rob guessed.

Draco nodded, “I think so, and Theo does too. The Healers are still saying it’s the baby blues, but Sadie isn’t prone to bouts of depression, and this is…it’s so unlike her.”

“So Theo is pulling the graveyard shift to help her get through the day,” Rob said with a nod, “Yeah, I get it. Gaia, Nicks Mum, she struggled with depression all her life, along with addiction and a million other things. She had postpartum depression too, and she eventually killed herself.”

Draco’s eyes widened.

“Not that I’m saying that what Theo’s wife will do,” Rob said quickly, “Gaia had been abused as a teenager, she hadn’t had a good life. But I do see where you’re coming from about Theo so yeah I’ll cut him a bit of slack. That was what you were going to ask me to do, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Draco admitted, “Was it that obvious?”

“Yep, aren’t you Slytherins meant to be manipulative and sneaky?” Rob asked, raising an eyebrow at the blonde man.

“I used to be until I fell in love with Hermione,” Draco said, a small smile slipping onto his lips, “Falling in love with the Gryffindor Princess kind of ruins your reputation as the Slytherin Prince.”

Rob snorted, “The Slytherin Prince? Did people really call you that?”

“Yeah, loads of people called me that,” Draco said defensively.

“Who came up with it?” Rob asked, grinning at Draco in amusement, “Because it sounds like a self-nickname.”

“Well it wasn’t,” Draco said a little huffily.

“We’ll see what Harry has to say about that tomorrow then, will we?” Rob asked with an amused look.

Draco just made a face, but Rob stopped laughing and said, “In all seriousness Draco, if you guys want to help Theo, the best thing you can do is bring him up to speed before the field test next week. You guys need to pass to prove that you’re as good in practice as you were in your final exams.”

Draco nodded, “We’ll do that,” he promised, smiling at his boss, “And thanks, Rob. Harry was right, about you having a heart.”

Rob snorted, “That bloody kid, giving all of my secrets away,” he joked as he looked back down at his paperwork.

* * *

Hermione looked up when a knock sounded on her office door. She was currently working in the Administrative Registration Department of the DMLE. That meant that her day pretty much consisted of registering births and deaths, granting acceptance of marriages and occasionally, she got something a little different. This morning it had been a divorce, but a tricky one because it was between a wizard and a muggle. The children had not yet shown signs of magic, but they were still young, so the wizard wanted to raise them with knowledge of magic. The muggle wanted to take them back to her family home and raise them as muggles. There had been a lot of arguing, and Hermione quickly realised that this line of work probably wasn’t going to be for her.

“Come in!” She called.

The door to the little office opened, and Hermione smiled when she saw Sadie. She had Almina in a baby carrier on her chest, and Charlus was on her hip.

“Hey, Sadie,” Hermione said, “How are you doing?”

Sadie smiled sadly, “I wish I could say good.”

“You’re adjusting, it’s understandable,” Hermione said with a smile as she took Charlus from her, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Sadie sat down gingerly, Almina was fast asleep in the carrier.

“I can arrange a hot cup of tea or coffee too,” Hermione said, looking knowingly at her friend.

“A hot cup of coffee would be heavenly right now,” Sadie sighed.

Hermione smiled and set up a little canteen behind her with magic. Coffee began to brew itself as she bounced Charlus a little.

“Mina is okay,” Sadie admitted, “And I feel awful for having a favourite child. Occasionally she gets trapped wind, but we can sort that out easily enough but Charlie…he’s impossible. I feel like he just cries all day Hermione, its this high-pitched scream like he’s in pain and nothing seems to help.”

Hermione frowned down at the little boy who looked tired but was squirming and complaining, “It sounds like colic.”

“What’s that?” Sadie asked, her eyes widening, “Is it serious?”

“No,” Hermione said with a chuckle, “It’s very common Sadie, more so in firstborn children and in boys. It’s basically trapped wind, to the extreme. He might be so uncomfortable because his tummy is constantly sore.”

“But we burp him all the time,” Sadie said tearfully.

“It’s alright Sadie,” Hermione soothed, looking at her tear-stained cheeks with concern, “I’m not saying you’re a bad parent. With colic though, burping them doesn’t seem to do much more than take the edge off. You could get some medicine for him at any muggle pharmacist so it might be worth nipping into the apothecary?”

“I will,” Sadie said, wiping her eyes, “I’m sorry for crying at everything, Hermione. I just feel so sad and anxious all of the time. Some things are worse than others, like the thought of having to get in and out of the apothecary with them by myself because Almina is only happy in a carrier and Charlie really hates lying down flat in the pram.”

“It really sounds like colic,” Hermione said with a frown. She looked up at the clock on the wall then down at her calendar, “I’ll tell you what Sade? I’ll push my 1pm meeting back to 2pm so I can take you out for lunch. Then I’ll leave you with Mina and nip to the Apothecary with Charlie to get some medicine.”

“No, Hermione, you don’t have to do that-” Sadie began to say.

“I want to,” Hermione assured her friend as she got to her feet and grabbed her coat, “And you need a break.”

Sadie smiled warmly, and it actually reached her eyes. They went down to Diagon Alley together, and Hermione took Sadie and the babies to a café that she loved, it had popped up next door to the joke shop after the war.

Almina woke up briefly for a feed, so Hermione got a little cuddle before she went back into the baby carrier where she promptly fell asleep again. Charlus had a little nap, but he was still very unsettled. It seemed to do Sadie a world of good to eat her lunch in relative peace and quiet. Hermione told her off when she admitted that this was the first time in weeks that she had eaten lunch because she usually forgot.

Once they had eaten, Hermione put Charlus in the pram and propped him up with her jumper so that he wasn’t lying flat. She had been out of the café for a grand total of five minutes when the little boy fell into a far more peaceful sleep. She said hello to a few people she passed in the alley but made sure to keep moving so that Charlus wouldn’t wake up when she stopped in the apothecary.

“Afternoon, Hermione!”

Hermione smiled at the man behind the counter, “Good afternoon Ichabod,” she said cheerfully.

“Have you run out of potions ingredients already? You were only in here last week,” Ichabod joked.

“No, it’s not for me this time,” Hermione said with a laugh, “It’s for this little boy, and his Mummy.”

Ichabod smiled down at the baby, “He’s lovely. What’s his name?”

“Charlus,” Hermione replied, “I’m his godmother,” she added proudly.

“What can I do for him, then?” Ichabod asked.

“I wondered if you had anything that works for colic? Or even any tips on something I could brew to help?” Hermione asked.

“Colic,” Ichabod mused, “Yes, there’s an old home remedy for that, but you’re stretching my memory now. It’s normally passed down from grandmothers…let me have a look in my book of household ailments.”

“Thank you, Ichabod,” Hermione said gratefully.

Ichabod hummed as he flicked through the book and Hermione rocked the pram to keep Charlus asleep.

“Ah, I knew it was in here somewhere,” Ichabod said, “There is a remedy. It simply requires clean water, fennel, ginger and chamomile. Most mothers put a little sugar in too, to make it taste better. It takes a day to brew and can be bottled, from this point it will last for up to 6 months. The dosage is a teaspoon a day.”

“Perfect,” Hermione said with a smile, “Could you bag the ingredients up for me?”

“Of course,” Ichabod said, disappearing into the back of the shop. When he came back, Hermione asked, “I don’t suppose you know of any remedies to help with postpartum depression or anxiety?”

“The anxiety I can help with,” Ichabod answered, “But the depression? That’s on you. I’m afraid, Hermione. The best thing for that is a support system.”

“Well she definitely has that,” Hermione said with a smile, “You said you could help with the anxiety? That might be a start, she’s so worried and stressed all of the time right now.”

Ichabod nodded. He pulled a box out from underneath the counter, “It has a cheesy name, but it works.”

Hermione looked at the box and snorted, “Worreez-be-gone? It sounds like it was invented by a Weasley.”

“It was,” Ichabod admitted, “By mistake when our esteemed friends down the alley were experimenting with their range of sweets to get you out of classes.”

“There’s nothing dangerous in it with Sadie breastfeeding?” Hermione asked.

Ichabod shook his head, “All natural ingredients, but the sort that calm you like lavender and chamomile.”

“I’ll take a couple of boxes of those too then,” Hermione said, “Thanks, Ichabod.”

“A pleasure Hermione.”

* * *

When Hermione had escorted Sadie back to Grimmauld Place, she helped her get the babies down for a nap in their cots then she sat Sadie down in the kitchen and gave her a cup of tea.

“Don’t you need to get back to work?” Sadie asked.

Hermione glanced at the clock, “Not for 15 minutes,” she replied.

“Did you manage to get something at the Apothecary?” Sadie asked, sipping her tea.

“I did,” Hermione replied. She pulled the boxes out of her bag, “These are for you, ignore the cheesy name because I have it on good authority from my friend at the apothecary that they work wonders. They should help with your anxiety but try not to have more than two a day, or you could end up relying on them too much.”

Sadie smiled at her friend, “Thank you, Hermione.”

Hermione smiled too, “And I have all the ingredients to make a potion for Charlie. I’ll make it tonight, but it will take a day to brew. As soon as it’s done, I’ll pop round with it. Once bottled, it will last for 6 months, and all you need to do is give Charlie a teaspoon a day.”

Sadie’s smile turned tearful, “Thank so much, I really don’t know what I’d do without you guys.”

“You’re lucky that you never have to worry about that,” Hermione said, hugging her friend tightly and kissing her on the cheek, “I do need to get back to work but just come through if you ever need anything okay? Draco or I will do whatever we can to help.”

“I know,” Sadie said, smiling at her, “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

* * *

“Is this an intervention?” Theo asked, looking around the basement of Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

“Kind of,” Harry replied.

“More a case of bringing you up to speed, so you don’t fail the field test tomorrow,” Draco added.

“And we decided to do it at the last minute because information isn’t staying in your head for long right now,” Neville cut in.

Theo sighed, “It isn’t, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” Draco promised him, “Your entire life just changed overnight. Nobody blames you for being tired, but we also don’t want you to get the sack because you failed the field test.”

Theo nodded and took a breath, “Okay, so the field test is an obstacle course, isn’t it?”

“Kind of, but you should drink this before we start,” Harry said, handing Theo an energy drink, “It’s a muggle invention, and it’s terrible for you, but it will make your brain and body a little sharper so you can have one tonight and one before the test tomorrow.”

“But no more,” Draco said, giving him a warning look, “Because they are addictive.”

“Yes, Mum,” Theo said with an amused smile as he accepted the drink from Harry and took a cautionary sip. He made a face, “That’s disgusting.”

Harry nodded, “Yep, but that will happen when you put bull sperm in a drink.”

The look on Theo’s face was priceless. Draco couldn’t help himself as he grinned and said, “Drink up then Theo.”

Harry sniggered, “So the field test is an obstacle course with an unexpected element. It’s probably going to be an ambush, and there is probably going to be a duel involved. We know that because although it’s meant to be a blind test, Rob sat us all down last week and said,” he then launched into a flawless impression of Rob, complete with the Irish accent, “ _Right lads. The field test might be an obstacle course. There might be a lake, or that might be a red herring. There might even be an aerial aspect. There might be an ambush, not that I could possibly know that because there’s no way they would still be using the same course after ten years is there? Anyway, might be a duel in there. Us Senior Aurors love to surprise you with a little duel_.”

Theo burst out laughing, “So he told us exactly what to expect?”

“Course he did, it’s Rob,” Neville said with a laugh.

Theo shook his head in amusement, “Alright then. How are we going to do this?”

“I’m going to be a Death Eater,” Harry said, “And I’m going to ambush you, Neville is going to be my right-hand man.”

“Why are you the Death Eater?” Draco asked in disbelief.

“Because you _were_ a Death Eater and you were shit at it,” Harry remarked.

Draco looked offended for a moment then frowned, “Hang on, that’s a compliment.”

“Well done, dumbass,” Neville chuckled.

“Shut it Fatbottom,” Draco retorted.

Neville rolled his eyes, “You need to come up with a new insult.”

“If you two are Death Eaters, what am I?” Draco asked as an afterthought.

Harry shrugged, “I don’t know, a tree?”

“A tree? A fucking tree?”

“You’d make a good tree. All you’ve got to do is stand there and not do anything,” Harry pointed out.

“Wasn’t that your basic stance as a Death Eater?” Neville asked in jest.

“Oh shut up Fatbottom, you aren’t even his best sidekick, that was Weasley,” Draco jibed back.

“Woah, you do not get to judge my sidekicks,” Harry said, pointing at Draco, “Especially because you’re totally wrong. My favourite sidekick was always Hermione.”

“Was that before or after you two went camping together?” Neville asked, raising an eyebrow at his friends.

“Oh no,” Draco said with a shake of his head, raising his wand and pointing it at Harry, “We’re not getting back onto that old argument.”

Harry raised his wand and pointed it at Draco, “Fancy practising your duelling skills then?”

“Oh yeah, prepare to get your arse well and truly kicked Potter.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at him, “Do I look scared, Malfoy?”

“Oh for Godric’s sake, here we go again,” Neville muttered.

“And Rob thinks I’m the one shagging Draco,” Theo snorted, shaking his head and sipping his rank energy drink.

From that point, chaos descended.

* * *

Harry looked up when the floo whirred. It was Sunday morning, and it was his weekend off so he had been reading the prophet, wondering what he would do with himself for the rest of the day.

“Recognised floo signature,” The floo said.

“Let them in then,” Harry said, putting the paper down on the table.

He wasn’t surprised to see Sadie walk through the flames. She had a baby in each arm, and she looked exhausted.

“Hi Harry, sorry to interrupt,” She said apologetically.

“You weren’t interrupting anything, I was just reading the paper,” Harry said with a smile, “Are you alright?”

Sadie sighed, “Not really.”

“It’s Theo’s weekend on,” Harry said with a nod, “He was on call last night.”

Sadie nodded, “He spent most of the night at the Closes, so I was on my own, and I’m just so tired, Harry. I…I was sort of hoping Daphne might want to have the babies for a little while.”

“Oh,” Harry said, his brown knitting into a frown, “Well she’s out. She takes Teddy down to Diagon Alley on a Sunday, then the park afterwards.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I forgot all about that,” Sadie said tearfully.

“No, no,” Harry cut in, standing up, “You don’t need to be sorry, Sadie. You look exhausted, and I have nothing better to do with my time right now. I normally just drink copious amounts of coffee and read the prophet while I’m waiting for them to come back. I’d go with them, but apparently, it’s Mummy/Teddy bonding time, and since I get to take him to Quidditch matches, I’m not allowed.”

Sadie chuckled.

“So I can watch the twins for you,” Harry said with a warm smile, “Go on up to one of the guest rooms, put up a silencing charm and sleep.”

Sadie’s eyes widened, “Oh no, Harry, I couldn’t. That wouldn’t be fair-”

“Sadie,” Harry cut in, “Honestly, I can handle them. I used to look after Teddy loads as a baby when I was still at Hogwarts half the time actually.”

“I know, I remember family week,” Sadie admitted, “Are you sure you can handle them both at the same time, though?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Harry assured her, “Go on, get yourself some sleep then have a bath afterwards. You’ll be wanting some you time.”

Sadie smiled broadly, “Thank you, Harry,” she said, kissing him on the cheek before passing the babies over to him.

* * *

“Quiet when you go inside,” Daphne said to Teddy as she unlocked the front door, “Daddy had a tough morning at work yesterday so he might still be asleep.”

Teddy nodded.

“Tiptoes okay?” Daphne said, smiling at the little boy.

“Tippy toes,” Teddy whispered.

They slipped into the entrance hall, and Teddy tiptoed for about three steps then ran flat out into the kitchen. Daphne rolled her eyes in amusement and followed him, stopping in her tracks when she realised that Harry was awake, and he had company.

Harry smiled up from the monthly DMLE bulletin that he had been reading, “Hey love, did you have a good morning?”

“Yeah!” Teddy exclaimed.

“Shh,” Harry hushed him, “Mina and Charlie are asleep Ted. Auntie Sadie had a tough night, so we need to make sure they all catch up on their sleep, don’t we?”

Teddy nodded and put a finger on his lips.

Harry smiled and ruffled his hair, “You’re a good boy. Go into the pantry and grab yourself a bar of chocolate.”

Teddy grinned and ran into the pantry.

Daphne crossed her arms and leant in the doorway, “How long have they been here for?”

“A few hours,” Harry replied, sipping his coffee and using wandless magic to re-boil the pot on the counter, “Do you want a cup of coffee?”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “Damn, you are good at this.”

“It makes you want me, right?” Harry joked.

“Worryingly enough, it kind of does,” Daphne admitted, an amused grin slipping onto her face.

Harry grinned, “It’s not that hard when you can have them for a few hours. You remember it when Teddy was this baby we watched every once in a while. But then when it’s full-time, you realise that the heat is on. That’s what it is with Sadie, she gets riled up, so the kids get riled up. The trick is to stay calm and to know how to re-boil a coffee pot with magic. That way, you always get a hot cuppa when they are asleep.”

“Is that all you can do wandlessly?” Daphne asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Harry’s grin widened. “Oh, you know it’s not.”

Daphne laughed, “How is Sadie doing then?”

“She’s tired and emotional,” Harry replied. “I sent her upstairs for a nap, told her to have a hot bath as well. You always used to like to pamper yourself when you got stressed with Teddy.”

Daphne nodded thoughtfully and grabbed the steaming hot cup of coffee that Harry had just sent towards her. She sipped it and sighed with contentment, “Do you know, if the whole Auror thing ever falls through, you would make a pretty good house husband,”

Harry chuckled, “Never going to happen. I have a hero complex, I need to save people all of the time remember?”

Daphne just chuckled as she sat down with him at the table, “Apparently this time it’s Sadie.”

“Sadie doesn’t need saving, she just needs a little bit of her sanity back,” Harry said with a chuckle, “Wouldn’t we if we had twins?”

Daphne shuddered, “Ugh, just do _not_ jinx it.”

“You would only have to give birth once,” Harry pointed out.

“Yeah, but then I’d have all of this stress that Sadie has,” Daphne said with a shake of her head, “Watching her go through it is painful enough.”

Harry nodded his agreement.

“Anyway, we’re not there yet,” Daphne said, smiling at him, “We’ve got Teddy and our careers. We aren’t having a baby right now, let’s just remind ourselves of that every time these adorable little angels make us feel broody.”

“You,” Harry snorted in amusement, “They are making _you_ feel broody.”

“Yeah, they really are,” Daphne agreed.

“So are you sure you don’t want to have a baby right now?” Harry asked, mostly in jest.

Daphne fixed him with a stern look, “If you got me pregnant right now, Bill would go off his head. He’d duel you.”

Harry snorted, “Pfft, and? I could take Bill Weasley in a duel any day of the week! Twice on Sundays, cause he’ll be full of Molly’s amazing food, so he’ll be slower. You get it?”

“Yeah I get it, but it was way too elaborate to be funny,” Daphne said with a shake of her head, “No babies, and no duelling my boss. Got it?”

“Got it,” Harry chuckled, sipping his coffee once more as Teddy barreled back into the kitchen and woke the twins up.

* * *

As the days and weeks passed by, Sadie gradually came to rely on her friends less. The twins began to settle into something that resembled a routine, and as a result, she and Theo got more sleep. Neville had also let Sadie into a little secret; he had taken her to the greenhouse in the grounds of Longbottom House. Sadie had loved it and had jumped at the chance to help Neville out there for a few hours one night a week. She loved the babies, but she needed some time to just be herself too.

However, there were some days when she struggled, and some days when Theo struggled too. It was harder for him in a sense because he had to juggle being a dad to two very young children with his job as a newly qualified Auror.

One such occasion was on a Saturday morning. Sadie had gone out with Daphne, it was her first outing without the kids (apart from her trips to the greenhouse after she had put the babies to bed). As such, she hadn’t wanted to go far, so she and Daphne were spending the day in London together.

Theo had coped well, to begin with, but come midday he was at breaking point. It was Draco and Neville’s weekend on at work, and Harry was away at a Puddlemere game with Teddy which left him very few options for support.

That was how he ended up in the hospital wing of the Auror training centre. He smiled sheepishly at Lilly when she saw him hovering in the doorway, “Hey?”

Lilly laughed, “Hey, are you having a hard time?”

“Just a bit,” Theo said with a sigh, “Do you mind if I hang around for a while?”

“Course not,” Lilly replied, “Come over here, though. I’m fixing up a trainee.”

Theo followed her to the far end of the hospital wing, where a trainee lay with his leg propped up.

“Gareth, this is my friend Theo,” Lilly said conversationally, “His wife nearly died giving birth to these little cuties a couple of months ago, so things have been pretty tough for them.”

Gareth nodded, “Okay?”

“So he’s going to hang around here for a bit while I fix you up,” Lilly finished, “You cool with that?”

“Yeah Moon, just knock me out with a pain potion and do your thing,” Gareth said nonchalantly.

“Alright, deal,” Lilly said, reaching into a cabinet and pulling out a phial, “Knock that back, you’ll be out at least 12 hours so you’ll miss Potions Lab tomorrow.”

“Nice,” Gareth said, and he knocked the drink back.

Theo watched this scene in amusement and chuckled when Gareth started to snore.

Lilly shook her head in amusement, “He’s a second-year who didn’t pass when Sumner opened up the exams to everyone. No surprise considering he got this in a training exercise.”

“What did it?” Theo asked, looking at the leg, which was pretty chewed up.

Lilly conjured up a padded playpen, “Pop the twins in.”

Theo did, the babies were just over 2 months old so they couldn’t do much more than just lie there. Lilly did a fancy little spell with her wand which made stars and planets float around above their heads, the twins instantly began to try and reach out to grab them.

“You’re bloody brilliant Lil,” Theo said with a sigh.

Lilly smiled at him, “In answer to your question, he got into a fight with a Kappa.”

Theo rolled his eyes, “Idiot.”

“Coming from you?” Lilly snorted, “You’ve not exactly got the best record with magical creatures, have you?”

“That’s all in the past Lil, I’m learning to be at one with nature now,” Theo remarked.

“Yeah right,” Lilly sniggered, “See that door over there?”

Theo glanced over to where she was pointing, “Yeah?”

“It’s the office, nip in and get yourself a cuppa,” Lilly ordered him.

“Yes ma’am,” Theo said, grinning and saluting her before disappearing into the office.

He busied himself with making the coffee, all the while thinking about how lucky he and Sadie were to have friends like Lilly. Theo chuckled at the sight he saw when he came back with his cup of coffee, in-between stitching up Gareth’s leg, Lilly was playing peek-a-boo with the twins.

“You’re in the wrong line of work,” Theo said with a warm smile, “You should be working with kids.”

“Yeah, maybe one day,” Lilly said with a smile, “Right now, I love where I am.”

“Fair enough,” Theo said, he couldn’t argue with that when it was exactly how he felt about his own job.

* * *

“Fun Auntie Susan is here!”

Sadie smiled weakly at her friend as she stepped into the drawing-room, “Hey Suse.”

The smile on Susan’s face flickered, “Are you okay, Sadie?”

“Tired,” Sadie said with a shrug, “I don’t think I’ll ever _not_ be tired anymore if I’m honest.”

“It will get better,” Susan said, grabbing her friends hand, “By which I mean, you’ll get used to this level of tired so you’ll stop feeling tired.”

“That’s not at all confusing,” Sadie said, raising an eyebrow at the Hufflepuff.

“Ah, you get the gist,” Susan said with a wave of her hand, “Look at these little bambinos! They are so big!”

Sadie looked down into the playpen where the twins were playing with soft toys.

“They are coming up on 3 months old now,” Sadie said with a nod.

“Has it gone quickly?” Susan asked, rummaging in her bag.

“Sometimes it does, other times…not so much,” Sadie replied.

“You seem a lot brighter than you were the last time I spoke to you,” Susan said honestly, “Oh, and the reason I’m here is because I have presents! Perce and I went on one last trip before we decided to settle down like the boring old farts we’re becoming.”

Sadie chuckled, “Has he started working at the Ministry then?”

“Yeah, he started last week,” Susan said with a smile, “And I had a job interview, did I tell you about that?”

Sadie shook her head, “No, where was it?”

“The Ministry,” Susan admitted, “In the DMLE. I figured if I’m going to do the whole, proper career thing, I might as well follow in the family footsteps.”

Sadie laughed, “Lawyer then?”

“Lawyer, Juror, I don’t know,” Susan said with a shrug, “Figured I’d start out working in Misuse of Magic Office and see where it goes from there. I got the job either way.”

“Good for you,” Sadie chirped.

Susan smiled too, “But, since it was our last trip, I made sure to bring something nice home for the twins, so here we go!”

She pulled two very brightly coloured soft toys out of the bag, and Sadie laughed as the twin's eyes widened the moment they saw them.

“Ooh, do you like these?” Susan asked cheerfully, “They are from Mexico! They are cool, aren’t they? Yeah, they are! Here you go munchkins.”

Sadie smiled as her friend put the new toys into the playpen. She drew her legs up underneath her and watched Susan play with the babies, and she took a deep breath, reminding herself to count her blessings.

It was easier now, Charlus had calmed down so much since Hermione had come up with her colic remedy. The anxiety relieving sweets really did help too. The bad days were becoming few and far between, and most days, Sadie could see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

And all of that was due to their amazing friends.

* * *

April became May, and Wizarding Memorial Day came and went. It wasn’t quite so sad this year because there was a lot of light and happiness in all of their lives now. The twins continued to blossom as they learned new things and got bigger each day. Theo, along with all of his friends, truly began to fit in within the Auror department, and Child Protective Services really began to come into its own.

Rob was promoted to Senior Auror, which he wasn’t happy about at first because he thought it had only happened now that he and Sheppard were friends again. After he grabbed John and held him against the wall, he realised that it hadn’t had anything to do with John and he had been forced to buy him a hell of a lot of pints to apology for being a ‘rash bastard’, in his own words.

Traditionally in the Ministry, May was promotion season. It was when any annual promotions tended to be announced and when any significant changes began to be implemented. Arthur had been promoted to Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office, which was a brilliant promotion in terms of status and pay.

It was because of this that Draco wasn’t surprised when Hermione burst into the house excitedly one Monday night.

“Draco!”

“I’m in the kitchen!”

Hermione ran in and beamed at him, “I just passed my course! It’s early, but they said that they didn’t see any point in having me finish it when I had already proven my worth.”

Draco beamed at her, “Congratulations!”

Hermione threw herself into his arms and squeezed tightly, “I got to pick my department, do you know what I picked?”

“Aurors, or Hit Wizards?” Draco guessed, he knew that she had enjoyed working in those departments.

“Not quite,” Hermione said, smiling at her fiancé, “But I expect that I will be working with you quite frequently.”

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, “Go on then. What did you pick?”

“Technically I will be working out of the Auror office,” Hermione said with a smile, “But from the administrative side of things. I decided to be a lawyer, I enjoyed a lot of what I did over the past year, but the one thing I hated was the paper pushing. I want to make a difference, and that’s where I can do that.”

Draco smiled proudly at her, “Of course it is.”

“So I’m going to specialise in Child Protection and Creatures Rights cases,” Hermione said, bursting with excitement and happiness, “And I’m going to change things.”

“Hermione Granger, defender of the wizarding world,” Draco said, smiling as he leant down to kiss her, “I love you, and I’m proud of you.”

“I’m proud of me too,” Hermione admitted, leaning into the kiss.

* * *

A few nights after Hermione’s big career news, the door in the basement opened. It was nearly midnight, and Hermione hadn’t had the easiest day. She had well and truly been thrown in at the deep end with a tough case.

Draco looked over at Hermione who yawned in response.

“He’ll have the twins with him. You go up to bed, I’ll help him out for the night,” Draco said.

“Are you sure?” Hermione asked, looking at him warily.

“Yeah, we’ll be fine,” Draco promised, “I’m good with babies, remember?”

“I know,” Hermione said, smiling at him, “Draco Malfoy, the baby whisperer.”

“Black,” Draco corrected.

“You’ll always be Draco Malfoy to me,” Hermione said, kissing him lightly, “Whether you want to be or not.”

Before Draco could respond, they heard crying coming from the stairs to the kitchen.

“Runaway before you get sucked into babysitting,” Draco said, nudging her towards the staircase.

Hermione chuckled and disappeared up the stairs. Draco smiled as he watched her go until Theo stepped in the hall with black bags under his eyes and two grumpy babies.

“Hey man,” Theo yawned.

“Hey,” Draco replied, “Tough night?”

Theo nodded, “Sadie is knackered Draco, she just needs a break. Can we crash here tonight?”

“You don’t even need to ask, you know that,” Draco said honestly, “Do you need a hand getting them settled down?”

“If you don’t mind,” Theo admitted.

“I don’t mind, I love these guys,” Draco said with a genuine smile, “But I’ll have Mina because she likes me better.”

“Yeah Charlie always stares at you suspiciously,” Theo agreed with a chuckle as Draco took Almina from him.

“Come on little one, you need to get to sleep so I can give your daddy a nightcap and let him catch up on some rest,” Draco said, gently rocking the little girl.

Theo yawned and followed Draco up to the drawing-room, “Thanks, Draco, you’re the best.”

“I know you’re tired but don’t get all sappy on me,” Draco teased.

“Ah, I’m always sappy,” Theo said with a grin.

Draco chuckled in amusement, “Yeah, that’s true, but for all your flaws, you made two amazing kids Theo.”

Theo smiled, “Whose getting sappy now?”

“I’ll just sing Mina a lullaby before we get too sappy and start crying,” Draco joked, making his best friend laugh.

Despite how exhausted he was, Theo also felt incredibly lucky.

* * *

Hermione smiled when she stepped into the drawing-room the following morning. She knew that Draco had been helping with the twins all night because he hadn’t come to bed, but she hadn’t expected to find them all sprawled in the drawing-room together.

Theo was fast asleep on the sofa, drooling all over her favourite cushions. The twins were sleeping soundly in a playpen, and Draco lay next to it with his hand through the bars, resting on top of Almina’s chest.

Hermione smiled at the sight, she knew that Draco loved babies, and she couldn’t wait for the day that they decided to start a family together.

She didn’t want to wake them up, so she headed downstairs to get breakfast on, all the while thanking Sadie and Theo for choosing them as the twins’ godparents. It truly was a blessing as far as both Hermione and Draco were concerned.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	90. All Was Well

“Wolfie!”

Rob rolled his eyes, “Harry, I told you not to call me that.”

Harry grinned, “I know. Are you still coming to the party tonight?”

“I said I would, didn’t I?” Rob retorted as they walked into the CPS office together.

“I know, but you say things then don’t follow through on them quite a lot,” Harry said with a shrug.

“I’ll be there,” Rob said simply, “Did you hunt me down just to bug me or was there an actual reason?”

“There’s a reason, we got a call,” Harry said, handing him a memo, “It’s an interesting one.”

Rob looked down at the paper and raised an eyebrow, “That is interesting. Come on then wonder boy, let’s go.”

Harry snorted, “I keep telling you, if you don’t quit calling me wonder boy, then I’ll not quit calling you Wolfie.”

“What if I got bitten by a werewolf, huh?” Rob asked, raising an eyebrow at Harry as they walked towards the apparition point, “Then you’d feel bad about calling me Wolfie, wouldn’t you?”

“Nah,” Harry said with a smirk, “It would just make the nickname more appropriate.”

“Damn kid, you are learning too much from me,” Rob said, grinning proudly at Harry as they spun on their heels and apparated to the co-ordinates where the call had come from.

It was an interesting one because it was in Hogsmeade, which was generally considered to be a rather posh area where you wouldn’t expect to find endangered children. As it was, the case revolved around a recently orphaned child who was being neglected by his elderly grandfather.

“Take the kid back to the ministry,” Rob said to Harry in an undertone, “Jump through whatever hoops you need to, and get him to Lupin House as soon as you can.”

Harry nodded, “What are you going to do?”

“I need to talk to the neighbour who made the call for the report sheet,” Rob replied, “If I don’t see you back at the office, I’ll see you at Draco’s place tonight for the party.”

“Alright, see you later Rob,” Harry said, kneeling down to explain what was going to happen to the little boy who they had just recovered.

Rob left the house and walked the short distance down the street to a small, quaint bungalow that had roses growing in the front garden. He knocked at the door and shortly after, a woman answered.

“Hi there ma’am,” Rob began to say, before he really _looked_ at the woman, “I’m…I…sorry, I need to talk to you about the call you made to the Auror department.”

“Of course,” She said, she smiled, and it looked so familiar, “Come in.”

Rob did, he drank a cup of tea while she gave him all of the details. It didn’t really cross his mind that he didn’t like tea, he was just drawn in by this woman. He had felt an instant connection with her, and she looked so beautiful but also so familiar. It was her heart-shaped face, her deep brown curls, that friendly smile and her eyes…there was something about those hazel eyes.

When he had finished filling in his report, Rob looked up at her and frowned.

“You have been looking at me very strangely, Auror,” The woman, who had introduced herself as Jennifer, said.

“Sorry,” Rob said sheepishly, “I’m not being creepy. You just…you really remind me of someone.”

Jennifer raised an eyebrow at him, “Do I?”

Rob couldn’t help himself, “What did you say your surname was?”

“I didn’t,” Jennifer said, “But since you asked, it’s Weir.”

“Weir?” Rob asked, his eyes widening, “Like Elizabeth Weir? Are you related to Lizzie?”

Jennifer smiled, “Yes, she’s my older sister.”

“Sister?” Rob asked, his eyes still far wider than usual, “She has a sister? Why didn’t she tell me that she had a sister?”

Jennifer frowned, “Wait a minute…did you say, Lizzie?”

“Uh, yeah,” Rob replied, looking up at her, “Why?”

“Oh, sweet Salazar, _you’re_ Rob!”

Rob’s frown deepened, “Yeah…what, does nobody else call her Lizzie?”

“No,” Jennifer replied, chuckling, “She hates it.”

“And why did you say, _you’re Rob_ , like that?” Rob asked as an afterthought, “And did you say ‘Sweet Salazar’? Were you in Slytherin?”

Jennifer smiled at him in amusement, “Yes, I was in Slytherin. And the reason I was surprised was because Elizabeth never mentioned the fact that you were Irish or that you were so…” she raised an eyebrow at him, “Athletically inclined.”

At this, Rob grinned, “Didn’t she? Probably too busy gushing over Shep I suppose.”

“Something like that,” Jennifer agreed.

Rob chuckled and looked up at her again, “Right, well if this is forward and weird I’m sorry cause I’ve been out the game a long time. But do you fancy coming with me to a party tonight? I’m only going because the Junior Aurors invited me, but they are all children so I’m going to feel like an old man and it would be nice to have some company.”

“Is Elizabeth going?” Jennifer asked cautiously.

“Nah, she never goes out with the Juniors,” Rob said with a wave of his hand, “She says it’s unprofessional,”

“It is kind of unprofessional,” Jennifer pointed out.

“Maybe, but it’s also useful. When they are in a social setting, they are more relaxed which means I can get to know them better and by knowing them, I can tell when something is up with them,” Rob explained, “And that’s a pretty vital thing to be able to tell when you work in a dangerous environment.”

Jennifer smiled, “Sounds like you care about them a lot.”

“Yeah well, don’t tell them this, but I do,” Rob said with a shrug.

Jennifer’s smile widened, “Yes, I would like to go to the party with you.”

Rob grinned, “Great! There’s only one catch.”

“Which is?” Jennifer asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“It’s a Eurovision party,” Rob admitted.

“A what?”

“It’s a muggle thing, and it means you need to wear something neon, apparently,” Rob explained.

“Okay,” Jennifer said, she shrugged, “You have to try everything once I guess, right?”

“Right,” Rob agreed with a grin, “That is a good life motto, I’m with you on that.”

Jennifer chuckled, “See you tonight then Rob.”

“See you later Jenny,” Rob said, winking at her and letting himself out of the house.

* * *

“I cannot believe I agreed to this.”

Hermione grinned at Draco, “You look great.”

“I look like a complete fool,” Draco said as he looked down at the bright neon clothes Hermione had managed to convince him to wear.

Hermione herself looked ridiculous in a neon yellow skirt with a neon blue top and a pink feather boa, “It’s fun Draco, I can’t believe you’ve never watched Eurovision before!”

“I’ve never watched it because it’s a piece of muggle crap,” Draco complained, “Is this why you insisted on having electricity put into the house?”

“I like electricity,” Hermione remarked as the doorbell rang, “And you like this house, even though you pretend you don’t. Get the door.”

“Like this?” Draco asked, he threw himself down on the sofa, “It’s your party, you get the door!”

Hermione rolled her eyes and walked down the stairs towards the front door while Draco poured himself a glass of firewhiskey. She yanked open the door and grinned when she saw Harry and Daphne on the doorstep dressed up in the ‘neon’ dress-code Hermione had specified. Harry was lucky, he had gotten away with a bright green t-shirt and Daphne being Daphne was in a tight-fitting bright pink neon dress and yellow high-heels.

“You look great!” Hermione said. She hugged them both as she ushered them in to where Draco was sulking in the living room. Harry laughed out loud when he saw Draco in tight neon green trousers with a yellow top, “Nice look mate,” he remarked as he sat down next to him on the sofa and grabbed a butterbeer.

Daphne smirked, “Really suits you, Draco,” she said in amusement, “Hermione’s doing?”

“Do you really think I’d dress like this of my own accord?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Who knows what you and Theo do in the bedroom,” Daphne said with a grin.

Hermione burst out laughing while Draco just sulked harder than ever before. As she giggled, Hermione said, “Sorry love, but I do think it kind of suits you.”

At that point, the floo whirred to life. This time it was Neville and Lilly who were a little more lowkey with their choice of outfits than Harry and Daphne, but they still looked great.

“Hey!” Hermione said, “I’m so glad you could make it.” 

“I have no idea what Eurovision is, but it sounds fun,” Neville said in amusement.

“This party is a great idea, Hermione,” Lilly agreed.

“It will be fun,” Hermione said happily.

“Wicked,” Neville said, he walked into the drawing-room just as Theo and Sadie appeared in the doorway, having let themselves in through the adjoining door downstairs.

“How did the babies settle for your brother and Clara?”

“Fine, but we might get a call for help in half an hour,” Sadie said with an amused chuckle.

“Nah Clara will be fine if it was Sorenson on his own we’d be screwed,” Theo said with a grin.

Theo had gone all out and was wearing neon pink trousers, green trainers and a neon blue t-shirt whereas Sadie was far more modest in a green dress.

Hermione laughed, “I’m glad you managed to get a sitter so you could make it,” she said, kissing Sadie on the cheek, “You look great Sadie.”

“Bloody amazing for someone who gave birth a few months ago,” Daphne agreed, hugging her friend tightly.

Bill and Charlie arrived next, which made sense since Bill was currently living with Charlie. Alongside were their dates, Astoria and Lara.

Hermione greeted them both warmly, and Daphne shot Bill a smug grin. He had just started seeing Lara, rather than helping her out as a friend and Daphne was adamant that it was all thanks to her meddling. Charlie and Astoria were doing well, despite not having moved in together yet. Taking things slower seemed to be working well for them. Bill and Charlie hadn’t made much effort, they had neon shoelaces which glowed in the dark, but the women had made a bit more effort. Lara wore a neon pink skirt and like Hermione, had a feather boa. Astoria had put a classy spin on the theme with a neon blue tea dress.

After that, Percy and Susan arrived via floo.

“Wow, this party makes my head hurt,” Percy said, blinking in the sight of all the neon people.

Susan did a twirl and grinned, “This is my scene!”

They all laughed at her, she had almost every neon colour you could imagine on with a neon yellow dress and about 20 bracelets and necklaces, some of which were made out of glowsticks.

Hermione hugged Susan and chuckled at the look of exasperation on Percy’s face. At that point, Ron and Ginny arrived.

“You guys made it!” Hermione said, “Come in, come in!” she hugged them both and once they were in shut the door.

“Ron, you didn’t wear neon!” Hermione objected.

“Of course he didn’t,” Ginny said in amusement.

“I didn’t think you were serious,” Ron remarked, “Did everyone else dress up?”

Ginny burst out laughing as they walked into the drawing-room, “Looks like it Ron,” she said, she was referring specifically to Theo and Draco with their tight-fitting neon trousers. Ginny herself was wearing a bright blue dress, so she had done her part.

The doorbell rang again.

“That will be Rob,” Hermione said, looking at Draco, “You can get it.”

Draco huffed, “I am not answering the door looking like this!”

“He’ll see you in two minutes anyway!” Hermione exclaimed, “Get the bloody door!”

Draco pushed himself to his feet and strutted off in the huff. He opened the front door and looked at Rob, he could tell that his boss was struggling to hold it together.

“You look fucking ridiculous mate,” Rob said, sniggering at the outfit.

“I know, blame the bloody muggle-born I asked to marry me,” Draco said with a roll of his eyes, “Eurovision.”

“Watch it, I’m a muggle-born,” Rob reminded him as he stepped into the hallway after Draco.

“I don’t have anything against muggle-borns,” Draco said honestly, “Neon outfits and Eurovision though….that’s a different story.”

“And that is why I’ve never been to a Eurovision party before,” Rob said dryly.

“You didn’t have to come,” Draco pointed out, “You could have used the whole, I don’t like socialising with you guys because you’re too young excuse that Elizabeth goes with every time.”

“Well I could,” Rob admitted, “But I’m not Elizabeth, am I? I’m far more fun.”

“But about as into Sheppard as she is,” Harry said, smirking from the top of the stairs.

Rob rolled his eyes, “You know fine well why we were in that store cupboard Potter! You were there too!”

Jennifer shot Rob an amused look, “Is _this_ the real reason you like hanging out with the Juniors?”

“No, that came out wrong,” Rob said, glaring up at Harry.

Harry just grinned, “Going to introduce us to your date?”

“Yes, she’s called Jenny,” Rob said with a roll of his eyes, “Jenny, this is Draco he’s an idiot who is not a very good Auror. This is Harry, you’ve probably heard of him, he killed some bad wizard, saved the world or something, but he’s a total prick.”

“Okay so first things first, my name is Jennifer,” Jennifer said matter of factly, “Despite what Robert decides to call me. Also, it might be useful for you all to know that I’m a high ranking Democrat in the Department of International Magical Co-operation, so I know things, and I know how to make other people do the things I would like them to do.”

Draco grinned, “Oh, this is good, you really know how to pick them, don’t you Rob?”

At this Rob just sighed half-heartedly.

Jennifer smirked, “Did you also know that your boss is of German descent and his real name is actual Robert Wolfenstein? There’s a little fact for you, and I know a lot more so every time he calls me Jenny, I’ll just pull another little fun fact out for you all.”

Harry laughed loudly, “Oh, this could be a fun night, Rob. The only other person I’ve seen put you down that hard is…” he trailed off, and his eyes widened, “Wait a minute! You look _exactly_ like her!”

Draco realised it a few seconds after Harry. His jaw dropped, “Your surname doesn’t happen to be Weir, does it?”

“It does,” Jennifer said, smiling sweetly at them.

“You’re dating Elizabeth’s sister?” Harry and Draco asked in unison.

“I asked her out on a date, we’re not dating,” Rob said, looking over at Jennifer, “Are we?”

“That depends on how tonight goes,” Jennifer said with a sly smile.

“Wow,” Harry said, “She’s going to kill you.”

Draco nodded, “Yep, it’s going to be our next case, isn’t it? Monday morning, we all get dragged into the corridor to a big meeting.”

“Sumner puts on his best sad face and says, I am very sorry to tell you all that over the weekend, Auror Wolfe was in a bad accident. Not at all suspicious, just an accident sort of accident. He was a great Auror, nobody liked him, we shut him in a corner with some house-elves for five years, but he was a great Auror,” Harry continued in jest.

“You guys are all fired,” Rob said, practically huffing, “Go work in Vice or some other department that is way less cool than CPS.”

“I can’t work in Vice, I can’t wear sunglasses,” Harry said, motioning to his glasses.

“And I can’t handle working with Mitchell,” Draco said distastefully.

Jennifer grinned, “I like you kids. I see why you hang out with them now Rob, they are wise beyond their years and sneaky, I love the sneakiness. Were you two boys in Slytherin?”

“I was,” Draco said proudly, “Golden boy over there wasn’t, he was in Gryffindor.”

“I was a hat stall!” Harry pointed out.

“You two are married or nearly married, quit trying to impress my not-girlfriend!” Rob exclaimed.

Draco snorted, “Come on, we better join the party before Hermione sends out a search party. Didn’t you get the memo about neon, by the way, Rob?”

“I don’t do neon,” Rob said, “I am a hard arse Auror, not some pansy Junior-”

“Rob, you worked Domestics on your own for 5 years because you pissed off every Auror in the department,” Harry pointed out as they reached the drawing-room, “You’re not a hotshot.”

Rob glared at him, and Jennifer struggled to hold back a chuckle. They stepped into the busy drawing-room together, and Neville immediately noticed that he wasn’t alone.

“Robs got a date.”

Rob rolled his eyes, “Yes, I do. Junior Aurors who I have the misfortune of working with, and the rest of you, this is Jennifer.”

Jennifer smiled and raised a hand to wave at them all.

“You look kind of familiar, Jennifer,” Theo said as he walked over to shake her hand.

Jennifer smiled, “You probably know my older sister, Elizabeth.”

Theo and Neville looked at Rob in disbelief.

“Elizabeth?” Theo asked in shock.

Neville snorted, “Nice knowing you, Rob!”

“Fuck off Fatbottom,” Rob retorted.

Neville rolled his eyes and Jennifer smacked Rob around the head, “Don’t insult him for his surname. That name belonged to two of the greatest Aurors of our generation, you arsehole.”

Rob snorted, “Well, what else can I slag him off for? He’s like the bloody wonder kid over there, he’s too damn good at his job! See these two, killing dark lords and beheading snakes before their 20th fucking birthdays.”

“I’m sorry, did you just say beheading snakes?” Jennifer asked.

Neville grinned, “Yes, it’s a cool story. It involves a cardigan and the sword of Gryffindor. Come on, I’ll show you to the drinks cabinet and tell you all about it.”

“And now he’s stealing my not-girlfriend,” Rob said with a shake of his head as Neville and Jennifer walked away together, “It’s like Lizzie and Shep all over again.”

Lilly stepped up next to Rob and said, “If he’s stealing your not-girlfriend, he’ll not have balls in the morning.

Rob raised an eyebrow at her, “Who are you again?”

“Lilly Moon, trauma healer, best in my year,” Lilly said with a smirk, “And fiancé of Neville Longbottom.”

Rob grinned, “I like you.”

* * *

On the other side of the room, Draco, Harry and Theo’s were discussing Rob's choice of date.

“He’s dating Elizabeth’s sister,” Harry said with a shake of his head.

“He must really have a type,” Theo mused, “But then I guess I have a type actually. I mean Daphne and Sadie look quite alike.”

“Daphne never so much as kissed you,” Harry snorted.

“Doesn’t mean I never fantasised about it,” Theo pointed out.

Harry made a face, “She’s your cousin!”

“She’s your second cousin, and you married her,” Theo pointed out.

“Good point,” Harry muttered distastefully, “That’s enough about that. But seriously, don’t you think it’s weird?”

Draco shrugged, “It’s weird, but I guess it kind of makes sense.”

Theo nodded thoughtfully, “If you can’t get the girl, right?”

“Get the girls sister apparently,” Harry snorted.

“Younger sister,” Draco grinned.

“Elizabeth is going to go nuts when she finds out,” Harry sniggered.

“Oh, I need to be there to see that,” Draco chuckled.

“Right!” Hermione said loudly as she turned the television on, “Let’s get started now that everyone is here!”

“What about Luna?” Ginny asked as she sat down on a giant beanbag and helped herself to a drink.

“She said she was busy,” Hermione shrugged, “She’s probably on another continent knowing her.”

“Probably,” Harry agreed with a chuckle.

Hermione smiled and turned the volume on the TV up, “Alright everyone, it’s starting, the UK are last this year, so plenty of time to get drinking!”

“What the hell is the point of this thing?” Theo asked as he grabbed a firewhiskey, “I just liked the idea of alcohol and dressing up.”

“Every country in the final sings a song and the rest of Europe votes!” Hermione said happily, “It’s great fun.”

“How is that fun?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Wait till you see the stuff they do,” Harry said in amusement, he had seen bits of Eurovision growing up because the Dursleys had watched it every year.

“Oh, Ukraine is first!” Hermione said as she handed out drinks and turned the television up.

“What the hell is that?” Theo asked in disbelief.

“Is it a hamster wheel?” Lilly asked as she looked closer.

“That man is in a hamster wheel!” Sadie exclaimed.

“Hermione, what kind of weird Muggle shit is this?” Draco asked as the man in the hamster wheel started dancing while the woman sang a song about a clock or something like that.

“This is my culture Draco if you want to marry me deal with it!” Hermione said. She was mildly offended.

“Some fucking culture,” Theo muttered under his breath.

“To be fair, Hermione,” Lara cut in with an amused smile, “This is not the best of muggle culture.”

“You make a fair point,” Hermione admitted sheepishly as Sadie whacked Theo around the head for his previous comment.

Ron was watching the screen in amusement, “I feel like I’m on drugs or something…”

Harry snorted in amusement and glanced at Hermione, “This is nothing, trust me.”

Hermione nodded her agreement, “He’s right.”

“Great!” Neville exclaimed, “This is fantastic.”

Lilly laughed, “I’ve always liked it,” she admitted, “Even if the UK hasn’t won in years.”

They made small-talk until the next song caught their attention.

“Is he singing about cheesecake?” Daphne asked with a frown.

“Uh, yeah,” Hermione giggled.

“My kind of song,” Theo said as he bopped along to the music.

Sadie rolled her eyes, “Shut up, you prat,” she laughed.

Draco just shook his head in disbelief, he still wasn’t convinced by the show, “Muggles do weird things for entertainment.”

“They would probably think that Quidditch is weird,” Harry pointed out.

“And using owls to deliver post,” Hermione added.

“And the fact we still use quills and parchment,” Lilly said, “They stopped using that centuries ago. We’re so backwards, I mean are there even any openly gay people in the wizarding world?”

“Yes,” Theo and Draco echoed, they shared an amused look with Sadie and Daphne.

“Do tell,” Harry said in amusement.

“Slytherin common room,” The four said in unison, and the others laughed loudly.

“Everyone’s had a crush on a bloke at some point, let’s be honest, no matter how straight they are,” Rob said.

“Even Harry had his thing with Cedric,” Daphne said.

“I didn’t have a thing with Cedric!” Harry objected.

“See?” Neville grinned, “Told you that everyone thought you were together.”

“I thought you were taking the piss,” Harry said as he looked around at the people he had been at school with, “Did everyone think I was with Cedric?”

“Yeah pretty much,” Susan replied, “Wayne Hopkins heard Cedric telling you that the Prefects bathroom was a good place for a bath and everyone was like wow, Harry Potter is punching this year.”

Daphne nodded, “The whole school shipped you.”

“Shipped us?” Harry echoed while Ron guffawed with laughter.

“She means they were all rooting for you to get together,” Hermione said with an amused smile.

“We had a name for you and everything,” Lilly piped up.

“You didn’t?” Rob asked with a grin.

“We did,” Lilly smirked.

“Everyone called it Harric,” Sadie said.

“How the hell did I not notice this going on around me all year?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“Merlin knows, but you didn’t notice a lot of stuff,” Theo said with a shrug, “Like Draco’s blatant crush on you-”

“- I never had a crush on him.”

“ _Perfect Potter with his scar and his broomstick and his mesmerising green eyes – I hate him!”_

Sadie, Theo and Daphne chorused.

Harry burst out laughing while Draco’s cheeks turned bright red, “I was 12 years old when I said that, fuck you all!”

Lilly sniggered, “There’s no shame in fancying Cedric you know, Harry. Everyone did that year.”

“I didn’t,” Hermione confessed.

“Well, of course, you didn’t,” Sadie said, “You liked Krum, but then again you always have had a thing for the bad boys haven’t you?”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed, and Draco grinned smugly.

“And I didn’t fancy Cedric,” Daphne remarked, “I preferred Fleur.”

Bill snorted, “You would! She looks like you and you’d shag yourself given half a chance.”

“Of course I would, I’d be fantastic in bed,” Daphne remarked.

Theo grinned, and Harry said, “Just occasionally I can tell that you two are related.”

Theo laughed, but Daphne glared at her husband in jest, “Now that’s just offensive.”

The others laughed, but then their attention was drawn back to the television.

“Wow. What is that?”

“The outfits are bright,” Astoria pointed out.

“I like it,” Hermione said as she bopped to the music.

“It’s pretty good,” Draco said, he was tapping his foot along to the catchy music.

“Oh my god,” Hermione grinned, “Draco, you’re _enjoying_ this, aren’t you?”

Draco scoffed, “Of course not.”

“Yes, you are,” Harry chortled, “You wanna sing along, really.”

“No, I don’t,” Draco assured them.

“I’d vote for that,” Daphne said with a chuckle, “Go Iceland!”

Hermione laughed, and they skipped over the next song, which was a slow love ballad, they spent that time taking the piss out of Draco for actually enjoying doing something Muggle.

“Okay, is that a circular piano?”

“I want a circular piano!”

“Theo, you can’t even play the piano!”

“I’d learn if I had a circular one!”

Hermione laughed at the banter between Sadie and Theo, some things really didn’t change. She sat down next to Draco as Harry poured out drinks and handed them out.

“Is that a rollerblading swan or am I drunk?” Draco asked casually.

“You’re drunk, and that is a rollerblading girl dressed as a swan,” Charlie answered.

Harry nodded, “I did tell you it would get weird. Eurovision is a showcase of the crackpots across Europe.”

“Dumbledore should have gone on for the UK then,” Daphne joked, and Harry shot her a mock glare.

“Sorry,” She teased, “I didn’t mean to insult your hero.”

Hermione snorted in amusement and Neville and Ron held each other up as they laughed at Harry’s expense.

“Woah, what's happening now?” Ron asked. He looked at the television screen as a new song started.

“Uh, this is Poland,” Hermione said with a frown, “And it appears to be rather…risqué.”

Ginny snorted, “More like porn.”

Ron gaped at the skimpy, busty blonde women singing and dancing on the screen.

“Merlin, they’re stripping!”

“Draco!”

“And wanking a wooden stick,” Theo said matter of factly.

“Churning butter,” Sadie said as she glared at her husband.

“This is definitely porn,” Rob said.

Jennifer cocked her head at the screen, “Yeah…” she agreed.

Ron was just gaping at the television. Ginny smacked him, “Oi! You are a father, Ronald! Stop drooling over some young blonde things!”

“They are pretty hot to be fair,” Bill said.

“Well Bill,” Charlie grinned, “You are quite partial to young blonde things.”

Bill rolled his eyes, “One! I married one young blonde girl, and I’m gonna get saddled with that for the rest of my life?”

“Oh yeah!” Charlie said with a grin.

Lara patted him on the back and said with mock sympathy, “Hurts to be a cradle snatcher right?”

“Lara, you’re like two years younger than me!”

At this, the others all burst out laughing. Rob lowered his voice and asked Jennifer, “You know I never asked, but how much younger than Elizabeth, are you?”

“Six years,” Jennifer replied.

“Oh man, I’m a cradle snatcher too,” Rob said with a shake of his head.

Jennifer just smirked in amusement, “Yep.”

Sadie shook her head in amusement and looked at the screen, “As attractive as you all think the women are, the song is rubbish.”

“It’s catchy,” Charlie argued.

“You would say that,” Ginny said in amusement, “Honestly, men disgust me!”

“So now you all like my crappy Muggle TV show!” Hermione remarked in amusement.

“Yeah,” All the men in the room echoed.

Hermione laughed, they might have grown up in a lot of ways since their Hogwarts days, but some things clearly didn’t change.

“Is that a man…or a woman?”

“It’s a man dressing up as a woman,” Susan said, “It’s called drag.”

Draco raised an eyebrow, “Well, it’s weird.”

“For Merlin’s sake, Draco!” Hermione exclaimed, “Just because something doesn’t fit a perfect prototype doesn’t mean it’s weird!”

“Yeah but it’s a man with a beard being a woman!” Theo said.

“So?” Lilly asked defiantly, “If he wants to dress up as a woman and keep his beard, he can.”

Percy frowned, “The muggle world is strange.”

“Nah, the muggle world is open and unprejudiced unlike the wizarding world,” Charlie cut in.

“He’s right,” Susan agreed, “The wizarding world is the weird one. It’s so backwards and old fashioned, this is the 21st century. People can be whatever they want to be.”

“Okay, fine,” Draco said as he raised his hands in defeat.

“Just listen anyway instead of judging,” Rob pointed out, “The bearded girl can sing.”

“And it’s a good song,” Daphne agreed, “I have to applaud the muggle world for being as open as it is. You’re right, the wizarding world is backwards.”

“Everyone has a right to an opinion,” Jennifer said diplomatically, “But this is a party so let’s not express them too much, okay?”

“Ohh, guys it's France!” Lilly said as she turned back to the TV.

“Who cares about the French?” Harry asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “France is lovely. What’s wrong with the French?”

“Historically the English and the French just don’t get on,” Harry shrugged, “Well in muggle history anyway. The amount of wars they have fought each other in is ridiculous.”

“Well they were on the same side in World War One and Two,” Lara pointed out.

“Yeah, but then there was the Hundred Years War, the Napoleonic Wars…” Harry said.

“Since when did you know so much about muggle history?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

“Since he bought a television set for the house,” Daphne said, she rolled her eyes, “When I take Teddy out on a Saturday morning he watches the History channel.”

Hermione laughed, “Draco is fond of Muggle crime dramas…”

Draco snorted, “That was _one time,_ there was nothing else on.”

“Yeah, right,” Hermione grinned.

“Anyway, the French are pretty crap,” Harry said as he gestured to the TV.

“From what I gather they are singing about moustaches,” Jennifer said matter of factly.

“What?”

“Who in their right mind sings about moustaches and cheesecake?” Theo asked in disbelief, “If people enter their ENTIRE COUNTRY into this show to win it, why do they do such ridiculous things?”

“It’s kind of a joke these days,” Hermione shrugged, “And they obviously thought it was a good idea. If something’s funny people might vote for it.”

“This isn’t funny, it’s just weird,” Draco said.

Theo nodded his agreement, “I concur with that comment.”

“You would, you’d agree with anything Draco said,” Sadie said with an amused glance at her husband, “Sometimes I think you’re married to him, not me.”

“Well, I would have married him if it was legal. Instead, I’m stuck with you,” Theo joked.

“I knew it!” Rob joked.

Harry chuckled and looked at Sadie, sympathetically, “How do you put up with him, Sade?”

“Honestly, Harry, some days I ask myself that same question,” Sadie admitted with a laugh.

Theo’s response was to stick his middle finger up at Harry and say, “Shut up, Scarhead.”

“Ah, the age-old insult,” Harry said with an air of false nostalgia, “Takes me back to those days when you would all abuse me because you weren’t cool enough to actually be my friends.”

“Who’d want to be friends with the golden chosen one?” Draco asked sarcastically.

“All of you lot apparently,” Harry said in amusement and Daphne chuckled.

They talked and drank throughout the night, they missed a lot of countries and only paid attention to the ones they felt required their attention.

Jennifer nudged Rob, “Look, Rob, Ireland is up next.”

Rob stared at the screen in disbelief, “Who…the…fuck…are…Jedward?”

Harry frowned at the screen, “Um…well…they are very expressive, I guess?”

“Expressive?” Rob exclaimed, “They’re like the Weasley twins on crack!”

Considering the fact that several Weasley’s were in the room, that comment went down rather well because they all saw the funny side of it.

“What _are_ they singing about?” Lara asked with a frown.

“Lipstick, I think,” Draco said in amusement.

“Is this what Ireland is like?” Neville snorted.

“That is not an accurate representation of Ireland!” Rob said, suddenly going more Irish in his defence of his homeland, “Ireland is lush green hills and proper whisky, not the shite you English bastards drink. Ireland is full of farmers, alcoholics, catholic priests and satanic nuns. These two little wankers are _not_ Ireland.”

“Alright Rob,” Harry said, shaking with laughter as he patted him on the back, “Calm down, shut your eyes and go to your happy place. Be on that hill in Kildare with the rain coming down and the bagpipes playing in the distance.”

“I regret ever letting you practice for your legilimency test on me, you little wanker!”

Jennifer raised an eyebrow at Rob, “Do you think you could be _this_ Irish all the time?” she asked, more than a little suggestively.

“Lizzie hated the accent,” Rob said with a grin, “To think, I was with the wrong sister all that time. If only I had met you first.”

“If you had met me first I would have been in second year, which would have made you a paedophile,” Jennifer pointed out, “So it’s probably a good thing that you didn’t.”

Harry barked out a laugh and patted Rob on the back, “Oh you’re gonna keep him on his toes, Jennifer. He needs that, I reckon you should stick around.”

“Alright loverboy, I don’t need you meddling in my love life,” Rob said, nudging Harry out of the way.

Theo yawned and stretched, “Mione, how long has this got to go?”

“Why? You tired already, old man?” Charlie joked.

“I have twin babies,” Theo said with a snort, “I’m always tired.”

“Amen to that,” Sadie agreed.

Harry grinned, “I have an awesome toddler who sleeps through the night unless he’s teething then he destroys all of the bedding…”

“What the fuck?” Rob asked.

“Oh his dad was a werewolf,” Harry said with a wave of his hand, “So when Teddy is teething, he destroys anything cute and fluffy.”

Rob grinned and leant forward, “I like this kid. When can I meet him?”

Jennifer shook her head in amusement, “I’m starting to see why Elizabeth found you hard work.”

“Oh but I’m worth the work,” Rob flirted.

Neville snorted, “No, he’s not. Cut your losses and run now, Jennifer.”

“You,” Rob said, pointing at Neville, “Shut up.”

Neville just grinned in response and Hermione said, “Anyway, there isn’t long left. This is the Netherlands, and after this, there is just one more country then it’s the UK.”

“This one sounds like some American country band,” Draco remarked, he tapped his foot, “I actually quite like it.”

“Bloody hell Draco, you really are enjoying this, aren’t you?” Harry asked in amusement.

“I am _not_ enjoying it,” Draco remarked, “Some of the songs are okay, but that is the extent of my enjoyment.”

Harry and Hermione just shared an amused look, they took the mick out of Draco throughout the rest of that song and the next one. Then Hermione got serious, “Shh! We’re on, I want to see who our entry is this year!”

They all fell silent as the stage lit up, and a young woman walked forward with a microphone in her hand. She started to sing, and the camera zoomed in on her face.

“Is that…Luna?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“Why the hell is Luna there?”

“What the hell is she doing?”

“She’s the UK’s entry!” Hermione exclaimed.

“Did you know about this, Hermione?” Susan asked as she stared at the screen in disbelief.

“No,” Hermione said honestly, “Shh! I want to hear her!”

“So she’s going by the fake name Moon,” Harry said, shooting an amused look Lilly’s way as Luna introduced herself.

She was dressed in silver and gold metallic dress robes and her hair was crazier than Hermione’s had been in first year. She had a horn on her head, and her make-up was all silver and gold.

“She looks so wizarding!” Daphne exclaimed, “The statute of secrecy will never let her get away with that!”

“It’s Eurovision, the Muggles won’t think anything of it,” Hermione said offhandedly, “Can she actually sing?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty good,” Ginny said, “I’ve heard her sing before.”

“What the hell is she doing?” Ron asked through his laughter as someone brought an item out onto the stage and helped her onto it.

“I think that’s a unicycle,” Susan said in amusement as Luna climbed up onto it.

The music started to play, and it was instantly recognisable.

“She’s singing a Weird Sisters song!” Daphne exclaimed.

They all burst out laughing as Luna changed the words to a Weird Sisters song and sang, “Can you dance like a unicorn?” with a unicorn horn on her head while on a unicycle. The crowd seemed to love it and were all cheering and dancing.

Meanwhile, in Number 12 Grimmauld Place, everyone was rolling about the floor laughing. Sadie got to her feet and said, “I have to go to the toilet, or I’ll wet myself,” through her giggles.

“Merlin, Hermione,” Draco admitted, “For a muggle show, that wasn’t too bad.”

Hermione laughed too, “Do you know what? The UK might actually win this year.”

Rob snorted, “Hah! Fat chance! We going to treat this like any other Eurovision party and play a drinking game while the rest of Europe takes forever to vote?”

“Yes,” Bill said, pointing at Rob and grinning, “I like you.”

“And to think, you didn’t want to come,” Jennifer murmured in his ear.

Rob smirked at her, “You’re my lucky charm, obviously.”

“Have I told you tonight that I love your accent?” Jennifer asked him in a whisper.

“Once or twice,” Rob said, flashing her a grin.

Harry chuckled and looked away from his boss. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was happy to see him having a good time.

He smiled around at all of his friends… at Ron, who was a brilliant dad despite the circumstances. At Ginny, who was a fantastic mother and Healer, and who Lupin House could not do without.

At Bill and Lara, who were laughing together, Bill with his hand on the small of her back protectively. At Charlie, who was grinning and flirting with Astoria while she shook her head and smiled fondly at him.

At Sadie and Theo, who were settling into parenting so well now. At Susan and Percy, who were settling into marriage just as well.

At Neville and Lilly, who were blossoming as they found their feet with their new jobs. And at Hermione and Draco who were happier than Harry had ever seen them.

All was well.

****

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	91. Jurassic Dragons

*** ~ December 2000 ~ 7 Months Later ~ ***

_12 Grimmauld Place_

“Are you bringing your work home with you _again_?”

Hermione rolled her eyes as she dropped a stack of files onto the kitchen table, “And you weren’t doing the same last night when you brought home a case file full of disgusting pictures?”

“Firstly, that’s not my case. I was just having a look for Rob because Sam and Mitch asked for his advice. Also, I did tell you not to look in it,” Draco pointed out as he spooned some food into a bowl in front of her.

“There were decapitated bodies Draco!”

“Yes, I am aware of that,” Draco said matter of factly, “They call him the Decapitator for a reason love. Now if I were you, I would stop thinking about that because I’ve made tomato and sausage hotpot for dinner.”

Hermione shook her head in amusement as she sat down across the table from him, “I’m not as squeamish as you think I am. And I’m sorry, but I do have to work tonight. I’ve been approving contracts all day long, and I still have three to get through.”

“What department has sent you a stack this time?” Draco asked curiously, he knew it was part of Hermione’s job to approve or deny contracts for developments within the wizarding world. She had to assess them for legal loopholes, and if she saw serious flaws, she immediately denied them.

“The DRCMC,” Hermione said as she ate a forkful of Draco’s hotpot, “And this is delicious by the way.”

Draco smiled slightly, “I’m glad you like it. How many contracts do you need to approve or deny tonight?”

“Three,” Hermione admitted, “But the first two are almost definitely going to be denied. I think it will be a case of reading the blurb and then laughing.”

“How bad are they?” Draco laughed.

“Well one is an application for a feeding zoo for unicorns,” Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, “They are far too shy, and it’s not fair on them to be ogled by the public, not to mention the fact they are a protected species.”

“A definite no,” Draco agreed.

Hermione nodded and swallowed another mouthful, “And the other is an application for planning permission. Somebody in the department wants to build an emporium for viewing bloody Acromantula.”

“How stupid are those people?” Draco asked in disbelief.

“Very,” Hermione said with a shake of her head, “I’m so glad I decided to go into the DMLE. I couldn’t handle working with those idiots. Instead, I just have to deny their stupid contracts.”

“What’s the last one then?” Draco asked curiously, “And do you want some wine? I mean it _is_ Friday night, and we are getting married in two days. You have remembered that haven’t you?”

Hermione shot him a long-suffering look, “No, Draco, I have not forgotten about my own wedding, and I am sorry that I have to work over the weekend.”

“I know you are love. Was it a yes or a no to the wine?”

“I’ll have a tiny glass,” Hermione conceded.

Draco began to pour the wine and Hermione continued, “The last one has some promise. It’s certainly an interesting idea. A group of people within the DRCMC have just shut down a dragon reserve on this tiny little island out in the Atlantic. They are trying to think of new uses for it, and so far I’ve turned down about 6 applications for stupid things like a Quidditch centre, I mean who’s going to go all the way out there every summer for Quidditch training?”

“It would be pointless and expensive,” Draco agreed, “Have none of the applications made sense?”

“You know, I shouldn’t actually be telling you about this. It’s classified,” Hermione said as she grabbed the file and opened it, she swallowed her mouthful as she did so.

“And my security clearance is higher than yours,” Draco pointed out.

“Still, Draco,” Hermione said with a pointed look, “If I tell you about this file, you can’t tell anyone else about it, not even Harry or Neville.”

“But I can tell Theo?”

“I don’t even bother telling you not to tell Theo things anymore,” Hermione muttered, “This is like a four-way marriage, everyone tells everyone everything even when they don’t want to hear about it.”

Draco grinned, “Are you still grossed out by that ‘how do I tell Sadie she’s still hot after having twins’ chat you had with Theo last week?”

“I should not have to tell him how to tell his wife that she’s hot!” Hermione exclaimed.

Draco snorted in amusement, “Yes, but this is Theo we’re talking about. Now come on, I’m dying to know. What are they doing on the island?”

“Well,” Hermione said, “The dragons on the island were really rare, and it shut down when a fight between the final two made them extinct. This application wants to re-open the reserve as a sort of tourist attraction, they want to use magic to genetically modify the remains to effectively re-birth the dragons-”

Draco had been gradually looking more and more sceptical as Hermione went on, but at this point, he shook his head and interrupted her, “- no way, there is _no_ way you can approve that contract.”

“Why not?” Hermione asked with a frown, “I think I know more about dragons than you do!”

“Yeah maybe you do, but have you ever seen _Jurassic Park_?”

“No,” Hermione said as her frown deepened, “How have you seen it, exactly?”

“I saw a re-run at the cinema with Harry and Neville, after the second film came out,” Draco said offhandedly, “But the point is, you _cannot_ approve that contract.”

“But-”

“No Hermione, I am putting my foot down!” Draco said firmly, “You cannot approve that contract!”

“Draco you do not get to tell me what to do with my work-”

“- yes, I do!” Draco said as he glared at her, he grabbed the file and pulled it out of her reach then put a large “X” in the box for approval, “You are denying that contract!”

“Draco!” Hermione shouted angrily, “You have yet to give me a valid excuse, and I have to sign that to make it official!”

“You want a valid excuse?” Draco asked in disbelief, “How about the fact that the original creatures died out for a reason? That reason being that they made each other extinct! You can’t train them, and you definitely can’t put them near humans, fucking hell Hermione they _eat_ humans!”

“But with viewing platforms and containment charms-”

“What happens when the containment charms collapse? Dragons are huge, especially the rare, dangerous ones! They were confined to that island for a reason and the second they smash into the dome of the containment charm, it will break and people will die,” Draco said firmly, “You have to sign that contract Hermione, there is _no_ way that can happen.”

“Alright,” Hermione sighed, she grabbed the contract from her fiancé and scrawled her signature across it, “Happy now?”

Draco nodded and topped up her wine glass, “Yes, and when I show you the film, you will thank me, I swear.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Hermione said a little grumpily, “But there better be a bloody good dessert.”

“Black forest gateau,” Draco smirked.

Hermione cheered up a little at this, “Honestly, who would have thought that we would be here? Two days before our wedding and _you_ , the pureblooded idiot who I met in first year would be lecturing _me_ about muggle movies.”

“Hey, a lot can change in 9 years,” Draco said with a smile.

* * *

“Why have we been called in at this ridiculous hour on a Saturday?” Theo yawned irritably.

“Because our serial killer killed three more people overnight,” Rob said dryly.

“He’s not our serial killer,” Elizabeth pointed out.

“He’s the whole departments serial killer Liz,” Rob said as he rubbed his eyes, “He’s killed 11 people.”

“Rob has a point,” John said as he appeared in the doorway, “The whole department is on this guy Liz. Everyone is chasing leads and running background checks, he’s getting out of control.”

Elizabeth nodded, “So, this is our priority now?”

John nodded too, “Deal with any emergencies relating to your own department but beyond that, catching this guy is the whole department's focus.”

Rob bowed his head, “Got it, Shep.”

John left and moved on to the next office, probably to give them the same brief.

Draco sighed and threw himself into a chair, “How are we going to catch this bastard? Because I get married tomorrow, and if he’s still at large, nobody is going to be at my wedding since my best man, groomsmen and pretty much all my friends work in this bloody department!”

“Clocks ticking then,” Rob said as he conjured up a murder board.

“Can’t have the Princesses wedding day getting ruined,” Theo agreed, clapping his friend on the back.

Draco sighed, “Yeah, we really can’t. She’s already not in the best of moods with me at the moment.”

Theo yawned again and asked, “What did you do?”

“I forced her to deny a contract she wanted to approve,” Draco admitted.

Harry scoffed, “ _Why_?”

“And how did you persuade her?” Neville asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, the princess isn’t exactly the easiest person to convince to do anything,” Theo added.

“Well I do kind of have leverage,” Draco smirked, “It involved a black forest gateau and a promise of morning sex which she is not going to be happy that I didn’t deliver on, by the way.”

“Serial killers don’t wait for you to get laid,” Rob snorted.

Harry chuckled, “What was the contract anyway? I mean, why would you care so much?”

“Some idiots in the DRCMC wanted to open up a tourist attraction on that island, you know the one where those rare dragons went extinct?” Draco asked.

The others nodded, and Draco continued, “They wanted to use magic to genetically modify the dragons and bring them back to life, then open it for bloody tourists. She thought the idea was intriguing, and she was thinking about approving it.”

“Seriously? Has she not seen _Jurassic Park_?” Neville asked in disbelief.

“Apparently not,” Draco replied with a roll of his eyes.

“I mean at what point do you decide it’s a good idea to mess around with nature?” Harry asked with a shake of his head, “Look how that went for John Hammond!”

“I know!” Draco exclaimed, “Alan Grant had the right idea saying it was a mistake to try and bring extinct animals back to life!”

“But life finds a way,” Neville shrugged.

Rob looked at Elizabeth in exasperation, “How are these guys expected to help catch a serial killer, Liz?”

“Well two of them did fight a Dark Lord,” Elizabeth said with a smile.

Rob snorted, “Yeah and they _never_ bring that one up,” he joked

He and Elizabeth were on much better terms these days. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that Rob was actually in a serious relationship with Jennifer. He had survived telling Elizabeth miraculously, and they had a great working relationship now, minus the flirting.

“They have a point though,” Elizabeth said, “A tourist resort revolving around dragons is a bad idea.”

“It’s a terrible idea,” Rob agreed, “We’ll do a double date to a muggle cinema some time, and I’ll show you the movie _Jurassic Park,_ then you’ll get it.”

Oblivious to their bosses, the Junior Aurors were still discussing the plot of the movie.

“Animals become extinct for a reason, normally because they kill each other until none are left,” Neville agreed, “Why would _anyone_ think bringing them back from the dead _and_ making them a tourist attraction is a good idea? Nobody wants to go to a petting zoo for Acromantula after all!”

“Funny you should say that because I’m pretty sure that’s one of the other ones she disapproved,” Draco snorted.

“Are you supposed to be telling us this?” Theo asked in amusement, “Didn’t she have to sign a disclosure agreement or something? And also, who the fuck are John Hammond and Alan Grant?”

“Characters in an epic movie,” Rob cut in, “Now if you eejits are quite finished talking about it. Can we get to catching this serial killer? Because I quite fancy making an arse out of myself and drinking all the free booze at pretty boys wedding tomorrow.”

Draco usually rolled his eyes at the nickname, but this time he wholeheartedly agreed.

* * *

“Hey, Lil! How was your refresher course in France?”

“Boring, same as always. How is England?” Lilly asked as she pottered about in the kitchen of Longbottom house.

“Well, it has been rainy, snow in the highlands as always. Oh, and there was a bitch of a serial killer running wild,” Neville said.

“Ah, the Decapitator?” Lilly asked as she pulled two bottles of cider from the fridge.

“Well the Decapitator has been decapitated,” Neville said as he sat down heavily on the sofa and accepted the cider that Lilly was holding out for him.

“Are you allowed to do that?” Lilly asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He had killed 11 people, we were authorised to use whatever force deemed necessary,” Neville sighed, “Also, we were on the clock because we weren’t going to let him ruin Draco’s wedding.”

Lilly rolled her eyes, “You killed a serial killer so that Draco’s wedding wasn’t ruined?”

“Well no, we killed a serial killer because he was a serial killer,” Neville said matter of factly. “I personally didn’t kill him, Draco did. He thought it was poetic.”

Lilly scoffed, “He would, what did _you_ think?”

“Honestly,” Neville said with a frown, “He would have escaped at some point and killed more people. I doubt we would even have got him through the court trial before he escaped…”

“So you agree?”

“I agree that killing him was the right thing to do, for the greater good,” Neville nodded, “But I think decapitating him was a little bit dramatic.”

“If it was Draco’s idea then, of course, it was dramatic,” Lilly said as she rolled her eyes and sat down next to her fiancé on the sofa, “What did he decapitate him with?”

“Dark magic,” Neville said with a roll of his eyes, “At least he didn’t use a sword because then I’d have been pissed off. That’s kind of my signature weapon.”

Lilly snorted, “Why did he decapitate him? Don’t you guys just save kids in CPS? I thought there were big hot shots in Homicide and Vice to do all the killing and decapitating.”

“There are, but because we wanted to catch him and save Draco’s wedding, we got there first,” Neville replied, “And Harry being Harry was too busy trying to disarm him to do anything useful.”

“Harry was being Harry because he doesn’t believe in using force unless absolutely necessary,” Lilly cut in.

“I know,” Neville said honestly, “Either way, I was duelling with Harry. Theo got knocked out because he’s Theo, so Draco decapitated him.”

“Are you really okay with it?”

“It’s over now, and there’s one less murderer in the world,” Neville said with a shrug, “The families of all the victims have closure so, on balance, I’m okay with it.”

“Alright,” Lilly conceded.

“And speaking of Draco, he did do some good yesterday,” Neville yawned.

“Oh yeah, what did he do?” Lilly asked curiously.

“He stopped Hermione from approving a contract to re-open that dragon reserve on the island out in the Atlantic,” Neville said with a wave of his hand.

“And why is that a bad thing?” Lilly asked curiously, “I mean the dragons there went extinct, but it’s a good environment for other species to live in, such as-”

“- exactly,” Neville cut in, “But they didn’t want to import other species of dragons onto the island. They wanted to genetically modify the DNA of the extinct dragons using magic _and_ to make things worse, they wanted to make it into a tourist attraction.”

“And Hermione was actually considering approving it?” Lilly asked in disbelief, “I mean, has she seen _Jurassic Park_?”

Neville laughed out loud, “That is exactly what I said.”

“We _have_ to remedy that,” Lilly laughed.

* * *

“Hey, Hermione!”

Hermione smiled at Lilly as she stepped into her kitchen, “Hey Lil! How was your course?”

“Dull,” Lilly said with a smile, “How are you feeling?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Hermione said with a nervous smile.

“Really?” Lilly asked, raising an eyebrow at her, “Because you’re getting married tomorrow.”

“I know, I can’t quite believe it’s come around this fast,” Hermione laughed, “I don’t know how I’m going to get any sleep tonight.”

“I was sorting hoping you would be feeling like that,” Lilly said with a grin, “Because we’ve arranged a little get together to keep your mind off of the nerves.”

“A get-together?” Hermione queried.

“Yeah,” Lilly said with a smirk, “Just you if you’re being traditional and not seeing Draco tonight. But if he’s here, then he can come too.”

“She’s not traditional,” Draco said, stepping into the kitchen in a dressing gown.

“Good,” Lilly said cheerfully, “Get dressed and head over to Longbottom House. It’s not like you have anything else to work on, you guys don’t have a case at the moment.”

“Why do I get the feeling that you disagree with my treatment of the Decapitator?” Draco asked Lilly with a roll of his eyes.

“Because you decapitated him with dark magic,” Hermione said irritably, “ _I_ disagree with your treatment of him too!”

“He killed 11 people!” Draco remarked.

“I know, and I get your logic in _killing_ him,” Lilly admitted, “And so does Neville. But decapitating him was unnecessary.”

Draco opened his mouth to object.

“You can’t just use Sectumsempra to decapitate him to make it your signature spell, just because Harry has Expelliarmus,” Lilly said, crossing her arms and staring him down.

“Yeah, but my godfather invented it!” Draco objected.

“And? Your godfather was a dick!” Lilly pointed out.

Draco frowned, “But…Hermione?”

“Sorry Draco,” Hermione said sheepishly, “But Snape was kind of a dick. I mean I know he betrayed Voldemort and everything, and technically he did keep Harry alive, but he did it for all the wrong reasons. I mean if you look at the life choices he made then consider that he made them all because the girl he had a creepy, obsessive crush on died…you know?”

Draco sighed, “Yeah…I mean…when you put it like that.”

Lilly shrugged, “The truth hurts Draco. Maybe just have a little think about your own life choices though? Decapitating people in your first year as an Auror…it’s a slippery road.”

“I’ve already had all of this from Harry _and_ Hermione, probably worse from Harry actually because he was all like, _Draco don’t you remember what that spell did to you? How could you use it on someone else? I thought you were better than this, I’m just bloody disappointed in you,_ ” Draco said with a pointed look. He then rolled his eyes.

“Well, your Harry Potter impression is on point,” Lilly remarked sarcastically.

Draco shot her a long-suffering look, “I _know_ it wasn’t necessary, but the sick bastard deserved it, and nobody else is prepared to admit it apart from Theo and me.”

“Theo would say the earth was flat if you said so,” Hermione retorted, “So I wouldn’t think _that_ counts for much!”

Lilly grimaced, “Okay, so you two are clearly having a bit of a domestic here which is not ideal considering you’re meant to be getting married tomorrow.”

“We’re not having a domestic,” Hermione said with a sigh, “I just want him to admit that he acted rashly because he wanted the Decapitator removed from the picture so he wouldn’t ruin our wedding.”

Draco sighed too, “Fine. I acted rashly and without thinking, like a Gryffindor, because I didn’t want anything to ruin your perfect day tomorrow. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Hermione smiled at him, “Yes, it was, thank you. That was very sweet of you, but also wrong and morbid.”

Lilly snorted, “This is a weird conversation, and I am _so_ glad I’m not marrying a Slytherin. But I’ll see you guys in half an hour at Longbottom House, okay?”

Hermione nodded, “Of course, Lil, we’ll be there.”

“Great!” Lilly said with a smile, “See you guys soon,….and Hermione?”

“Uh-huh,” Hermione said, somewhat distractedly.

Lilly smiled slightly, “Don’t give Draco _too much_ of a hard time. If anyone deserved that kind of death, it was that sick bastard. He killed 11 people, some of them young girls.”

“I know, Lil,” Hermione admitted as Lilly disappeared into the fireplace.

* * *

When Draco and Hermione arrived at Longbottom House later that night, Lilly answered the door with a slightly mischievous grin, “Hey! Everyone else is here.”

Hermione frowned slightly as they stepped into the kitchen/dining area, “I don’t see any food or any people.”

“That’s because all of the food and people are in the cinema,” Lilly said, “It’s just a buffet, is that okay?”

“That’s fine,” Hermione said offhandedly, “What are we watching in the cinema?”

“It’s a surprise, come on,” Lilly said, she could barely contain her smirk as she led them upstairs into the crowded cinema room where all of their friends were already gathered, they were all eating food off of paper plates.

“What are we watching?” Hermione asked again as the movie began to play on the big screen while she and Draco sat down on a comfortable sofa in the front ‘row’.

“Well, Hermione, we’re educating you,” Harry grinned.

“Yeah, we think that you need to know _why_ that dragon reserve in the Atlantic was a bad idea,” Neville smirked.

Hermione rolled her eyes at them, “Okay… a. None of you were supposed to know about that because _Draco_ wasn’t supposed to tell anyone and, b. You’re making me watch _Jurassic Park_ , aren’t you?”

“Yes, we are,” Harry grinned.

“And wedding day tomorrow or not, we will put a body bind on you if you try to move,” Lilly added in amusement.

“The rest of us _normal_ purebloods are just as perplexed as you here Hermione,” Daphne said in amusement, “But Harry thinks it’s a travesty that we haven’t seen this movie.”

“It _is_ a travesty!” Harry exclaimed, “It’s one of the coolest films ever made!”

“You’ll get our verdict once the movie has finished,” Sadie added with a chuckle.

“Deal, by the end of the film you’ll be in love with dinosaurs!” Harry said confidently.

We’ll see about that,” Daphne said in amusement.

**_127 MINUTES LATER…_ **

“That film was _epic_!”

“I told you so!” Harry said as he grinned at his wife.

Hermione was still staring at the screen in shock as the titles ran, “Woah.”

“You can say that again,” Theo said as he also stared at the screen, “Dinosaurs are _so_ cool!”

“Come on they aren’t _that_ cool, they are pretty similar to dragons,” Sadie said with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah dragons come in different shapes and sizes, but they all do the same thing!” Harry objected, “They just breathe fire and destroy shit.”

“But dinosaurs all do different stuff. Some eat meat, some eat plants. Some have really tall necks, and some have huge teeth or giant wings or spikes on their back!” Neville added excitedly.

“And some eat humans and destroy shit, _just_ like dragons,” Hermione said loudly, effectively breaking into their argument.

She glanced at Draco, who was watching her with interest and said, “Thank Merlin that you stopped me from approving that contract, Draco.”

“See, this is why muggle movies are educational,” Harry said with a smirk, “If it wasn’t for _Jurassic Park_ you would have created an insanely dangerous tourist attraction, and you would have been responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.”

“I think that’s a _bit_ dramatic, Harry,” Lilly said with a raised eyebrow at her friend.

“Especially when you’re saying it to your best friend the night before her _wedding_ ,” Daphne pointed out, glaring at her husband.

“Okay so maybe I was a little dramatic, sorry Mione,” Harry said sheepishly, “But look what happened in the movie. And that was just when they were testing it to see if it was okay to launch. Imagine what would have happened if they had opened it to the public, and one of the dinosaurs escaped! Tourists would die, children would get eaten!”

“This is why I won’t let you show Teddy movies,” Daphne said pointedly.

“I wouldn’t show him _Jurassic Park_ , not until he is at least 5. I was only going to show him Disney films!”

“5?” Daphne asked in disbelief, “Hermione and Sadie screamed watching that film, you are not showing it to Teddy until he is at least 12!”

“12?” Harry scoffed, “By the time _I_ was 12, I had defeated Voldemort twice _and_ killed a Basilisk!”

“You say that like it should be normal! That is _not_ normal! And Teddy is not you,” Daphne exclaimed in disbelief, “He’s a safe little boy who doesn’t have to grow up in a war and who will not be watching films about dinosaurs or creepy clowns or bloody dolls that come to life until he is _at least_ Hogwarts age!”

“What are, you, his mother?” Harry joked.

Daphne just gave him a long-suffering look.

Harry rolled his eyes, “Alright you win,” he said.

At this, Draco made the sound of a whip and smirked at his friend.

“Oh shut up, Drakey,” Neville grinned, “That will be you soon.”

“You’re getting married in the morning,” Theo sang.

“Yes, I am aware of that,” Draco remarked dryly.

“And I’ll make you a deal Daphne,” Harry cut in, “I won’t show him adult films but can I show him Disney films? I mean surely _The Lion King_ is okay.”

“ _The Lion King_?” Hermione asked in disbelief, “Simba’s father dies in that movie, and Teddy has a dead father! Honestly, Harry, you can’t show him that!”

“He’s going to have to learn that people die at some point, Hermione,” Harry pointed out, “People will ask him about his parents and teaching him about what happened early on is better than lying to him for years and telling him just before he goes to Hogwarts.”

Everyone glanced at Daphne, they expected her to argue with Harry about this. She didn’t. Instead, she smiled slightly and nodded, “I agree with Harry on this one.”

“Really?” Theo asked in surprise.

“Really,” Daphne said, “There’s no point in building his life into something that it isn’t and then taking it away from him. It’s cruel, and he will have to accept that his parents are dead one day. It will be easier for him to accept that as a child, than as an adult.”

“Well, you two sure are good parents,” Lilly said with a smile.

Draco nodded his agreement and smiled at his friends, “It takes a great parent to realise that their child has to feel pain sometimes to grow up and to grow as a person.”

Harry smiled slightly, but the conversation was getting far too personal for his liking, “Well, as moving at this is, let’s move onto the next film. Who wants to watch the second _Jurassic Park_ movie?”

“No!” Draco, Neville and Lilly echoed.

“It’s the worst _sequel_ ever!” Draco remarked.

“I don’t know if I would say it was the worst ever. _Jaws 2_ was pretty shit,” Neville pointed out.

“And _Robocop 2_ was a downright failure,” Lilly added.

“Not to mention the embarrassment of _Grease 2_ ”,” Hermione piped up.

“But the greatest of all terrible movie sequels has got to be _Speed 2_ ,” Harry said, and every muggle-born or pureblood who he had converted to a movie buff nodded their agreement.

“So we’re all in agreement then?” Neville asked, “We’re definitely not watching the second movie?”

“I will definitely not be watching it,” Hermione said as she got to her feet, “I need my beauty sleep for the big day tomorrow.”

“So do I,” Draco said with a grin.

Theo sniggered, “You still coming to ours to get ready tomorrow morning?”

“Yep, I’ll see you bright and early,” Draco said, “You better be there too, Harry, and you Neville.”

“Why am I always an afterthought? I’m a groomsman too!” Neville objected.

“You’re the one he likes least though, sorry baby,” Lilly said, patting her fiancé on the back sympathetically.

Hermione shook her head in amusement, “He loves you all equally, but he’ll never admit that.”

“I don’t love _any_ of them,” Draco objected, “They are all weirdos, apart from Theo, obviously.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Are you girls still okay to come and get ready at the house tomorrow?”

“Of course we are,” Daphne said with a smile, “Are you sure you don’t mind having Teddy running around while we’re getting ready?”

“Of course I don’t, he’s part of the family,” Hermione said honestly.

“I’ll go via Bones Manor and grab Susan,” Lilly said with a grin, “She’s going to need to be dragged along with her whole, ‘I can’t go to the wedding cause I’m so fat thing.”

Daphne snorted, “She’s not fat, she’s five months pregnant.”

“Try telling Suse that,” Hermione laughed, “She’s already dropped out of being a bridesmaid because of it. But I know she’ll be there Lil, don’t worry. Is Blaise still coming tomorrow, Draco?”

“No, he’s still in Korea brokering that big treaty,” Draco said, “But it’s fine because we always knew there was a chance he wouldn’t be back in time, so I had a back-up groomsman in place, and I asked him if he’d step up.”

“You…” Hermione trailed off and narrowed her eyes at him, “Who did you ask in his place?”

“Eh…well does it matter?” Draco asked evasively.

“Of course, it matters! How can you even ask me if it matters?” Hermione kicked off.

“Okay sorry, it does matter,” Draco said, he nodded sincerely, “It totally matters, you’re right.”

“I know I am!” Hermione exclaimed, “So who did you ask?”

“Well, I asked Rob,” Draco answered.

“Rob?”

“Yeah Rob, you know my boss-”

“I know who Rob is Draco!” Hermione said irritably.

“Right, so I asked Rob,” Draco said, looking at her warily.

“And?”

“And what?”

“What did he say?” Hermione asked.

“He said yes,” Draco answered.

“Just yes?” Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes at Draco, “Because I’ve met Rob, and he very rarely does something he doesn’t want to do without conditions.”

“Well there was a condition or two,” Draco admitted, “And it involved free alcohol, but it’s fine. I’ve spoken with Harry about it, and if he gets rowdy, he’ll kick him out.”

Harry nodded sincerely, “It’s all under control, Mione.”

“But I think your true nerves just started to show through,” Sadie said, patting her best friend on the back, “So maybe I should stay with you tonight? Since my mum has the twins for the night, what do you think?”

“Maybe that would be a good idea,” Hermione admitted.

“Yeah, maybe the whole tradition of not seeing each other the night before the wedding is a good idea after all,” Draco said a little too quickly, “You two can have number 12 since you’re getting ready there tomorrow anyway and I’ll crash with Theo in number 11.”

Theo nodded, “Sounds like a plan.”

“And maybe we should lock the door,” Draco whispered.

“I heard that!” Hermione snapped.

Sadie bit her lip in amusement, “You know I love you, Hermione, but you are kind of acting like Bridezilla right now.”

“Bridezilla?”

Draco grabbed Theo, “Good luck with that, Sadie! See you tomorrow, love!”

Sadie glared at her husband, but Theo just grinned and said, “She had to put up with nine months of you acting like a crazy bitch Sade. The least you can do is put up with one night of Bridezilla!”

“I hate you,” Sadie muttered.

“Love you too, night!” Theo said as he and Draco made a quick escape.

“I’m not being Bridezilla, Sadie. I’m just stressed!”

“Then maybe we should head home and have a nice calming cup of tea?” Sadie suggested, “We can go over every little detail to make sure nothing has been forgotten about. That would make you feel better about tomorrow, right?”

“Right,” Hermione said, blowing out a breath, “We’ll do that.”

Sadie shot Daphne and Lilly an exasperated look as she led Hermione out of the basement.

“Lil, can the four of us and Ted just go to the house in Greece for your wedding?” Daphne asked with a roll of her eyes.

“I would so be on board with that,” Lilly chuckled.

“Right now, so would I,” Neville agreed in amusement.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	92. I Will Never Stop Choosing You

*** ~ 23 rd December 2000 ~ ***

_Arundel Castle, West Sussex_

“Still can’t believe you’re getting married in a fricking library man.”

“Theo,” Harry hissed, “Do you really think that’s helpful right now?”

“I’m distracting him from his nerves!” Theo whispered.

Draco swallowed a lump in his throat as he stared out at the guests.

“Good luck with that,” Rob remarked.

“Rob, shut up,” Harry said sternly, “The deal was that you be a groomsman, you stand there quietly, and then you get free booze. There was nothing about sarcastic remarks.”

“Not even in the small print?” Rob joked.

“There was no small print,” Neville whispered from Rob’s other side.

“I feel so outnumbered Theo,” Draco whispered to his best friend, “Most of these people are Hermione’s family or friends. I mean…I fought against most of the people in this room in the war.”

Theo nodded thoughtfully, “Oh yeah, you did actually.”

Draco began to panic, “Why would their heroine marry me? Oh, sweet Salazar, it’s all been a trick, hasn’t it? She’s not going to show up.”

“Yep,” Harry said dryly, “It’s all an elaborate joke. I don’t even like you, she still hates you. She just bought a house with you and threw thousands of galleons at this wedding for a fucking laugh.”

Rob raised an eyebrow at the younger man, “Have I been rubbing off on you?”

“Wolfe, zip it!” Harry hissed irritably.

“Oh, and you’ve been taking lessons from Lizzie apparently.”

Neville rolled his eyes and silenced Rob. He shrugged and mouthed something that looked like ‘fair enough’.

“Draco, get a grip,” Harry whispered, “She is going to come because she loves you. The past is the past, leave it there and stop trying to drag it into the present. She loves you for who you are now, not who you were then, and _that_ is why she will be here.”

Theo frowned, “I kind of feel like I should have said that. It sounds like a best man kind of thing to say.”

“Yeah it was, but you were being a dick,” Harry said irritably, “So man up and start being a decent best man. And if any of you idiots ruin my best friend’s wedding day for her, I will not hesitate to hex your arses across the Atlantic. Okay?”

“Sir, yes sir,” Theo said, doing a mock salute, “Mr future Head Auror, sir.”

Rob shook his head in amusement.

“Yeah,” Draco said, he swallowed hard and nodded, “Sorry for the moment of self-doubt.”

“It’s fine, we all have it but not normally at the altar,” Harry said, shooting Draco an amused look, “Trust you to be the dramatic one.”

Draco chuckled weakly then the piece of music that Hermione had chosen to walk down the aisle to, began to play.

Harry dropped back into his place next to Neville as the large doors opened, and the bridal party walked into the library. It was a beautiful venue for a wedding with its high roof and four walls lined with ancient books. A red carpet had been used to create an aisle, and the area had been filled with chairs for the guests.

Ginny walked in first wearing the dress that Hermione had chosen for the bridesmaids. It was long and figure-hugging, comprised entirely of golden sequins. Her long red hair had been left down and curled, and she wore a golden wreath in her hair. Ginny, being the confident woman that she was, smiled broadly at everyone as she walked down the aisle to take her place in the front row on Hermione’s side of the library.

Once she sat down, Blanche passed Hope over to her from the row behind. The little girl squealed excitedly to be with her mum once more. She then reached up and tried to grab the wreath from her head.

Daphne stepped in next. Like Ginny, confidence wasn’t an issue for her. She smiled at the guests and blew Teddy a kiss which caused a loud shout of, “Mummy!” and a roll of the eyes on Narcissa’s part, “Shh Teddy.”

“Or we will be forced to silence you,” Cygnus warned him.

Astoria rolled her eyes from her spot beside him, “Dad! You can’t silence a toddler!”

“Watch me,” Cygnus muttered, “I did it to your bloody sister often enough.”

From Astoria’s other side, Charlie couldn’t hold back his snigger.

Daphne looked absolutely stunning in the dress and wreath. Harry grinned and whispered to Neville, “And to think she kicked off about the dress when she first tried it on.”

Neville chortled as he recalled the moment Hermione had unveiled the dresses.

_“It’s golden.”_

_“Yeah!” Hermione had said excitedly as she bounced on her heels in the drawing-room of 12 Grimmauld Place._

_“No,” Daphne said with a shake of her head, “It’s not a little touch of gold Hermione, it is **golden**.”_

_“Yes,” Hermione said, narrowing her eyes at Daphne, “Since it’s a Christmas wedding, there will be lots of gold and silver.”_

_Daphne looked at the dress distastefully._

_Harry shot Neville an amused look while this played out._

_“This is the wreath to go with it,” Hermione added, showing them all the golden wreath, “And I thought if we all curled our hair-”_

_“You want me to wear a golden dress and a golden wreath? What is this wedding? A bloody sacrificial offering to Godric bleeding Gryffindor?”_

_“Daphne,” Harry cut in, “Now, it’s Hermione’s wedding, and as her friend and one of the bridesmaids, you have to respect her choice-”_

_“It’s a golden dress, Harry!”_

_“Yeah you can pull it off though Daph,” Neville said._

_Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, “What did you just say?”_

_“You can pull anything off,” Harry said quickly, “You’ll look like a phoenix.”_

_“A hot phoenix,” Neville added._

_“Watch it, Longbottom,” Lilly warned._

_“Just trying to keep the peace,” Neville whispered._

_“Why can’t I wear silver if it’s a silver and gold wedding?” Daphne asked, crossing her arms over her chest._

_“Because….well you can’t wear silver while everyone else wears gold,” Hermione said with a frown._

_“Fine, put Sadie and I in silver then. That’s two and two, nice and symmetrical and Sadie will agree with me that silver is better than gold. Right Sade?” Daphne looked at her friend._

_Sadie made a face, “Um…honestly Hermione, it’s your wedding so I’ll just go with whatever you want.”_

_“Traitor,” Daphne muttered irritably._

_Sadie raised an eyebrow at Daphne, “No, I’m just not acting like a spoiled princess like you are.”_

_“Princess?” Daphne scoffed, “Queen, please.”_

_“Come on, Daphne,” Neville said, “Theo didn’t put up a fight about having to wear gold dress robes, did he?”_

_“Draco did,” Harry sniggered._

_“You said you loved them!” Hermione exclaimed, glaring at her fiancé._

_“Well I do **now,** ” Draco said, he glared at Harry, “I might have had a little…wobble…though.”_

_“A little wobble?” Harry snorted, “You said you felt like she was stripping your identity away and turning you into a Ron clone who would love Godric Gryffindor and do everything that she said.”_

_Hermione’s jaw dropped, “You **said** that?”_

_“No, I didn’t say that!” Draco’s glare intensified, “I said that maybe gold wasn’t my colour but if it made you happy I would wear it. Honestly, you need to get that lunatics head checked, I reckon that scar is making him fucking crazy.”_

_“You could have just told me that you didn’t like them,” Hermione said irritably._

_“I could have, but you would have just told me that I had to wear them anyway. Wouldn’t you?” Draco asked, raising an eyebrow at her._

_“Well…yes, probably.”_

_“Exactly, so what would have been the point?” Draco shrugged._

_Hermione rolled her eyes and looked over at Daphne, irritation shining in her eyes now._

_“What? I’m with Draco on this one. You are stripping us of our identity Hermione. I feel objectified actually,” Daphne said matter of factly._

_Neville rolled his eyes._

_Theo remained silent because he was still pissing himself with laughter in the corner of the room._

_“It’s for one night,” Harry said calmly, “Nobody is going to think that just because you wear a gold dress once, you’re not the Slytherin ice queen anymore okay?”_

_“And if it bothers you **that** much, you can change for the reception,” Hermione compromised._

_“Deal,” Daphne said with a smirk._

_“Bloody Slytherins,” Hermione muttered, shooting a glare Draco’s way._

_“Don’t give me that look, I broke up with her years ago,” Draco said, raising his hands in defeat, “She’s Harry’s problem now.”_

Harry smiled in amusement at the memory then Lilly walked in next. The golden wreath stood out far more in her dark red hair. She smiled at Neville and sat down next to the other bridesmaids in the front row.

Sadie walked down the aisle next. She wore the same dress and wreath as the bridesmaids, but she didn’t hold herself as confidently as they did. She waved nervously at Theo and smiled at Narcissa and Cygnus as she walked past. The two of them had been lumped with the twins _and_ Teddy. Although, at the moment, it looked like Teddy was being the more difficult one.

“Why does she think I don’t want to shag her anymore? She’s a total MILF,” Theo whispered.

Harry and Neville snorted in amusement, but Draco just watched the door nervously.

At that point, Hermione walked into the library with her dad. John smiled tearfully at his wife, and Harry frowned, suddenly coming to the realisation that Hermione’s parents were also called John and Elizabeth. He would have dwelled on that weird coincidence for longer if it weren’t for the fact that he was focusing on his best friend.

She looked happy, and she looked stunning. Hermione hadn’t opted for a plain white dress because she had thought it was too traditional and boring. Instead, she wore a white ballgown with lace sleeves, embroidered with beautiful pastel pink roses with golden stems. She had left her hair down and curled it, wearing a golden wreath like her bridesmaids. Her wreath was more elaborate because it also contained pearls and pink enamelled roses.

She smiled at Draco as she walked down the aisle towards him and Draco let out a breath that he hadn’t realised that he was holding.

When she reached the altar, her father lifted her veil then sat down with Hermione’s Mother and the bridesmaids in the front row.

“Hey,” Draco said quietly.

“Hey,” Hermione said, smiling nervously at him.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” The wizard conducting the ceremony said in a very deep voice, “We are gathered here today in this beautiful library, to witness the marriage and binding for life of Draco Abraxas Black and Hermione Jean Granger.”

Hermione and Draco continued to stare at each other, both too nervous to look out at the crowd.

“Today Draco and Hermione will bind their lives and magic together,” The little wizard continued, “But before we begin. I must ask if any man, or woman, can show just cause as to why these two may not be wed. Let him speak now or forever hold his peace.”

He paused momentarily, and when nobody said anything, he then continued, “Ah, good. Now that we have gotten that part out of the way. Do you, Draco Abraxas Black, and you, Hermione Jean Granger, promise to comfort, honour, protect and be faithful to each other for as long as you both may live?”

“I do,” Hermione said.

“I do,” Draco said at the same time.

“Then I would ask you to give your vows to one another,” The little man said. He smiled and took a step back.

Draco took a shaky breath and went first, “Hermione, you know that I struggle to express my feelings at the best of times, let alone in front of all of our family and friends but I will try to do the best I can.”

Hermione smiled and squeezed his hand. Draco took another breath, “I want to thank you today. I want to thank you for making me a better person. You saw good in me when everyone else saw bad. You saw the light in me when everyone else saw darkness. You believed in me when everyone else saw a failure. Without you, I would not be the man that I am today, and for the first time in my life, I am proud of that man so thank you for loving me, especially when doing so wasn’t easy. I promise to repay you for that, for the rest of our lives.”

Hermione swallowed and wiped away a stray tear. Then she took a deep breath and said her vows, “Draco, thank you for fighting for me when everyone else tried to break us apart. Some people wanted to protect me from you, people who didn’t see what I saw back then. I know you think that I make you a better person, but you have changed me too,” her smile widened, “Entirely for the better. We had to overcome a lot of challenges, our cultures clashed and our personalities sometimes too.”

A small chuckle came from their friends at these words.

“But every day you challenge me and spur me on, you make me stronger, and you make me better,” Hermione said, squeezing his hand, “You made me question everything in my life. You made me re-evaluate my perception of good and bad, light and evil, right and wrong. All of that made me better, and I love you for it. I promise that I will always remember how raw our love was at this moment, even when we are old and boring like the rest of our friends.”

Another chuckle went around their friends at this.

Even the little wizard conducting the ceremony chuckled, “Do you, Draco Abraxas Black, take Hermione Jean Granger, to have and to hold from this day forward? For better, for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish until death do you part?”

“I do,” Draco said, his voice breaking for the first time.

“And do you, Hermione Jean Granger, take Draco Abraxas Black, to have and to hold from this day forward? For better, for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish until death do you part?”

“I do,” Hermione said, tears shining in his eyes.

Theo smiled tearfully and stepped forward with the rings. He handed Draco a ring first, it was Hermione’s diamond and ruby-encrusted wedding band.

“Place the ring on Hermione’s finger please Draco,” The little man said.

Draco did so, his hands shaking as he slid it into place.

Theo then handed Hermione’s a ring, this one was Draco’s simple golden band.

“And Hermione, please place the ring on Draco’s finger,” The wizard said.

Hermione’s hands shook far more than Draco’s had as she slid the ring onto his finger.

The little wizard smiled and took a step back, “Now please hold hands and face each other for the binding of your magic.”

Draco and Hermione did so, looking at each other with a mixture of nerves and excitement.

The little wizard cast the charm, and a purple glow surrounded the couple.

“You are now bound in body and in soul,” The little wizard said cheerfully, “You may now kiss the bride!”

Draco smiled and leant down, capturing Hermione’s lips in a chaste kiss while their friends and family all cheered and applauded.

“What does purple mean?” Harry asked the others in a whisper.

“Dignity, pride and success,” Theo smiled, “Appropriate for those two.”

Harry smiled too, “Yeah, it is,” he agreed.

* * *

The wedding reception was at 12 Grimmauld Place. Hermione had agonised for weeks on where to have the reception but had concluded that it had to be in a wizarding home because the statute of secrecy would get broken if they chose a muggle venue. Mostly because of people like Theo and the Weasley’s. Harry and Daphne had offered up Potter Manor for the night, but Hermione had said that she would rather use her own home.

And, it scrubbed up beautifully. The drawing-room was big enough for their relatively small wedding party, but the seats had been crammed in a little for the food. It would be far less crowded once the speeches were finished and it was turned into a dance floor though.

The gold and silver theme carried on into the house. There were silver ice sculptures which shimmered. The food was served on golden and silver platters. It was all very classy and very pureblood, in fact.

The meal had also been lovely.

“Daph,” Harry said as he and his wife hovered by the head table, “Do you think I should go and relieve your dad and Cissa?”

Daphne looked over to her father and Narcissa who were struggling to contain Teddy. She smiled in amusement and said, “It’s kind of funny.”

“Stop punishing them for getting together,” Draco said.

“Oh come on, like you were happy about it,” Daphne snorted.

“He’s right though, we shouldn’t subject them to Teddy when they were already kind enough to offer to watch the twins,” Harry said with a slight smile.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Daphne admitted, “Go and grab the little rascal.”

Harry chuckled and crossed the room to do so. The moment Teddy saw him, he shouted, “Daddy!” and ran into his arms. Harry picked the little boy up, and Cygnus sighed in relief, “Thank you, Harry. That boy spends too much time with his mother, he is exactly like she was at that age.”

“What’s that then, a handful?” Harry joked.

“Oh, he’s just excitable,” Astoria said, blowing a kiss at Teddy, “Aren’t you little guy?”

“Toria,” Teddy said, reaching out for his Aunt.

“Come here,” Astoria said, sitting him down on her lap.

Cygnus rolled her eyes, “Prefers the women that one.”

“I’m just his favourite,” Astoria smirked.

“You’re only his favourite cause you’ve been feeding him cake,” Charlie retorted, nudging her in the ribs playfully.

Harry laughed at the interplay between the couple, and at that point, the speeches began.

Hermione’s father stood up and clinked his spoon against a glass. The room gradually fell silent, and Mr Granger smiled out at them all, “Hello everyone, thank you all for taking the time and effort to come today. I appreciate that wasn’t easy for everyone because my daughter _insisted_ on a Christmas wedding,” he shot Hermione an amused look.

“He makes a good point,” Theo whispered.

“Shut up, Theo,” Hermione hissed along the table.

Draco chortled as Hermione’s father continued, “As I am sure you can imagine, the first time I heard the name ‘Draco’ I never imagined that would be the name of my future son-in-law. You will all know that Hermione and Draco didn’t exactly hit it off straight away.”

This caused a chuckle to go around, Harry snorted in amused agreement.

“But as the years went on, we began to have our suspicions,” Mr Granger continued with a smile, “When Hermione came home from her fourth year talking about how Draco had bested her scores, she made a throwaway remark about how they could have been good friends if he wasn’t such a, and I’m quoting here, Snakey little wanker.”

Hermione let her head drop into her hands at that point while Theo burst out laughing. Draco grinned at his wife, “Snakey little wanker?”

“Shut up, I was 15!” 

“Yeah, when you were 15, you hung out in trees for hours, just so you could look cool insulting the Gryffindors when they walked past,” Theo said with an amused grin.

“You,” Draco pointed at Theo, “Shut up.”

“Nah just save it for the speech,” Harry whispered with a grin.

“Then Hermione came home from fifth year, and it was all rather negative again,” Mr Granger continued, “But after sixth year, the entire summer she would not shut up about Draco and how she wondered if Draco was okay, and how she wouldn’t ever get to find out because she wasn’t going to go back to school. And how she hoped he wasn’t dead, but if he was she would have found out probably because surely the Prophet would have printed it. We found it a bit suspicious considering she had told us for the past six years that she hated this boy,” he finished.

Draco smiled slightly as Mr Granger carried on, “But anyway, that was then, and this is now. All any father wants is somebody good enough for his little girl,” at this Hermione blushed, “And I truly believe that Draco is. From my perspective, it takes someone pretty special to take a look at themselves when they are 18 and not like who they see in the mirror then to decide to change who they are. So Draco, you are okay in my book, and you are welcome to play golf with me any time or join me at the lake any Sunday you feel like.”

Mr Granger raised his glass and said, “To Draco and Hermione.”

Everyone else made a toast, and Draco whispered, “Why does he want me to go to a lake with him?”

“Fishing Draco, he means you can go fishing with him,” Hermione whispered back.

“Fishing?”

“I’ll explain later,” Hermione murmured.

“What’s golf again?” Theo asked Draco quietly.

“The one with the ball,” Draco replied.

“What one? Lots of them have balls!”

“The one with the big wooden bat and the ball,” Draco answered in a whisper.

“No Draco, that’s cricket,” Harry said in amusement, “I’ll show you guys what golf is one day, but right now, you need to stand up and give your speech.”

“Don’t remind me,” Draco said nervously as he got to his feet.

“I would like to join Hermione’s father in thanking everyone for coming,” Draco began as he smiled at Mr Granger, “And in turn thank him for his kind words. I would like to thank everyone who made this day possible. Thank you to Hermione’s wonderful Matron of Honour, Sadie, who made sure Hermione picked a venue in time and who kept the day on track. Nobody else could have put up with Hermione’s control-freak temper tantrum last night, Sade.”

Sadie laughed while Hermione rolled her eyes and cursed Draco under her breath.

Draco just smirked and continued, “Thank you to the lovely bridesmaids, Lilly, Daphne and Ginny, for supporting Hermione. I would also like to thank my mother and her partner Cygnus for performing babysitting duties excellently throughout the ceremony. I would especially like to congratulate you for managing to control yourself and _not_ silence Teddy, Cygnus. I’ve babysat that boy enough to know the struggle.”

This caused a wave of laughter to go around the drawing-room.

“Obviously, I have to take this moment to thank my groomsmen, Harry, Neville and Rob. Rob, thank you for showing up, that’s about as much as I expected of you. Harry, thanks for knocking a bit of sense into me when I had a panic about Hermione showing up and Neville, thanks for silencing Rob and leaving it on, that’s possibly the best thing you’ve done since you beheaded that snake!”

“Hear hear!” Jennifer shouted from the table where she was sitting with an amused Elizabeth and John, who was beside himself with laughter while Rob sulked next to him.

“And thank you to my best man Theo, for standing by my side on the most important day of my life,” Draco clapped Theo on the shoulder and smiled, “You’ve been by my side from the start so it wouldn’t have felt right to have anyone else with me today.”

Harry rolled his eyes and looked at Hermione in exasperation, “Which one did you marry Draco?”

“Watch it scarhead,” Theo retorted.

Draco chuckled and looked over at Hermione, “And lastly, but most importantly, I would like to thank Hermione for agreeing to marry me. I can assure you all that she is not under any imperius charms, I’ve not altered her memory, she just, for some inexplicable reason, loves me despite my many flaws. I never thought the day would come when I would call her my wife, but I am very proud to be able to do so.”

Hermione smiled tearfully as Draco raised his glass, “To my beautiful wife, Hermione.”

“To Hermione,” They all toasted.

Draco sat down and looked warily at Theo as he got to his feet. He grinned and clapped his hands together, “Oh, I have waited my whole life for this moment! Hello everyone! Welcome to the wedding. This is the kind of wedding where you are all sitting there right now going, has this actually happened or am I in a parallel world? Some of you will then just throw that thought away like oh, of course, this is real, silly me! But others will actually think into it and be like, right…are they actually getting married? Because I remember her punching him in the face really hard…and he hugged Voldemort, that happened too right? Then you conclude, yep must be a parallel world.”

Hermione slapped herself in the face.

Draco let his head drop onto the table.

The rest of the wedding party found it bloody hilarious.

“But no! By some miracle, this is really happening!” Theo continued exuberantly, “Hermione Granger; muggle-born, Gryffindor Princess, Feminist, Creatures Rights Activist. Let’s not forget that time she told us all to spew for house-elves.”

“S.P.E.W!” Hermione exclaimed irritably.

Theo just grinned down at her and continued, “And Draco Malfoy, Black now but always Malfoy in our hearts am I right?”

“In yours maybe,” Neville snorted, getting a round of applause.

“Oh shut up Longbottom, this is my moment,” Theo said as he carried on, “Draco Malfoy, pureblood, Slytherin Prince, definitely not a feminist, and pretty much didn’t give a shit about creatures rights. I mean let’s not forget this is the guy who got viciously attacked by a Hippogriff because, well basically because he was a bit of a bellend.”

Draco banged his head off of the table rather loudly.

This of course just spurred Theo on, “It was hardly a match made in heaven, was it? We were all there to witness it. He insulted her, Ron tried to protect her and threw up slugs for a week. Thanks for taking one for the team there Ron, that gave us months of entertainment, we pissed ourselves every time we saw a slug!”

Ron just gave Theo the middle finger while Harry had to try and hide the fact that he was laughing at his friend's expense.

“And as I mentioned earlier, there was that time she punched him in the face, and he cried like a baby,” Theo said with a grin, “He wouldn’t shut up about it afterwards though. He kept banging on about how hot it was that she was so strong and empowered, but that was that.”

Hermione sniggered a little at that.

“The number of times she insulted him or bested him, and he exclaimed, my father, will hear about this!” Theo screeched in a lousy impersonation of Draco, “Of course his father never did hear about it because why would he want to hear about the fact that Draco was in love with an infuriating muggle-born? His mother heard about it though, poor Narcissa had to pour through at least three letters a week with whole page long rants about Hermione Granger. Am I right, Narcissa?”

Narcissa chuckled and replied, “You are right, Theodore.”

“Mother!” Draco exclaimed.

Hermione grinned and sat up a little straighter, “Carry on Theo, I’m starting to enjoy this.”

“So am I,” Harry sniggered.

Theo grinned broadly, “Anyway, time passed, and a snake faced bastard tried to take over the world and failed, thanks to our golden hero right here,” he gestured at Harry, “With his trusty best pal Ron and his plucky sidekick Neville. And our darling Hermione here as the brains of the operation because let’s face it, those three had no bloody idea what they were doing.”

“And then alas we returned to dear old Hogwarts,” Theo said theatrically, “Where once more the sparks began to fly, but romantically with much more sexual tension,” he waggled his eyebrows.

Harry muttered, “Oh, dear God.”

“But a lot changed that year,” Theo said, the tone suddenly became far more serious, “And entirely for the better. Draco wouldn’t be the man he is today without Hermione’s calming, positive influence and Hermione wouldn’t be anywhere near as snarky without Draco’s influence so all in all, things turned out well for them.”

There was another round of laughter.

“But the main thing is that they love each other,” Theo said with a smile, “And I don’t just mean they like each other a lot and therefore feel they can settle down. This isn’t a pureblood marriage, nobody is doing this because it’s enough or it’s okay to settle. They love each other the way that two people are supposed to. It’s a blind, reckless love, the sort that consumes you. So cheers, to Draco and Hermione!”

Everyone was stunned by the romantic, profound note that Theo had ended that on. But they all raised their glasses and toasted the newlyweds all the same.

“I’ll forgive the rest of the speech because of the ending,” Draco said, smiling genuinely at his best friend.

“Thought you might,” Theo said, patting him on the back, “I was going to put in this epic quote about how the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, but Neville said it was too much.”

“What does it even mean?” Draco asked.

Sadie smiled, “That the relationships formed by choice are stronger than those formed by birth.”

Draco smiled too, “That’s deep Theo.”

“Yeah, well it’s your wedding. When else am I going to tell you that I love you?” Theo said, partly in jest but with a serious undertone.

“I love you too mate,” Draco murmured, hugging his best friend tightly.

“I thought we didn’t do hugs,” Theo said as he hugged him back.

“Shut up, I’m the godfather to your kids now, it’s gotten domestic and sappy,” Draco said as he released him, “So we do hugs now.”

Hermione shook her head in amusement and grabbed Draco’s hand, “The speech was unconventional but very you, and ultimately quite sweet Theo.”

“Why thank you,” Theo said, and he did a bow.

“Come on,” Harry said with a chuckle as he ushered Daphne over, “We better clear out so the elves can turn the room around. Daph now is as good a time as any to nip home and change.”

Daphne blew out a relieved sigh, “Thank goodness, I was just about converted,” she joked, shooting Hermione a grin, “I thought I was about to start worshipping Godric Gryffindor.”

Hermione shook her head in amusement, “You are impossible!”

Daphne kissed her cheek and blew out of the room.

Harry shook his head at the little boy in his arms, “Your Mummy is so high maintenance, Teddy.”

“But she’s amazing in the bedroom,” Theo said, covering Teddy’s ears, “That’s why Daddy keeps her around.”

Harry shrugged Theo’s hands off of Teddy’s ears, “That is not why I keep her around. But while we’re on the subject of kids, I reckon you should relieve Narcissa of yours.”

“What are you talking about?” Theo asked with a grin, “Mine have been little angels all day. It’s yours who was a pain in the butt.”

“Terrible twos are rough, aren’t they Ted?” Harry said, ruffling his hair.

Teddy just yawned in response.

“Mione,” Harry called over the noise of everyone leaving the drawing-room, “I’m going to take Teddy to Andi’s now that the meal is over. I’ll be back before the cake cutting and the first dance.”

“No problem, Harry,” Hermione said, kissing Teddy on the cheek, “Thanks for coming little guy.”

Draco smiled and ruffled Teddy’s hair, “See you later, little man.”

Teddy yawned again, so Harry chuckled and left the house with him.

“I better get my two off to the sitter too,” Theo said as Sadie approached him with the two wriggling babies that she had just relieved Narcissa of.

“Who's watching them?” Hermione asked curiously.

“My Step-Mum.” Theo replied, “She complained that we always let Sorenson babysit so we said she could have them for the night. I reckon she’ll be knackered in the morning and never ask to have them again.”

Draco snorted, “You never know, she might surprise you.”

“We’ll see,” Sadie chuckled, “But they are tired, so we’ll take them to Nott House and come back later. Say goodbye to Auntie Hermione and Uncle Draco Mina.”

Almina lifted her hand and attempted to wave. Hermione grabbed her hand and shook it, and Draco gave her a little hug.

“You say goodbye as well then Charlie,” Theo said, having taken his son from Sadie.

Charlus made a face then some sort of growling noise.

“Or not,” Hermione laughed,

“He’s tired,” Sadie chuckled.

“And part werewolf apparently,” Theo remarked dryly.

“See you soon,” Hermione said with a smile as the couple left the drawing-room.

“Congrats then Mrs Black,” Lilly said as she skipped over to the couple, “Hey Nev, I reckon you should remove that silencing charm from Rob. He’s starting to get a tad angry now.”

Neville chortled and grabbed her hand, “I’d actually forgotten I put it on till Draco mentioned it. Come on, I need you by my side when I take it off. I might require a Healer to mend my eardrums.”

Draco and Hermione laughed as their friends disappeared, leaving them alone by the head table as a team of house-elves came in and began to tidy up.

“Come on,” Draco said, smiling at his wife, “Let’s sit up on the roof terrace while we wait, it’s probably about the only alone time we’ll get for the rest of the night.”

“That sounds perfect,” Hermione admitted with a smile.

* * *

Almost everyone was gathered back in the drawing-room after it had been turned into a ballroom. The cake was on the table and about to be cut when Daphne waltzed back into the room.

Hermione looked at her friend in disbelief, “Draco, look at her.”

Draco turned around, and his eyes fell on Daphne, “Wow.”

“She’s just wearing that to prove a point, isn’t she?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

“I mean…well…” Draco tried to come up with something diplomatic to keep the peace, but then he settled on, “Yeah, she’s proving a point alright.”

“I hate her sometimes,” Hermione grumbled.

“She’s one of your best friends,” Harry said as he approached them.

“You are my best friend,” Hermione corrected, “And as she is married to you, I put up with more of her whims than I would with anyone else.”

“That…” Harry trailed off, “That sounds fair, yeah.”

Daphne was wearing a very similar dress to the one she had been forced to wear to the wedding. In fact, Hermione suspected it was the same dress, just magically altered. Where a high necklace had been, it was now low cut and revealed cleavage. It had been drawn in at the waist and more to point, the colour had been changed. The sequins were emerald green at the bust then blended in at the start of the skirt to become silver. The wreath in her hair had also been transfigured to silver, and Daphne had added green accents with what looked like real emeralds.

“I know you’re pissed off with her and I don’t blame you,” Harry said honestly, “But right now I’m just looking at her thinking, how the hell did I get that woman to marry me and adopt a child with me?”

“I wonder that regularly,” Draco remarked dryly.

When Daphne reached them, she sighed and said, “Ah, that’s better.”

“It’s the same dress, isn’t it?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

“No, I would never brutally rip apart the dress you lovingly picked for me,” Daphne said honestly, “It’s a copy of the original dress, just spruced up to de-Gryffindor it.”

“What are you going to do with the original?” Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes at her friend.

“Put it somewhere safe and cherish it forever,” Daphne replied, struggling to hide her sarcasm.

“You’ve put it in a cupboard, and you’ll put it in a dressing up box for your kids if you have girls,” Draco predicted.

“No,” Daphne said unconvincingly.

“You’re unbelievable,” Hermione said, unsure whether to laugh or cry. At the end of the day, it was a minor disagreement that would be forgotten about in next to no time anyway.

“Time to cut the cake!” Harry announced before a fight could get underway.

The couple then cut the cake together and took to the dance floor for their first dance.

“You are impossible, you know,” Harry murmured to Daphne as they stood on the sidelines.

“Why do you put up with me then?” Daphne asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Because you’re intelligent and funny and witty,” Harry said, struggling to keep his eyes away from her cleavage, “And also hot, very, very hot.”

Daphne chuckled and hushed him, “The dance is about to start.”

_“This is my love song to you,_

_Let everyone woman know I’m yours,_

_So you can fall asleep each night babe,_

_And know I’m dreaming of you more.”_

Hermione leaned into Draco’s embrace and whispered, “This has been perfect.”

“Yeah,” Draco agreed as they swayed on the floor together, “It has been.”

_“You’re always hoping that we’ll make it,_

_You always want to keep my gaze,_

_But you’re the only one I see love,_

_And that’s the one thing that won’t change.”_

At this point, the rest of their friends began to take to the dance floor. Theo held his arm out to Sadie, as was the tradition for the best man to dance with the Matron of Honour.

“He really loves her,” Theo said softly.

“Yeah,” Sadie agreed with a smile, “We could never have called it, could we?”

“Nah,” Theo said as he spun her out, “But life is funny that way.”

Sadie’s smile didn’t shift, “It sure is,” she agreed.

_“I will never stop trying,_

_I will never stop watching as you leave,_

_I will never stop losing my breath,_

_Every time I see you looking back at me_

_I will never stop holding your hand,_

_I will never stop opening your door,_

_I will never stop choosing you babe,_

_I will never get used to you.”_

“Do you fancy a dance, my love?” Harry asked Daphne with a grin.

Daphne laughed and took to the dance floor with him, “Of course.”

They fell into hold comfortably, and Harry smiled over at the newlyweds, “I never thought I’d see her this happy after the war.”

“I never thought I would see the day that Draco stopped denying his feelings for Hermione,” Daphne admitted.

“The song they have chosen hits home a lot,” Harry said, thinking that the lyrics reminded him of his and Daphne’s own relationship.

“Yes,” Daphne agreed thoughtfully. She met Harry’s eyes and smiled, “It does.”

_“And with this love song to you,_

_It’s not a momentary phase,_

_You are my life, I don’t deserve you,_

_But you love me just the same.”_

Neville smiled over at Lilly, “Want to dance? Since it’s tradition and all?”

“Oh come off it Nev,” Lilly said, grinning at him, “You love to dance.”

“I know,” Neville said with a chuckle, “But it’s not exactly your thing.”

“I can do this kind of slow dancing,” Lilly said, putting her hands in what she thought was the right place.

Neville laughed and moved them into what was actually the right position, then he pulled her close and said, “So that’s it then, we’re the only non-married couple in our friend group.”

“Which sounds bad until you remember that we’re only 20,” Lilly pointed out.

“True,” Neville chuckled.

Lilly looked up into his eyes and smiled, “And we’ll get there eventually. You know that, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Neville said, smiling warmly at her and kissing her lightly.

_“And as the mirror says we’re older,_

_I will not look the other way,_

_You are my life, my love, my only,_

_And that’s the one thing that won’t change.”_

Ginny stood above Rob's table and smirked done at him.

Rob raised an eyebrow at her, “What do you want, ginger human?”

“Rob!” Jennifer and Elizabeth chastised in unison.

Rob rolled his eyes, “What?”

“Be polite,” Jennifer said, looking up, “Sorry, Ginny, wasn’t it?”

“Yep,” Ginny said, she held out her hand, “Come on, Rob, we need to dance.”

“Oh no, we really don’t,” Rob said quickly.

“It is traditional,” Jennifer said, “You’re a groomsman, and she is a bridesmaid.”

“She is also a child,” Rob pointed out, “Like a literal child.”

“She is not a child,” Jennifer said, raising an eyebrow at Rob, “She has a child.”

“Children can have children, I know this because I work in CPS,” Rob pointed out.

“Robert,” Elizabeth said, fixing him with a stern look, “Dance with the nice girl.”

“Do as you are told,” Jennifer advised.

Rob looked to John in disbelief, “Mate, are you going to help me out here?”

John scoffed, “Am I going to over-rule my wife and her super scary sister who _you_ decided to date? Am I hell, Wolfie.”

“Some hotshot Auror you are,” Rob sulked as he got to his feet.

Ginny smiled sweetly at him and dragged him onto the dancefloor.

_“I will never stop trying,_

_I will never stop watching as you leave,_

_I will never stop losing my breath,_

_Every time I see you looking back at me_

_I will never stop holding your hand,_

_I will never stop opening your door,_

_I will never stop choosing you babe,_

_I will never get used to you.”_

As the song neared its end, more couples took to the dance floor. Astoria managed to drag Charlie up, and Bill and Lara willingly started to dance together. Narcissa danced with Cygnus, and Hermione’s parents danced together too.

“Come on, Suse, let’s have at least one dance together,” Percy said, holding his hand out to his wife.

“How are we going to do that with this big bump in the way?” Susan huffed.

“Easily,” Percy said, putting his arms around her and keeping a little distance for her bump, which really wasn’t that big but Susan had always been a drama queen.

“I swear I’m pregnant with twins,” Susan grumbled.

“Lilly has checked three times,” Percy said, smiling at her in amusement, “You aren’t.”

Susan made a face at him.

Percy’s smile didn’t shift. He just rested his hand on the small of her back and said, “Think about it…next Christmas, there will be three of us.”

Susan’s expression softened, and she smiled down at her bump, “Yeah, there will be.”

_“You still get my heart racing,_

_You still get my heart racing, for you_

_You still get my heart racing,_

_You still get my heart racing, for you.”_

* * *

As the night wore on, the free bar began to take effect.

“Look at this one!”

Neville hit himself in his face, “Lilly! You can’t just lift up your dress in front of my boss!”

“It’s fine,” Lilly said offhandedly, “It’s only my lower leg, it’s not like he can see my knickers.”

Rob cocked his head to look at the scar, “That’s a good one. How did you get that?”

“Crazy muggle with a cutlass,” Lilly said cheerfully.

“Nice!” Rob said, “Look at this one.” He lifted his shirt up, and Jennifer rolled her eyes.

Lilly looked at the oval-shaped scar, “That’s pretty cool. How did you get it?”

“Stabbed by an ex-girlfriend,” Rob said with a grin.

Jennifer raised an eyebrow at him, “What?”

“Not your sister,” Rob assured her.

“Right, that makes that sentence better,” Jennifer said, she shook her head at Neville, “Why are they getting a thrill out of comparing scars?”

“I have no idea,” Neville said with a sigh, “Do you want another gin? Cause I’m going to go to the bar and leave them to it.”

“Yeah, do you know what? I reckon I’ll just come with you,” Jennifer said, looking back at Rob in a fond, but long-suffering sort of way.

* * *

“I’m not going to lie, I’m still pretty disgusted by the fact our parents are together,” Daphne said as she danced with Draco.

Draco followed her line of sight to where their parents were dancing. Cygnus was whispering something, and his mother was smiling and nodding.

“Yeah, I mean it took me a while to get used to it,” Draco agreed, looking back at his friend, “But I’ve not seen my mother this happy for a while.”

“I know,” Daphne said with a sigh, “And I’m glad that they are happy, I really am. But what if they get married?”

“Do you think they will?” Draco asked in alarm.

“I never thought my dad would remarry after my psycho mother,” Daphne said with a sigh, “But lately he’s been weird. He keeps making comments about marriage like he’s trying to prepare me for the idea.”

“I didn’t think my mother would remarry either,” Draco admitted, “But if they want to…well who are we to stand in their way?”

“But if they got married we would be related,” Daphne said, making a face.

“By marriage, not blood,” Draco pointed out.

“You would be my step-brother,” Daphne said, looking up at him, “My ex-boyfriend and my step-brother.”

“But I was your ex-boyfriend first, so you’re getting hung up on a technicality,” Draco said, looking at her in amusement, “You’ve been very dramatic this evening.”

“Must be all the alcohol,” Daphne joked.

Draco laughed and said, “I doubt we have anything to worry about though Daphne. Even if your dad wants to marry my mum, I very much doubt she would remarry now.”

“Thank Salazar for that,” Daphne remarked with relief.

* * *

Charlie was a little drunk by the end of the evening, but not to the point where his faculties could be called into question. As a slow song played, he swayed around the dancefloor with Astoria contently.

“You know,” Charlie said thoughtfully, “This whole wedding thing today…it’s had me thinking.”

“Weddings tend to do that,” Astoria stated.

Charlie drew back a little to look at her, “I know, but it got me thinking about us. Bill has finally buggered off to live with Lara so…do you reckon it’s time to buy that big house in the country with enough room for all my dragons?”

Astoria raised an eyebrow at him, “Are you proposing to me?”

Charlie frowned then his eyes widened with realisation, “Yes…I am, and it’s a terrible proposal, isn’t it? I mean I don’t even have a ring or anything yet, but you would probably want to choose it anyway because you’ll want something fancy-”

“Charlie,” Astoria cut in with a smile, “I would love to buy that big house in the country with you. I would love to marry you. I was just waiting for the moment to be right for you.”

Charlie grinned at her, “Sorry for the shit proposal.”

“It’s fine,” Astoria laughed, “It was very you.”

Charlie leaned down to kiss her as the song came to its end.

* * *

From the balcony that Draco had installed just for the wedding, Draco and Hermione looked down at their friends and family. It was after midnight, so not many people were left, and they were about to throw in the towel themselves and go to bed.

Down below Rob, John and Neville were playing drunken darts with a dummy that they had conjured up, while Elizabeth and Jennifer drank gin and looked on. Lilly was the referee, and somehow her dress had halved in length throughout the night.

Harry and Daphne, and Theo and Sadie, were both on the dance floor. An upbeat song was playing, and Theo was being flamboyant, much to Sadie’s amusement. Harry was dancing like a dad, and Daphne was making him look bad.

Hermione smiled down at them, and all the others, Charlie and Astoria who were talking in whispers, lost in each other’s eye. Susan, who had her feet up in Percy’s lap. Her shoes abandoned as he massaged them. Bill was laughing as he danced with Lara, and Hermione was glad to see that he had found happiness again.

“We have a pretty good life,” Draco said, reading the look in her eye.

Hermione reached down and took his hand, “We do,” she agreed with a smile.

Draco smiled too, “Thank you, Hermione,” he said, leaning over to kiss her.

“For what?” Hermione mumbled against his lips.

“For seeing the good in me when I couldn’t even see it myself,” Draco said, his eyes boring into hers.

Hermione leant up and captured his lips again, this time in a far more searing, passionate kiss.

“Oi pretty boy!” A shout from below said.

Draco and Hermione split apart and down below, Rob called, “Take it to the bloody bedroom!”

Draco smiled mischievously and said, “Alright, I will!”

He lifted Hermione up, and she squealed in alarm. Then without further ado, he carried her off of the balcony towards their bedroom, to cheers and catcalls from all of their very drunk, but wonderful friends.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Hermione's wedding dance song is:  
> Never Stop (Wedding Version) by Safetysuit.


	93. The End of the Beginning

*** ~ February 2003 – Three Years Later ~ ***

_Potter Manor_

****

“Teddy! Come downstairs and try on your robes for Uncle Nev’s wedding!”

Harry snorted in amusement as a thundering sound above, alerted them to the fact that Teddy was on his way.

Daphne shook her head in amusement and handed Harry a bottle of milk, “I should have added quietly to that sentence.”

“It wouldn’t have made a difference,” Harry said with a smile as he popped the bottle into the mouth of the four-month-old baby in his lap.

“Where are my robes, Mum?” Teddy asked as he bounded into the kitchen.

“Hanging up,” Daphne said, motioning to the back of the pantry door, “What do you think?”

Teddy, who was about to turn five and had grown up far too quickly for Harry and Daphne’s liking, grinned, “I love the colour!”

Harry chuckled, “Auntie Lilly picked the colour scheme.”

“Far better than the colour scheme of Auntie Hermione’s wedding,” Daphne said, ruffling her son's hair, “But you were too young to remember that hideous gold spattered affair.”

“Don’t taint him,” Harry joked, “What if he wants to be a Gryffindor?”

“Then I have to educate him,” Daphne said, shooting Harry a grin.

The robes were deep blue with bronze cuffs, the colours were very Ravenclaw-esque, but they also went together rather well.

“Try them on then,” Daphne said, “I need to make any adjustments needed tonight so chop, chop.”

Teddy grabbed the robes and disappeared to try them on. Daphne glanced over at Harry and shook her head in disbelief, “Has he just drained that whole bottle for you?”

“Yeah,” Harry said, shooting her a grin, “I don’t know why you act like he’s such a pain to feed. He always demolishes his food for me.”

“That’s because you’re his favourite,” Daphne said, smiling fondly at her husband and the half-asleep baby in his arms. He had a head full of messy black hair, and hazel eyes.

“Course I am,” Harry said as he looked down at the sleeping boy, “I found him.”

**_* ~ 4 MONTHS EARLIER ~ *_ **

****

_“Still weird having a building, isn’t it?”_

_“Weird?” Rob scoffed, “Harry, it’s bloody awesome!”_

_Harry chuckled and sipped his coffee, sensing that Rob was going to go into a long monologue._

_“I went from being one bloke on my own in the corner of the bloody bullpen to having a whole team full of baby Aurors,” Rob began._

_“Juniors,” Harry cut in._

_“Same thing,” Rob said with a wave of his hand, “And now look at me. I’m running CPS-”_

_“In conjunction with Elizabeth,” Harry cut in._

_Rob glared at him, “Would ya quit taking the glory away from me?”_

_Harry smirked and sipped his coffee, “Just saying. But anyway, carry on.”_

_Rob shot him an irritated look, “Now I run CPS, in conjunction with Elizabeth, out of our own building right here on Diagon Alley. I never thought that would be what it took to make me happy, but I’m pretty damn happy.”_

_“The new wife and baby probably help with that too,” Harry pointed out with an amused smile._

_“Well yeah, that’s also a factor,” Rob said with a grin._

_Harry laughed and said, “You better drink your coffee. It’s going to be a long night.”_

_“Yeah,” Rob agreed with a sigh, “You sure you don’t mind working tonight?”_

_“What, you think I can’t hack the night shift on Halloween?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at his boss and friend, “What would I be doing if I wasn’t here?”_

_“Crying over a photo album?” Rob joked._

_Harry snorted, “Nah, haven’t done that in years. I’m fine to work tonight, in fact, it takes my mind off of the date if I’m honest.”_

_“Closes are going to be fucking chaotic tonight,” Rob said, glancing at the clock on the wall of the office. The building that Child Protective Services had moved into was relatively small but conveniently located. The vulnerable people who lived in the Closes could visit them easily, which was what made the location vital. The CPS building was always open so that it could be a refuge to those in need, regardless of the time of day or night._

_An alarm on the wall behind them rang, and Rob drained the last of his coffee, “First call of the night. It’s Halloween, and the moon is full. People are gonna be acting crazy tonight mate.”_

_“Great,” Harry muttered sarcastically as he followed Rob out of the building._

* * *

_“So Wolfie,” Harry grinned as they walked along a deserted Diagon Alley, “When you said things were going to be wild, did you expect an actual werewolf?”_

_“Of all the things I expected tonight, that was definitely not one of them,” Rob admitted._

_“Reckon he’ll get off on the charges?”_

_“He bit someone’s arm off so without an excellent lawyer, I doubt it,” Rob remarked sarcastically._

_“I’ll give Hermione a call in the morning.”_

_Rob snorted, about to tell Harry that he couldn’t rely on Hermione to save every lost soul in the world. But before he could, a sharp cry had them both on edge. It was the middle of the night, there was no way that anybody should have been out here with a baby._

_“Did you hear that?” Harry asked._

_Rob nodded, his ears pricking up as he looked down the close, “Harry, look.”_

_Harry followed his line of sight to the CPS building._

_“Oh my God,” Harry breathed when he saw the bundle on the steps._

_In unison, they ran to the steps of the building where they saw the baby, wrapped up in a warm, fur blanket._

_Harry picked the bundle up and took it inside, knowing that Rob was on his heels. They got to the office, and Harry peeled the blanket back, his anxiety kicked in when he saw that the baby had no clothes on beneath the blanket._

_“He must be freezing,” Harry said, turning to look at Rob, “And we have no idea how long he was out there for.”_

_“Floo Neville’s Healer missus, now,” Rob said, checking the babies vitals with a basic healing charm._

_Harry nodded and rushed to the fireplace. The moment he told Lilly that there was a baby in the building who could be sick, she stepped through the fireplace in her pyjamas._

_“Oh my God,” Lilly said in horror when she looked at the baby, “He’s tiny, and…look at the cord, Harry.”_

_Harry looked down, it was relatively long and looked like it had been cut by someone with a shaky hand. The slice from the severing charm was most definitely not in a straight line._

_“He was born tonight,” Harry realised._

_Lilly nodded and gently pressed her hand against the babies chest, she shut her eyes and listened for a moment; then she performed a few diagnostic charms. While they were running, she cast a warming charm on the baby and asked, “Do you have any baby clothes here?”_

_“No,” Harry replied, “They are all at Lupin House.”_

_“We’ll just transfigure something then,” Lilly said, she glanced around the room and saw a blanket lying on the back of a chair. Without asking whose it was, she transfigured it into a babygro and began to dress the little boy._

_Once the suit was on, he began to settle down._

_“He must be hungry, but we don’t have any baby milk here,” Lilly said, she looked up at Harry and Rob, “He’s healthy, he was a little on the cold side, but I’ve sorted that out with a couple of warming charms. But…he’s so young, he’s hours old.”_

_“Whoever left him there must have been desperate,” Harry said, looking at the baby boy as his eyes drifted shut._

_Rob nodded his agreement, “Young probably, under-age I suspect. She probably gave birth alone, and she was probably terrified.”_

_Lilly nodded tearfully, “So she left him here because this is advertised as a safe place, a refuge for any child in need.”_

_“Like a fire station,” Harry and Rob said in unison._

_Lilly reached down and touched the tiny baby boys cheek, “What are you going to do with him?”_

_“We’ll have to take him to Lupin House,” Rob said, looking sadly at the baby, “And unless someone adopts him, that will be all he ever knows until he goes to Hogwarts, assuming he’s not a squib that is.”_

_“I doubt it,” Lilly said honestly, “I did a blood test when I checked him over and…he’s a pureblood.”_

_“A pureblood?” Harry asked in surprise._

_Rob frowned, “That rules out the Closes.”_

_“I hate to think about the circumstances of this poor little boys birth,” Harry said, swallowing a lump in his throat, he had been unable to take his eyes off of the boy, “We can’t take him to Lupin House. They are already operating at full capacity…and a baby this young requires full-time care.”_

_Rob looked at Harry in disbelief, “Well I can’t take him home. I’ve already got Nick, and Natasha isn’t even a year old yet.”_

_“I know, I wasn’t asking you to take him home Rob,” Harry said quietly._

_Rob’s eyes widened, “What? You? You’re just going to take this baby home?”_

_“Wouldn’t be the first time, would it?” Harry asked._

_“Yeah, you’ve taken kids home temporarily until we could find room at Lupin House or track down family for them,” Rob agreed, “But you’ve never taken a baby in Harry, a newborn baby.”_

_Lilly looked her friend in the eye, “If Daphne doesn’t kill you for it, maybe it would do you both some good.”_

_Rob frowned between the two of them as Harry held Lilly’s gaze for a second._

_“Yeah,” Harry said, looking back at the little boy, “Maybe it would.”_

_“I’ll head home and change,” Lilly said, grabbing Harry’s arm, “Then I’ll go via Potter Manor and grab Daphne. Okay?”_

_Harry nodded, “I’ll floo you if anything changes.”_

_Lilly stepped back into the fireplace and Rob, in a completely uncharacteristic moment, hugged Harry._

_Harry drew back in surprise, “Uh Rob…are you feeling alright?”_

_“Yeah mate I’m just sorry,” Rob said, sympathy shining in his eyes, “I’m sorry that I didn’t realise sooner. I guess with everything going on in my life I’ve not been the best friend in the world.”_

_Harry swallowed and forced himself to look at his boss, “What are you talking about?”_

_“You don’t have to play the tough guy with me, Harry,” Rob said, his tone softer than usual, “You and Daphne can’t have kids, can you?”_

_Harry sighed and looked away from Rob, “Two years on, it’s not looking likely,” he admitted._

_Rob put his hand on Harry’s shoulder and said, “Maybe you two could give this one a home, then.”_

_“Yeah, maybe,” Harry said, smiling at the sleeping infant._

“You’re thinking about the night you found Al again aren’t you?” Daphne asked her husband.

Harry drew himself out of his thoughts, “Yeah, I think about it all the time.”

“I know you do,” Daphne said, sitting down across from him at the table, “But you need to stop dragging yourself through it. You did the right thing by bringing him home, and we did the right thing by adopting him.”

Harry caught her gaze, “I just think about who his real parents are all the time. It’s not like with Teddy when we knew his whole backstory. This is different, and we just don’t know if someone will come back and fight for him one day.”

“If they do, we will face that together, and we will fight just as hard to keep him,” Daphne promised Harry, “Regardless of how he came into our life, he is our son, as much as Teddy is.”

“And you think he’s going to be okay?” Harry asked, meeting his wife’s eyes.

“Of course I do,” Daphne said softly, “Why do you think I suggested the name Alastor? He survived being left out on that doorstep when he was a few hours old. He’s a tough little guy Harry, he can survive anything.”

“Just like Moody,” Harry said with a smile.

“Exactly,” Daphne said, reaching out and grabbing his hand.

“Thanks, love,” Harry sighed, “I needed that tonight.”

“I know you did,” Daphne said, reaching across the sleeping baby to kiss him on the cheek.

* * *

“Draco! Draco! Draco!”

“What? Are you dying?”

Hermione looked up in disbelief, “Am I dying?”

“Well, you just shouted my name three times from the top of the house,” Draco pointed out as he buttoned up his flashy red Auror robes.

“Yes, because I need to talk to you before you go to work,” Hermione said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Well I just jogged up the stairs thinking someone was strangling you so spit it out,” Draco said, smiling at her fondly.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Working in Organised Crime is making you paranoid.”

“Oh come off it, working in Organised Crime makes you want me, right?” Draco teased.

Hermione shot him an exasperated look, “You’re unbelievable, do you know that?”

Draco chuckled, “What’s up? It sounded pretty important.”

“It is,” Hermione said, “But if I tell you, you can’t tell anyone else, okay? That means Theo, as well.”

“I can’t tell Theo?” Draco asked in surprise.

“You can’t tell Theo,” Hermione confirmed.

“But you always let me tell Theo,” Draco objected.

“Well, this time, you can’t,” Hermione said with a wave of her hand, “It’s way too early.”

“Too earl-” Draco’s eyes widened, “Oh, sweet Salazar! Too early? You’re pregnant!”

Hermione beamed at him, “Yes!”

Draco’s face broke out into a grin, “Yes! Oh, Hermione, this is great news!”

“I know,” Hermione said brightly, “But you can’t tell Theo, not until we’ve been through all of the checks, okay?”

“Okay,” Draco said, kissing her excitedly, “I won’t tell him, I promise.”

Hermione laughed and nudged him towards the stairs, “On you go then. I don’t want to think about what Sumner would do to you if you’re late in your first week at Organised Crime.”

“I’m going,” Draco said, shooting her a grin as he jogged down the stairs backwards, “A baby!”

“A baby,” Hermione agreed, chuckling at his response.

She shook her head in amusement as she heard the front door slam. At that point, she took a step across the hall to her bedroom and felt her stomach churn, “Oh baby, you can’t keep this up all day. I have a big court case this afternoon.”

Another wave of nausea hit her, and she ran into the bathroom. Apparently, unborn babies didn’t give a shit about big court cases. Hermione had a feeling that the next few weeks would be fun.

* * *

“Theo,” Draco hissed as he hovered by the supply closet.

Theo stuck his head out of the Organised Crime office, “What?” he whispered.

“Come here,” Draco said, stepping into the closet and shutting the door.

Theo frowned but slipped out of the office and into the supply closet.

“Lumos – what the fuck is going on?”

Draco beamed at his best friend, “If I tell you something, you can’t tell anyone because it’s a big secret, okay? If it gets out, I’m dead, like so literally dead-”

“Are you going to tell me you’re gay?” Theo whispered in disbelief, “Because I know we muck around for banter but-”

“I’m not gay, you idiot,” Draco sniggered, “I’m just over the moon right now.”

“Why?” Theo asked suspiciously.

“Hermione’s pregnant!” Draco said in an excited whisper.

“Pregnant!” Theo said in the same tone, “Really? Oh man, that’s bloody brilliant! After you guys spent the last year trying, that’s just…oh I’m so bloody happy for you guys.”

Theo launched himself at his best friend and wrapped his arms around him, “I’m so happy I could cry. I’m gonna be godfather, right?”

“Of course you are, you bloody idiot,” Draco laughed, hugging his friend back.

At which point, the supply closet door opened.

“Oh dear Godric,” Sumner said in disbelief, “Really lads? It’s like Sheppard and Wolfe all over again.”

“No, no sir it’s not what you think-”

“Yeah, yeah Nott. That’s what they all say,” Sumner said, looking between the two Aurors, “Quit snogging in the closet. It’s your first week in a big department, start pulling your weight.”

“We really weren’t snogging sir-”

“I don’t want to hear it, Black. What you do in your spare time is up to you, but don’t do it in _my_ department,” Sumner said sternly.

Theo shot Draco a glare as he left the closet, “I hate you,” he mouthed.

Draco grinned, “But she’s pregnant!” he mouthed back, leaving the closet with a skip in his step.

* * *

“Hey! How is my favourite editor?”

Sadie laughed, “I’ve edited one book Suse.”

“And it was a huge success,” Susan said with a grin as she stepped into the garden of 11 Grimmauld Place with a red-haired toddler in tow.

Sadie shook her head in amusement, “Charlie! Mina! Look who is here.”

Charlus and Almina looked up from what they were doing, which seemed to be examining a red and green potted plant with interest.

“Addie!”

The little red-haired girl, Addison Molly Weasley, beamed and ran over to the twins who would turn three the following month.

“It’s a shame they won’t be in the same year at Hogwarts,” Sadie said as she sat down at the garden table and clicked her fingers, “They are so close.”

An elf appeared at her side with a crack, “Yes, Missus Nott?”

Sadie smiled at the elf, “Would you please fetch us some tea, Yonda?”

“Yes, Missus Nott. Yonda is to be getting this right now.”

With another crack, the elf disappeared. Susan sat down next to her friend, “I’m still jealous that you have such a lovely elf. I thought we were getting a good deal when we inherited one with the restoration of Bones Manor, but man…was I wrong or what?”

“Oh Hamish is lovely in his own way,” Sadie said, smiling in amusement at her friend.

Susan raised an eyebrow at her, “Really Sadie? Hamish is old and so Scottish it’s unbelievable. Not to mention completely insane.”

“He’s not insane,” Sadie chuckled, “He’s just misunderstood like that old elf Harry speaks of, Kreacher.”

“No,” Susan said with a shake of her head, “Kreacher had a cruel mistress and was lonely, which made him a little unhinged. But Hamish is completely bonkers. A couple of nights ago, I woke up to hear Addie crying, and when I found her in the kitchen, it was pretty obvious why.”

“Oh sweet Salazar,” Sadie said, biting her lip in amusement, “What did Hamish do?”

“What did Hamish do?” Susan scoffed, “Well Hamish decided to strip completely _naked_ and do a fucking highland jig, Sadie. And what did Perce do? Burst out laughing, then left me to calm Addie down while he bottled the memory and made copies to show his brothers.”

Sadie tried to hide her smile, “I agree that what Percy did was wrong because I would have killed Theo if he had done that. But the situation is rather funny.”

“It’s not funny,” Susan said with a shake of her head, “Do you know how long it took us to get that elf to wear anything?”

Sadie chuckled, “But because he’s part of the house, you can’t expel him.”

“I can’t, and I don’t think I’d have the heart to,” Susan admitted with a shrug, “He’s a fucking lunatic, but he served my parents and grandparents.”

“He witnessed their deaths then spent a long time locked in a ruined house by himself,” Sadie said softly, “I think you can understand why he’s a little unhinged.”

“Oh I get it,” Susan said honestly, “Anyway, enough about me. I should be congratulating you. The new edit of “Hogwarts: A History” that you have been working on for the last couple of years went down a storm.”

Sadie smiled, “Thank you. I got a book deal with the publisher after the initial success.”

“Did you?” Susan asked excitedly.

Sadie nodded, “I’ll be editing “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” next. It’s going to be a collaboration with Neville.”

“Oh, that sounds brilliant,” Susan said with a smile, “Makes me feel insignificant.”

“Susan,” Sadie laughed, “You’re a judge, a damn good judge. You and Hermione have put away most of the scumbags this side of the border.”

Susan shrugged, “I know, but I’d love to have the talent to write like you do.”

“We all want what we can’t have I suppose,” Sadie said, looking over at the three children as they played together.

“Theo still trying to convince you to adopt?” Susan guessed.

“Yes,” Sadie sighed, “But I’m sticking with my original stance right now. I don’t think it would be fair to the twins or to the child we would adopt. They would always feel inferior to our biological children…”

“You should talk to your best friend about it, she’s kind of an expert,” Susan pointed out.

“It’s not the same with Daphne and Harry,” Sadie blurted out, it had come out before she had really thought about it.

Susan frowned, “What do you mean? Because they adopted first?”

Sadie sighed and looked at her friend, “No, I shouldn’t be telling you this, so please keep it quiet, okay?”

Susan nodded.

“They can’t have kids,” Sadie said sadly, “They have been trying for two years, they have tried all sorts of treatments, and nothing is working.”

“Oh,” Susan said, her face fell, “That’s such a shame.”

Sadie nodded, “That was why they adopted Alastor.”

“I get it,” Susan said with a nod, “But I do think you should reconsider with the whole adoption idea. If you want another kid too, that is.”

“I do,” Sadie admitted, “But not right now with the way things are between Theo and I. He spends more of his evenings in number 12 than he does here.”

“That’s nothing new though,” Susan pointed out.

“Yes, but he doesn’t usually spend them with Hermione,” Sadie said with a shrug.

“Oh come on, he’s not sleeping with Hermione,” Susan snorted, “Don’t you four do everything together?”

“We don’t do everything together,” Sadie rolled her eyes, “But when we do split off, it always tends to be Hermione and me, and Draco and Theo.”

Susan watched her friend curiously as she talked. Sadie sighed, “But Draco and Theo work alternative back-shifts, so Draco tends to help me put the kids to bed one night, and Theo the next night, you know? And lately, Draco stays for a coffee or whatever after the twins are in bed, and then Theo spends his nights off with Hermione.”

“Look,” Susan said with a smile, “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I need to. For a start, Theo is completely devoted to you, and Draco to Hermione despite the four-way aspect of your relationship. You’re just feeling insecure because you can’t give Theo the third baby he’s after.”

Sadie frowned, “Thanks for the truth bomb, Suse.”

Susan bit her lip and smiled, “Sade, Theo is spending time with Hermione because he’s teaching her glamour charms. That’s all that’s going on there, and I’m sure Draco is just enjoying some time away from the mood swings.”

Sadie’s eyes widened. “Mood swings? She’s pregnant?”

“Yes, and I did not tell you that!” Susan grimaced, “I only found out because I bumped into her at the hospital after I had taken Addie in for her two-year check. Don’t tell her that you know!”

“I won’t,” Sadie laughed, “But I’m thrilled for her. She and Draco really wanted a baby, and they had been trying for about a year.”

Before Susan could say any more on the subject, Yonda arrived back with their tea, and a shout of, “I’VE FOUND A GLOWING FROG MUMMY!” drew their attention elsewhere.

* * *

“Are you nervous?”

“Nope, but if you keep asking me that question, then I’m going to get nervous,” Lilly said, shooting Daphne an amused smile.

“Cul intelligent.”

“Mere poule.”

“You love it,” Daphne said with a grin.

Lilly laughed and looked down at herself, “How do I look?”

Daphne cocked her head and pretended to look at Lilly hard for a moment, “I’d do you.”

Lilly snorted, “You wanted to do me before I was wearing a wedding dress.”

“Okay, how is this then? You look fucking amazing,” Daphne said honestly.

Lilly was wearing a ballerina style wedding dress which meant it came to just above her ankle. It was relatively simple, just an ivory satin dress with a sweetheart neckline and a relatively large skirt. She wore sky-high heels with it and had used jewellery to add colour to her look. Her veil was held in place with a golden tiara, inset with sapphires.

“Thank you, Daphne,” Lilly said with a warm smile.

“For telling you that you look awesome?” Daphne asked, raising an eyebrow at her as she put her earrings in.

Lilly shook her head, “I always thought I’d get married one day, but I didn’t dream it all out in my head or anything, you know? I didn’t have a female best friend who I knew was going to be standing by my side when I said ‘I do’. I figured if I got married, I’d just ask a friend from school, like Susan.”

Daphne smiled at Lilly as she took a step closer to her.

“I never thought that my Matron of Honour was going to be the snarky ice queen that everyone fancied in high school,” Lilly said with a smile, “You’re a proper best friend, not just an acquaintance. I genuinely can’t imagine my life without you, you know?”

Daphne’s smile was a little tearful, “Aw, Lil. You’re going to ruin my make-up.”

Lilly raised an eyebrow at her. Daphne was properly crying, and her voice had gotten choked in her throat, “Are you okay? You don’t cry… I mean, you get teary, but you don’t _cry_.”

“It’s my best friends wedding day,” Daphne said, clearing her throat, “I’m allowed to cry.”

Lilly hugged her and murmured, “Thanks for everything, Daph.”

Daphne drew back and fixed her face with a glamour charm. She took a breath, “Okay, I’m composed again. Let’s make sure you have everything that you need. Something old?”

Lilly nodded, “Yes, Neville gave me one of his mothers rings.”

“Something new? Yeah, that’s your dress,” Daphne said, “Something borrowed?”

“Yep,” Lilly said as she smoothed out her veil, “I borrowed the veil from Hermione.”

“Something blue?”

Lilly frowned and shook her head, “No. Well, my engagement ring and tiara have sapphires in them; I suppose?”

“I knew you would forget something,” Daphne said, handing her best friend a small box.

Lilly opened it and smiled, “Daph, you shouldn’t have. This must have cost a fortune,” she breathed.

“I’m a Marchioness, I can afford it,” Daphne said with a natural smile.

“Still not tired of saying that?” Lilly asked her in amusement.

“You’ll enjoy it when you become a Countess,” Daphne assured her, “You have developed a taste for the finer things in life, lately.”

“You’re a bad influence on me, clearly,” Lilly teased, “I mean look at the size of the heels you’ve convinced me to wear.”

“You’re almost my height now,” Daphne joked.

“I don’t know how you keep convincing me to wear things that I nearly break my neck in,” Lilly said with a shake of her head.

“You didn’t break your neck the last time,” Daphne pointed out.

“Only because you caught me!” Lilly reminded her.

Daphne just chuckled and said, “Do you want me to put it on for you?”

Lilly nodded, so Daphne took a step closer and took the ‘something blue’ out of its box. It was a rose gold necklace with a detailed pendant.

She reached around Lilly to fasten it and said, “The sapphire represents the moon, and the diamonds are the stars. There are three of them, and I had it custom made so you can probably guess who they are.”

Lilly smiled as Daphne kept her arms around her friend's neck, even though the necklace was on now, “I think that’s the most romantic thing someone has done for me, and you’re crying again.”

“I know,” Daphne said, kissing Lilly on the cheek, “But I love you, and you’re getting married so…”

Lilly shook her head and kissed Daphne on the nose, “You’re an idiot, I’ve known for weeks.”

Daphne’s eyes widened, and Lilly made a motion over her lips, “But my lips are sealed.”

Lilly turned around to look in the mirror and smiled at her reflection. She had kept her shoulder-length dark red hair down, but curled. The way Daphne had pinned her hair back away from her face made her look very elegant.

Daphne hugged her from behind and said, “You look every inch the pureblood trophy wife.”

“Are you trying to compliment me or offend me?”

“You’ll never know,” Daphne said with a grin, “Come on, it’s nearly time, and your Dads are waiting for you.”

Lilly took a breath and smiled at her friend, “Okay,” she said, taking her hand, “I’m ready.”

* * *

“You okay Neville?”

“Yeah,” Neville said with a smile, “I’m not nervous.”

“You’re not nervous?” Theo asked in disbelief, “Nev, that’s just not fair.”

Neville chuckled, “We’re already married Theo, we got married at the Ministry yesterday. This is just for show for her muggle family. It’s not like she’s going to stand her husband up. Is it?”

“That’s a good point,” Harry said with a grin as he bounced on the heels of his shoes.

“It’s still not fair that Neville is the most composed out of all of us,” Draco complained.

Harry grinned at his best friend, “So you going to tell them the colour of your bond yet?”

“Nope.”

“It’s cause it was a terrible colour like yellow, right?” Draco said.

“Yellow means joy and lightheartedness,” Harry said, “It’s not a terrible colour.”

“Just because you associate it with Hufflepuff,” Neville said with an amused smile.

“Sadie and I’s was appropriate. Silver for two Slytherins,” Theo smirked.

“And Daphne, the Slytherin Ice Queen, got a bond so golden I’m surprised a fucking Phoenix wasn’t born out of it,” Draco said with a grin.

Harry snorted, “Then there was Draco, with his regal purple glow.”

Draco smirked, “Well, it was the wedding of the Slytherin Prince and the Gryffindor Princess, to be fair.”

Theo snorted, “Why can’t you just tell us Pothead? You and Daphne were there.”

“Because it’s up to Neville,” Harry said simply.

“I don’t get why you won’t tell us, Neville,” Draco said, “Unless it was black. I mean 21% of black marriage bonds end in the death of one partner and only 2% end in happy marriages.”

Neville scoffed, “You and Hermione were actually made for each other. You love a good statistic, don’t you?”

Draco snorted in amusement.

“Go on then Harry,” Neville said, smirking at his friend, “Tell them.”

“It was bronze,” Harry said to Draco and Theo.

Theo rolled his eyes, “Oh for the love of God-”

“Theo, you can’t say that in a church!” Harry hissed, they were standing at the altar of the church as it filled up.

“Sorry,” Theo said, lowering his voice, “I was going to say Godric, which is actually more disturbing, to be honest. But honestly, why am I even surprised that it was bronze? I mean nature, growth, strength and security? That’s just you and Lil to a tee, isn’t it?”

Harry smiled fondly at Neville, “Yeah, it really is.”

Neville’s smile was a proud one. He really didn’t look at all nervous, despite the fact that there were a _lot_ of Lilly’s family members here.

Before anyone could say anything more on the subject, the music began to play very loudly from the organ behind them.

“For the love of the founders,” Theo hissed, “I nearly shit myself! Why is it so loud?”

“Theo, shut up, or I will silence you,” Harry warned him.

Theo, sensibly, heeded his advice. The doors to the church opened, and the minister walked in. He took his place in the centre of the altar as the bridal march began to play, and the bridal party walked in.

Daphne, Hermione and Susan were all wearing the same dress. It was a knee-length deep blue dress with bronze embellishments. They all wore golden hairpins with a deep blue flower upon them in their hair as well. All of the bridesmaids had their hair curled and pulled into buns, with a few strands loose at the front.

Draco smiled as he looked at Hermione, he was still over the moon about their baby news and keeping it a secret was killing him. But as he watched her walking down the aisle, he couldn’t help but think she looked similar to the way she had at the Yule Ball all those years ago when things had been so very different.

As the music reached its crescendo, Lilly stepped into the church with her dads.

At that point they heard a loud, “She’s got _two_ Dads?” from Rob. Followed by a slapping sound and a groan.

Lilly looked beautiful, and being Lilly, she laughed the comment off. She had decided that she wanted her biological dad, Neal and her step-dad, Simon, to walk her down the aisle together, so she had one on each arm.

“I’m surprised the church allowed that,” Draco whispered.

The Minister looked somewhat affronted.

“Draco, shut up,” Harry said in exasperation.

Neville ignored them, he only had eyes for Lilly. She smiled through the veil when she reached him.

“Do you both give this woman to this man?” The Minister asked Lilly’s dads.

“We do,” They said in unison.

In the front row behind them, Lilly’s mother, Linda, rolled her eyes. It was no secret that she did not get on well with Lilly’s dad, he _had_ run off to Japan with his male lover after all.

Together, they lifted her veil and took a seat in the front row, as far away from Linda as possible.

The Minister smiled and began the ceremony.

* * *

“Why was that so bloody long?” Theo complained as they left the church.

Harry shook his head in amusement.

“And who the bloody hell is this Jesus bloke? They spent forever banging on about him and their fake God.”

“Theo, shut up,” Harry said, “Or whisper. These people are Lilly’s family, and they all believe in that fake God.”

“Well I don’t, and I definitely didn’t sign up for three paragraphs from a crappy book and a bunch of shit songs,” Theo grumbled.

Draco looked at Theo in disbelief, “Theo, you _took_ Muggle Studies. How can you not know who Jesus is? Or what the Bible is for that matter?”

“Oh come on, you all know that I slept through that class,” Theo said with a wave of his hand.

Draco shook his head at his best friend then turned to Harry, “He has a point though, muggle weddings are really long.”

“And boring,” Theo added, “I much prefer a wizarding wedding. It’s just, do you take this man? Do you take this woman? Yep? Your magic is bonded. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am.”

“Yeah Theo, we know that’s how your kids were conceived,” Harry said with a smirk as they walked up the main road together.

“Screw you, Harry,” Theo said with a snort.

“I didn’t think I was your type, but from what I hear about you and Draco in supply closets…” Harry said, grinning at his friend.

“Oh, fuck off! How did you find out about that in CPS? You’re not even in the same building as us!” Theo objected.

“And it wasn’t what it looked like,” Draco added.

“Sure it wasn’t,” Harry sniggered, “And how did I find out? Sumner busted you then told Shep. He then told Liz who told Wolfe, who told me. There are no secrets amongst Aurors boys.”

“You’re a prick, but you also should have been a Slytherin,” Draco pointed out with a chuckle.

“What can I say? My wife is starting to rub off on me,” Harry joked.

Theo snorted, “How much longer till we get to the place where they are having the reception?”

“Another five minutes,” Harry replied, “But we could have gotten there faster if you had just gotten in the car.”

“The car?” Theo asked in shock, “The car? Oh, you mean that muggle death trap?”

Draco shook his head and caught Harry’s eye, “I give up.”

“Me too,” Harry said, shaking his head at their friend with fond amusement.

* * *

The reception was in a beautiful venue. They were in the heart of London, but they had a view of Regents Lake. The hall was beautiful, with bare stone walls, golden chandeliers and a classy charm.

“Time for speeches!”

Lilly smiled up at her dad as he rose to his feet, “Sorry about the unconventional nature of this everyone, but Si and I are going to be giving the father of the bride speech together.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Linda muttered from her seat next to Neville.

“It will all be over soon, and they’ll be back in Japan, Linda,” Neville whispered reassuringly.

“We would like to thank you all for coming today,” Neal continued with a smile, “It has been a beautiful day, and we have both been so proud to watch Lilly marry the man of her dreams.”

Simon nodded and took over, “It seems like only yesterday that Lilly came into my life, back when Neal and I met on the stage for a production of _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_. I never thought I’d fall in love with Frank-N-Furter and gain an adopted daughter, but I am very thankful that I did.”

Linda ground her nails against the wooden table and Neville grimaced, this was not going to end well…

Neal noticed this and took over, “We first met Neville a long time ago. Lilly told us that she had a friend at school who didn’t have much in the way of family and who didn’t particularly enjoy his summers so we invited him to spend some time with us while we were back in the UK. The minute we got the kid singing along at a Boyzone concert, we knew we’d be gutted if Lilly ended up with anyone apart from him.”

Neville hid his head in shame as the muggle guests laughed at this comment. Harry cackled from his spot further along the table.

“I was 12!” Neville objected, mainly for his best friends sake.

“Excuses, excuses!” Harry called back.

Neal laughed and continued, “We saw a lot of Neville. Almost every time we came home to see Lilly, Neville was around, and that was great because we could see how much fun he and Lilly had together. When she started writing home about boys we hadn’t heard of, who weren’t Neville, we started to get worried.”

“We never had to use the, she’s got two protective Dads who will come after you line, but we got pretty close,” Simon added.

Lilly shook her head in amusement.

“So we would like to congratulate Lilly and Neville,” Neal said with a smile, “But we would also like to thank Lilly’s Mother, Linda. Although we have had many disagreements over the years, one thing that we can agree on is that Lilly has grown into a beautiful, intelligent, young woman who any parent could be proud of. And I spend more time out of this country than in it, so that is all thanks to you, Linda.”

Neal raised his glass and Linda looked at him in surprise.

The rest of the room raised their glasses too, and they all toasted the happy couple. When Neal sat down, Linda leaned across Neville and Lilly to say, “Thank you, Neal. That was the most genuine thing I have heard out of your mouth in a long time.”

“It’s the truth, Linda,” Neal said with a soft smile.

“Thank you,” Linda said again.

Lilly raised her hands and pushed them apart, “No. You two are not reconciling and having some weird sort of three-way on my wedding day. You do what you want in your own time, but not on my wedding day!”

Neville sniggered as he stood up to give his speech. He smiled nervously at the room of people, there were a lot of Lilly’s family to a smattering of his friends and colleagues, “So, all of you who know me, know that I don’t like speaking in public. I normally leave that to my best friend Harry, he’s a big fan of heroic speeches, so much so that I reckon he thinks he makes his own background music.”

Anyone in the room who knew Harry laughed at this, Rob louder than most.

Neville chuckled nervously, “So I will do my best, but speeches are not my thing. Anyway, I have a lot of people to thank for making today happen. Chiefly, Daphne, Lilly’s Matron of Honour. Thanks for getting her so drunk on the hen night that she didn’t know what country she was in Daph, that one was pretty spectacular.”

Daphne grinned, “Thank you very much!” she said theatrically. Under her breath to Harry, she added, “ _That_ was a good night.”

Harry whispered back, “The night that you two decided the foursome wasn’t a one-time thing but an every time we’re all drunk enough thing?”

Daphne just winked at Harry in response, and he shook his head in amusement.

“And also for helping make today happen, obviously. Thanks to the wonderful bridesmaids, Hermione and Susan. Thank you to my groomsmen, Theo and Draco, although I don’t know why I’m thanking you because you didn’t do very much, to be honest.”

“Oi!” Theo objected.

“We didn’t do much,” Draco admitted.

Neville chortled, “And thanks to my Best Man and my best friend, Harry. Thanks for being here with me today, we’ve been through a lot in our relatively short lives, and there’s no one I’d rather have at my side on a day as important as today.”

Harry smiled broadly at him, “Anytime, Nev.”

Neville smiled, “Anyway, enough of the sappy stuff. The big thanks goes to Lilly, for bringing me home, a bit like a stray dog that she felt sorry for, during those crappy summers when I was lonely.”

He looked down at his wife and said, “Thank you for introducing me to really irritating pop songs that I can’t get out of my head, then teasing me when you hear me sing them in the shower. For saving me from a really dark place in our last year at school and for becoming my wife, a dream I never thought would come true as an awkward 12-year-old kid who had a habit of falling down staircases and getting strung up by chandeliers.”

The wizards in the room chortled at this because they knew exactly what Neville meant by that.

“So thank you to my wife, Lilly,” Neville said, raising his glass.

“To Lilly!” They toasted.

“Well,” Lilly said, smiling at her husband, “That was pretty damn good for someone who apparently can’t do speeches.”

Neville smiled at her, “I love you,” he said, kissing her lightly.

“I love you too,” Lilly said, turning her attention to Harry as he rose to his feet.

“This, I’m dreading,” Neville admitted.

“It can’t be that bad,” Lilly whispered, “He can’t talk about magic, what’s the worst he can do?”

“True,” Neville agreed, his eyes falling on his best friend.

“As Neville just pointed out, I do love a good speech,” Harry said with a grin, “So sit tight, relax and we’ll all be onto the drinks soon.”

This got a small laugh.

“The day I met Neville seems so long ago. We were kids, on the train to school together, and Neville had lost his pet toad. First things first, I thought, who has a pet toad? This kid is weird,” Harry began, and Neville shook his head. If that was a sign of things to come, then it wasn’t going to be good.

“Then I actually got to know Neville a bit, and I realised that he was alright really,” Harry continued, “He was never going to be a sports fan though. The first sports lesson we had together he managed to break his wrist then I saved the day, which was sort of a sign of things to come, to be honest.”

Neville shot him an exasperated look.

“Anyway, while we were in school together, I was a bit of an arsehole to Neville. If I’m honest, he was my back-up friend who I only really hung out with when my other two friends were either fighting or making out, that was a weird transition,” Harry said with a wave of his hand, “I have apologised to Nev more times than you can imagine for that. Still, I will once again offer an apology. I’m sorry Neville, you are way more awesome than I initially gave you credit for.”

“Thanks,” Neville chuckled.

“But onto the more serious aspect of this speech, it’s very rare that you find a friend who you can truly rely on whatever the circumstances,” Harry said seriously, “And to me that friend is Neville. When I was getting married, he was there for me. He has been my partner on the force for a good few years now, and I couldn’t imagine doing it without him – sorry Rob, you’re my back up Neville,” he added.

“You wound me, Potter!” Rob called from the crowd.

Neville snorted in amusement.

“But we go way back,” Harry continued, “We bonded over both having suffered as kids. Our parents weren’t exactly in the picture, and we took down the terrorist responsible for that together. A lot of people look at us on the job and say I’m the hero and he’s the sidekick, but I’d be his sidekick any day.”

Lilly smiled as she remembered a conversation they’d had about this a long time ago.

“Because as corny as it is, he’s a hero to me,” Harry said honestly, “And I know that Neville will always have my back, and I also know that if he’s wearing a cardigan and brandishing a sword, you really shouldn’t mess with him.”

“Harry!” Neville hissed.

“You’ll break the statute of secrecy!” Lilly added.

“Here’s to Neville and Lilly on their wedding day. May their never be a better snake beheader in the wizarding world.”

There was a gasp around the room, the loudest from Neville and Lilly.

Harry grinned and said loudly, “And 3…2…1…” he then snapped his fingers.

At this point, every Auror in the room stood up and said, “Obliviate!”

Harry grinned at his best friend, “I love being an Auror.”

Neville breathed sharply, “I hate you. I swear, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“You are an arse,” Lilly agreed, reaching across the table to smack him.

“Ouch!”

“You deserved that,” Neville said, grinning at his best friend.

“Did you know he was going to do that?”

“No, I didn’t, I swear!” Neville promised.

Lilly turned to Daphne, “Did you-”

“No, because if I had known, I would have hexed him!” Daphne said, punching her husband in the shoulder.

“Ow!”

Draco snorted in amusement, “What are they all going to remember? They can’t just blank out your entire speech.”

“Nah, they will remember how awesome Neville is and how I gave a really emotional speech,” Harry smirked.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, “This is ethically wrong, and I disagree with it.”

“Oh sue me, Hermione,” Harry grinned.

“It’s a misuse of your power,” Ginny agreed.

“Oh come on, Sumner agreed to it, and he’s the Head Auror.”

“Really, Jack?” Hermione asked, crossing her arms and staring the man down.

Susan nodded her agreement, “I’m disappointed in you too, Jack,” she agreed.

Sumner rolled his eyes, “Get off your high horses you two. It’s a prank, you would have done the same thing.”

“Can I just state for the record, that I also felt that it was morally wrong?” Elizabeth piped up.

“Course you did Lizzie, you think everything is morally wrong,” Rob snorted.

John sniggered and was immediately glared at, “John!”

“Sorry, Rob…that was wrong and mean of you. Elizabeth does not have a strong moral compass at all, what are you on about?” John asked with a grin.

Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief, “If I had a time-turner and could go back to the day that _you two_ became friends again!” she muttered irritably.

At this point, all the muggles in the room began to applaud, which was mildly disturbing.

“Time to clear the room and have a party!” Harry said cheerfully, in a bid to take the attention away from his slightly off-key prank.

* * *

Everyone had taken a moment to admire Neville and Lilly’s wedding cake. It had three tiers, and each tier portrayed a scene from their lives. The bottom tier showed the silhouettes of two young figures shaking hands which signified when they met at Hogwarts. The second tier showed them as adults, holding hands with the Eiffel tower in the background. Finally, the top tier showed them on their wedding day.

When Neville and Lilly took to the floor for their first dance, Harry wasn’t ashamed to admit that he felt pretty emotional. This had been a long time coming for the two of them, and it had been a brilliant day.

They looked like such a strange couple with the height difference, but as they were dancing together, they were smiling broadly, and that was all that mattered.

“So, what now?” Lilly asked, looking up at Neville.

“Now we go on a bloody awesome honeymoon,” Neville said, pulling her in as the songs lyrics began to play. It was a muggle song that Lilly had picked, but Neville hadn’t disagreed with her choice at all.

_Yeah, it's been a bumpy road,  
Roller coasters high and low,  
Fill the tank and drive the car,  
Pedal fast, pedal hard,  
You won't have to go that far._

“It has been a bit of a bumpy road,” Lilly murmured into his chest, “Hasn’t it.”

“It has been,” Neville agreed, “But I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Lilly smiled, “No, I wouldn’t either.”

_You want to give up cause it's dark,  
We're really not that far apart,_

_So let your heart sweetheart be your compass when you're lost,  
And you should follow it wherever it may go,  
When it's all said and done you can walk instead of run,  
Cause no matter what you'll never be alone.  
Never be alone,  
Never be alone._

At that point, the others began to join them on the dance floor. Harry held out his hand to Daphne.

“That prank you played earlier was very clever, but also mean,” Daphne said, raising an eyebrow at him as they danced together.

“Sorry,” Harry said sheepishly, “I thought it would be funny.”

“I’m sure it will be in five years,” Daphne said, “But right now, nobody thinks it’s funny.”

“Rob does,” Harry said, “And Theo.”

“And what does that tell you about the maturity level of the prank?” She asked pointedly.

“Fair point,” Harry admitted.

Daphne smiled slightly, “But anyway, I have something I need to talk to you about.”

“Okay,” Harry said, spinning her out and bringing her back to him, “What’s up?”

“You know how we took Al in because we were pretty sure that kids were going to be a no go for us?” Daphne asked him, looking up into his emerald eyes.

“Uh-huh,” Harry said, his gaze falling on hers.

“Well, it turned out that all we needed was a baby in the house,” Daphne said with a smile.

Harry frowned, “What?”

Daphne chuckled, “You don’t have to bring home another stray Harry. We’re going to have a baby of our own.”

Harry’s eyes widened, “We’re going to…you mean you’re…?”

“Yes,” Daphne laughed, “I’ve been keeping it quiet for so long in case something was wrong. I didn’t want to tell you and have you be let down, but I had my first check-up a couple of days ago, and everything is fine.”

Harry continued to stare at her, “You…so….wait what, the first checkup? How long have you been keeping this to yourself?”

“A couple of months,” Daphne admitted.

“A couple of months?” Harry asked in disbelief, “Daphne! You should have just told me!”

“We had a lot going on,” Daphne said with a smile, “We had a one-month-old baby in the house, and I found out that I was pregnant.”

“Oh…Godric…”

“Your brain has just caught up to the fact we’re going to have two under two and Teddy, hasn’t it?” Daphne asked, smiling at him in amusement.

“Yep,” Harry said, his shock turning to happiness, “But that’s brilliant news!”

Daphne smiled broadly, “I thought we could tell the others once Neville and Lilly get back from their honeymoon although I think Lil rumbled me this morning because I couldn’t stop crying and telling her that I love her.”

Harry laughed, “Yeah, that is out of character for you, you normally just kiss her.”

Daphne chuckled in response, and Harry frowned, “Wait so…were you pregnant on Lilly’s hen night?”

“Yeah,” Daphne said with a grimace, “But I didn’t know it yet. If I had, I wouldn't have been doing tequila shots. I feel kind of bad for that.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Harry said with a chuckle, “Especially if you got the all-clear at your appointment. Does this mean I can’t tell Nev till he gets back?”

“I don’t think you should,” Daphne said, “We don’t want to steal their thunder.”

“True,” Harry agreed, “But can I-”

“Yes, you can tell Rob tomorrow,” Daphne said, smiling at him, knowingly, “Because even if I told you not to, you would.”

Harry grinned sheepishly, “You know me so well,” he said, leaning in to kiss her as they swayed on the dance floor together.

_Forgot directions on your way,  
Don't close your eyes, don't be afraid,  
We might be crazy late at night,  
I can't wait til you arrive,  
Follow stars you'll be alright._

“It’s not as good as our wedding was.”

Charlie snorted as he danced with his young wife, “Tori, weddings aren’t competitive.”

“Of course they are Char,” Astoria said, “And ours was definitely better. We had peacocks.”

“I don’t think that made it better,” Charlie admitted.

“They were beautiful!” Astoria argued.

“And they kept shitting everywhere,” Charlie added, he broke into a grin, “Although when one attacked Draco then had explosive diarrhoea all over him…that was good.”

Astoria rolled her eyes and shook her head, “Honestly, I don’t know why I put up with you.”

“Because you’re into older men who wear leather and train dragons,” Charlie said, waggling his eyebrows at her.

Astoria smiled and smacked him on the arm, playfully, “Shut up or I won’t let you import that dragon from Romania that you’re after.”

“Damn,” Charlie muttered, “I hate it when you use dragons against me.”

Astoria just smirked triumphantly.

_You want to give up cause it's dark,  
We're really not that far apart,_

_So let your heart sweetheart be your compass when you're lost,  
And you should follow it wherever it may go._

“I’m sorry for thinking that you were sleeping with Hermione,” Sadie said, resting her head on Theo’s shoulder as they danced together.

Theo chortled, “Did Suse tell you what I was doing?”

“Teaching her how to use glamour charms to cover up how ill she looked,” Sadie said with a smile, “I gather the morning sickness is bad?”

“Oh yeah, it’s like you all over again,” Theo said with a roll of his eyes, “She looked like shit, and that doesn’t go down well in court. Does she still think that you don’t know?”

Sadie shook her head, “No, when we were getting ready this morning she couldn't stop throwing up, and I said, did you _honestly_ expect Draco not to tell Theo and Theo then not to tell me?”

Theo laughed, “What did she say?”

“She cried and told me that she loved me, then nearly threw up on,” Sadie said.

Theo barked out a laugh and Sadie raised an eyebrow at him, “Is this what I was like?”

“You were worse,” Theo said with a cheeky grin.

“Oi!” Sadie objected, whacking him on the arm as hard as she could.

Theo smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder, “I’m sorry that we can’t have anymore.”

“Don’t be sorry for something that you can’t control,” Theo said, kissing her on the forehead, “I love you and the twins to pieces. You guys are my entire world. I don’t mind if we can’t have any more honestly.”

“Really?” Sadie asked, looking up to meet his eyes.

“Really, I’ll quit bugging you about adoption,” Theo promised, “You three are more than enough for me.”

Sadie smiled and leant up to kiss him lightly, “Thank you,” she said softly.

_  
When it's all said and done you can walk instead of run,  
Cause no matter what you'll never be alone,  
Never be alone,  
Never be alone._

“Do you think we should have another kid?”

“Uh no,” Susan said, raising an eyebrow at Percy, “Why would you suggest that?”

“Because I love Addie and I figured we’d have more than one,” Percy said with a shrug.

Susan snorted, “I love Addie too, but she’s a little diva. I’m fine with just her right now, and I don’t think we can have any more kids until we deal with Hamish.”

“There’s nothing wrong with Hamish, he’s a great laugh,” Percy grinned.

“He’s traumatising our daughter, and if you carry on in that vein, you will lose your capability to make a second child,” Susan said firmly.

Percy swallowed and nodded, “Deal. I’m fine with just Addie.”

“Good,” Susan said, smirking at her husband.

_You want to give up cause it's dark,  
We're really not that far apart,_

_So let your heart sweetheart be your compass when you're lost,  
And you should follow it wherever it may go._

“I still can’t believe that she married him,” Draco said, shaking his head as he looked at his mother who was dancing with Cygnus.

Hermione smiled in amusement, “Would you quit it? You’re dancing with your wife at a wedding, stop being grumpy.”

“Sorry,” Draco admitted sheepishly, “It just irks me. Especially when Harry calls me brother.”

“You know he only does that to annoy you,” Hermione chuckled.

“He’s an arse,” Draco muttered, drawing Hermione closer to him, “But you’re right. We should be happy, we’re at a wedding.”

“The last one for a while now,” Hermione mused, “We’re all married now.”

Draco hummed thoughtfully.

“What do you make of Ginny showing up with Blaise _and_ Blanche tonight?” Hermione asked her husband,

“I think it’s about time they stopped pretending,” Draco said honestly, “We don’t really hide it anymore, do we? It’s pretty clear to everyone who knows us that there’s a thing with Theo and Sadie.”

“I suppose,” Hermione mused, “Do you know that Sadie thought Theo and I are were sleeping together?”

Draco snorted, “No. Why did she think that?”

“Because Theo rumbled me when he caught me throwing up at work and I had him teach me glamour charms, so I didn’t look ill,” Hermione said with an amused smile, “We spent a week of evenings in the library together.”

“Well, those two are going through a bit of rough patch right now,” Draco admitted, pulling his wife close to him, “That’s why I’ve been spending some more time with Sadie when Theo’s working the back shift. He really wants to adopt, and Sadie’s not keen, it’s a point of contention, I guess.”

“They will work it out,” Hermione said, smiling over at Theo and Sadie. She caught Sadie’s eye and got a genuine smile in return, “It’s just tough for them, having such young kids.”

“We’ll find out all about that soon enough,” Draco said, kissing her forehead.

“We will,” Hermione said with a smile, “And I can’t wait for our next adventure.”

“Neither can I,” Draco promised.

_  
When it's all said and done you can walk instead of run,  
Cause no matter what you'll never be alone,  
Never be alone,  
Never be alone._

“Do you think that we should get married?”

Lara made a face, “No. Why? Do you want to remarry?”

“Not really,” Bill admitted, “I sort of fucked it up the first time, and it cost me a fortune, so I’m not that willing to do it again.”

“So why did you ask?” Lara chuckled.

“In case I was doing you a disservice,” Bill said honestly, “I didn’t know if marriage was a thing you wanted.”

“No, I’ve been there and done that too,” Lara pointed out, “It’s expensive and messy when it breaks down. If you and I break up, we just have to fight over custody of the oversized newt.”

“It’s a dragon, Lara.”

“It’s not a dragon Bill, it’s a bearded dragon which is a newt,” Lara said with a smile, “If you want to see a dragon, look in your brothers back garden.”

“Charlie’s garden is basically a dragon reserve,” Bill said with a roll of his eyes, “Do you want a dragon? I’ll get one if you want one.”

Lara laughed and pulled him closer, “I don’t want a dragon, and I don’t want to get married. I’m just happy with you.”

Bill smiled at her, “I’m pretty damn happy with you too.”

_When it's all said and done you can walk instead of run,  
Cause no matter what you'll never be alone._

“Come on, let’s slip outside for a bit,” Neville said once the dance ended.

Lilly wasn’t sure why he wanted to escape, but she let him lead her out onto a balcony all the same.

Neville breathed in the crisp air gratefully and smiled at his wife, “I just wanted to talk to you somewhere a little more private.”

“Why?” Lilly asked curiously.

“I got an offer yesterday,” Neville admitted, “It’s the Herbology professor apprenticeship at Hogwarts.”

“Your dream job?” Lilly asked.

Neville nodded.

“So why do you look sad?” Lilly asked her husband.

“Because although it’s the dream job, I’m not sure that it’s the right time,” Neville said honestly, “I wanted to be closer to 30 when I started teaching because then there’s a good age gap between my students and me, you know? They’ll respect me more that way.”

“You beheaded a snake with the sword of Gryffindor, they would respect you anyway,” Lilly said with a smile, “It’s more than that. You don’t want to leave Harry.”

“I don’t,” Neville agreed, looking out at the lake thoughtfully.

Lilly scoffed, “Come on Nev, he’s got Rob and those two are about as bromantic as Draco and Theo.”

Neville laughed out loud at that, “I know, but I love what we do. Me and Harry against the world in a duel…I didn’t think it was my dream job, but maybe it is. I love it, Lil.”

“I know you do,” Lilly said honestly.

They fell silent for a moment.

“So what are you going to do?” Lilly asked, cocking her head at him, “Because I’ll support you whatever you choose.”

“I think I’d like to be an Auror for a bit longer,” Neville said honestly, “I’m not quite ready to break up with Harry yet.”

Lilly laughed, but so did someone else. They both spun around and saw Harry and Daphne behind them.

“Eavesdropping?”

“I might have followed you a little bit,” Harry said, “But not into a bathroom, it’s only Draco that I feel that way about.”

Daphne snorted and leant against the railing next to Lilly, “So the golden duo stay together, huh?”

“For now,” Neville agreed, smiling at Harry.

“Good, because as much as I love Rob, he’s not you,” Harry said with a genuine smile.

Lilly rolled her eyes and said, “Excuse me, who did he just marry?”

Neville laughed and put an arm around his wife.

Harry shot Daphne a questioning look. She smiled and nodded.

“We have a bit of news for you,” Harry said, “But we don’t want you to think that we’re stealing your thunder. I just can’t sit on this until you get back from your honeymoon Nev. You need to be the first person I tell.”

Neville looked at him, expectantly, “You’ve been promoted to Assistant Head Auror?”

“No,” Harry grinned, “Better. We’re going to have a baby, our own, biological, miracle baby!”

“I knew it!” Lilly squealed, hugging Daphne tightly, “I bloody knew it! The glamour charm on the dress, the crying, I _knew_ it!”

“Yeah, you rumbled me,” Daphne laughed, hugging Lilly back.

“Oh Daph, that’s the best news ever,” Lilly said happily, “You really thought that you weren’t going to be able to have one.”

“I know,” Daphne said, beaming from ear to ear, “We’re thrilled.”

Neville drew Harry in for a bear hug and patted him on the back, “That’s brilliant Harry. I’m so pleased for you.”

“We want you to be godparents too if that’s okay?” Harry asked, drawing back from the hug.

Neville smiled a little tearfully, “Of course we will be Harry. We’re godparents to Teddy and Alastor, why would we feel any different about this one?”

Harry smiled too, “Thanks Neville, I love you, man.”

Daphne shook her head in amusement and caught Lilly’s eye, “To think at the beginning of all of this, those two used to insult Draco and Theo, right?”

“I guess everything goes full circle in the end,” Lilly laughed, kissing Daphne on the cheek, “And we can hardly talk, can we? You know I love you to bits.”

“I know,” Daphne said with a warm smile, “I love you too, Lil.”

Harry smiled too, “Everything definitely worked out in the end.”

“Yeah,” Neville agreed, putting his arm around Lilly’s shoulder, “It did.”

Harry put his arm around Daphne’s shoulder, “I can’t stop thinking about how far we’ve come, you know? From teenagers who had parties and got drunk in the common room at school.”

Daphne smiled at that memory, she glanced at Lilly and grabbed her hand. Lilly smiled too and intertwined her fingers through Daphne’s.

“And look at us now,” Harry said, his eyes on the setting sun, “We’ve got proper jobs, we’re all married, and we have some amazing kids running around. I just keep thinking about how lucky we are.”

Neville nodded, “We got through some hard times together, that’s for sure. I didn’t expect to survive it, let alone to be here today.”

“Neither did I,” Harry agreed, “But honestly, the number of times I go back and thank my lucky stars that I went back to school after the war because…we went into that eighth year as broken kids, not knowing what to expect but definitely not expecting this wonderful life that we’ve built together.”

“That was poetry,” Lilly said, smiling at Harry.

Neville met Harry’s eye, “And completely true.”

Daphne nodded and let go of Lilly’s hand to Accio a tray of champagne from the hall. She smiled around at the other three and said, “I’ll drink to that.”

“Cheers!”

*** ~ And the story continues in ‘Blame it on Hate’…**


End file.
